It’s been nearly a year and a half since the coronavirus froze the normal pace of life here on the American east coast. Over a year of sticking around and waiting for another season to celebrate, to plan, to travel. While we experienced somewhat of a brief respite once many people became vaccinated and virus cases went down, many people still had to cancel plans and postpone much-anticipated trips – both overseas and domestic. Many people have suffered tremendous and irreparable hardships – losses in lives and livelihoods – and there is no comparison to that. For many more still, the ability to travel is a less traumatic yet still important loss, because travel is important for expanding our space in this world. It’s been a long couple of years. There is a silver lining, though: now is the time to save and plan for your next travel adventure.
If you put in the preparation for travel plans now, then by the time you are able to mark a date on the calendar you will already have money saved and information at hand to make the best possible plans. If you think that travel is an indulgence you don’t deserve or a luxury you can’t afford, I’m here to challenge that notion. Or, if you are about to explode from cabin fever and don’t care where you go as long as it doesn’t have the same floor plan as your house, I’ll help you channel your energy into preparing the next best trip. It may have been a difficult couple of years but it is still an opportunity to prepare, and time well spent in preparation is worth its weight in diamonds.
Understand the Benefits of Traveling
In order to invest any kind of time into the effort to plan a trip, you firstly have to not only want to travel but you have to believe it is a worthwhile investment. Sure, who wouldn’t want to go on vacation, but is it really worth blowing all that money? The answer is YES!!! (providing the money is within a reasonable price range for your budget). If you are doubtful, you may simply need to revisit the way you approach traveling. You aren’t ‘blowing’ money on traveling; you are investing in your life.
Travel is important for our growth and happiness. Not only are there obvious mental health benefits simply because traveling is fun and having fun makes you happy, but our minds actually expand when we broaden our experiences. Simply being in a new place forces us to think differently, see differently, and feel differently. We become braver and integrate new experiences into our mind’s framework. We become more empathetic and understanding of others who are different from us. And, naturally, when we enrich our lives and improve our own mental health, we enrich the lives of those around us as well.
We expand ourselves by traveling. If we really want to live life to the fullest, it is necessary to incorporate travel into our lives. It doesn’t have to be glamorous, it doesn’t have to break the bank, and it doesn’t have to look the same for everyone. It just has to be a thing you do because you like to do it. Travel is a necessary pastime that we ought to embark on at least once or twice a year, though preferably as often as possible. Interior designer and television host Genevieve Gorder, when interviewed for Grace Bonney’s In the Company of Women, gave excellent advice for us all:
‘Travel to fill your tanks. If we’re not seeing new life, we repeat ourselves. It is not a luxury – it is a necessity.’
Genevieve Gorder
Television writer and producer Kristin Newman notes in her travel memoir What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding how traveling is helpful simply for the fact that it generates new thoughts. She explains:
‘I always say that I need to travel to keep from dying of boredom from my own internal monologue. I think that, generally, most of us have a total of about twenty thoughts. And we just scroll through those thoughts, over and over again, in varying order, all day every day… When you travel, you’re forced to have new thoughts. “Is this alley safe?” “Is this the right bus?” “Was this meat ever a house pet?” It doesn’t even matter what the new thoughts are, it feels so good to just have some variety. And it’s a reboot for your brain.’
Kristin Newman
Of course, we should actively aim to cultivate fresh thoughts at home by trying new things and pushing ourselves beyond our comfort zones in everyday activities. Travel simply accelerates this process of mind enrichment to an effortlessly more powerful level!
Why Now is a Great Time to Plan Your Next Trip
Now is the time to take advantage of planning your perfect trip, and here is why: when we are stuck for a while with nowhere to go, we can set aside money each month for a travel budget and we can spend time researching where to go and what to do. With the money you save, you can either opt to take less expensive trips more frequently, or you can hold off on traveling and continue to save until you have enough money to take your ultimate dream trip.
If you think you can’t afford to travel very often, do a rough calculation to add up how much money you spend regularly – every day, every month, every year – on non-necessities. This could include cable TV, non-essential grocery items like ice cream and sugary snacks, eating out at restaurants, getting coffee to-go, buying new (unneeded) clothes or other fashion items, or other items or services that aren’t essential to your well-being. Total those expenses for an entire month, or for half a year, or an entire year. You don’t even have to consider all frivolous expenses but maybe just some. How do those numbers compare to what you would pay to travel somewhere amazing?
