Here it is, the 6 month point! In 6 months time I will be officially off to embark on my Round The World adventure! Over the past couple of months I have become incredibly fickle and extremely indecisive, and I’m currently changing my mind about possible destinations every day! More on that later…
So for now, I have written a checklist of all the things I intend to do before the 5 month point.
This is the main thing I’m really going to focus on over the next month. I have an incredible amount of clutter, and confess to being a total hoarder! Since making the big decision to travel the world, I have come to the conclusion that my whole house contains a load of junk, and it all has to go!
I have over 50 physics textbooks from my degree, and whilst I love having my own physics library at home, it really is unnecessary to have these textbooks when the majority of them are on areas I will never study for the rest of my life! I’m going to start by listing every single one on Amazon, and hope that a few of them start to sell.
This is what Four Years of a physics degree roughly amounts to!
I also want to try and get rid of all my CDs and DVDs this month too. There are a few websites that will buy your second hand ones off of you, and although I won’t make as much as I would selling them individually, I just want to get rid of them as soon as possible!
As for books that aren’t textbooks, I can’t see me being able to sell them for a lot of money on Amazon, eBay, or otherwise, so I will just donate these to a charity shop close to me.
Other than these main items, I’ll start listing random junk on eBay that I think might be worth something and hope for the best!
I’m going to do a lot of research into possible cameras to take on the trip too. I want a really good camera, and I currently have my eye on a Canon EOS 550D. This will cost me about £700-£800 and I don’t know if I can justify spending that amount of money on a camera! On top of that, I also want a smaller, pocket camera that I can carry around with me at all times, but that doesn’t have to be anything super expensive.
I also will need to buy a new laptop. I currently have a Macbook Pro which I love to bits, and it makes me want to cry to think about selling it, but I will have to sell it and buy a new one with the money I make. I just want one that is extremely light, and also quite small so it won’t take up much room. I would also like it to be cheap!!!
I am considering buying a Kindle too for my trip. I love to read while I’m away but I REALLY don’t want to have to carry lots of heavy books with me, especially when I know I’ll read most of them in 24 hours! A Kindle would solve this problem, and they’re really light too which is another bonus! I could buy some Lonely Planet guidebooks for specific locations and put them on there too, so I have everything all in one place.
I have a confession to make: I HATE needles! In fact, every time I’ve ever had to have a blood test in the past, it’s led to me passing out, which has been more than a little embarrassing! I wish I could get away with not having any at all, but it’s something I have to do, especially as I’ve heard a lot of them you have to have several months in advance! This is going to be tough to do as I’m not sure exactly where I’m planning on visiting, but any countries I think I MIGHT go to will have to be included. I hope to start getting a list of these together over the next few weeks.
I’d like to make a decision on my first three months of travelling by the end of the month. I have decided to actually start in Morocco now, and spend around two months in Europe going to the places I most want to visit. I am finding it tough to narrow down the options to just a few, but hopefully by the end of the month I’ll have a much better idea.
I’ve started looking into travelling on the Trans-Siberian Railway too as an alternative to flying after I’m done with Europe, but I’m still not sure on this yet.
Hopefully with me trying to sell a lot of what i own will lead to me making a lot of money. I am almost on track to reach my target savings goal by July. There’s a few websites I use to write online reviews, which used to earn me £50 a month, as well as some online survey websites that I use too for a little extra income, but I’ll write a proper blog post detailing these ways of making money in the near future. The following graph indicates my budget, and how much I want to have saved by July 2011:
Where I am and where I need to be!
Have any suggestions about what else I should be doing at this point before leaving? Have any advice about anything else I’ve spoken about in the post? Leave a comment and let me know! :)
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In July 2011 I left England for what was supposed to be a one year trip around the world. Within a few months of leaving I knew that a year would never be enough. I now work online and travel permanently, seeking misadventures in unique, beautiful and fascinating places. Read more.
I'm here to show you how not to travel. Since I've been on the road I've been "poked" during a massage in Bangkok, punched a scammer in Shanghai, been attacked by monkeys in Bali, sat next to a dead woman on a boat in Laos and so much more. I call these The Incidents and you can see a full list of them here.
Hi Lauren,
Nice, i’m gonna start just a month earlier.
Maybe a packinglist is a nice thing to make, I made one to.
Here’s a link about things not to forget: http://travelingcanucks.com/2010/08/planning-around-the-world-trip-travel-tips/
Happy travels!
Hey!
Thanks for the link, it’s really useful! There’s so much to remember, that I feel like I’m going crazy trying to plan it all! I know it’ll be worth it in the end though! :)
Yes, I definitely will make a packing list, probably in a few months time!
My wife Ashley and I are leaving for our trip in July too! We are in full on saving mode, and are working away at selling all of our stuff. We had the realtor stop by yesterday, and his biggest advice was de-clutter before we start showing the house. That puts us firmly in a rush to get our stuff out the door.
I’ve been using a local free classified add website with the most success. I gave ebay a try, but the fees are quite expensive. I’d hold a garage sale, but it’s winter hear in Canada and that just won’t fly. I have a bad feeling a lot of stuff is going to hit the trash.
Mike Lenzen recently posted..An Unexpected Expense
That’s great, we’ll be able to help each other out, experiencing thing at the same time!
