海角大神

Planning extended adventure travel is a complex equation of time and money and 鈥渋t鈥檚 easier to do if you have money, no question,鈥� says writer David Elliot Cohen who took a year off with his wife and three kids in 1996 and wrote 鈥淥ne Year Off: Leaving It All Behind for a Round-the-World Journey with Our Children.鈥� 鈥淚f you鈥檙e just living paycheck to paycheck, you haven鈥檛 saved for your kids鈥� college, haven鈥檛 thought much about your retirement savings, this may not be for you.鈥�

But many hit by the Eat, Pray, Love effect 鈥� as sparked by Elizabeth Gilbert鈥檚 best-selling memoir 鈥� will get extraordinarily disciplined to accomplish their extended adventure travel dream.

For four years, , of Nyack, N.Y., planned their trip, saving as much of Carol鈥檚 salary as possible and reaching their goal of $150,000. 鈥淭he planning can seem overwhelming, but it was also really fun,鈥� says Rainer, who left his job as an executive at National Geographic Kids in 2008 to travel for a year with Carol and their two sons, 8 and 11 at the time. 鈥淵ou have this world map and you鈥檙e thinking, 鈥榃here do I want to go?鈥� 鈥�

Dee and Scott Andrews sold their house and lived off the equity. Scott continued to manage his high-tech business 鈥� making a one-week trip back every quarter 鈥� and earning a part-time salary.

In the mid-2000s when they first decided to travel, , of Silver Sping, Md,, weren鈥檛 sure exactly what trip they鈥檇 wind up making with their two kids. But, says Craig, they made a 鈥渕assive study of the whole subject. Even five years before we left, we were talking about it."

Craig, who was an independent corporate communications consultant making six figures, began saving 10 percent of every contract, and within two to three years, he says, they had saved about $100,000. It was, he says, 鈥渆nough of a cushion to make the trip and feel less of a financial risk.鈥�

They zeroed out their debt at home, renting out their house for slightly more than their mortgage and selling their car. In 2008 they set out first for South America, then went on to New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia, and finished in Europe a year later.

were able to semiretire after selling their suburban San Diego home. He quit his job as national sales director at Innovasia and they moved to Mexico, living off residual income from investments. They also had very little debt, says Doug. 鈥淚t鈥檚 less expensive to live in Mexico. You can have a rich life without being overextended.鈥�

They live a very financially disciplined life now, making the same budget-conscious decisions other middle-class American families make, says Ann. 鈥淭his lifestyle may seem expensive, but it certainly doesn鈥檛 require someone to be extremely wealthy to do it,鈥� she says. The Browns started a home-maintenance company in Baja and became distributors for water purifiers and softeners, which gave them the extra income they needed to live at sea for most of the past year.

Betsy and Warren Talbot saved and planned their trip for two years. They did research online and spoke to other travelers to figure out what they would need, on average, each day. The couple 鈥� she a business consultant and he handling long-term strategy for Microsoft 鈥� saved for 25 months and began downsizing on a weekly basis so they wouldn鈥檛 be overwhelmed right before they left. Their original budget was $75,000 for travel around the world for one year. (Betsy鈥檚 blog details expenditures in the 鈥渆xpense report鈥� section.)

In October 2010 they left, each with a large backpack and small daypack. In mid-April, after taking a cruise ship to Antarctica, they asked if they could stay on board and ride back with the crew to England. The ship鈥檚 crew told them that no one had ever asked that before, and they let the Talbots stay on without charge.

Already, they see their decision to travel as a complete life changer. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 expect us to ever return to regular life,鈥� says Warren. 鈥淭he money will eventually run out, of course, so we鈥檒l have to face that and deal with that when it happens.鈥�

Next: The final three parts. It鈥檚 not all paradise 鈥� 鈥淣ever mind we鈥檇 been to Machu Picchu that day, when there was a party [my teen] had missed [back home].鈥