What are you willing to sacrifice – whether large or small – to travel? Your disposable income is more flexible than you think. What if you bought a basic coffee press and made your own coffee every morning instead of buying a latte? Trading five extra minutes for a few dollars a day can buy you $500 in six months for several nights at a private Airbnb. What if you cancelled Netflix and planned your trip during the time you would otherwise watch TV? An extra $54 in six months – not as much money, but it all adds up when you cut expenses in order to save. The planning will likely be just as exciting as watching your favourite show, and will reap greater rewards later down the road anyway.
Planning Increases Opportunities to Enjoy Your Trip
Planning is important in all aspects of life, and travel is no exception. I am not advocating a strictly regimented routine with no wiggle room for spontaneity; that is a recipe ripe for stress, fatigue, and disaster. But I do not suggest waiting until you get somewhere to then just ‘figure it out’, and the reason is because that can end up costing you lots of precious time at your destination. Time that could otherwise be spent actually doing things or just soaking up the new environment all around you – as opposed to staring at your phone in front of you to look up restaurants or nearby attractions.
When you wait until the last minute to decide what to do, where to stay, or where to eat, you may end up with a mediocre experience limited to obviously touristy options. I believe the right way to travel is to plan a relaxed trip itinerary that at least includes the most important places and experiences plus multiple optional plans that are conditional to how things are going at any given point.
New Zealand: Planning the Big Trip
A few years ago, my husband and I embarked on our ultimate trip: New Zealand. I had been wanting to visit New Zealand for at least a decade, and we were finally at a point where we had enough money and enough annual leave time saved up at both of our jobs to make this dream a reality. We were still only able to take two weeks off of work, which is really a joke if you are going all the way to New Zealand (people there looked at us in disbelief – travelers typically spend at least a month or two there, but such is the sad state of vacation time from most American employers). With only two weeks, I was adamant to do all planning and preparation in advance so that we didn’t waste any time planning while there.
In retrospect, all that planning was an extremely smart thing to do. I spent hours and hours on my laptop in the evenings after work for two months leading up to our trip. It did get to be somewhat tedious, but it really paid off and was well worth the time because we didn’t have to expend the mental effort to make many decisions while we were physically in New Zealand. We just had to look at our schedule for the planned activities and then look at our options for any unscheduled hours.
Avoid Indecision While Traveling by Planning Before You Go
Having a game plan in advance was quite liberating, especially since many of us in professional fields make important decisions all day every day at work and a true vacation involves making no decisions that vary much beyond whether you want a martini or a daiquiri. It isn’t even so much that we don’t want to make any decisions, but it’s nice to not have to make decisions based on a selection that includes possibly bad choices. We would rather make decisions from a selection of only good probabilities, at least so far as we can predict.
Securing a list of well-researched and vetted options is why I spent plenty of time looking up local restaurants within walking distance of the places where we stayed in New Zealand. I noted which options looked the best and how long it would take to walk there. I jotted down the restaurant name, type of cuisine, address, and open hours so that we immediately had that information at our fingertips when making meal choices any given day. Keep in mind, too, what your data usage will cost you when traveling internationally. It isn’t cheap. That is another reason it was useful to have information ahead of time – yes, written down in ink – so that we could turn off our mobile data when unneeded.
The nine steps listed below are the order in which I planned our trip to New Zealand. When planning a trip, especially a major voyage that will cost plenty of money or take you to very unfamiliar places, it helps to follow this order in order to firstly secure the most expensive and crucial prerequisites, such as airfare and reservations for important events, and then choose accommodations based on when and where those events will occur. Everything else will loosely follow. These steps apply especially for a major overseas trip, but they will also benefit travelers who take shorter trips nearer to home.
1. Arrange for Time Off Work
Talk to management at your workplace to confirm that you will be able to take time off during the timeframe when you want to travel. Don’t just ask about a specific week or two, but ask about a wider period of time – such as a month or so – in case your actual travel dates vary from the exact days that you expect to be gone. This is important in case there are other schedule conflicts such as a close colleague having already planned that time off as well, or a major project scheduled then.
Once you get the okay for a timeframe and then reserve your transportation tickets for specific dates (the next step), you can then officially schedule your time off work. Depending on the length of your trip and how far you plan to travel, you may want to schedule an extra day off work to recuperate once you have returned home. Trust me on this. Even if you have barely unpacked, you will at least need the sleep after traveling!
