Simplifying Your Diet And Eating Well With Less

Today's offering comes from the lovely Brittany Thiessen, who is passionate about living simply, travelling often, capturing beautiful photography and frequenting organic food markets. Basically, she's a lady after our own heart.

Simplifying Your Diet

Minimalism plays a huge role in my life and for me, it means simplifying my budget, my possessions, and my diet.

When I first stumbled upon the concepts of minimalism and simplicity about a year ago, the first step in my journey was simplifying what I ate.

I started with baby steps, by making one small change at a time.

Focus on one small change per week (or two weeks or whatever length of time you want to set for yourself). This approach helps the changes you make actually become habits, before you move on to the next step.

View fullsize

You don’t need to change everything at once.

I used to be addicted to Coca Cola and my first small change was cutting back on the amount of Coke that I drank and then finally eliminating it from my diet.

I have done the same with processed foods and those containing genetically modified organisms and other harmful chemicals.

Our society and the media tends to complicate eating healthy by bombarding us with information and focusing on how many calories you should be eating, how much carbs, promoting low-fat and sugar-free products, and whether you should eat a certain food or not.

But eating healthy and simple doesn’t shouldn’t be complicated... It is actually really easy!

What are the Benefits of Eating Simple?

When you take care of your body and eat simply and healthily, you have a greater ability to experience new things, like travel.

Simplifying your diet and eating habits results in you feeling more energetic and fully alive and thus, able to do more and see more! You can free up space and time to focus on the things that matter.

View fullsize

Okay, I’m convinced! How do I eat simpler and healthier?

• Eliminate processed and fast foods – they’re not healthy and they will drag your energy levels down. They may be cheap to purchase, but they’re going to cost you in the long run in terms of your overall health! Buy food in its natural state and eat things that come from the Earth.

• Focus on whole foods that are fresh and preferably locally and organically grown – whole foods are those that only have one ingredient, like a banana or a watermelon, for example. Their name is the ingredient. Find local farmers markets in your area to purchase organic and locally grown produce. If you can’t find local, focus on finding organic (you don’t want those harmful pesticides and chemicals in your body found in conventional produce) produce in your local grocery store. Choose foods with lots of nutrients.

• Become a vegetarian or vegan – vegetables are cheaper than meat and they are easier for your body to digest. I have definitely saved money on groceries since choosing to go vegetarian. There are many foods that have protein aside from meat, like nuts, spinach, beans, whole grains, etc.

• Create simple meals with simple foods – some of my favourite meals are super simple, like Mexican tacos, eggs with a salad, or a simple casserole. You don’t need to get fancy. Simple meals are easy and fast to prepare but also healthy, which leaves you with more time to focus on other essential things in your life (like planning future travels)!

• Simplify your portion sizes and eat less – you don’t need to eat as much as you think you do. Most of us probably overeat. If you eat slowly and mindfully, you are better able to listen to your body when it tells you that you are satisfied, and stop eating then, but don’t starve yourself. Cutting back on your portion sizes will also save you money because your groceries will last longer.

• Cook meals at home and cut back on how often you go out to eat – restaurants are expensive and eating at home will save you money and be more nutritious.

---

What I Eat Daily:

Breakfasts:

I generally have a home-made fresh fruit or green smoothie plus a protein bar (like a Cliff bar) and/or fresh fruit (banana, blueberries, grapes, watermelon, etc.) or a slice of gluten-free bread (All But Gluten brand) with organic butter.

View fullsize

Lunches:

I enjoy making home-made salads with fresh, organic ingredients and finished off with a home-made salad dressing. On the side, I often eat either a slice of gluten-free toast, organic eggs cooked over-easy, a bowl of fresh fruit or leftovers from the previous night’s dinner. For dessert, I will sometimes treat myself to a few pieces of a 70% organic cocoa chocolate bar.

Dinners:

My family and I cook casseroles, pasta meals, huevos rancheros, steamed vegetables, vegetable stir-fry with brown rice or quinoa, home-made baked French fries (with olive oil, salt and pepper) with home-made fermented ketchup, home-made gluten-free vegetarian pizza, bean or pasta salad, and authentic Mexican tacos. For dessert, I will often have some home-made baking (organic, gluten-free and sugar-free).

Snacks:

I enjoy eating gluten-free and organic blue corn tortilla chips with organic or home-made salsa, gluten-free toast with organic butter, home-made baking (gluten-free and sugar-free), raw nuts, and fresh seasonal fruit.

I shop at my local farmer’s market during the summer months for fresh and organic produce. Superstore (Canada) and Vita Health (Winnipeg, Canada) are where I shop for other organic food and products.

---

Guest writer Brittany is a twenty-something woman living simply in the heart of the Canadian prairies. She loves photography, travelling independently, exploring off the beaten path and discovering hidden gems both locally in Manitoba and abroad. She also loves eating and cooking healthy plant-based and gluten-free foods and meals, browsing local markets, learning about different cultures and ethnic foods.

Visit her blog, or chat to her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

---

READ NEXT:

Travel Might Change You Forever - If You Let It

Travel Might Change You Forever - If You Let It

Travel is proving to be a perfect opportunity to make some major changes, being that it is a major life change in of itself!

I haven't suddenly developed a love for exercise, stopped shaving or started calling myself Love-Heart Fairy-Tree (although I did shave off one side of my head)... but I believe that I am not the same person who left England 4 months ago.

I feel more confident, sociable, less judgemental, more relaxed and generally, a less anxious version of myself.

I think not working full-time has a lot to do with that last part admittedly. Running a business in England whilst liberating and often a dream come true, it still came with its own stresses and responsibilities that often had me losing sleep. I was working hard, saving money for this trip, and generally feeling a tad down, not able to keep a positive mood going. 

Even though I knew I had Australia to look forward to, and should of been super excited, I was still very fixed in my present circumstances. If I was low on money or feeling pressure to work and save, I felt really crap because of it. If I was doing planning for travelling, I was letting anxiety about it wind me up.

---

I was pretty much doing what many of us do; feeling unable to look past the limitations I was experiencing in that moment. Failing to be content with what was going well in my life.

---

Admittedly I did have a health scare last year, which is the kind unpredictable and scary thing that no amount of positive thinking can alter.

It affects you emotionally but also gives you much more pause to actually look at your life more carefully. It might have been a hard time for me, one I'd like to have avoided, but it taught me to value so much more about life itself, even the simpler and more mundane aspects.

And since beginning travelling, that mindset has somewhat taken over. I find such complete contentment and joy on even the more dull days here. You might think that its just a natural part of travel, having that relaxed holiday feeling, never having to tolerate anything too difficult for too long....

But anyone who's travelled knows only too well, it is not all just good times and amazing revelations.

For example, I have been super home-sick. I miss friends and family, the conversations I had with them, and I miss seeing their lives changing, witnessing their happy moments; no skype call can replace a cup of tea with your mum on a sunny English afternoon. It just isn't the same! I am very much out of that loop in more ways than one and its been a major sacrifice. 

Yet I am still probably happier than I've ever been. Nowadays I try not to give much time or energy to negativity, I am kinder to myself and trying to be so to others.

View fullsize

I keep busy blogging and travelling, so most of the time, this is what holds my dedication and attention. But also I have let go of a lot of the things which held me back and caused problems for me in the past.

Why and how has this happened?

When you're travelling, you are suddenly focused on the journey of enjoying everything you see, touch, taste and hear. Your primary goal each and every day becomes to sustain the amazing feeling which being in a beautiful place brings you, far away from the stresses of your previous life. I don't get too dejected or down-cast any more, or at least, I try to move past these feelings quickly. I get stressed trying to find work but instead of being defeatist about it, I just try harder.

I have become more resilient, have more 'get up and go' and determination to do the things I want to do in my life. I have stopped letting adversity or my proneness to anxiety win. I refuse to let them dominate this time of adventure and exploration.

View fullsize

Travel will kick you up the arse. It will wake you up, make you come outside of yourself, and yet change thoroughly on the inside too.

You become part of a community of people whom all share that look of adventure and inquisitiveness in their eyes, that desire to just share fun, good times, wisdom and experience with all whom they meet. And you take on some of that trait, you become someone who wants to smile, talk, laugh and learn.

You have your walls broken down, you will question all the intolerance or introversion you might previously have just thought was your personality.

You will want to embrace the positive and best side of yourself. This is what it's felt like for me anyway. I can't speak for how it will or will not change you, but it has so much potential to do so. I mostly wake up in a good mood each day, and when you chase that mood by journeying somewhere new and beautiful, you are following a path to changing yourself forever. You are developing attitudes that will get you through the bad times, the uncontrollable peaks and troughs of life, and of course, when you return home (if you ever stop travelling..). I hope this isn't a temporary change. I hope I can take these positive thoughts and behaviours with me, long into the future. 

View fullsize

Travel has already made me happier, and more open to creating happiness around me, and that, I will always remember and cherish, long after I retire my backpack.

---

Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at NomaderHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

Be social and come follow us across the virtual world!

---

Want More?

The Minimalist Life Cleanse Stage 2 [Simplifying Your Online World]

The Minimalist Life Cleanse Stage 2 [Simplifying Your Online World]

In stage 1 of this series, we talked about minimalism in the home..

Focusing some energy on stripping our homes of the things which really add no value to our lives, and only bring mess and stress, you may have began to feel lighter and less weighed down by your material junk.

Maybe you discovered beautiful treasures beneath the clutter, re-lived old memories, or found special artefacts to proudly display in your newly cleansed space.

Hopefully you took the steps put forward, and will take forward an attitude of loving the things you have, instead of bringing new distractions and items into your life.

Of course it doesn't take a day to clear years of amassed bits and bobs, but you have made a start and can continue at your own pace, knowing you have done the hardest part, which is to begin!

You might now feel all the more ready to tackle stage 2 of this series...

THEME: Minimalism in your Technology.

View fullsize

Social media and the internet influence every aspect of modern life. We live in a world where in many western countries, the government is investing in high-speed internet; it is that much entrenched in contemporary culture, it's no longer just entertainment, its has become a right and to many, a need. 

The world of new-sites and online editorial content, is steadfastly replacing print media, and now most people stay in touch with important news, blog''s of interest and other things which they enjoy exclusively via the internet. It really is at the centre of peoples everyday lives and behaviours.

...so goes the sign-of-times saying “Home is where the WIFI connects automatically”.

Many of us feel anxious when our internet doesn't work, or we go somewhere without wifi.

Temporarily disconnected, literally and mentally, you are sure that you are going to miss out on some vital piece of information, news, meme or dog video.

It's not wrong to feel this way, it just the natural result of our constant repeated use of our devices. I personally hate when the internet fails or I am out of a free wifi zone. I feel adrift and like I am going to be behind on something everybody else is in on.

Why do we feel this way?

