Episode 101

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Published on:

5th Jun 2023

5 Surprising Reasons Americans Don’t Travel…And Why You Should Reconsider All of Them | E101 Renee Bruns

When I was in grade school, my dad and I were up in Detroit for a track meet. We thought it would be fun to cross over into Canada. Although technically, it was the first time I had left the United States, it wasn’t until a week after my college graduation that I took my first real international trip.

I did a 4-city stop in Europe and I caught the travel bug. I’ve made a few more trips to Europe, traveled in South America, and expanded my adventures in the United States.


Although I’m not going as far as to say it’s a requirement for a happy life, there are so many benefits of making traveling a habit. It can be a release from the day-to-day grind that life can force us into sometimes. You meet new people, make unforgettable memories, and even improve your communication skills. But what that first trip really did for me was expand my horizons and become more mindful of other people’s cultures and values. I can confidently say that I am a more sympathetic and open-minded person because of traveling.


You don’t have to quit your job today and travel the world, although today’s guest would have a thing or two to say about that but I’m hoping after this conversation I’ve convinced you to pick a spot you’ve always wanted to travel to and book that plane ticket.


Renee Bruns took this piece of advice to heart. She created a career sabbatical to pursue what we’ve all wanted to do at some point in our life: break a Guinness Book of World Records.


Renee is now the record holder for the most amount of countries visited in one year in a wheelchair. In 2022, she visited 66 countries bringing her all-time total to 117 countries including all 7 continents.


In this conversation, I challenge her with 5 common reasons many of us don’t travel. She fires back with reassurance and tangible advice for overcoming these excuses.


Key Takeaways:

  • 5 surprising reasons Americans don’t travel
  • Ideas for low-risk, high-reward places to travel to
  • How to get by without knowing the language
  • How to find affordable transportation
  • Travel money saving hacks
  • The benefits of hostels
  • How to ask for a sabbatical at work and offer creative options to your employer
  • When it might be time to leave your work to travel
  • Why you shouldn’t be afraid to travel


Mentions:

www.HostelWorld.com

www.couchsurfing.com


More of Renee:

www.reneebruns.net


More of The Struggle is Real:

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FI Minded - Financial Independence, Early Retirement & Lifestyle Design
Achieve Financial Independence & Have Fun Doing It
Pursuing financial independence, financial freedom, or early retirement often leads to the same questions: How do I become financially independent? How much should I save? What happens after I reach FI?

FI Minded helps you use money to create more freedom, without turning your entire life into a financial optimization project.

Host Justin Peters explores the decisions behind building a flexible, work-optional life, from reaching financial independence and navigating Coast FI and Slow FI to spending your money, changing careers, stepping away from work, and figuring out what comes after FI.

Each episode combines practical personal finance with conversations about early retirement, lifestyle design, work, spending, healthcare, self-employment, and life after financial independence. The goal isn't simply to reach FI as quickly as possible. It's to make progress toward financial freedom while actually enjoying your life along the way.

On FI Minded, you'll learn how to:
- Reach financial independence without burning out
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- Navigate Coast FI, Slow FI, and other paths to FI
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- Make progress toward financial independence while actually living your life.

Some of our past guests include Carl Jensen (1500 Days), Jeremy Schneider (Personal Finance Club), Nick Loper (Side Hustle Show), Andrew Giancola (The Personal Finance Podcast), Jordan Grumet (Earn & Invest), Rachael Camp (Work Optional), Jillian Johnsrud (Retire Often), Sean Mullaney (FI Tax Guy), Jill Sirianni (Frugal Friends), Jackie Cummings-Koski (Catching Up to FI), Joel Larsgaard (How to Money), Cody Garrett (Measure Twice), Jesse Cramer (Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors), Jess (The Fioneers), Chris Hutchins (All The Hacks), Diania Merriam (EconoMe), Andy Hill (Marriage Kids Money), Fritz Gilbert (Retirement Manifesto), Maggie Tucker (Inside Out Money), Cody Berman (The Financial Independence Show), Joe Saul-Sehy (Stacking Benjamins), Doug Cunnington (Mile High FI), and and others helping you rethink how to approach financial independence.
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