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In today's episode, you'll hear from Lauren and Steven who write over at Trip of a Lifestyle. This awesome couple took a six-month honeymoon to Hawaii and that changed everything. They got a taste of traveling on a budget and earning along the way. We can't wait to showcase how they took control of their work-life balance and living life to the fullest. Listen, learn, and let us know what you think. Episode Summary Discovering Financial Independence Lauren started paying attention to income in college She worked her way through college with scholarships and jobs Then when her and Steven moved together to California they started talking to advisors Steven's started getting interested in investing after he started working They ended up getting sold some really bad investments from a bank investor Although it was a bad situation it was a big learning moment They actually came up with this idea of having investments covering your expenses before formally discovering FI It was also really helpful that they started early before they had faced lifestyle inflation The big change for them after finding FI/RE was just saving with more of a purpose They end up moving back to Florida to take advantage of a free master's program for Steven This program was based on a requirement that Steven would teach for a bit in Florida During his teaching commitment, they got married and started brainstorming their honeymoon Long Term Honeymoon They had a goal of really driving down the cost per day for a Hawaii trip Instead of a week or two, they would stay six months They bought a used car, rented an apartment, and worked 10hrs per week When the trip was over, they had broken even and their net-worth actually grew This trip supercharged their will to retire early Lauren & Steven were actually more excited about work because they knew what they wanted now When they returned to Florida they also bought a small condo for cash Even though they owned their house, they brought in roommates to bring in more money Finding Work-Life Balance To enable this type of travel they leveraged their skills to earn money while on the go Steven picked up some private tutoring jobs They both also do photography Lauren negotiated with her employer for a part-time remote job which they agreed When they would go on trips after buying their condo, they'd sign short term tenants Lauren will also help out small business with social media All 61 National parks in seven months After a period of working after returning from the honeymoon, work started taking a toil They felt really burnt out and felt like they should just be doing more of this travel So they came up with this idea of seeing all 61 national parks Total cost of the trip including van depreciation, healthcare, chartering planes etc was $37k That's total for two people and seven months It would have only cost $21k if they skipped a couple of the really remote ones Over that seven month period between side jobs and rent, they earned $37k So their income matched their expenses while taking an incredible trip You can get the full breakdown of this trip here Their Spending They have spent $18k-$27k per year They are comfortable not chasing a specific FI number Lauren & Steven look to continue their side jobs but have no interest in starting a business Key Takeaways Test driving FI/RE: Lauren and Steven talk about how their trips are a test run at what financial independence will look like. Avoid burnout at all cost: It's so important to enjoy the journey on your way to retirement It's ok to not be a boss: I think it was very insightful that Lauren & Steven would rather use businesses than create one Call to Action Take a mini-FI/RE vacation and take some control over your work-life balance. Join the Community