Many of us live out our entire lives online, reporting it all in vivid colour and vibrant language, whilst others build a career based on online creativity; the internet is where some peoples whole businesses are founded and maintained.

The net (I feel like I am writing this in the late 90's or something...) has somewhat replaced television for many, with sites such as youtube and Netflix providing an array of entertainment, springing forth a new-breed of celebrities in the form of Vlogger's and Bloggers; the online world covers even more niche's than TV ever has or could. 

The internet is there for all manner of weirdness, hobbies, fetishes, obsessions and escapism.

Despite most people agreeing on the usefulness of the online world, due to its potential for creating connections, fostering learning and of course building commerce, many despair at just how much we have been drawn into the inter-web.

And when you begin to look at your relationship with social media, your mobile phone and the whole world of apps and websites, you will observe the complexity of it, and often, the repetitive and dullness of your daily absorption within it.

I realized recently, whilst scrolling Instagram for maybe the 3rd time that day, that I was skipping past a lot of images. I was not really giving anything any real attention, yet I had chosen to follow these accounts at some point when the person or subject must have been vaguely interesting to me.

But this interest was clearly short-lived, and the result is me now mindlessly passing over things instead of taking a brief moment to un-follow these people, and escape from an endless conveyor-belt of thumbing over content.

So now it's time to bring back some more organization, purpose and clarity to your online life!

By the way, before you read on, this phase of the life cleanse is expanded upon, alongside the rest of the series, in a my new book, available NOW.

Amazon UK Store / US Store / AU Store / CA Store

Deleting Apps

Our phones and tablets will soon contain more contain apps than the actual app-store.

• Count how many apps you have on your phone/tablet.

• Now count how many you actually use.

• Delete any apps you haven't used in the last month.

• Re-arrange your used apps into folders labeled for their theme. I have 'WRITE''WATCH''READ', so I use short names which are fairly self-explanatory.

• Look at your most used apps again and assess if you can now delete even more apps, the ones outside the category you consider most important or worth keeping.

Unfollow

Maybe some of us are too polite (or lazy) to un-follow people, but really, when you look at it realistically, someone's follower count really isn't something you should be giving much worry to...

• Is it really that engaging for you or beneficial for the person posting stuff, to have their offerings ignored and scrolled over all the time?

• Maybe its time to cut-down on the things you give your time and attention to.

• Consider cutting down on who and what you follow....

• Twitter: If you still want to follow someone but are bugged by their updates, then just mute them on your feed! That way you can keep in touch with their updates in your own time.

• Facebook: The same thing applies here – you can streamline your time-line without causing any offence, by simply un-following peoples status updates. No need to see everything they have to say, but you can still check in on them now and again! And as for un-friending, well, I like your style, you're thinking big.

• Instagram: I am so guilty of scrolling repeatedly over the same people, and I never stopped to observe my behaviour. When I finally did I started de-cluttering my account, I un-followed lots of people and made it so I only saw the things most interesting to me!

• Myspace: Go on Myspace, re-activate your account, try to remember the now-defunct email address you used for your login, spend hours trying to locate this address to no avail. But once you do get it, login, and scroll through all your college friends, check out your pictures from those house-parties, and decide on whether that friend is displaying good HTML skills. And change your automated song to something more fresh.

Obviously, we're joking on that last part... how to improve your Myspace is in next weeks post.... :P

Clear Your Inbox

This is the virtual room that you need to de-clutter. It has shelves and shelves of things you have never read, or ever will....

• Yes, you took the time to set-up which incoming junk-type emails to automatically send to your 'Filtered' folder, which is the same as saying “Go here, you will remain in my inbox but I will not read you and you will remain there until the end of the time”. Tut.

• Now it's time to go and actually un-subscribe to those emails never read or which you no longer want to receive. Check the very bottom of the email, you will have an option to receive no further contact. Hurrah!

• Clear that spam folder, and your (now quickly filling up) deleted folder.

• Look at your other saved folders – are you keeping emailed bills from 5 years ago? It should be easy to find lots of things to send into the abyss of deleted emails!!

---

If your online activities, or the mass of information stored in your own personal online accounts, aren't adding to your happiness, helping you, or bringing inspiration into your life, then, why are you giving them so much of your time? Time you cannot get back.

Taran has found that deleting the Facebook app off of his phone made perfect sense; he didn't want to keep finding himself on that endless scrolling spree, and so he fixed that quite easily!

You could take that drastic step, or, alternatively, follow the above steps. The more you delete, the more you will want to delete! Editing, refining and creating an online space that meets your own personal wants and needs is such a satisfying process. 

You'll realize that nowhere in this post am I explicitly telling anyone to cut down on their online time; being a blogger and a blog-lover I am permanently in the internet matrix, I never leave.... I am simply offering advice to help you enhance your relationship with your online practises, and make them more fruitful and fulfilling.

And if you happen to find yourself online less, or become more inspired by your new de-cluttered inter-web space, then you've taken a positive if unintentional step towards even more minimalism and simplicity. 

---

Thanks for reading!

Want more reads like this? You can now find Hannah in her own online space, Good Intentions. Minimalism, mindfulness, conscious living and self-love; all the good stuff centred around being kinder to yourself, and kinder to the world.

---

WANT MORE?

HOW TO: Hitch-hike Safely and Successfully

HOW TO: Hitch-hike Safely and Successfully

View fullsize

Hitch-hiking has become the foundation of how we get around cheaply our travels. Its how we travel place to place, long distances and sometimes short. We've met great people, of all ages and backgrounds, exchanged travel stories, been some people's first pick-up, and generally felt inspired and comforted by the kindness of strangers. 

Hitching for us started in Port Stephens, a small-town with infrequent public transport, we were able to explore the beaches with the help of strangers, get to and from the supermarket and then eventually move up the coast to our next destination. 

And its how we recently travelled 4 hours from Noosa to Bundaberg, all in one afternoon.

It might not be as easy as driving yourself or as a predictable as a greyhound ticket but its definitely worth the experience, for the people you meet, the stories you hear, and of course, the major savings you make!

HERE'S HOW TO DO IT AND DO IT WELL!:

View fullsize

1. TAKE WATER AND SNACKS. You don't know how long you might be sat on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere, and somewhere like Australia, you gotta stay hydrated all the time anyway!

2. WEAR COMFORTABLE CLOTHING AND SHOES. You want to be practical. You need to be prepared for any weather on the road, especially if you find yourself without shelter. A hat and a waterproof are essentials.

3. HAVE A FULLY CHARGED PHONE. This will be a must in emergencies, and when you might want to refer to a map to see where you are.

4. DON'T BOTHER WITH A SIGN. We used a sign once, on the first hitch-hike we did. People are much more likely to stop and more open to taking you further then they had planned to go if you simple stand there, with your big heavy backpack on your back.

5. TEXT THE CAR NUMBERPLATE TO SOMEONE. We slyly text the number plate of each car we get into (unless its a car full of backpackers, in which case it seems a bit uneccesary). Text it to a friend in the same country, or if you don't have credit at least save it to your phone. This is just a precaution of course, you may feel silly being distrustful but its important you protect yourself.
   

6. LOOK FRIENDLY AND CONFIDENT. Nobody is going to pick up someone who isn't confidently looking them in the eye. Take off the sunglasses and hold out your thumb with conviction.

7. DON'T HAVE LOTS OF STUFF ON YOUR PERSON. Pack as much into your bags as you can, and secure them, you don't want to leave behind things accidentally, like your jacket or your bag of food! Count your bags as you get in and remember that number when unloading your stuff. 
   

8. GET DROPPED AT SERVICE STATIONS. Where possible these are great places to top up on water and snacks, and increase your chances of meeting like-minded travellers or just people driving longer distances.

9. DON'T STAND ON THE SIDE OF MOTORWAYS. It's dangerous and not a good place for cars to stop. Make sure you pick a lay-by or pull-in on a road that allows people to safely pull up and pull away, this will be a better spot for you and will encourage drivers who will assume you are being safe and cautious, and aren't some reckless crazy person that they will avoid stopping for. 

10. BE CHATTY AND THANKFUL. People that pick you up are likely to want the company and be interested in your story. You will likely end up repeating the same stuff to driver after driver but its just part of the exchange, and part of a being a good person to pick-up!

---

Hitch-hiking is initially scary. But taking the above steps should not only increase the chances of a pick-up but make you feel safe whilst you hike.

And remember, the more people who hitch-hike, and do it well, the more successful hitching will be for everyone!

A world where people happily help others out, whilst also being eco-aware (an empty car driving hundreds of miles is the enemy of reducing the carbon footprint!) is surely a much better place to be a traveller!

CHECK OUT OUR YOUTUBE TO SEE ALL THE SUPER COOL PEOPLE WE HAVE MET ON THE ROAD SO FAR! 

---

Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

WANT MORE?

Travelling will make you homesick...

Travelling will make you homesick...

View fullsize

Southampton, England is my home. It's where I was born, where I went to school, made friends, went on holidays, experienced heartbreak, and moments of pure happiness. Its where I lead my life and its where my lovely family lived alongside me.

I now live in a totally different country, actualizing a totally different life, one I worked toward and dreamed of.

View fullsize

My surroundings change constantly, my mind is now filled with new images of sun-soaked beaches, breathtaking rainforests and wondrous animal life. Sounds quite pleasant right? Correct.

So you'd be surprised to know I have considered packing it all in and going home more than once.

View fullsize

Why? Because home is not just where my family is (I could murder for a mum hug) but its also where I felt comfortable, safe and created my own relaxed and predictable environment. There was consistency and ease.

I miss my bed, in my bedroom with its vaulted ceilings, and the cosy feeling I created in there. Tidy, clean, overly organized, that was how I liked my environment to be. Travelling is often anything but tidy, organized, or comfortable.

Sometimes you are lying in the cold of a damp tent, wide awake itching with bed-bugs (not confirmed but my god my sleeping bag is itchy) absolutely longing for your bed back home.

Now and then you get hit by a low mood, and feel challenged by your surroundings, and find yourself crying, wanting to just sit and talk with your family, have a cup of tea and revel in normality. Its the little things, the simplest of pleasures of home, that haunt you in the difficult moments.

You know that you will get to do them again one day, and slot back into routine, and you weigh up logically how much more you might appreciate even the monotony of regular life once you've had endless days of unpredictability. 

View fullsize

But then a part of you also chastises your negativity and ungratefulness, how can you possibly dislike the beautiful and exciting life travel affords you?

Because its natural. Its natural to want to be comfortable, to want a good nights sleep, to crave a good meal, to miss the company of those who know you the best. It's human-nature to miss the nice parts of your previous life even if you actively chose to take a holiday from it.

But sometimes when you travel you get to experience the simple yet luxurious feel of home again, and create brief spaces that take you away from the ramshackle life on the road.

