[Interview #009] Living on $7k to $16k a Year, Pursuing Freedom through Nomadic Living & the Power of Being Intentional

This interview is part of our interview series, where we curate stories of regular people that decided to design a life they love. (click here to learn more).

Shannon & Sergio from ScrewTheAverage.com

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I connected with Shannon & Sergio through their website as we were planning our 2019 year of nomadic travel and we were looking for ideas and tips for like minded travelers. Similar to us they travel light, pack carry-on only and are living an ordinary life of perpetual long-term travel. What surprised me the most about their blog was their ability to drastically cut their housing cost thanks to house sitting jobs (similar to Noémie and Fabien) to support their nomadic lifestyle.  

Shannon and Segio are husband and wife (respectively an IT consultant and project manager consultant + corporate trainer) from the United States that feel lucky to be best friends. They see merit in improving their faults and supporting each other in the effort. They both strive for continual improvement and live a life full of small actions, small choices and small decisions that have a big impact on their lives. They’re also full-time house sitters (57 and counting) and digital nomads pursuing FI/RE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) who’ve traveled to 4 continents, 26 countries and over 80 cities since 2016!

Without further ado, let’s hear directly from Shannon & Sergio.

Lifestyle change

What does a typical day in your life look like for you today? And how does it differ from your lifestyle before?

Shannon & Sergio (S&S): It varies, we can be in the midst of traveling to a new city, sightseeing, working remotely, or caring for a pet while house sitting. 
Before embarking on this lifestyle change, most days were filled with 8-10 hour work days, coming home to take care of ‘life’ chores and then squeezing in a few hours of time together before going to bed. Although some of the things we did then still carry over to our current lifestyle, as wherever we are in the world embarking on new adventures, we find that our routines keep us grounded. For example, walking together is our time to connect through conversation, and each night we eat together and watch a show or a movie.
The most notable changes though, are living out of one 36 liter backpack each, working outside of an office, paying cents a day in lodging expenses, and experiencing so many new and different places, people, and cultures.

The key differences between our present life and our past, is that we’re now able to work from just about anywhere in the world, house sit full time, and save an even larger percentage of our income. The key factor that drives us in continuing to live the life we do today is the pursuit of freedom. 
Most simply, freedom is the ability to do what we want when we want. Therefore, the choices we make each day are intentional and aimed towards achieving it.
This is a change from before in that growing up we both had a goal of ‘comfort’ and ‘stability’, the stereotypical American dream of a white picket fence with 2.5 kids. There’s nothing wrong with this, but for us this was limiting and meant a life of living to work rather than working to live.

Check out the infographic below to contrast how Shannon & Sergio’s priorities shifted between their current life (today) and the one they used to have before embarking on this new journey (before).

What led you to decide to change your lifestyle?

S&S: Sergio had a very modest upbringing and decided early on that he didn’t want to go through the same struggles and financial stress that his mother and grandmother went through. Therefore, he chose to pursue financial independence and early retirement before it was even a ‘thing’. On top of that, from a young age he dreamt of traveling the world and working remotely. When Shannon heard about his goals, she was all in!
It just made sense to both of us. There was something about a digital nomad, financially independent, and full time travel lifestyle that for us, would be more fulfilling than working for 40+ years, retiring, and then hopefully being able to travel.

Sergio, how did you stumble on FI/RE before it was a thing? Would you say that your upbringing led you to the decision to become financially free? 

S&S: Thankfully it’s always been ‘common sense’. Sergio remembers as a kid not fully understanding how poor his family (mom, grandmother, and himself) were until one day when he opened an electric bill that had an insert on financial assistance. Curious, he asked his mom how much their yearly household income was so he could place them on the sliding scale. When she told him, he realized that they weren’t just poor, but REALLY poor!
His mother juggled the bills and regularly had to choose what to pay and not pay because there simply wasn’t enough money each month to afford the basics. This wasn’t for a lack of working however. His mother worked tirelessly to care for him, often working two jobs.
Ultimately, this ever present struggle instilled a smart and hard work ethic in Sergio. He learned very early on that he never wanted to be financially in need. He sought financial independence early on by being frugal while simultaneously advancing his career and earning potential. Thus, he tackled things from both ends, making more and spending less. 

