Welcome to Strapped Traveler
A Little About Me:
I’m just a regular guy who loves to travel when I can and explore the world as much as possible. I grew up on the East Coast and as a child, some of my fondest memories are when my parents would take the family on mini-vacations to the Adirondacks. Looking back, I think that triggered in me the need to venture out and explore the world.
Fast forward a couple of decades I decided to reinvent myself and move to California. For a couple of years, I struggled at my job, didn’t have a career to be proud of…while my peers seemed to travel all the time. Then came one year where I couldn’t travel and I was home alone on New Year’s Eve. Meanwhile, my friends are texting me ‘Happy New Year’. Frankly speaking, I felt like a loser because I was “too broke to travel”.
Then it occurred to me that I was living with the false idea that I needed loads of money to travel. Truth is that travel doesn’t have to be expensive. I could have driven somewhere within California and done SOMETHING on the cheap. I promised myself that I would never allow myself to NOT take advantage of going somewhere…even if it’s in the state I live in. Since then, I made it a point to go to a new country and celebrate the New Year.
Since that moment, I decided to take control of my life and little by little, I’ve used any opportunity to travel when I can.
There are a few things you need to know about me:
1) I’m not a travel ‘influencer’ by any means!
2) I can only travel when my business slows down (November and December only).
3) I paid for ALL my trips…never receiving a dime from anyone.
4) I’m not a ‘digital nomad’.
So Why “Strapped Traveler”?
I decided to write down my experiences so I can share with as many as possible the fact that you don’t need LOADS of money to travel. Even if you’re on a budget, you can still travel within your own state or region. I honestly want to help people with my travel tips and steer people away from self-sabotage with some silly preconceived notion of what travel is supposed to be.
Travel should be about:
1) Exploration: traveling is probably the best way you can learn about other cultures and appreciate the differences.
2) Connection: traveling with a loved one or great friends can be extremely fulfilling. As a solo traveler, I’ve made some great connections over the years…some of which I’m still in contact with.
3) Personal Growth: I firmly believe that you learn more about yourself when traveling with a group or alone. Stepping out of your comfort zone and learning about the people, food, and history can make you much richer inside and out.
How are you able to travel abroad every year?
This I get asked all the time but the answer is very simple. I save and save throughout the year. My most expensive purchase in the past 5 years has been my car. For the longest time I had roommates, allowing me to stack up on some serious cash. Currently, I rarely eat out much and when I go to bars, I always take advantage of happy hour. I never feel the need to impress anyone…it’s really that simple.
When I do travel, I will always go for the cheapest days to fly out, constantly look for tours on sale, cheap flights and countries that are cheaper in general to visit. Do you see the trend here? I live within my means and when I need to below my means.
My Travel Style
To be upfront I prefer traveling solo on a group tour. Even though I work for myself, I can’t work remotely; my customers are all based in the US. The holidays in November and December provide me with 9 to 12 days max to take a vacation since my business dies down.
Since I’m on limited time, group tours remove all the stress from planning the accommodations, activities and logistics. The tour company does it all for me. All I need to do is literally show up introduce myself to the group and have fun.
Why did you choose to go there?
I’m genuinely confused by this question. The only response that I can come up with is, “Why Not?” It’s the most bizarre question to ask…at least for me. I love it when every year I choose a new destination, I’ll just think of an area in the world and think to myself…”Yeah, that place looks cool to visit.”
Travel Has Been Life Changing
It sounds cliché but it’s true. In all my experiences, I’ve always found 10x more positive things to say about the places I’ve traveled to than negative. Travel has made me happier, less stressed and more confident. I’ve learned many new things over the years, made new friends but more importantly, the world isn’t as scary as many people imagine. I met so many kind and generous people on my travels it always puts a smile on my face.
Even though I’m not hopping around the globe like other YouTubers with 1 million followers, my life is still about travel and every year I still get to tick something off my bucket list.
So what’s your goal with this site?
Ultimately is to help others see the joy in exploring the world. Offer up my travel hacks, tips and make travel more accessible and feasible. My trip reports are mainly for those in my situation who only have a limited time and help them decide which is the best option for them.
If there’s a younger me out there that gets inspired by my blog, pushing them to travel…then I did my job perfectly.
