(ThyBlackMan.com) I am approaching 30 and it is an age which I have long dreaded, every seems just so much more serious once you hit the 30 mark. It is of course the time when you look back on your 20s, wondering whether you did all that you should have. It is at these times when I realize the respect and admiration which I have for my good friend Tatiana Kukanova who traveled the world for a year after college, racking up 40 countries and some incredible experiences. This is still something which I’d love to do and so I spoke to Tatiana Kukanova about how she afforded it, a stumbling block for many.
Saving
Even though Tatiana knew that she was going to have to work on the road she wanted to give herself the very best opportunity to do so and this is why she saved for over a year before she left home. During this time Tatiana Kukanova was one of the most militant savers that I have
ever seen, she would work all hours under the sun, say no to meals out and parties, and the only time I ever saw her was over a microwave meal at her place. This was uncomfortable for Tatiana but that little bit of pain which she went through meant that her travel experience was far better than she thought, and it meant that she always had something to fall back on.
Bars
Bars were a regular feature for Tatiana during her trip around the world and when she wasn’t living it up in one, she was working there in order to save up for her next journey. There is something which I really like about this idea that you work until you have a small amount, just enough for the next trip, and then you do it all over again at the next destination. Tatiana really enjoyed the bar work and as someone who has worked in one myself, it really is a fun experience where you can meet lots of people.
Agriculture
When Tatiana left home she had said that she didn’t like the idea of working on a farm, but when the opportunity arose to spend 3 months living in a farmhouse and working on a vineyard, she could hardly resist. Not only was Tatiana able to make some great friends during this experience, she was also able to save up a great deal of money because she would hardly spend her wages because the house and the food was included in the deal.
Writing
Tatiana started to travel a lot more in the last 3 months of her journey and this was in no small part to the fact that she had landed some writing gigs online. For anyone who wants to travel earning online is the ultimate career and whilst she may have not been making thousands, her writing work gave her the chance to be mobile as she earned, as well as giving her more money than her previous jobs had done.
Staff Writer; Craig James