Today I am sat writing this in a villa that Taran and I get to live in for a fortnight, having the use of the pool, local beach, and being fed breakfast and dinner each day, for free (well for 4.5 hours work!).

Obviously your style of travel will no doubt influence how home-sick you get, and how often you are plagued by memories of all that was so beautiful about home that you didn't even think about at the time. But you will be thinking of home in a very positive, maybe overly rose-tinted light.

You will momentarily forget all the reasons that made you want to temporarily take leave of that life and that world, and so its important not to to languish in that homesick feeling, because you risk missing out on the very adventures you spent hours back then daydreaming of.

View fullsize

Travel might make you homesick, sometimes briefly, occasionally unexpectedly, but more often, not at all. But it is mostly a completely fair price of getting to see the world and embrace all it has to teach you.

I have grown and changed already, in 3 short months, and would not exchange any part of that growth to have been at home instead. Of course I wouldn't. I also wouldn't forego all the memories I am yet to make, all the beauty I am yet to witness, the people I am going to meet, the things I might possibly do....

So I say, feel the homesickness and do it anyway!

---

Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

Recommended Reads:

Travel Blogging is Hard

Travel Blogging is Hard

Travel can be hard. Blogging is sometimes hard. The result of these two activities being combined is, you guessed it, hard.

I have a new found respect for all the travel blogger's who seem to have a constant but authentic presence, across social media, but also on their websites, producing great content regularly.

Because bloody hell, how do you manage it?

If we aren't tired from a day of exploring, we're relaxing in the hostel, combining chores, cooking, socializing and skype-ing our families. We are in a constant battle with that beautiful beast called the Internet, as most of the time here its crap, due to the amount of people trying to use it. And anyway, when you do find time to blog, hostels can be loud and uncomfortable places, sometimes not conducive to blogging at all. 

Where, amongst all of this, is the time and space to be creative? 

And I don't mean just shoehorning in brief moments in which to keep up with the blogging world. Nobody wants to read a hastily written diary blog post, and I don't want to write it! I used to spend hours in England compiling a blog idea and meticulously producing it, because I had the time and the right environment in which to do so.

Here, well, you need to be enjoying and exploring your surroundings to obviously then have stuff to report that people will find interesting. So I suppose the issue is time. We are suddenly abundant with free time, yet our lives are also busier, and more varied. Which is great. But where does blogging fit in with this?

I am writing this post on the laptop, lounging on our blow-up camp bed, whilst Taran organizes his backpack. Neither of us had to work today, we had a long-drawn out breakfast with some friends, and soon we will be off to buy cheese; its been a particularly exciting day. And I have a head-cold that has made me want to sleep constantly, but I found a brief hour where I felt like I wanted to punch out some posts, so here I am doing it, and it feels good.

I suppose that's why Travel blogging is hard, because it's all a big balancing act; fitting in actual living, the fun, as well as the boring stuff and still having the mental energy to blog.

But we could give it up tomorrow, if we wanted to. Yet we don't and we won't, because we love it. We love being part of this friendly, vibrant and passionate world where fascinating stories and beautiful photography meets personal journeys of adventure.

We want to read about others experiences and we want to inspire people with our own, and document our memories, for the distant future where we will want to re-live this phase of our life.

So whilst it remains difficult, it's only because we actually care; care enough to find the time to write amongst illness and tiredness and the immediate need to for cheese.

And maybe in time it will get easier, and we will find ourselves with better internet, a more relaxed setting and exciting things will be happening which feed our fervour for sharing our stories.

Who knows, that's the unpredictability of travel, but blogging will always be a safe haven of creativity that we will find our way back to no matter where we end up.

---

Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

Recommended Reads:

Living A Minimalistic Life on the Road

Living A Minimalistic Life on the Road

If you read this, then you will be well aware of how Taran and I have set about creating simpler lives, centred around travelling, living with less possessions and little to no clutter.

We aren't above material things, or spending money, or ever acquiring ANYTHING. Of course we do. I like clothes, although I have got pretty used to my tiny travel wardrobe. Taran likes gadgets (albeit not the latest mobile phone). We both like stuff, we're only human.

But in the past year we decided to eliminate all the extraneous things that weren't bringing anything to our daily life or adding satisfaction. It made sense to do this because we were leaving home for a long time and it felt like a cleansing part of the mental preparation, off-loading years of accumulated bits and bobs.

Taking a hard look at our buying habits or tendency toward hoarding things, and changing our approach to 'stuff', we have saved ourselves money, time and energy. We haven't got the stress attached to having a home full of things, or the emotional linkage towards lots of things we can live without but have turned into items of symbolism; items that are ultimately irrelevant to your overall contentment and fulfilment and simply create clutter.  

View fullsize

Now we live in a tent, out of two backpacks. Our most important things e.g. wallet, passport, phone, stay on us almost all the time. Our life has become a whole lot more simplistic and yet travel brings new complications.

We don't have a proper bed, or quilt, or pillows. We have one hoody each, neither very warm. Taran's shoes are falling apart. My cheap sandals are ruined by mud. So we are going to slowly lose even more possessions through sheer over-use. But it's teaching us a valid lesson, a new and fresh take on minimalism.

Yes the dress I'm wearing has approximately 3 holes in, and yes I do view the other girls at the hostel like a constant cat-walk of all the fashionable clothes I would buy if I had the dollar. But most of the time I just get on with it, and remind myself how my money is better spent elsewhere, or at least put toward functional things!

When you need to, you really can get by with a very small selection of belongings, and not feel any less happy whilst doing it.

The proof is in the pudding, the pudding being that we have been backpacking for 8-weeks with just a bag on each our backs and we are no more miserable because of it. Obviously buying new or random stuff would literally not fit into our nomadic life. But also, money spent on stuff would be money not then available for nice food or excursions. It would be wasted money and limiting to our overall travel experience.

So maybe in non-nomadic life, this reality also exists, whereby material gains become overall losses.

I have found that whilst travelling and currently not working (only 6 hours every two days for accommodation) you have plenty of free time, in which you could easily over-spend. But I have found myself developing an interest in things I never did before, back when our work/life balance was geared towards consumerism.

View fullsize

Now we can choose how to use our time more flexibly, and develop hobbies that allow creativity, entertainment and don't cost a whole lot.

The people around us spend their days writing music and practising playing instruments, making jewellery, knitting, writing poetry, doing yoga or meditation, all stuff that seems to keep them busy and satisfied.

I have loved spending time just reading, planning places to visit, people-watching, and enjoying the sunset over the Byron coast. Taran has loved drawing and listening to his music, meeting new people and we both love waking up whenever we want! 

Lucky me, lucky us. We are leading a charmed life, one which we chose, one which is sometimes hard, when you miss home or worry over your dwindling bank account, but we are using this experience to gain even more separation from the financial ties that bound us in our previous lives. And that doesn't feel like a bad thing, at all.

View fullsize

We are living our own version of a nomadic lifestyle, where some travellers live out of a van, packed to the rafters with kit, whilst others travel with the tiniest of tents and are never seen out of the same outfit. And both appear quite happy with their choices.

For us, travel has helped us become even bigger devotees to minimalistic living, and we hope to take these newly learnt behaviours with us whatever our future shapes into.

---

Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at NomaderHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

Recommended Reads:

10 Realities of Your First Month of Backpacking.

Our First Fortnight in Australia...

1> You have permanently dirty/blistered feet. Trainers are your friend some of the time but in hotter weather, flip-flops are all you feel like wearing. So the result is a mixture of usually blackened soles and sore heels.

2> You more often than not look at fellow travellers in a hostel with the gaze of a scared animal. Especially if they also look back at you with the eyes of an assassin/frightened puppy. And ignore your meagre attempt at a hello that came out like a squeak.

3> You look like a scared child much of the time due to the sudden MASSIVE LIFE CHANGE of leaving everything comfortable behind, not knowing where you will be sleeping in two day's time, carrying your whole life on a backpack/front-pack, always wondering if you will ever again have pretty feet.

4> Not yet experiencing the panic of realizing your money is only depleting, not growing. But knowing, that feeling is coming.

5> Writing down every single transaction you make in a little notepad, not that it will stop you having that burger at a restaurant or that box of cider, but just because it seems the responsible thing to do. All in all only serving to make you acutely aware of how expensive travelling is.

6> Realizing all your usual phone apps and website escapes were dull and mindless all along, you just needed something more interesting to do, see and experience to divert you away from endless scrolling.

7>  Instagram is still addictive though. And Facebook. In fact you and most other travellers scavenge and steal WIFI exclusively for updating those platforms.

8> Being a mixture of tired and not yet settled in, so that you aren't sure if you are having the best time of your life, or just going through the motions. Then realizing you can't enjoy every town and city you find yourself in, because the beauty of travel is not that day or moment or particular hostel, but the people you meet and the possibilities and adventure you are opening yourself up to.

9> You'll never get used to budget meals, and you are already sick of pasta. But you feel strangely fine and OK with the bland food, and the occasional treats your budget allows feels all the more special, tasting so much better than it did back home. 

10> Finding yourself feeling actually pretty happy, amongst the tiredness, the hungry belly and the occasional yearnings for home, as it dawns on you that you are living out your passion and your curiosity. Feeling like your life just got a whole lot more exciting.

---

Yo!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at NomaderHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers.

---

Recommended reads:

Minimalism Will Make You A Calmer Person: Cleaning Out Your Home

Minimalism Will Make You A Calmer Person: Cleaning Out Your Home

You have lead a busy, complex and interesting life.

Along the way you have collected many a souvenir. These now gather dust on shelves, which are fit to bust, with all manner of things you've been gifted or bought. Your drawers overflow with every colour of your favourite t-shirt, numerous pairs of jeans, and scarves of various patterns.

You find you never have any space to put the new stuff you acquire.

If this does indeed sound like you, then you're most likely a human. And us humans generally collect, hoard and keep things. We end up with so many options and versions of the same object, yet usually favour only a small selection on a daily basis.

We hold onto things which remind us of a happy memory. We surround ourselves with artefacts of the past, and the future, in the form of DVD's, books, as yet unread, the promise of entertainment held within an object.

Contrasting our beloved nostalgic remnants, sit shiny smart televisions, laptops, tablets and state-of-the-art coffee-makers. In fact some of our most prized possessions our items that bring us instant gratification.

Our homes are saturated with evidence that supports the hopeful belief that yes, we are leading full lives; we are in touch with modern technology, but also cherish our past life moments.

But don't you ever feel smothered by it all?

I must confess, in my bedroom at home, only a select few sentimental objects are sat on the surface of the drawers or window-sill, as most of my things are orderly and neatly tidied away.

I feel calm and relaxed when I am not surrounded by stuff and that's how I kept my room something of a sanctuary. A place in which I can be creative, or relax, unencumbered by any random clutter, itmes representing hobbies which lasted 5 minutes or fashions that never really fit my style.