2. Reserve Transportation to and from Your Destination
Air Travel
Once you have the go ahead from work, book your flight. There are so many varying opinions on how far in advance you should purchase airfare for the best price, but I think it’s smart to aim for a few months in advance if possible. If you are suddenly last-minute planning a trip next week, by all means go for it! Just know you may end up paying more than if you had purchased tickets sooner. You’ll often find it much cheaper to travel mid-week than on a weekend, which is why it helps to compare flights and dates and why you want that flexible timeframe approved at work before you pinpoint your exact travel dates.
Buying a round trip ticket is more affordable than buying two one-way tickets, but one-way tickets allow you to be more flexible with your departure location when you are due to return. The only reason I would consider a one-way ticket is if it makes more sense for you to return home departing from a location other than the one where you first arrived; otherwise, opt for a round trip.
Really take the time to make a smart choice here. Pay attention to layovers and how much time you’ll have between connecting flights. It is not worth risking a 45-minute layover at O’Hare if missing your second flight due to a delayed first flight – or due to the long lines at customs – means you have to stay overnight at an overpriced airport hotel. This happened to me once because the next available flight wasn’t until the next morning. I had been awake 45 hours and ended up sobbing uncontrollably to my husband over the phone in the terminal. Dramatic and embarrassing, but I learned my lesson. Don’t make a situation that leaves you rushed and stressed, especially when there are forces outside of your control. It is worth paying more to secure comfortable time cushions between flights. Boring and tedious, yes, but also insurance against potentially major inconvenience.
Vehicle Travel
If you are driving to your destination, have your vehicle’s engine oil changed and check that everything is functioning properly a few weeks before you leave. Closer to your departure, fill up tires, top off wiper fluid, and be sure to have a full tank of gas. You’ll want that pre-check a few weeks in advance in case any issues arise that need to be addressed before you go. The last thing you want is to discover a problem two days before you plan to leave, only to learn that the parts required for repair won’t arrive until the following week. You could always rent a vehicle in a pinch, but that is less ideal as your rental options will depend on availability at that moment.
If you are renting a vehicle from a trustworthy company, you shouldn’t need to worry about pre-checks but you will want to reserve your vehicle in advance and schedule your pick-up for when you plan to depart. If you will travel by train or bus, you will likewise need to reserve your tickets in advance and make arrangements for a friend to drop you off at the terminal (and, later, pick you up from there). It is wise to also have a backup friend who will be available in case of an emergency that prevents your primary friend from transporting you. Our friend who was meant to pick us up from the airport after arriving home from New Zealand actually forgot and was unable to come at the time. We were lucky that another (unplanned) friend was available to come instead!
3. Consider Your Preferred Experience
Savor the rush of adrenaline that comes from booking your flight (or train/bus/rental car): you did it! You just took the first and biggest step, and now you have given yourself permission to go forth and plan with abandon. Now that you know you will get to your destination, you can establish sleeping arrangements (step 5). You’ll need to secure a place to stay when you get there and throughout the entirety of your trip. Some people I know are very laid back about this process and wait until they arrive somewhere to figure this out. If you are that brave, kudos! This is a viable alternative if it suits your personality and you know in advance that there are enough options within your price range. Ideally you plan to go somewhere that you know at least a little bit about, or know people there, so you aren’t completely clueless.
For those of us who like to know in advance where we will sleep during the duration of our stay, it is important to know what you are going to do at your destination before you can even know where to stay. New Zealand is filled with so many incredible places and things to do, so my husband and I really had to narrow down the tremendous options to squeeze in only our most-preferred activities into the two weeks (actually, less than two weeks when you include travel time and time zone differences). We didn’t book accommodations until we decided what we wanted to do and where we would do it. We needed some kind of loose itinerary in order to do that, which leads us to the next step: scheduling events.
4. Plan Priority Experiences That Require Advanced Scheduling
I had read about traveling in New Zealand in the year leading up to our trip and took note of some things I definitely wanted to experience. My husband and I talked things over and made decisions based on the amount of time we had and what types of experiences we valued most. Of course we would have loved to have trekked the many beautiful landscapes of the South Island, but considering the extra travel time and coordination that would have required, we were both more interested in exploring North Island cities and touring certain places that piqued our interest such as glowworm caves and Lord of the Rings movie sets.