While someone can become a digital nomad and enjoy a life of travel, you decided to also become financially free and roam the world. Besides the financial freedom that we just talked about, what attracted you to live out of your backpack and change locations often? How did you value this compared to the comfort and stability of a life “at home”?

S&S: Some people have a wanderlust while others don’t, either way it’s okay. For us however, there’s so much in this world that we want to see that we’d be hard pressed to see it all within our lifetime. We can certainly try though!
Also, we’re both minimalist, find stoicism appealing, and value pushing our comfort zones. So part of the appeal of this lifestyle was the desire to explore and be in situations that were uncomfortable and therefore cause us to grow. Often in our lives of convenience, we forget that there’s a world outside of our secure bubble.
Furthemore, carrying only a 36 liter backpack that we can easily strap to our back means that we can get up and go in an instant. Which further embraces a lifestyle of freedom! 

What would you say were some of the biggest challenges to adjust to this new lifestyle?

S&S: Adapting to this lifestyle came with challenges, but ultimately keeping focused on the end goals made overcoming the challenges easier. 
For example, changing locations frequently means we never fully settle into a place and we don’t grow a local social network. So, over the years we’ve adapted to ‘home’ not being a place, but wherever the other person is. Additionally, we try to be more conversational with strangers that we meet along the way, and while at times it can be difficult, we actively work to maintain friendships remotely.

Some people would say that it is better to enjoy the journey rather than the destination but you seem to overcome your challenges by keeping the end goal in mind. Why have you made this decision? 

S&S: We absolutely agree that it’s best to enjoy the journey! That’s exactly what we’re doing by living the life we want post FI/RE even while we pursue FI/RE. In fact, we both practice meditation for several reasons, one of which is to be able to focus on the now, rather than the future or the past. 
The reason we call out keeping the end goal in mind is that it’s a way to make our choices and decisions intentional. If we don’t know where we’re going, who knows where we’ll end up. In other words, we’re not a fan of letting life happen to us and then reacting to it. 
Additionally, when things get uncomfortable or are challenging, understanding why it’s important to persevere through it rather than aborting is important. It keeps perspective.
Life for us is ultimately a balance between knowing the end goal (i.e. freedom) and being able to realize that our lives are full of impermanence. So we strive to stay in the moment and enjoy the journey!

What life philosophy has been guiding you through this journey?

S&S: The philosophy of growing, being better rounded, being tolerant, and feeling ‘full’ from a life of adventure, personal growth, and giving back. We’ve of course worked many years and long hours to get to where we are, but we also realize how incredibly fortunate we are to have been born in the US and to be healthy. 

These are great anchors. Can you expand more about the philosophy of feeling “full” for a life of adventure. How do you achieve that and what type of people would you recommend to look at adopting such a life philosophy?

S&S: Feeling ‘full’ of life is definitely a personal journey and less about seeking someone else’s path and instead finding your own. What fulfills us is likely different than what does for someone else. We find that reflection and self-awareness is key to knowing what makes us happy. 
If we ask ourselves not only what makes us happy, but what our purpose is, we find that our answers lead to things that if we do them, we feel fulfilled. So for us, that’s adventure, travel, personal growth, and purpose through giving back to others.  

As you started to live this nomadic lifestyle together, were there any challenges with spending more time with your spouse? Was there any adjustment you made to your schedule to keep a healthy balance?

S&S: We’ve always done well spending most of our time together. We attribute this to building our relationship and friendship on a strong foundation. From the beginning we focused on being intentional and discussing and addressing possible conflicts that some couples probably never do. It wasn’t just about ‘falling in love’ it was also about being a good match.
And it certainly doesn’t hurt that we’re best friends. Even before traveling we spent the majority of our time together and had never lived in a space larger 600 SqFt together. Our personal relationship philosophy has always been to share our entire lives, not just a portion. For us, this has worked very well.
With that said, a long term relationship is hard work, traveling or not. We each see merit in the other’s way of doing things, we both constantly work to improve (check out: Why Marriages Succeed or Fail: And How You Can Make Yours Last), and we never stop evaluating our relationship and conflicts. In order to grow together and keep making ‘us’ work, we’re regularly making an intentional and conscious choice to be together.