Our website says it all about our minimalist approach, as we like to keep the design simple and clean, because there are only a few important things that the reader needs to see on a page; the focus should always be the post content, not links or ad's, here there and everywhere.

I keep as much of my life as simple as possible.

I often view mess or clutter as being loud, or as disrupting my attempts to develop inner calm, with the purpose of meditation being that we find peace in the emptiness of a clear-mind. So I aim for a stress-free feeling by living in a minimalistic way.

I don't want to surround myself with literal or object noise, and so, to feel calm, I want my surroundings to reflect only calmness back at me.

---

4 steps to creating a minimalistic life inside your home:

It's time for a giant clean-out.

You have to begin somewhere and the best place to start is condensing your material possessions down to the categories of Needed, Irreplaceable and Redundant.

• These things will then be sorted between rubbish/trash, charity, and keep. 
• Begin with a small room or a section of a room and start getting rid of things.
• Choose a drawer, a side or a cupboard and remove everything from it and then consider each items use.
• Ask yourself, always, does this item have any current relevance in my life and does it hold sentimentality.

More often than not you find yourself throwing away much more than you would of expected.

Say bye-bye to the three different electric whiskers but maybe not to the 35 baby photos; consider repurposing these into wall-art, or storing them for a less cluttered aesthetic.

Get Rid Of Furnishings

You may find less need for the 3 chests of chunky drawers once you've reduced your stuff down and so its time to donate these to charity, a friend, or the recycling plant, for some lucky person to make their own.

• You could sell these things on and use the money to fund your travels or an experience, but not for buying more stuff.
• Donating these things to a charity shop will allow them to take on new life, where people less fortunate than you who want to furnish their home on the cheap can re-use and re-purpose them for their own lives.
• Consider how you use your current furniture. Is it organized, well-positioned and purposeful?

Focus on creating a more tranquil space that is more conducive to chill-time, and whatever it is you do to relax or unwind.

Like what you're reading?

Then sign up to our weekly update!

Organize Your Daily Life

Ted.com Writer and designer Graham Hill asks: Can having less stuff, in less room, lead to more happiness? He makes the case for taking up less space, and lays out three rules for editing your life.

Your giant clean-out doesn't mean you will suddenly have nothing to tidy, so its time to put things in the places that are at ease with your everyday routine.

• I have all the random things which I use daily, neatly arranged in my desk drawer, so that I don't need to look through every drawer I have to find them.
• My paperwork that I need to keep but never look at sits in the boring filing drawer, along with other stuff I don't need daily but still have to keep safe.
• When doing this exercise you often find even more things to discard. Prioritizing organisation in your home or bedroom allows you to consider what things you really need and want.

It's amazing how much momentum you gain each time you de-clutter, you just get more bold and more brutal!

Now Discard Even More Stuff.

I may now live a more minimalist life but I once was the person who hoarded every plastic bag I ever acquired and managed to have three moneybags of batteries, none of which I could be sure had any juice left.

So quite often after I have already reduced down my stuff, I still find small extraneous bits that I can dispose of. 

Maybe you weren't harsh enough to begin with and so its time to go full minimalist-mode!!

• Clean out your kitchen cupboards. Donate good crockery and accessories to charity.
• Look at your multiples. Do you have too many shoes that are all alike, too many pairs of socks, half of which have holes in. Leave yourself with less things but more quality options instead.
• Assess your paperwork. Get rid of all the things you thought you should have kept that date back 5 years. Organize what remains into a file, and consider scanning really important doc's in and backing them up.

---

Its a constantly fun and never-ending release of tension downsizing my personal stuff footprint.

I have less desire for more stuff, thus less of that drive to consume, which allows me to live a financially sustainable and less wasteful life.

Maybe you too could try some of the above ideas, if you want to feel lighter in stuff and quieter on the inside, but heavier in the bank account, and more fulfilled in general. Having less can bring you so much more in quality interactions, relaxation time and unlock new interests and passions you previously hadn't considered.

You have lead a busy, complex and interesting life... https://t.co/Arx2obdZb7 #minimalism #minimalist #calm pic.twitter.com/bNlMYYcBUa

— Taran & Hannah (@Nomaderhowfar) May 19, 2016

Before you go, just to let you know, you can now buy my Minimalism book! It's a more in-depth guide to de-cluttering your home, organizing your life, refining your spending habits and simplifying your relationship with your technology.

Amazon UK Store / US Store / AU Store / CA Store

---

Thanks for reading!

Want more reads like this? You can now find Hannah in her own online space, Good Intentions. Minimalism, mindfulness, conscious living and self-love; all the good stuff centred around being kinder to yourself, and kinder to the world.

---

Recommended reads:

Why Making the World a Better Place Begins With You

This thought-provoking post comes from Kate, the woman behind The Holistic Nomad, a travel and holistic lifestyle blog.

Why Making the World a Better Place Begins With You

We live in chaotic times, where corruption, war, violence, oppression, environmental destruction, widespread poverty and corporate greed are considered the norm. In fact, if you look back through history, this is a recurring theme.

Unfortunately, many people accept this as “just the way things are.” They say our world is flawed because we, as humans, are flawed. They maintain that it’s simply “human nature.” But I disagree.

I believe the declining health of our world is an indication that we have moved away from a heart-centered manner of living.

We are conditioned to believe we are separate. We are fooled into thinking resources are scarce – that there is not enough to go around – and thus, we are driven to view life as a competition. “If you’re not first, you’re last.” Society propagates this divisiveness, this self-serving mentality. We are taught to build up walls – both literally and figuratively – to hoard possessions, to place emphasis on externalities instead of what truly matters.

We are expected to follow the status quo, to accumulate material wealth and social status, rather than spiritual wealth and meaningful experiences. We seek big pay checks, fancy cars and approval from others to validate our existence because we have forgotten that we are all interconnected, that we are all a part of something greater.

But what if things could be different?

Well, guess what? They can. It all starts with us.

Is it overly idealistic to envision a world in which peace is the norm? Where love reigns supreme, environmental stewardship trumps corporate greed and humanity lives in harmony with one another and the earth? Some people may argue that this will never happen, but I think it could.

The state of our world is but a reflection of our inner landscape.

In order for change to occur, it must be preceded by a shift in mindset. Though it may sound cliché, we must embody the qualities we hope to see manifested – we must be the change we wish to see in the world. We must trade in the tired, old paradigms for a fresh perspective. We must seek first to know the truth and then to live it.

While travel tends to shed light on the cruel injustices of the world, it also provides a glimpse into the commonalities shared by humanity, regardless of cultural background.

My own experiences have restored my faith in the inherent goodness of others and underscored the blissful feeling of connectedness.

Ultimately, we are all human. We are all in this together. Let’s start acting like it.

We must remember that every thought, word and action contributes to either the destruction or the rebuilding of civilization. Let’s band together for the common good of all life on this planet. Imagine what remarkable things a society based on love, compassion, unity and growth could accomplish.

---

Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

Recommended reads:

---

Hopes For The Future: What Really Is A Nomad?

Hopes For The Future: What Really Is A Nomad?

So I googled the word 'nomad' and it said this:

"a member of a people that travels from place to place to find fresh pasture for its animals and has no permanent home."

So we use the term in a way that matches this a bit, although we don't have any animals to move around, as much as little pug companion would be a brilliant addition to our travel group.

But we do intend to be people with no permanent home. We will have a place to go when we come back to England but not our own place, just our parent's houses.

Nomad-ifying your life doesn't mean you have to become homeless...

A lot of what we chat about here on Nomad'erHowFar can be applied to many life situations. Our advice isn't specifically for those who match the nomad definition, or any other words associated with the term: gypsy, wayfarer, migrant.

You can be someone who lives in a nice house, drives a nice car and is still lacking something in their life, and is in search of inspiration.

Maybe you have found yourself dissatisfied with the western culture of materialism and consumerism.

You might have had an epiphany of late where you've realized how deeply embroiled you've become in this overwhelming culture of excess.

You want to escape from it all but don't know how...

Whenever things are going bad for me, or if I'm particularly stressed, my instinct is to run away.

I want to drive away in my car and sit on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea. Not because I think I can out-run my problems or forget about them, but because I need a change of scenery, cause sometimes that helps us see things a lot differently.

You could say we want to become Nomad's because we are dissatisfied with the lifestyle on offer on our doorstep and you'd be right to a point. But then again, I'm sure we could carve out a great life here at home, as many do, yet we would be suppressing our mutual desire to run away. We'd be denying our wanderlust.

Our quest is not ignore our problems or the things we dislike about western society, but instead unlock new experiences and feelings through travel.

We want to embrace our identity as citizens of the world and take ourselves all across it, touching new ground each day, logging new sights into our little memory banks.

We also want to live a life less dependant on money, less focused on having lots of it. Having lots of money usually means lotsss of work, and we would rather have a modest income and forego the whole career obsession.

Plenty of people believe a job gives them purpose and a reason to get up each day. But if getting up each day becomes a repetitive set of ultimately pointless tasks that fill you with dread and boredom, it can be incredibly dull.

Sometimes we lose a sense of perspective, joy and zest for living when we aren't being challenged or excited by our daily routine.

We think being a nomad doesn't have to mean living a life of permanent travel, as the official definition states.

Being a nomad in this modern age can mean so much more.

It can mean venturing outside of your home-town every weekend to explore.

It can mean changing jobs regularly to experience a bit of everything.

It can mean creating a simpler financial life, downsizing your home, buying a cheap car, cutting back expenses.

It's about stepping outside of the capitalist rigmarole we get thrust into the day we become adults, and being the masters of our own lives.

Big business wants us to climb the career and property ladder, with consumerism pushing us to want bigger and better, making us feel the need to do whatever it takes to get 'things'.

But whatever it takes can turn into 'I will give whatever I have in energy until I drop', to reach a goal I don't even know will make me happy.

So we are maybe running away from this way of living as opposed to our home or our country by going travelling.

We are making our own life path and disregarding the one which has been put to us. And you can too.

You can be your own definition of 'nomad'.

You don't have to never stay in one place for long, living a constant life of moving but you can dream of something outside of the norm.

You can let your mind wander to all the different possibilities out there and then pursue those with all your efforts. Give all your energy to something which does make you happy instead of chasing things you think you should be chasing.

Re-defining the word Nomad for the modern age...

When you google images for 'nomad', a lot of them are like this: One man and his camel.

Whilst not a true representation of us as nomads, I do quite like this photo. It's simple but beautiful. This person undoubtedly lives not only outside of mainstream society but also outside of its complications and societal pressures.

He is somewhat freer than many of us could ever dream of being.

And I think that is the best way we can define our lifestyle dream and the word 'nomad'; we seek some simplicity, a lot of which has been lost in the modern age, as well as seeking a feeling of freedom and adventure through travel.