We also planned to stay a couple of nights with my old roommate’s parents in Dunedin and so incorporated a flight to the South Island as well. Only until after scheduling events for dates which made chronological sense (in order to continue on in the same direction on our travel route) did we start looking at accommodations.
5. Reserve Accommodations
There are so many types of accommodations of varying costs: hotels, motels, Couchsurfing, Airbnb, camping, bed and breakfasts, hostels, and homes of family or friends. Depending on where you plan to go, your options may span most of those, or you may be limited to one or two motels. Either way, it is best to reserve your spot somewhere sooner rather than later because if you wait until the last minute, you may end up somewhere you’d really rather not be (or you may end up paying a lot more than you budgeted for).
Consider Your Transportation Mode(s)
Securing accommodations in advance is especially important when considering your transportation mode you will use while at your destination (securing transportation is the next step). If you plan to rent a car, you’ll want to consider whether or not parking is available where you plan to stay or whether you’ll have to secure a paid pass at a parking deck somewhere several blocks away. If you plan to travel by bus, you’ll want to stay within reasonable walking distance of the bus stop.
Unless we are going somewhere rural, location based on walkability is extremely important to me because I don’t want to waste extra time driving everywhere and then trying to find places to park. Exploring on foot is always more interesting, not to mention healthier for our exercise needs. When we secure an accommodation that is walkable to points of interest such as restaurants, cafes, parks or entertainment, we are sure to enjoy a richer experience.
Keep in mind, too, that just because a place is technically walkable doesn’t always mean you’ll want to walk there if that puts you near a heavily trafficked highway. Consider the safety situation in advance, both in terms of what you can find online about a location’s crime and in terms of heavy traffic or industrial activity. Google Maps street view is very helpful for assessing this situation. I have virtually ‘walked’ along streets on Google Maps plenty of times when comparing accommodation locations.
Understand Your Options for Accommodation Type
As for the type of accommodation, your decision may vary depending on your personality and preferences for your travel experience. My husband and I prefer Airbnb for staying anywhere we go, including New Zealand. With Airbnb, you can stay in a shared room with someone (more of a hostel feel in that sense), or a private room in someone’s home (more like a boarding house), or in a separate space with its own entrance (like a studio apartment – sometimes very tiny, sometimes rather spacious). Price will naturally vary accordingly.
Nowadays we like to stay in a separate space but it is still so much more natural and interesting to stay in someone’s privately owned home instead of a hotel. In New Zealand, our bookings were usually upstairs or basement apartments attached to the host’s home, or separate sheds in their backyard, with varying amenities. We really only needed the most basic features – bathroom, bed, etc. but most included a mini-frig that was sometimes stocked with treats from the host (and it’s amazing what free staples such as milk, cereal, muesli, or flat whites can do for your morale when traveling).
If you are careful enough to make a decent choice when selecting your booking, Airbnb hosts always strive to make sure you have everything you need and to see that your stay is pleasant. This is because their future bookings depend on positive reviews. The same cannot be said for staff tending to your room at a hotel. Some staff may be more enthusiastic about their job than others, but typically their concern with the conditions of your room is not nearly as involved since they don’t own a share in the establishment. In addition, I wanted to prioritize connecting with other humans. My husband and I love to meet people and to learn what it is like to live in New Zealand (or wherever it is we are visiting if stateside).
Depending on their availability, which is different for every individual, many Airbnb hosts are wonderful to spend time with and to get to know. In New Zealand, there were a couple who we never saw in person (but who were nevertheless friendly and communicative via phone), but we saw most at least briefly. One couple was delighted when we asked if they wanted to come join us for wine and cheese on the last evening of our stay at their place, and we enjoyed talking to them about their experience having emigrated from the UK. It was fun and enlightening to converse with them. You never know who you will meet.
6. Arrange for the Transportation That You’ll Need Throughout Your Trip
How will you get around during your trip? Is public transportation readily available? Will you take a bus? Public taxis? Private taxis? Rent a scooter? Rent a bike? You’ll want to know this in advance so you can look into how you will get from A to B and budget accordingly.
