Are we there yet?

Crispy and I have always needed to get away occasionally. We find it helps us to reset, to re-energize and re-balance. We like to make sure we are totally in tune with each other, still on the same page and not getting lost or dragged apart by the distraction of our day-to-day problems. Recently, we took off for a camping weekend to Mount Cole in Victoria and it was just what we both needed!

Interestingly, we really found this trip got us thinking so much more about our big trip to come. Something has shifted in our minds from this being just a dream, to being something we will absolutely make a reality. It was our first road trip in the new car, and it was an area we were exploring for the first time together. We spent a lot of our time imagining what it might feel like when the time finally comes that we don’t have to pack up and head home at the end of a few days away. Or what it will be like when every day is a road you’ve never driven on before.

When we returned from our trip we decided it was time to reassess our plan. I think I was secretly hoping we would discover that, at a pinch, we could pack up and leave straight away! Unfortunately, we discovered that our plan is rock solid. Unfortunately? Well, only in the sense that we have to just stick at it for a little while longer to make sure that when we do go, we set ourselves up for success. One of our biggest fears we will need to overcome in order to get started is, what if we run out of money?

At our stage in life, we have managed (with a lot of parental help) to buy our own home, in beautiful Clifton Springs, Victoria and we really love where we live. We have great neighbours, a quiet beach 5 minutes away and a supportive local community where we both have been able to start our own businesses.

When we first started to discuss this idea, we were both very clear that we were not comfortable selling up everything we own in order to achieve it, as we didn’t want to start all over again if things didn’t work out. You never know, 5 years from now we might think differently on this, but for the time being it was important for our sense of security that we worked out a way to make it happen, but still keep our home to come back to.

So while we currently have our tow vehicle, the loan is very fresh and new. We really need to allow our business to pay a chunk of that off before we are not regularly earning (and while it is tax deductable!). Thanks to a generous and really well timed inheritance we have enough money put aside to buy our 2nd hand caravan and a little bit extra to make some modifications to it to suit our needs, so couldn’t we just go out and buy it? Well, yes, but currently that money is sitting on our mortgage and the longer we leave it in there, the more interest it saves us, meaning every extra repayment we make will become savings for the trip. And before we go we want to refinance our home to take advantage of the great interest rates going today. This will mean that when we rent the house out, our repayments should be covered and we can keep our little piece of security. However, right now we are not eligible to refinance due to Chris having been self employed for less than 2 years… We know for a fact that there is no point even trying until the end of this financial year.

So are we there yet? No.

But we are completely on track! And that is what is keeping us going for the time being. That and the odd trip away to ponder the roads we haven’t driven on yet, occasionally.