Inspiration from Christopher McCandless, the guy in the photo at the top. Google him if you don't know who he is..

He was awesome.

---

Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

WANT MORE?

New Years Resolutions: Spend Less, Travel More

New Years Resolutions: Spend Less, Travel More

Last Christmas..

Christmas is nearly here. We haven't yet overindulged on chocolates and nuts and bucks fizz. We can't wait to! And presents. Less than usual but still, presentssss!

The other day I was driving around between picking up dogs and amidst the traffic I looked at the expensive car in front of me, and it got me thinking...

2015 is going to be a huge year for us, maybe the biggest most crazy year yet, we already know this. But what do you think is ahead for you?

In 2014 we have gone through a tough time of sorts.

Choosing to go to Australia meant big cutbacks and sacrifices had to be made. Social outings missed, nights spent indoors trying not to kill each other, weekends of avoiding spending temptations. Generally becoming a bit boring. But it's all been for a good cause!

(not my actual car...)

So back to the other day, when I was driving around in my yellow 2001 Suzuki wagon.

My car has cost me a lot of money lately, fixing it to keep it roadworthy for another couple of months. Its such a pain in the arse. We cannot wait to be relieved of this financial burden! I was looking at the cars around me, thinking, yes your car looks a whole lot cooler than my yellow thing, and likely has some fancy little features. But when it comes to repairing it, it's gonna come with a nasty price tag, especially if you spent a lot for the car to begin with. A cars repair cost doesn't lessen even as the car depreciates in value year after year.

I've decided never again, when purchasing a car, will I get something which is brand new. Nor will I buy an old car about to drop dead. I'll find a nice middle-ground.

Because I've realized, as nice as a car can look from the outside, to your neighbours, friends and anybody driving past you on the motorway, it's still just a great hunk of overpriced metal parts, ready to fail at any point. No matter how pretty a car can look or how expensive it is still a minefield of complications under the hood. And when it does fail, mechanics are waiting to rip you off. Not all of them but many.

So basically spending lots of money of your car doesn't mean it won't end up costing you an arm and leg down the road. Not literally I hope.

Now I'm not being disrespectful to people who simply love cars, who visit classic car shows or restore them at the weekend, it's a great hobby and I totally get it. I just don't get the whole disposable culture of having the latest model of the latest high-end make.

I don't think your a dick if you drive a fancy car. But then again this isn't a car website this is about travel and living a nomadic and less materialistic lifestyle, so I doubt I will offend many readers here!

I guess the point I'm trying to make here is, in 2015, maybe it's time to reassess the way you spend your money, looking at why you feel the need to have the bigger house or the latest model of a car.

I'm not trying to insult anyone's intelligence by saying this; there are obvious reasons for wanting such things. But then again, questioning the thoughts which come to us as common-sense or normal, is what becoming a nomad is all about. It's what WE are all about!

Do you drive a nice car because you like the way it makes you look? Do you feel it adds to your image? Nice handbag, nice clothes, nice car. Is it all part of the capitalist package? Do you feel entitled to something which is plush and nice, inside and out.

It's certainly become a marker of wealth and financial success in recent times.

The car's we drive can come across as the clearest identifier of someone's social class/place on the income scale, right out there on the streets, where you see someone like me, cash-poor, in my less-than-stellar machine opposite someone like the man in a Mercedes in front of me, most likely earning the big bucks to afford such a luxury car, one might assume.

I did once own a fancy car. I made the mistake of thinking I needed to have a 'nice' vehicle (the car I already had worked perfectly fine and is probably still running happily today). So I bought a car on finance two years ago and god, did I live to regret it! I sold it a year later when I needed something more functional for dog-walking, and it was just a costly headache.

Why? Because I tied myself into a financial contract where the exchange was my money, thus my freedom, for the ability to drive a nice toy from A to B. And then I realized the pointlessness of such spending, when it is literally just a means of getting you places.

And when your car breaks down, like mine has, you realize the value of simply having a safe vehicle that moves off the driveway each morning, never mind it's colour or specification.

Now I'm 24, I'm a little bit wiser, and having had a car which I at first hated, for its look, colour, almost everything about it, has actually made me a happier person. Because it has only reinforced my values about money and how I intend to spend it on experiences and travelling as opposed to tangible things.

Things can be costly but can also be lost easily; a car can be written-off or burnt to a crisp. A handbag can be stolen. An expensive pair of shoes can sit in the box for months on end for fear of ruining them.

Things can give us an illusion of happiness or satisfaction, but the appeal of having them is often tied-up in us caring about what others think of us. Life is not about impressing others by flashing the cash. Nobody really gives a shit what car you drive. Envy is not something you want to inspire. I'm not shaming anyone, I'm just trying to empower you a bit!

If more people cared less about how they look to others they would be relieved of ever feeling inferior, jealous or less-than.

I know that when I first drove my little Suzuki wagon, I felt like it was ugly, to the outside world. I actually cared what people would think of my silly tall but tiny car. Why did I care? Aside from disliking the look of the car, I didn't want people to think that I THOUGHT it was a nice car to have.

God, what a waste of thinking energy!

As people, we like to control others perceptions of us and we do this is by portraying an all-round look and image. We are self-aware, we know that we too make snap judgements on others based on appearance, before we truly know a person.

But we are failing ourselves miserably because those who count don't care (and those who care, don't count, to finish the inspirational quote...).

Those who love us aren't doing so because of the car we drive

I really believe that enjoying a peaceful and happy life can't co-exist alongside the constant need to impress others or feel as if you need the visual markers of success to be successful. The way others see you does not determine your worth nor can anyone guess how happy you are based on your banana yellow car with blue swirly interior and a rattling engine.

So maybe 2015 will be your year. Maybe you will release yourself from some financial weight and pressure, and feel a new confidence in yourself. Maybe you will get closer to a more nomadic existence, one where you exchange money for unforgettable experiences and beautiful memories.

Even if your goal is to be richer financially, why not enjoy the hard earned fruits of your labours with travel as opposed to a new car or the latest ipad. Just a thought!

Not a care in the world!

---

Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

Recommended reads:

Dreaming of An Eco-Commune: Creating A Better Life Together

Dreaming of An Eco-Commune: Creating A Better Life Together

Travelling for some, isn't always about endless weeks of life on the road, leaving behind a sense of family and familiarity, actually making many feel more grounded and fulfilled than ever, especially when you find yourself putting down roots on alien soil; sometimes when we explore the world, we seek a community-centred life that we couldn't find back home.

Taran was telling me the other day, about a graphic he once saw, which compared neighbourhood's in America with ones in Iceland. It highlighted that many Icelandic communities grow their own produce, whereas hardly any do in the USA.

The difference across the world between those living sustainably, community-driven lives and those living wastefully and selfishly, is woefully exemplified in this comparison.

How cool if we all had our homes like this!

It got me to thinking, how great it would be if more people in my own country were more focused on creating a self-sufficient community lifestyle.

And also, how lovely and sensible a community more like the Icelandic one would be, a place with values focused around helping each other; goods and services would be plentiful for everyone.

I do kind of envision it in a certain dreamy way:

Every person within such a community, would have a sense of purpose and a position; something to give and something to strive for.

General everyday wastage would be reduced. Recycling would be a lovely side-effect of a culture of sharing and giving. Healthy foods would be grown and tended to with care.

People would share their talents, and learn new ones from each other. Communal meals would be made up from each and everyone's contribution.

Life in such a place would be fulfilling, comforting and peaceful. And fun. And friendly, for the world and for the people.

Places like this do exist but I am yet to really experience one

I remember when I was young, playing with all the kids from the road I lived on, but rarely did these connections go beyond our childish ability to make easy friendships and have an afternoons fun. We would all still return to our homes as darkness came, sit inside our isolated little boxes with our dispersed, distracted families and ignore the world (and people) outside of it. Which makes me kind of sad.

So, serving as some of my inspiration for this community project daydream, is this place: Töfrastaðir, Iceland.

"Töfrastaðir (Icelandic for a magical place) is a permaculture project, about making a better life, advancing agriculture, creating abundance and building a community that cares" -  Mörður G.Ott.

Established by Ott, he describes the idea behind the community:

"Most important to us is to be a home for those who need a place to belong and feel loved. The best compliment we've had so far, is: "Being at Töfrastadir feels like being with the family I didn‘t know I had".

The foundation of perma-culture is caring for the people, for the world, and recycling everything back into the system for re-use. So it's encouraging to read about this Icelandic project, as this really lends itself to developing permanent eco-communities.

Led by Ott, this group of people, disenchanted by fast-paced city life have built some amazing, something to aspire to and build on.

A community which is more close to my vision, a small and happy one, is situated right in the U.K,  Brithdir Mawr, in Wales.

Founder Julian Orbach, an architectural historian. Shunning the trappings of modern society and fighting those who want to force him back into it has paid off.

Established in 1993 by a young family, this eco-commune was dogged with legal issues which fought to destroy it and yet today, it thrives. This place also embodies the values of sustainability, the sharing of skills and knowledge, and people, all fostered within this small humble farm.

Much of the time, in the western world, we are almost encouraged to live somewhat insular lives, ignorant and intolerant to our direct neighbours, let alone our distant ones across the world. Materialistic consumption and preoccupation with our career ladders, and financial aspirations, means a sense of community is not likely to find its way into such a busy and self-absorbed lifestyle.

Don't get me wrong, I don't always want to live in the pockets of other people. I, like many, value the alone-time and space to be creative and recharge. But I have mornings where I'd like to pop next door to share a cup of tea with my neighbour. I'd like to have the option to open up my home to people who want company. I wish we weren't all such strangers.

Sometimes however, on the days where I sit huddled in my warm room on my laptop, it's easy to forget about how wonderful a more giving and open community would be to live in. But there are so many benefits to it, with the concept of outsiders or difference of religion/sexuality/skin colour, irrelevant.

I suppose I want to live somewhere that strikes a balance; a sustainable community, welcoming anyone/everyone to live within it, bringing an end to isolation and loneliness, creating a new outlet for self-expression and fulfilment. Every person is useful and wanted. Judgement and bigotry are simply absent. 

You might say, the place I imagine is somewhat radical, because it's not a community about 'I' or 'me', it's all about what 'we' can all do for each other on a daily basis. Simple things like swapping vegetables with your neighbour to cook your Sunday roast, or baking cookies for a child's birthday party. I guess a lot of this fantasy relates to food...

A community that is less reliant on big business and government, supermarkets and shopping centres, and able to depend on itself to not simply exist within the bounds of what is financial and material, but what is real.

Yes it's about the 'eco', treating the world more kindly with the elements of recycling and less wastage, harvesting your own communities food. But it also goes back to the core of humanity and, love.