If you are going somewhere with plentiful public transportation, you should learn the schedule from the municipality’s website if possible and plan your daily transportation budget as needed. Because we embarked on a sort of road trip in New Zealand, we rented a car. The rental cars were not terribly pricey, but we were sure to study up on New Zealand driving laws in advance and mentally prepared ourselves for driving on the opposite side of the road. This was a little nerve wrecking the first couple of times after arriving but we actually got used to it fairly quickly. We naturally had to stay very alert and I was an ever-vigilant copilot vocalizing to stay to the left, turn left, get cosy with the left, etc. As long as you aren’t drunk and are alert and well-prepared, any competent driver can do this!
7. Secure Travel Insurance, Health Insurance, and Phone Coverage
Especially for major trips overseas, you’ll want to be sure that you have health insurance coverage while you are away and that you have travel insurance to cover any circumstance that prevents you from being able to enjoy your trip as planned. This is probably not necessary for less costly domestic trips, but I would certainly recommend it for international travel so that you can recover most costs should you be suck home from an illness or family emergency. In addition, be sure that you purchase a temporary travel plan for your phone to cover the time you travel if you will leave the country. Once my bus stopped at the Greyhound station after crossing the border on my sole trip to Canada ten years ago, I learned the hard way that my mobile phone was not going to work in Toronto!
8. Research Meal Options at Every Location
Instead of waiting until you are at a location to start looking up places to eat (or worse, waiting until you are at a location and also very hungry), check out your options in advance so that you won’t need to waste any time staring at your phone while en route. If you are an extremely lenient eater and don’t mind what you eat so long as it won’t poison you, then you probably don’t need to spend time scouting out your food options.
Know Your Food Options
However, I would still recommend ensuring that there is at least one food establishment that will be open during the time you will be in any given location. The last thing you want to do is arrive somewhere hungry only to find out they closed half an hour ago, or are only open for breakfast and lunch, or only for dinner. You’ll also want to be sure to consider where you will physically be when you’re most likely to be hungry. Don’t just look into food establishments near where you will sleep if you’re going to be out all day in another area. Make sure you know of food options wherever you are at any time of the day.
New Zealand had phenomenal restaurant options where food was fresher, tastier, healthier, and more affordable than food at restaurants here in the USA. During my pre-trip planning I had no trouble jotting down plenty of delicious meal possibilities for any place where we were going to be staying or spending time throughout the day. However, unless you are above-mentioned extremely lenient eater, you’ll be wise to carefully and thoroughly scout out your options for any destinations in the USA that are not larger metropolitan areas.
Larger American cities will typically have a wider variety of establishments at varying prices and styles and quality, but smaller municipalities will be much more limited so plan in advance if you are vegan and/or gluten free and want to go on a road trip through South Dakota. Coming from someone with an almost pathological need to establish food security anywhere I go, you will want to pack emergency backup protein, carbohydrate, and produce sources and know exactly where you can go to find daily nutritious sustenance. Of course, you’ll also want to check out prices and plan ahead so that you can eat within your budget and not be taken by surprise at a larger than expected check.
Cooking: Know Your Grocery Suppliers
Depending on your travel accommodations, you may prefer cooking most of your meals instead of eating out at restaurants or getting take-out. Not only is this quite possibly healthier (especially in the USA) but you will certainly save plenty of money! My husband and I usually choose to not cook while on vacation because cooking always ends up eating into our time we would rather spend exploring the area. Plus, we love trying new foods in new environments around other people.
If you enjoy cooking wherever you are, then it makes sense to do something you already enjoy, even while on vacation! In this case, you’ll still want to know about at least some restaurant options in case there is a problem with the stove or other kitchen appliance where you are staying. And you will certainly want to scout out grocery stores and markets ahead of time to know their location, hours, and other facts such as whether or not you will need to bring your own shopping bags. Bottom line is: be prepared to know how and when you will secure your food and how much you need to budget for it.
9. Research Area Attractions and Leisure Activities at Every Location
Since we don’t want to plan a jam-packed itinerary that leaves zero time for relaxing or just doing nothing at all if we feel so inclined, we’ll have some healthy time blocks with no specific plans. These are good for reflecting, napping, travel-journaling, writing postcards to friends and family back home, or recuperating from a busy and exciting day. These times are also good for going on a stroll to explore the town, meet locals, or to check out a local café or dance club.