What did your friends and family think of your plan to take on early retirement? What did they think when you announced to them that you will be quitting your day to day job and starting to travel?

S&S: It depends on who you ask! Some thought we were crazy and couldn’t understand why or how we’d be able to do it. Others weren’t at all surprised and wondered why it had taken so long. And a few were intrigued and inspired.
Now that we’ve been doing it for three years we’d say the most common reaction we get from people is one where they think we’re on a perpetual vacation and globetrotting around the world without worries or obligations. We wish that were the case! However, whether we’re in a coffee shop, an airport lounge, doing a house sit, on a beach, or somewhere in between, life still ‘happens’ and responsibilities don’t just magically disappear, contrary to what those on the outside looking in may think.

Travel

How would you describe your travel style?

S&S: An amalgamation of various styles. A mix of budget, house sitting, travel hacking, adventure, experiential, minimal and usually slow paced but at times fast and furious!

If you could never travel again and could pick any city to be confined to, where would you pick? And why?

S&S: That’s a really tough question because we haven’t been everywhere yet! But of the places we’ve been to, we’d have to settle on Boise, Idaho. We lived there several years ago and it’s still the place that feels most like home to us. Boise is relatively small, affordable, safe, and has friendly people. It also has an international airport and the Snake River has 17 miles of walking trails we enjoyed while living in downtown. It’s not perfect, as we wish it didn’t get so hot in the summer or cold in the winter, but it was a great place to live (we hope it still is!) 

How much stuff do you travel with? 

S&S: We each carry a 36 liter backpack and try to keep it at about 15 pounds. Truthfully, Sergio has a lot more spare room in his pack as Shannon carries more personal items, clothing, and sometimes also needs to pack items for her current job.

What’s something you pack that’s not absolutely essential but you like having it?

S&S: Sergio carries a Bluetooth Xbox One Controller for gaming and Shannon packs a pair of jeans (heavier than travel pants) and a full kit of makeup. 

Where did the idea of your blog’s name come from and what does it mean for you?

S&S: We live our lives with the goal of being better than average. Well, honestly, not just better than average, but within the 90th percentile (this percentage is ultimately arbitrary). So, Screw The Average (be an outlier.) means that when evaluating how we live (our resource consumption, our financial goals, our expertise in an area, our travel style, our discipline, etc.) we strive to be better, stronger, and higher achieving than most of the rest of the world. While not always realistic, we shoot for the stars, because if we don’t make it, at least we’ll hit the moon!

Spending

How much money do you spend on travel per year? How many days of travel does this represent? How much does this represent per day and per person?

S&S: In 2016/2017, we traveled a full year to 3 continents, 23 countries, and 60 cities. This included expensive countries like Switzerland and Norway, and inexpensive ones like Egypt and Morocco. All-in we spent just over $16,000 for both of us. That’s only $22 per person, per day!
Shockingly, last year while traveling and house sitting full time around the United States, including a few months in New York City, we cut that by more than half. Seriously, we spent just under $7,000 all-inclusive for both of us! That’s less than $10 a day, per person in the US!

Here is the breakdown of a typical monthly spending:

Spending Category	Monthly amount (in USD)
Groceries	$146.47
Health (Health Care + Health Insurance)	$115.65
Cell and Internet	$44.82
Transportation (Both local and international)	$47.31
Personal Care and Clothing	$37.59
Accommodation	$24.45
Activities	$13.17
Eating out	$6.87
Other expenses	$54.02
Business Expenses	$89.32
Monthly Total (Average)	$579.66
Yearly Total	$6,955.92
Per Person, Per Day Total	$9.53

If you want to get more insights into Shannon & Sergio’s budget and financial independence, retire early (FI/RE) philosophy, check out this article from their blog that has much more details about their budget.

How do you fund your travel (savings/work whilst traveling/other)?