Elderly people with an audience always ready to hear their stories, children with an abundance of lessons to learn from every adults wisdom and experience, natural beauty cultivated by the hands of many, and a sense of safety, with everyone looking out for one other. Suddenly friends and neighbours are family. That's something amazing. Families are what makes this life worth it.

I guess this post is quite relevant in the lead up to Christmas, where I hope everyone can find their own peace and happiness amongst loved ones for the big day. I might as well have titled this post, 'I wish it could be Christmas, every dayyyy' cause what time of the year better evokes a sense of community, family and love.

---

Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

Recommended reads:

4 Ways To Let Go Of Travel Fears

4 Ways To Let Go of Travel Fears

This post is inspired by Alan Watts, a British philosopher who wrote about all the stuff that I and many others are interested in, whether we vocalize that or not; identity, the pursuit of happiness, emotions and personal growth. 

Many of his talks, most available to listen to on YouTube, also reflect on Buddhism, so that's interesting too! 

The road to our travels is one which has been about more than simply saving up the money to go; its been a process of preparing mentally for what will be a life-changing experience for both of us.

The quote below (taken from the YouTube video) gets across the best bit of advice in regards to living a life less guided by fear and worry:

... "I am worried, and I ought not to worry, but because I can't stop worrying, I'm worried that I worry.

...you discover that no amount of anxiety makes any difference to anything that's going to happen. In other words, from the first standpoint, the worst is going to happen: we're all going to die.

And don't just put it off in the back of your mind and say 'I'll consider that later.' It's the most important thing to consider NOW, because it is the mercy of nature, because it's going to enable you to let go and not defend yourself all the time, waste all energies in self-defense".

Powerful stuff no?

Using that fear that resides in all of us, ultimately the fear of death, to empower us to do the things we want to do; to get excited, be adventurous, not using the fear as an excuse to never live.

Because no matter what, you will pass away one day.

 And you wasted all those good years afraid of the inevitable instead of embracing what time you had.

So, when you choose a life that is less about sitting still and staying in your safe bubble, and more about leaving your town, country, continent, you are going to either confront many fears head-on or be more burdened by them than ever before.

Alan is saying, to worry about potential future events is to not only waste the present, and lose enjoyment in life, but is also a futile exercise.

What is yet to happen is partially under our control but it also, isn't. You have to accept that fact and realize no amount of worrying is going to change any outcome, except to ensure you are pretty damn miserable!

But it is understandable, that a person can be excited and enthusiastic about travelling, and shit-scared at the same time.

Fear of death of course, but also a fear of general things like discomfort and strangers (and strange beds). 

Maybe you're scared sleeping in a dirty hostel in a country well-known for creepy-crawlies or travelling on a bus for hours on end; almost every aspect of travel can create a current of trepidation, with the eventual result being scared into in-action, not living out your wanderlust because the myriad of anxieties you have, have overpowered you. 

---

Steps to take to ease your fears before embarking on your travels:

1. Researching before you go will protect you in the long-run:

• You can eliminate many possible bad situations by simply being informed and prepared for each destination you travel to.
• Make sure you know of any major issues regarding safety, or scams etc in that particular country or region by simply looking up the place on google. But don't let that information make you even more scared, feel empowered by having that knowledge.
• A basic thing to know would be related to health, making sure you understand what vaccinations to have prior to visiting somewhere. 
• Look into what insurance you might need, and be well-versed in what the health-care system is and what it can offer you in each place you visit. 
• Have a list of emergency contact details for all manner of things; a lost passport or stolen credit-card.

2. Focus on the things you can't wait to see and do:

• Dwelling on each and every thing that could go wrong is a sure way to lessen your enthusiasm.
• If you keep that mindset throughout your travels think of all the amazing experiences you will deny yourself because of 'what-if' thinking.
• Spending your time looking at all the wondrous and beautiful things you are going to be able to see and do, will create such a great surge of excitement, the kind which puts fear in its place: to the back of your mind.

3. Take comfort in the experiences and knowledge of your fellow travellers:

• You have a wealth of great info at your finger-tips and can learn all about the do's and don't of travelling to certain places, amongst different cultures, meaning you can truly go into nomadic life with your eyes wide open.
• Read travellers blog posts, use Pinterest and Twitter to locate tips and ideas on staying safe.
• Establish a few key things in your mind which you will actively do to feel safer and happier; mine include locking my bags up every time they are unattended when in hostels, being very observant of my situation on public transport in busy places, and just generally exuding an air of confidence and conviction, the kind that means you look less terrified and meek, and so you feel less terrified and meek.

4. Accept some bad stuff might just happen:

• You can't prevent everything bad ever happening, you haven't got ultimate control over all eventualities. You never have and you never will.
• You might lose a hoody, your passport, a sock or your kidney, who knows (last part less likely).
• You might face hardship on the road in other ways too such as with your money, with work, or with your partner.
• Life on the road is just like normal life back home, in that it too has the potential to go awry at a moments notice.

BUT you can take an organized approach to your travels and arm yourself with knowledge that will help you out, when you need to be safe or avoid bad situations.

Knowing what to do and how to do it will surely mean you have confidence in yourself no matter the scenario's you could find yourself in. 

Go with instinct; don't hold back from trying new amazing things, embrace adventure and spontaneity; if something doesn't seem right, and you get a bad feeling, use your best logic and assess the situation calmly.

There are plenty of fears which might follow you on your journey,but as long as you use them to be safe and mindful, they won't hinder your adventures.

More Travel Preparedness Reading:

1. 7 Things We Wish We Had Done Before Travelling

2. Building Your Savings For Travel

3. Getting A Job In Australia

---

Thanks for reading!

Taran here, owner of Nomad'er How Far. I'm fond of psychedelic rock, photography & videography, anything to do with space and I'm also partial to the odd gaming session. Oh and I love to travel :P Get to know me here!

---

WANT MORE?

Why Being Poor Is Good For You

Why Being Poor Is Good For You

Today's post is pretty much me proclaiming, just how having less wonga, moolar, dollar dollar bills y'all, is actually not the worst thing in the world. 

I come at this from an admittedly middle-class background. I've never really wanted for anything financially, unlike many many people across the country, across the world, do on a daily basis; some have no food or water, whilst some complain when they can't afford a meal out on a Friday night.

In reality, we all have different circumstances and are used to certain ways of living. I have never truly struggled for money, and even when I had periods of little to no income, I knew I had a family to fall back on. My definition of 'having less' is very much aimed at those whom are seeking to change their life, or create a more balanced situation, one where they have less money, work less but live more.

I don't believe that it is in poor taste to complain about not having enough money for 'things', like that dress you saw online that you just 'have to get!', whilst living alongside others who can but dream of such a thing.

However maybe it is bad to place so much importance on having something which is a luxury, when so many others have literally NOTHING.  

We could try and look at the ways we derive our happiness, and try to find more sustainable and mindful ways to live, so we can enjoy our lives but still show thought for those who haven't enough money to eat this week. 

A bit about my back-story and money: I grew up in a wealthy family, my mum had a horse and my dad drove a BMW, and played a lot of golf.

We lived in a 6-bedroom mansion for a short while. We had holidays to Florida when I was a kid, then Europe every year with just me and mum. My dad worked hard for years to provide us with these things, and when he and my mum divorced when I was 7,  still, none of us went without.

 I was (very) privileged to receive money aged 18, that my parents had saved all my life, which enabled me to travel to America and buy my first car. But despite all this I've never felt like I was entitled, or taken for granted that it would always be so comfortable; a part of me understood, these things can so easily be gone. 

It's hard to explain where things changed, but it probably started when I started my first post-university job as an advisor in a bank. It was bullshit. 

There was me, 22, with a job, a nice car, a comfortable home, but for many reasons, I was actually miserable. Spiritually devoid, mentally sick and physically unhealthy. 

So I quit.

Despite my supportive mum, I didn't want to rely on my parents to pay my bills or fund my lifestyle and hadn't, from the age of 16 onwards, short of living at home with my mum (paying rent). So I set about finding a new career option. 

source.

Just because you have a wealthy upbringing, it doesn't mean you end up replete of a solid work ethic or a respect for money.

A few weeks of doubt and trying to cope with the anxiety of a failed job and unemployment, I set up a new business and began a few months of financial struggle and frustration.

For so long, I had been able to go and drop money shopping for random crap without a care in the world, yet suddenly I was foregoing all pleasures and treats, or struggling to part with my money when it came to it.

The less I had, the less I wanted to spend, on pretty much anything.

Even paying a parking fee stings, as does the price of the weekly food shop, or when you fancy a costa coffee iced smoothie on a hot day and you have to scrape the pennies together.

Hah, hardly the worst situation, going without my iced smoothie, but you get my point.

I went from being an active consumer, trying to buy happiness, to not being able to buy much at all. 

source.

If your happiness is tied up in the big car, the house, the regular luxury holidays, the bedroom wardrobe, then what happens if you lose it all?

Will you feel as if your life is over, or will you recognise that money comes and goes, but true happiness can remain?

So here are some thoughts on how to enjoy a lifestyle of having less disposable money.

These things won't solve your worries if you are suffering genuine financial worries or poverty, but anyone can try to seek out a happier life on whatever income.

Maybe you are low on funds right now, and a load of bills just went out; either way, you feel poorer BECAUSE of not having as much money as you'd like. If so, keep reading...

1 > TAKE COMFORT in friends, laughter, movies, books, a sunny Saturday in a park, a camp fire, a beach, music, a home-cooked meal. These things really cost very little, but are the building blocks of a solidly contented life.

2 > FORGO THE LUXURY and go for cheaper options. You might think the more expensive option is better, thanks to years of advertising positioning things in this way, but often you are just throwing money away for something which you could of gotten for less, without the after-spend guilt.

3> VALUE YOUR RELAXATION TIME if you have chosen a life of part-time work or self-employment. You might have opted for the 'work to live, not live to work' mantra, which can be great for keeping your stress levels down. I sometimes got fed up with my off-hours because I had no money to go out and spend, then I realised, I needed to find better ways to use my free time that didn't involve money!!

4> GET YOUR TRAINERS ON and exercise! Running is free, exercise videos are a dime-a-dozen on Youtube, a good pair of long-lasting trainers will cost you 30-quid. There's no reason why you can't focus free time on building a healthy, strong body, instead of spending it in the shops.

5> WRITE DOWN THE THINGS WHICH MAKE YOU SMILE and even if you decide, 'Oi, I quite like my big expensive car', or 'hey Hannah! I enjoy my weekly trip to the shops, don't judge!' you can still appreciate what is right in front of you, all the things of real actual worth, things which most of the time, are free. 

All I ever want, when I write these posts, is to get people thinking about things, because it's fun to plan for a happier life, isn't it? It's never a bad thing to do.

I am the happiest I've ever been because I've tried to untie my happiness from my bank balance; I still need money and want money, but I don't feel less happy for not having lots of it any more. I went through a period of adjustment, and came out better at the end.