I get the same feeling too, that I’m going to have to throw a lot of my stuff away… It seems stupid going through all the effort of selling something, to only make £1!
Yay! Can’t wait to read about all of your adventures. I’m so with you in the needle thing, I’m completely terrified. My doctor actually prescribes me ONE xanax or some sort of anti-anxiety medicine before they have to poke me. It really helps calm me down.
Sheryll recently posted..Hoarders- Episode 304 – Sheryll
Hahahaha wow! I don’t think I’m that bad… I generally have to look in the other direction though and squeal “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!!!”
It all sounds very exciting! Good luck with your planning and getting ready for the big day of setting out. One word of advice though, I found Morocco a complete culture shock (and I’m from Africa!), so I would suggest perhaps not starting there straight away but rather ease you way into it after you’ve become a little more used to travelling.
Sunee recently posted..A Stroll Along the Costa del Sol
Thank you! And thanks for the advice… Maybe I’ll put Morocco last on my Europe section instead then!
We’re in a similar stage of prepartaion for our own trip. Would ylove to follow your adventures. Have one quick question though, how do I subscribe to your blog? I keep looking for a RSS feed icon but can’t seem to find one.
Jill – Jack and Jill Travel The World recently posted..Nafplion Rooftop- Greece — Foto Friday
Yes, it took me a while to figure it out, I’m so new to this blogging thing! There should be an icon now on the right hand side of the screen!
Hello! I just found your site. I am planning an RTW as well (leaving in January 2012) so I had to stop by and say congratulations… only six months left!!! We are also going to be selling all of our stuff before we leave. I just sold a lot of my books the other day and I was dreading it, but it wasn’t so bad after the fact. When I moved across the country (I live in the US) seven years ago, I brought only what I could fit in a car. I thought I would miss so much but I never looked back. In fact, I have no idea what it was that I got rid of so long ago that I thought I would miss. Anyway, my point is that your decluttering will feel freeing. Stuff ties us down. Memories (and you’re about to make a million of them) are what you really want to hold on to! I’ll be following along!
Hi Kim!! :)
Just started selling a lot of bits over the last couple of days and it actually feels really liberating! I have so much “stuff” that I really don’t need… All the clutter is starting to irritate me and I can’t wait to get rid of it all now!
Good for the trip ahead. Hers some tips for the techie bits of your post:
Camera – I have a 550d andlove it to bits but lugging it around with the other lenses is a pain when I go travelling BUT for me being able to capture “the” moment is part of the travelling experience.
The problem is that you need to learn how to make the best use of such a DSLR. Theres no point in getting one if you can’t make the best of it when travelling about. So this would mean a weekend course (£250) on top of the £650 for the std kit.
Personally if cost is a problem then I would instead buy either a canon s95 or a panasonix DMC LX5. These are great compact sized cameras that will be easy to carry but still give great shots.
The money you save could go towards a better laptop or extra safety money for your trip (I always carry around a second credit card and money that will last me afew days on my person but not in my wallet)
Laptopwise, I would use the extra cash and steer away from any 10″ netbooks. Their screens are just pathetic and they can barely run 1 programme at a time.
I would try a Asus Eee PC 1215N with a decent screen (12″) and a processor and GPU that can handle movies/office/photos whilst still being small and light.
good luck!
pokeken recently posted..IMG-7647
Hey you!! :) Haven’t spoken to you in ages, how have you been?!
Wow, thank you so much for all that information!! I’m pretty competent with DSLR’s, I’ve used one before… But I still have a lot to learn so I will probably buy one 2 months before leaving so I can get a lot of practise in!
I have been looking at the Eee PCs too! (Ugh, I really don’t want to go back to Windows!!!), they seem to be pretty lightweight and reliable.
Lots of research to do!!! :)
Hiya
yes I’ve away in New Zealand for work since November so pretty busy and just tweet when I have time.
if you know how to use a DSLR then you’ll love the 550D. I would even recommend that you forget the compact camera purchase and spend the cash on another lens…somethings cheap like the canon 50mm 1.8ii would really bring out extra performance from the 550D and allow you to take great portraits and low light shots.
If you fancy going on a photography course then I can recommend the one I went on (Nigel Wilson) who is based in London.
As for the laptop…the best thing is to go to tottenham court road and test some out (Micro Anvika has a good range to try out)
If you have any photo queries or got questions about New Zealand as a place to travel then give me a tweet!
pokeken recently posted..IMG-7647
Lauren,
I just started saving on my future 2 year ROTW adventure, when I came across your blog(specifically the blog on how to make extra money)! I can’t wait to read about your travels.
Ps. I am scared to death of needles too, I am not looking forward to getting all of the shots that will be needed for when I volunteer in Africa. Which is a must for my trip. Good Luck!
Hi Jennifer,
How exciting, the planning stages are so much fun! The injections were actually not so bad in the end. I was glad I didn’t have to end up getting the Yellow Fever one though…
Thanks for commenting and hope to see you following along on my trip! :)
Yes they are! I keep changing my mind. Ha! I want to go over where, and I know that is not going to happen, but it is still fun planning! I can’t wait to read about your travels! have a great day!
I know that feeling – I still want to go everywhere, and keep adding random places to my list! :)