I travel the world full time, and these are the things I did before I started. You may find this checklist helpful too. Everything below is based on my own personal experience and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. 1. Test This Lifestyle Before Committing Before you make the decision to travel full time, …
Why Avianca LifeMiles Is My Favorite Program for Booking Award Flights
I have already written about how I search for award space and how I earn the points in the first place. This post is about the one program I keep coming back to more than any other. Almost every long haul flight I book runs between the United States and either Southeast Asia or Japan, …
Texas for Domicile: Why It Works for Full Time Travelers and Digital Nomads
If you are a US citizen planning to become a full time traveler, digital nomad, or early retiree living a nomadic life, one of the first things you need to sort out is your domicile. Your domicile is your legal home base, the state that stays your permanent address even while you are on the …
How to Pay Landlords in Other Countries Using Wise
Everything below is based on my own personal experience and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. If you are a U.S. citizen spending most of your time overseas or traveling full time internationally, I have already covered most of what you need for banking and everyday money management abroad. For fee-free ATM withdrawals, I …
How to Keep US Bank Accounts While Living Abroad
Everything below is based on my own personal experience and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. If you are a U.S. citizen traveling or living full time outside the United States, you can generally keep your existing U.S. bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and credit cards. But there are two things you must have in …
How I Get Insane Value From IHG Points as a Full-Time Traveler
Before I get into anything, let me be straight with you. This only works if you check all three boxes: You’re a US-based traveler that travels to Southeast Asia most of the time. You have or plan to get the Chase IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card. This card is only available to US customers, …
How I Earn Points for Flights and Hotels While Traveling the World Full Time
In my previous post, I explained how I use points to book flights. In this post, I will show how I actually earn those points. I do not try to be fancy with points. I just use a few simple methods again and again. Over time, they add up and help me book flights and …
How I Book Award Flights Using Points and Miles
How I Decide If It Is a Good Deal (Cash vs Points) Everything below is based on my own personal experience and is not travel, financial, or legal advice. You can use this calculator to determine whether to use cash or points, but first let me explain my strategy. Because I travel full-time, I am …
How to Save Money on Accommodations While Traveling the World Full-Time
When I first started this nomadic life, one thing really surprised me. Staying in hotels and furnished apartments around the world full time was actually much cheaper than renting or owning a home in the United States. And the best part is everything is included. I do not have to think about electricity, water, internet, …
How to Manage U.S. Mail & Jury Duty While Living Abroad or Traveling Full Time
Everything below is based on my own personal experience and is not financial, legal, or tax advice. Under the USA PATRIOT Act, all U.S. financial institutions are required to collect a valid physical residential address when you open or maintain a bank account in the USA. This requirement still applies even if you are living …
International Health Insurance for U.S. Full-Time Travelers
I’ve personally tried these insurance options during my full-time travel, and I review them every year to make sure I’m using the one that fits my needs best. I also added a section at the end of this post for U.S. travelers who are 65 and older, since their insurance rules and options are a …