I do want to make a slight disclaimer. I don't think money is bad, or the want to have it is bad, and I think it is naive to proclaim that poor people are happier/better than other people, or that rich people are miserable or out-of-touch.

If you want to have lots of money, for whatever reason, that's cool! But if you can be comfortable and happy with less, then one day if there is more, or if you suddenly lose it all, at least you will know where the true wealth was made. 

source.

---

Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at NomaderHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

WANT MORE?

4 Steps To A Minimalist Life: Nomadifying Your World

4 Steps to A Minimalist Life: Nomadifying Your World

*This is one of our first post's about Minimalism from way back in 2014. We have come a lot further down the road of simplifying, and we did indeed follow our nomadic dreams, and currently live in Australia. For more recent and expansive reading on this topic, check out the minimalism section*

Life is somewhat defined by accumulation; gathering memories of special experiences, meeting people and forming loving relationships.

We accumulate these connections when we are living our lives to the fullest and they are part of what constitutes happiness and fulfillment for most people.

The flip-side to this, is the accumulation of things, material goods and random accoutrements; many people also associate being wealthy and acquiring 'things', with happiness.

I disagree on that point, and so do followers of the minimalist movement. Many steadfast simplifiers come from big money backgrounds, who traded in the corporate lifestyle when they realized it wasn't the key to deep and lasting fulfillment.

An article written by Rebecca J. Rosen of The Atlantic interviews people who changed their lives radically and improved their all-round happiness and stress levels tenfold...

How did they do this? By adopting a minimalist style of living.

I had been thinking about making a blog post about de-cluttering your surroundings and your life, for quite a while, and happened upon this article which perfectly highlights the ideas behind my own changing relationship with consumerism.

The interviewees are consciously selective about what they do acquire, and seek to add only things with meaning and true usefulness.

That's only further spurred on my desire to Nomad-Ify my own life.

Nomad-ify?

Apart from seemingly inventing a word, I really mean, simplifying your surroundings and belongings, so that you are truly prepared for a nomadic travel lifestyle.

And if you aren't planning to travel any time soon, you can still follow these ideas, and achieve the same positive effects for your own life.

Wouldn't it be nice if every time you moved home, it wasn't such a stressful process, because you simply had less stuff to move?

How pleasant might it feel if your cleaning routine took half the time and you suddenly created a more productive day with time to spare?

---

Step 1: Time To Off-Load

1. Pick a drawer. Pick a cupboard. Pick a whole room in your house if you like. Just begin somewhere. Choose the space which is stressing you out the most, or, select the smallest space.
2. Question your possessions. For example, go to the kitchen cupboard and question, why do I have 40 mugs, when I only have one mouth? Now go up to the bathroom. Why do I have 8 varieties of shower gel on the go, when all I do is wash it down the drain?
3. Before you try and fix everywhere in your home, really focus on the space you either spend the most time, or the place you go to feel relaxed. For me, that is the bedroom... I love having a minimalist and tidy feel to mine, it creates a really relaxed feeling in there. I have cultivated that by spending months slowly getting rid of stuff. Go over to the wardrobe or drawers....it's time to tackle the clothes. Get some plastic bins or baskets, and label them Charity, Donation and Bin. Charity for the charity shop, donation for those huge bins they have in supermarket car parks where you can donate clothes that are not quite good enough for resale, and then the bin, well, that's for the stained pair of comfy jogging bottoms you can't bear to part with. Of course the clothes you want to keep, put to one side. Also, if you wish to sell some things, create a separate pile for this. Bear in mind that we often set aside clothing we believe will make us some money back and we just never set aside time to actually list them for sale!

We're not just discarding stuff without thought here, we are reassessing it's value in OUR lives and whether these items are useful to US. When the answer is no, then this stuff becomes useful to others, or is just junk, and it's time to say goodbye to it.

RULES: HAVE I USED THIS ITEM WITHIN THE LAST 6 MONTHS? WOULD I BUY THIS IF I SAW IT IN A SHOP TODAY?

If you answer No, then put it in the chosen pile.

Pheww! you are already nearer to the minimalist life.

Step 2: A Shopping Detox

Is it a big hobby of yours to peruse local supermarkets or head into town to the shopping centre, just to mull around, even though you always end up buying SOMETHING. Well, you are now on a shopping ban. Don't worry, you can still buy food, we aren't talking about de-cluttering our bodies here (food is my one spending vice, it keeps me sane).

1. If you are shopping to quell boredom, find escapism or seek that momentary buzz associated with acquiring something new and shiny, could you be using that time and money more healthily?
2. Do you struggle to pay bills or are you unable to repay your debts because of what you spending on random things?
3. Confront yourself. Are you guilty of needless and impulse spending? Are you one of those people who comes home with several shopping bags a few times a month? STOPPPP ITTT. For a while at least. It's more of a bad habit, not a fun hobby; you need to see it that way in order to realize you can stop doing it so much.

RULES: DO I REALLY NEED THIS DRESS? IS IT OF SUPERIOR QUALITY TO ANYTHING I ALREADY OWN? DO I NEED THIS PAIR OF HEELS WHEN I LIVE IN FLATS? DO I NEED ANOTHER THROW CUSHION WHEN ALL I DO IS LITERALLY THROW THEM OFF THE BED EACH NIGHT?

Be honest with yourself, nobody needs eight cushions. 

Step 3: Make Money, Make Room

So you've tidied up, and thrown lots away. Now it's time to tackle the stuff you could make some money out of.

1. List items of quality on Ebay or gumtree (craiglist if you are American) and set yourself a target of how much extra money you want to make selling your things. If you a figure in mind you will feel more motivated to follow through on listing, advertising and selling.
2. Go to a car boot sale (or have a garage sale), and let your things find a new home. Just because you no longer need this item, doesn't render it useless or unappealing to someone else.
3. Consider if some of your things could be repurposed, like old furniture or decorative items, that you could then re-sell at a decent value.

RULE: WILL I BE USING THIS AGAIN ANY TIME SOON? WILL I BE ABLE TO REPURCHASE IT IF I EVER DO NEED IT AGAIN? DO I SOURCE ANY DAILY ENJOYMENT OUT OF THIS OBJECT?

Step 4: Envision A Simpler Life

When I clean or tidy, or throw stuff away, I feel physically and mentally lighter.

Whether it's all in my head or whether its my energy responding to something different in my surroundings, it brings a sense of calm and peace. I feel so much more prepared for my nomadic dreams knowing my clutter footprint is reduced.

The idea of travelling becomes even more exciting to me and the thought of leaving behind what belongings remain, incredibly easy.

As I witness myself saving money and not buying more random stuff, I imagine enjoying a day on the beach in Australia, where my last concern will be for the stuff I threw away; it will just be Taran, me, a towel and the sea.

What do you see when you imagine a simpler life?

What steps do you need to take to reach that? Maybe begin with the above 3.

Possibly it's about changing your attitude towards consumerism.

Maybe you need to take up some hobbies which don't rely on accumulating stuff or spending much money. If we can develop passions that are independent of our financial state, that can withstand times of difficulty, we will learn to be happy with less; less stress, less push for money and less financial commitment, but, more joy.

It's not just about throwing things away, it's a re-imagining of your relationship to material things; your happiness can come from so much more than what's in a shop window. When I felt lost and passionless, I also had massive debts and a huge shopping addiction. I was miserable and misguided in how I used my money. When I fully embraced the multiple benefits of a minimalist life, I did indeed find my dreams, follow them and start afresh.

Your bank balance does not define how full your life can be. It's how you use your money, your time and your energy that will lead to long-lasting fulfilment.

So take control, de-clutter, and Nomad-ify yourself.

Why? Because it feels really, really, good.

---

Hey, before you go...

In 2016 I released my Book: Minimalism: Cleanse Your Life, Become A Calmer Person

If you're into minimalism or reducing stress, its really worth a read!

---

Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at NomaderHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

WANT MORE?

My Travel Inspiration: 'Time'

My Travel Inspiration: 'Time'

I've listened to a lot of Pink Floyd in my time, and I fondly remember one summers evening almost a year before starting to travel, being sat in the garden in the fading sun listening to the album, 'Dark Side Of The moon' and the song 'Time' came on; the lyrics really hit me about how quick time flies by! "One day you'll find, 10 years have passed you by".

It made me start thinking about how the last few years seemed to have gone by so quick, and how I could easily just do the same routine and soon enough 10 years would have passed me by and I would probably still be doing the same jobs, in the same place, without any real goals or ambition.

View fullsize

It got me to thinking about travelling and seeing the world and all that it has to offer! I liked the idea of saving up and travelling cheaply, but also loved the idea of getting involved in different cultures and meeting different communities, in the far reaches of the world!

So it was around that time that I decided I wanted to see Europe for 3 months, staying in hostels, so me and Hannah made some plans for this.. But then about that same time, a friend had just returned from a long working holiday in Australia and from the moment I saw the pictures and heard a bit about it I was hooked!

So this became our new plan, which was obviously a lot bigger and required a lot more planning! We eventually set out on the road in early 2015 :D Check out what we are up to now, and where we have been HERE!

View fullsize

So I have Pink Floyd to thank for opening my mind to the world of travelling, if only I had been saving up beforehand for something, then I would of had some better starting funds haha!

---

Thanks for reading!

Taran here, one half of NomaderHowFar. I'm fond of psychedelic rock, photography & videography, forcing Hannah to do crazy things, and I'm also partial to the odd gaming session. Oh and I love to travel :P Get to know us here!

Want More?!

Why I Want To Be A Nomad: Hannah's Thoughts

This time next year, Taran and I will hopefully be upping sticks and bogging off abroad, indefinitely.

That is the whole basis of this website of course.

But this isn't a decision or a whim that came easily for me, even if Mr. Laidback (Taran) found it a much simpler path to choose.

I think anyone who's known me a long time, would describe me as dependable, someone who likes tidiness, routine, predictability, and a sense of safety.

Whilst I'd agree, I'd also like to reject these aspects of myself.

Underneath my veneer of order, control and reliability, there's endless ants in my pants; I want to explore, be excited, enthusiastic, and experience more than what my current life and surroundings can offer.

I get bored quickly and like to be entertained, something Taran thinks is only made worse by my constant surfing of social media; what am I looking for exactly in my endless scrolling? I think I am just trying to be inspired, and current life isn't doing that for me.

Always been known to daydream, and to be a bit of a philosopher (oh dear) I really do crave a life that challenges me, and allows me to focus on something other than the dull-drums of a repetitive (safe) life that England offers.

I think we can all believe ourselves too scared or let ourselves get so comfortable, we forget our true inner desires.

Don't get me wrong, I know people who's inner and outer desire is a well-paid job, nice holidays, a smart house and cosy evenings by the fire, and I would never argue with this choice of lifestyle.