S&S: We both work remotely, Sergio as an IT consultant and Shannon as a project manager consultant and corporate trainer. And since we’re pursuing financial independence, retire early (FI/RE), we don’t pull from savings, instead we actually make it a point to ‘pay’ ourselves first and invest every month! Furthermore, we take an approach that funding our travel isn’t simply a matter of making money to pay for it, it’s also lowering costs through spending wisely, house sitting, and travel hacking.

We love this concept as we also look at ways to reduce our spending. Can you share data about some of the biggest savings you’ve realized by using some of the techniques you’ve mentioned?

S&S: We’re huge fans of travel hacking, which generally consists of credit cards (signup bonuses and card benefits) and earning airline miles and hotel reward points, but also includes more unique benefits and methods. 

For example, we traveled from San Diego to Dublin with the Southwest Companion Pass (companions fly free!), Airbnb (we had a coupon), and British Airway Avios miles (a credit card sign up bonus) for less than $70 each!
Another example is a ‘mattress run’ we did in Santiago de Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico where we stayed 41 nights alternating between four Hilton properties. In the end, we earned 12,500 Hilton Honors points, secured Diamond status for an additional year, and paid zero dollars out of pocket! 
An example of capitalizing on an opportunity is with Lyft and Shannon’s work which requires her to travel often. Rather than rent a car, she opts to use Lyft, not only for simplicity but also for the perks. Lyft rewards business riders with personal $5 ride credits and partners with other companies for additional rider perks. So when Shannon rides with Lyft, she earns $5.00 ride credits, miles with Delta, points with Hilton, and $10 ride credits since we use our World Elite Mastercard. 
Finally, stacking multiple deals and offers together ends up resulting in the biggest and best deals. One example is purchasing Sergio’s Altra Lone Peak 4 shoes, regularly priced at $120, for just $34! We jumped on a 50% off sale, linked our Amazon account with our Zappos VIP account for a $15 credit, added a promotional coupon along with a loyalty reward, and walked away with a 70% discount on brand new shoes.
Another example is to combine a credit card offer (Chase Offer, Amex Offer, etc.) with a sale, and then make the purchase by going through a cashback portal (like TopCashback or Mr. Rebates). We did this recently when we decided to upgrade our laptops with new SSDs and purchased two NVMe drives that retailed for $250 each, for only $109 a piece!

Community

How do you meet people when you travel? Do you have any tips for people that are having challenges meeting people while traveling? 

S&S: We’re fortunate to have each other, which helps take some of the pressures off of meeting people, but it may make it a bit more challenging for others to approach us since we’re always with each other.
Since we do a lot of house sitting, it’s also been a great way to meet new people all over the world. Additionally, over time we’ve learned the importance of being more comfortable with talking to ‘strangers’, asking them questions, and realizing that people are overwhelmingly kind and generous. This definitely opens the door for opportunities to make friends and meet people. 

Last but not least

What is one resource (blog, podcast, book beside your own) you recommend for those that want to pursue your lifestyle?

S&S: While not exactly a perfect fit for our lifestyle, the Tim Ferriss Show podcast is all about optimizing your life, stoicism, personal growth, etc., all things we see value in.

What advice do you have for others who are considering this type of lifestyle?

S&S: We firmly believe that just about anyone that makes it a priority can lead this type of lifestyle. It’ll take time, discipline, delayed gratification, incremental steps, etc. Even then, you may not get to exactly where you want to be, but what’s the alternative? A lifetime of regret, ‘what ifs’, and longing?
Those aspiring to partake in this type of lifestyle may see us and think “I could never do that, they’re too extreme”, but the point is to not ‘miss the forest for the trees’. In other words, use budgeting, travel hacking, house sitting as a template. Pick and choose what works for you and make it your own, instead of simply dismissing it. Remember, life isn’t binary and your endeavors don’t have to be an all or nothing approach.

Tell us one belief that is held up by society as ‘common sense’ but that you disagree with and why.