Have an Idea of What Fun Things Are Nearby
It helps knowing in advance what sorts of fun things there are to do around the area so that you can pick and choose depending on you and your travel partners’ mood. As with restaurants, it helps to know options ahead of time so you don’t need to waste time during your vacation looking things up on your phone. You might not even need to consult your notes if you learn of fun opportunities via word of mouth while you are there, as we did while in Wellington. Still, it can be useful to have information beforehand as a backup, just in case.
Here’s an example of leisure options planned in advance for the New Zealand trip: I love shopping in fun local clothing stores so I checked Google Maps to locate used clothing boutiques within walking distance of our place in Auckland. It’s not like I had to shop while in New Zealand, but I knew it would definitely be something I would enjoy if presented with the time and opportunity. Knowing the location and open hours of these establishments gave us a destination to journey toward while exploring some of Auckland’s most enjoyable neighbourhoods by foot. We got effortless exercise (no need to worry about the increasing delicious vacation calories when you’re walking all the time!), we took in the sites, and we stopped by fun shops, scenic areas, and food places along our path.
Travel Planning is Fun and Worth the Effort
You may think that all the work involved in these nine steps isn’t worth it just to travel somewhere, but trust me that it is worth it if you want to make the most of your time while at your destination! It’s not that you won’t still have a good time if you wait until you arrive somewhere to make decisions. It’s just that you can have a much better experience if you do a little homework in advance.
And travel planning isn’t boring homework, either. You are going to get excited when you start looking at everything that you’re going to get to do and see, and the excitement will motivate you to put in the effort to continue to gather information and plan. Yes, going through this entire process to curate our trip to New Zealand was quite tedious and cost me many hours at home after work, sitting at my laptop. However, it was cold and dark outside by the time I got home from work and I was certainly glad to have spent all that time preparing at home instead of during warm summertime in New Zealand.
When we encountered other Americans from tour groups at some of the events we went to in New Zealand, I realized how happy I was to have custom-planned our own trip. The other Americans seemed to be having a nice time too, but their trips were so structured and tourist-oriented. I’m sure they enjoyed the sights they saw and the things they did. But they lacked the freedom that comes with driving your own rental car where and whenever you please (even when Hertz throws you a Ford – as if Americans travel across the world just to drive an American car) and the ability to immerse oneself in the urban culture and stay in people’s homes. Yes, it’s often cheaper to book a package tour that includes transportation and accommodation. However, that wasn’t the experience I wanted after a decade of pining to explore on my own terms.
Small Regional Trips Count as Traveling, Too
If you are in a life stage right now that does not lend itself to traveling, then look at the bright side: you have an even longer amount of time to set aside money every month for your ultimate dream vacation. Three kids under five? You have your hands (and budget) full for sure, but try to cut out some disposable expenses and save at least $20 a month for a travel fund you can use in five years when everybody is a little more portable or when you can more easily score an adult trip sans kids.
It isn’t that you can’t go places with young kids – on the contrary, I would encourage it if at all possible! But if that all seems a little overwhelming for you, don’t despair and think you’re stuck at home forever. There are plenty of smaller, easier, and more affordable trips you can work towards in the meantime which are certainly enjoyable and rewarding. Don’t hold out on yourself or your family. Travel is important, and everybody of all ages can benefit from it.
The Takeaway: Start Researching and Preparing Now
Has the travel bug bitten you yet? I hope you are inspired to plan and pursue your own travels to embark on in the near future! Your dream vacation may look very different from mine, but you will still benefit from reviewing these steps and putting the time into planning now. Even if you don’t yet know when you will be able to go somewhere, pick up a travel book about anywhere in the world (including your home country!) where you want to go and get some ideas of what you might like to do while there. Learn about the area.
A really awesome book that helped me to learn about various parts of the world and to compare their travel experiences is The Big Trip: Our Ultimate Guide to Gap Years and Overseas Adventures (this is the version I read a few years ago, but there is now a newer edition that you can link to from this product page). This book gives a very thorough overview of all of the travel basics you need to consider, for all major regions of the world. I started reading this book when New Zealand was still just a dream, and as I learned more, I built up the knowledge and confidence that inspired me to start planning. The more you learn and prepare in advance – and this includes getting your passport, if necessary! – the closer you will be to fulfilling the trip of your dreams. You create the mental space and possibility when you put in the work in advance. Give the future a chance to take you great places by investing the money and effort now!