Of course life needs balance, work and play, relaxation and challenge. I just would say that the life others might choose, already bores me, at the age of 23.

I neither have a normal “9-to-5” job nor do I pay a mortgage or aspire to have one. I don't particularly want children (right now), or marriage (it's literally a piece of paper), but I would never criticise those who do.

The world is a big place, full of problems, but also full of beauty, and I want to experience cultures that are alien to me, see sights that blow my mind; I just want to do more than what is easily and readily available to me. That's all it is; I want to eat all the pie, not just taste one teeny bit.

It will be a struggle.

It will be an adjustment full of compromise and most likely, me being homesick. But I believe we can all adapt to a change in surroundings, even more so if we have chosen it for ourselves because it equals something amazing that fulfils our desires and enriches our lives.

So I may be off travelling but I will still appreciate a made bed (albeit in a tent), a cider on the beach (it will be in Australia though), and a bit of social media (I'll be the annoying person instagram-ing every place I visit).

---

Yo!

We are Taran & Hannah from the South of England. After meeting online, we realized our mutual passion for travelling. Follow us, as we prepare to travel the world and set off on little more than our wits and a few £s, and maybe get inspired to see a little more of the world as well.

---

Latest Content:

---

What inspires you to want to travel the world?

The 'Spend-Less' Series: How to Lower your Food Bill and Save over £1000 a year!

Treating yourself is said to boost your mood and give you a buzz. These are definitely reasons as to why I have always enjoyed spending; whether it be on a nice evening meal or on some new clothes each season. Unfortunately, I am guilty of still wanting to spend my money, despite nowadays being far less wealthy than I once was. During my student days, I had a job as well as student loans, so I thought nothing of popping into the nearest shops in between lectures, buying something new and shiny.

It became something of a bad habit, and seeing as I always used to go with my best friend, we both enabled each other, and would usually treat ourselves to lunch as well. This is how I would define a change in mindset when it comes spending, and it's all to do with the word mentioned above; Habit. As I can admit, I developed bad spending habits, whether it was spending a little too much in Primark or treating myself to things on a weekly basis to the point where they weren't really treats anymore. But since my aspirations have changed, and long-term travel is now the goal, i have had to face my bad habits and change them. Now you too face this choice, of continuing with existing bad habits, or changing to new, positive habits, with the focus being saving for your travels.

So in Part 1 of the Spend Less Series, I discuss bad habits when it comes to spending on food, that are easy to fall into, and the steps I took to stop doing these things and haemorrhaging valuable pennies! The result was a significant reduction in my monthly spending, helping towards clearing my debts quicker, and saving up even more for my travels!

Bad habit 1:

Buying food throughout the week at the local convenience shop as opposed to setting aside the time to write a list and do just one weekly shop.

Now I am convinced this is something all the worst spending offenders would admit to, and why this is so bad is because the spending seems small at the time, but really adds up. Nipping into the shop also leads to impulse spending, especially when shops position lots of tempting goodies and deals right in the queue area, and us consumers fall for it every time! Unless you just avoid such shops in the first place. Set aside some time, maybe a sunday evening, and write out a list which contains only the things you actually need for that week; write down some meal ideas and then check your kitchen for ingredients, to ensure you don't buy duplicate products and waste pennies that way. Then use this list when you shop, try to move quickly around the store, trying not to linger too much, as this is when you might stray from the list and make impulse buys! I guarantee this will save you money on a weekly basis.

Bad habit 2:

Ordering takeaway's every weekend.

This all goes back to the idea of treats, and many of us associate our weekends with the time to let go a little bit, maybe loosening the diet, and then ordering a pizza or a Chinese or Indian meal. Well sorry to tell you (what you already know), but having this as a weekly thing, really is going to make a dent in your bank balance. I think people find it so easy to defend weekly takeaways because they want it so much, or tell themselves they do, and so mentally they write-off the cost of it and just enjoy it. This is fine, of course that is the definition of a treat, not really worrying over the price of something. But yet again this is where serious savings can be made. A typical Chinese or Indian meal could add up to £20, a pizza deal could add up to a slightly cheaper £10. So say you have a takeaway even just twice a month, that amounts to around £500 a year. Thats one expensive dinner! This also relates back to Bad Habit 1, whereby you may end up ordering a takeaway because you didn't take the time to plan your dinners for the week, and come 7pm that after a busy day, slumped on the sofa, that long-forgotten ready meal deep in the freezer sounds far less yummy than the pizza your friends are tucking into!

Bad habit 3:

Not making a packed lunch, because you left it too late or didn't buy enough food in your weekly food shop.

I used to be fall victim to this bad habit very often, and it was all down to my lack of preparation! Now I make packed lunches which have a lunch-time food as well as several snacks to keep me going. I understand why people fail to make a lunch, and I sometimes think people do it on purpose, because the food in the work canteen is just not going to measure up to your sandwich. I get it, we'd all like to dine like kings every day if we could, but purchasing a meal deal from a supermarket every day, for example, could cost £3 a time, so if you do this every day, you potentially spend £60 a month on lunch!! Thats £720 a year...

So what do I do to undo these bad habits and save money on food spending?:

TOP TIP 1:

Make a shopping list every week; stick to it, buy only what is listed, and buy the cheapest versions of things wherever you can.

TOP TIP 2:

Include treats in your weekly shop. If you know that you will be craving a cider by Wednesday, or a chocolate infusion by Friday, make sure you buy these when you do the weekly shop. As I said, those little trips to the local convenience store really do lead to excess impulse spending.

TOP TIP 3:

Limit yourself to one takeaway a month. Try to make your own version, or buy less expensive supermarket versions, of your favourite takeaway meals. That way you can still eat the foods you love on the weekend but you get rid of the luxury element associated with spending money on something which is delivered all cooked and ready to your door.

TOP TIP 4:

Make a balanced but tasty packed lunch each night before the working day.

TOP TIP 5:

Set yourself a weekly budget for food; this includes your takeaway if you choose to have one, as well as any treats or lunches or dinners. My figure is £30, I never go above this.

NOW, I realize, all these things will take time to become firm habits and behaviours that you will enjoy adhering to, but always remember what motivates you, each time you reach for the takeaway menu or decide on a Tesco trip at 10pm at night.

Thanks for reading :)

Hannah & Taran x

---

Yo!

We are Taran & Hannah from the South of England. After meeting online, we realized our mutual passion for travelling. Follow us, as we prepare to travel the world and set off on little more than our wits and a few £s, and maybe get inspired to see a little more of the world as well.

The First Step to Nomadic Life

The First Step to Nomadic Life

UPDATED 2016: This was the first post on Nomad'er How Far, written over 2 years ago when travel remained a pipe dream for us. Well, the dream did come true and you can read our more recent adventures here. But first, let's start at the beginning...

So, you fancy a little trip around the world?

Not so little, a big one, maybe a year?...

Now if you are anything like me and like to dream of when you will win the lottery (despite not even playing it), you have grand plans and an even grander hole in your bank balance.

I have been it all; part-time checkout girl, a teenager spending all my money on cheap clothes; scruffy student, spending all my money on cheap clothes..., customer advisor in a bank, spending all my money on cheap clothes.

Ah, ok, so something of a trend that caught on at a young age and stayed put well into my 20's.

However, thing's are a little different now. Now, a 23-year-old self-employed grown-up, a business owner, running a small pet-care company in my local area, I now spend all my money on dog treats and petrol...

Times have-a changed.

Yes my circumstances have become a little more stretched, and disposable income is not a term i am now familiar with, but that hasn't stopped me dreaming BIG. 

I want to travel and work abroad, and do it for as long as I possibly can.

Wherever you currently are in your life, your path remains undecided, malleable and somewhat in your control.

If your lifestyle choices and behaviour are incongruous with your nomadic aspirations, then something has to change, right away!

---

Prioritize Your Debts.

Do you have debts hanging over your shoulders?

Do you owe something on your credit card, or a lingering student overdraft you just pretend does not exist?

Maybe you have been putting off doing that balance transfer and are paying back almost nothing.

Maybe you keep choosing to buy more and more, piling on the debt! Well it is time to face the debt situation, head-on.

Make it your priority to clear these debts/ stop building them, because: 

1. You cannot save effectively whilst trying to also clear debts.

2. You will find deep satisfaction in knowing that your hard-earned savings are purely growing to make your travel dreams come true, not line the credit card companies pockets. 

3. You can't travel with debt! You want to be focusing on enjoying those savings on amazing day trips to the Great Barrier Reef, not fumbling around trying to make debt repayments. Plus income is totally changeable and unpredictable during working travel, so debt, well, that stuff will drag you down.

You can make sure you leave debt behind and here's how:

List Your Debts

Be honest, and write down each and every debt, be it between you and a creditor, or even small amounts owed to family or friends.

List them from smallest to largest. Note what you currently repay and work out how many months it would take to clear debts paying only this amount monthly.

The financial flexibility that can come with travel can't really ever be truly experienced if we embark on amazing adventures but don't square off certain financial burdens first.

Analyse Your Spending

Honestly review how you spend your money. I prefer to keep receipts and write down the amounts I spend and relate them a specific category, but if you don't do this then use your recent paper or online statement for reference.

Even just a quick scan on your transaction list on online banking may provide some shocking discoveries.

When you spend something, maybe a small amount for example, you weigh that up in low terms, and neglect to add it on to all the other things you have recently spent money on; you aren't thinking of the bigger picture each time you spend.

Re-direct Your Income

It's time to realize that you have to redirect some of your income flow to clearing debts or nothing will change. You will continue on the same path and not create a new destination and a healthy set of habits designed to get you there.

You need to reassess how much you need those things or activities which you view as essential treats or fun. You need to imagine yourself experiencing worse financial circumstances, the kind where you are forced to find other cheaper or creative ways to fill your free time, because there doesn't have to be a correlation between how fulfilled you are and how much money you are making at a given time.

For example, when I made a decent income at a bank I was also suffering from depression, and when I was the poorest I had ever been, I was also finding love and inner peace.

Crazy how we can scramble our way to happiness despite our financial situation.

So I suggest you wholeheartedly use this mindset to channel your energy toward using your money differently; it should be seen as a tool to get out of debt and into your chosen dream, not a short-cut to momentary gratification.

Start Small

It makes sense to focus on clearing the smaller debts purely so you reach a positive stage in your overall goals sooner. Plus, when you remove the smaller obstacles you gain the momentum needed to muscle through the bigger debts. Once the clutter of the small numbers are removed you can focus larger chunks of money toward one large debt. 

Celebrate each and every debt that's cleared, and recognize each success as proof that with time, effort and energy, you can create a better life, whatever that might look like.

So first things first on this journey to nomadic life, start being wiser and more thrifty with your pennies, and throw them at your debts. Then the fun of saving and scrimping can begin...

---

Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at NomaderHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

---