S&S: A common belief is that if you’re buying a home versus renting, you’re automatically being wise with your money. However, from a purely mathematical perspective if you save and invest your money, rather than own a home, historically odds are that you’ll have a better return on your investment. 
There are naturally outlying real estate markets where returns have beaten the historical stock market. And of course, there are also reasons why someone should buy a house but the point is, that it’s not as black and white as… ‘if you rent you’re throwing money away but if you buy you are being wise’.

Rapid Fire Questions

What is your favorite travel destination & why?	S&S: Any place that’s new to us and has friendly people, tons of culture, and rich history.
What was the most creative thing you’ve ever done to save money during your travels?	S&S: We stayed a total of 41 nights in Santiago de Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico at four different Hilton properties (a different hotel each night) spending 205,000 Hilton Honors reward points, but earning 217,500 points for a net gain of 12,500 points! Plus, we earned Hilton Honors Diamond status for another year, got to do a lot of sightseeing, and meet some incredibly friendly people!
What was your biggest travel mistake?	S&S: We purchased airline tickets from Turkey, Istanbul to Zurich, Switzerland for the wrong month and had to purchase new $300 tickets so that we’d arrive at our house sitting job on time. In our defense, Turkish Airlines’ website was having a lot of problems when we were trying to purchase our tickets, that by the time we were successful we had been trying for nearly an hour! In the end we got sloppy and inverted the European date format so we booked for the right day but exactly one month late!

Thank you Shannon & Sergio for taking the time to share your story with us!

Here are additional resources from Shannon & Sergio related to this interview you might want to check out:

• For those who are considering or preparing for long-term travel and a digital nomad lifestyle: Embracing Life As Digital Nomads
• For those who want to start house sitting: The Ultimate Guide to House Sitting 
• For those who want to get a better sense of what they saw and experienced during their travels: their photo album
• With regards to their mattress run: The Ultimate Mattress Run | Hacking Hotel Rewards for Free Rooms with Hilton!
• With regards to their packing list: Ultimate Gear and Packing Lists.
• On travel hacking: December 2019 Real World Travel, Budget, Deal, and Life Hacking & San Diego to Dublin for Under $70 Each!

The Bottom Line

This interview teaches us that no matter how big your dreams are, they can be reached. For Shannon and Sergio, they left a conventional and comfortable life to travel the world on $7K a year while making sure they were entirely fulfilled throughout this journey.

Here are the main lessons we took away from this interview:

• Lesson 1 – “All-in [in 2019] we spent just over $7,000 for both of us. That’s less than $10 per person, per day!” – A lot of people would think that in order to travel the world for an entire year on a budget of $7K, you must live like a backpacker and deprive yourselves. But the total amount of money you spent isn’t a true reflection of your lifestyle. Shannon and Sergio know this pretty well and they have been employing clever techniques to reduce their major expenses: lodging and transportation. For lodging, they rely heavily on house sitting which gives them access to houses around the world for free in exchange for taking care of pets. For transportation, they use Travel Hacking as a way to fly around the world (almost) free. Travel Hacking is something we love as well (in 2019 alone we earned $10K in free travel money thanks to it!)
• Lesson 2 – “[we] sought financial independence early on by being frugal while simultaneously advancing his career and earning potential” – Shannon & Sergio have been on the path of Financial Independence early on and they are supercharging it by tackling it on both the earning side and the saving side. It is quite common for people on the path of financial freedom to extremely cut expenses only which can lead to a stressful life of deprivation. Instead of only focusing on saving, Sergio is progressing in his career so he can increase his earnings at the same time.  
• Lesson 3 – “Anyone that makes it a priority can lead this type of lifestyle” – This quote reminded me of the success formula that Tony Robbins covers in his book: Awaken the Giant Within. The success formula looks like this: “ 1 – Decide what you want → 2 – Take action → 3 – Notice what’s working or not → 4 – Change your approach until you achieve what you want”. From the struggle and financial stress his family experienced, Sergio knew early on that he wanted to become financially free. He also dreamt about travel and as a consequence designed a life for himself where travel would become his way of living and work would be around it (rather than putting work front and center as our western society has taught us to do and making travel a luxury). Since he was aware that it would take time to get to this vision, his strategy to get there was to take small and incremental actions so the journey could be sustainable over the years. 

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