Ep. 272: How This Freelancer Travels The World On A Budget with Katie Chavez
In this episode, I speak with Katie Chavez who is a Kiwi/American blogger and world traveler that has been living abroad and traveling the world for over 18 years.
She has been nomadic for over six years and spends the summer months working events and the winter months traveling.
Listen on to find out this freelancer travels the world on a budget.
Listen below:
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Transcription:
Debbie:
Hey everyone, thank you so much for being here.
I am really excited to speak with my guest today, I’m here with Katie.
Hi Katie. How are you?
Katie:
Hi, I’m doing great.
Debbie:
Thank you so much for joining us today.
Can you tell us about you and why you live an offbeat life?
Katie:
Okay, so I live an offbeat life because I’ve done, I’ve done lots of different things over the years that have, that I guess are offbeat.
I’ve worked in different kinds of jobs that have allowed me to travel. I’ve lived in different countries.
I’ve been a digital nomad for six years.
Although part of the year, I’m not, not so digital now I’m working events. One of the main reasons I would say I’m offbeat, my life is offbeat is because I don’t really have a regular 9 to 5 job really. I just have done yeah, lots of different things, yeah.
Debbie:
I love that.
And also just to give you a little background, Katie, and I know each other because she used to run my Pinterest and she is incredible at it, and she’s doing so many different things.
How did you get to becoming a digital nomad? And now you’re traveling all over the place doing stationary jobs, but they also allow you to travel.
How did you transition to this? Was this always something that you wanted to do?
Katie:
I’ve actually been doing it kind of in some form for about 15 years.
So when I was 21, I, so originally from New Zealand when I was 21, I moved to Australia and just had, I was working in hotels there. And then I moved to London when I was 22. And from that point on I was doing, I just sort of fell into doing temping contracts.
So, I would work for, you know, sometimes, usually it was around three months and then I would have, you know, I’d find another contract or if I wanted to go travel, then I could.
So, I did lots of longer trips then, and that kind of started it really.
And as far as the digital nomad side of things, that kind of was out of necessity because I met my now husband, who’s American and I wanted to be with him. And I didn’t, you know, all I had was a tourist visa in the US and not really any way to make money there.
So, I started sort of looking for online work. I started off with writing sort of content guides for a couple of other bloggers, beause I’ve been a blogger since 2014, a travel blogger. And it just kind of, I ended up doing Pinterest management mostly for the first few years and I still do some of that, but yeah, I’ve done all kinds of stuff online.
Debbie:
So what made this lifestyle appealing for you, Katie?
Because I know for some digital nomads, it can get really tiring and I know you and your husband travel quite often.
How do you make this sustainable for yourself?
Katie:
I guess I’ve never worked full time online which is a big thing because I know a lot of people put in, you know, 80 hours a week or more and I’ve, I just really, I haven’t really done that.
So yeah, I don’t have a lot of money, but I have more time, which is more important to me.
Now with what I’m doing with working event works, event stuff with my husband, you work for a short period and you work really hard like 12 hour days, but it’s at the moment it’s like three or four days and then you have three or four days off.
So, I kind of, yeah, I work really hard then I can kind of go away and leave the site and travel and rest and yeah, and for me that’s, that’s enough.
That’s kind of how I’ve been living my life for a long time. So, I’d say I’m pretty used to it by now. Although at times I get tired for sure.
Debbie:
Yeah, and there was an article that I was reading, I think a few weeks ago that talked about this, whether it was kind of like, “is time more valuable than money?”, because it seems like there’s a lot of people now and they did a survey of workers and most of them actually said that they would rather get paid less and have more time, than get paid more money and have less time, which is to me the ultimate sign of success.
Right? Is when you have that freedom.
Katie:
Yes.
Debbie:
So that’s definitely what you’re living towards and its success is being defined in a different way with how you’re living.
Katie:
Definitely, that’s, I think, I’ve, I don’t know if I’ve ever really chased money.
I’ve never really, I know it’s a very privileged thing to say, that I don’t care about money.
I mean, I do care about it, but it’s not, I have, I’ve never had any desire to be rich or be a millionaire or just keep hustling.
And you know, I just, for me, time has always been worth more. And I think that I’ve been like that since I was, as long as I can remember.
And a big part of that is that my father is, you know, that was kind of his philosophy and how he lives. And I just kind of, I, yeah, I’m the same way. So’s my brother. So it’s a family thing.
Debbie:
Yeah, and that’s for me too, I feel like for a really long time, that’s what I always strive to do, is to just make more money and more money.
And then I always wondered why I was still so unhappy, and then I started to realize that it wasn’t really what I wanted and it becomes so much more different when you realize that and start living for a lifestyle, rather than monetary and your whole life definitely changes.
Katie:
Definitely.
Yeah, no, I agree.
And I think that, honestly, I think it’s a cultural thing too. Like, I’m not from the US and that is very much, what’s ingrained in people here and I’ve been living here for nearly seven years and I definitely see it, the difference.
And there’s a lot of people that, you know, the whole keeping up with the Jones’ type thing, you know, how many cars you have, how big’s your house, and it’s just not as much like that in New Zealand, I’d say, or the UK where I lived for for a long time.
So, I do think it’s a cultural difference too.
Debbie:
Yeah. I agree with that, because if you go to a lot of other countries, you know, even if you go to South America or even parts of Europe and also Asia, there’s siesta, right?
When you literally just take the middle of the day and you take a nap or you just eat for hours and you take your time, you enjoy your meal, you enjoy your life.
We don’t do that here in the United States, everything is rushed, you know?
Katie:
Yeah.
Debbie:
And you don’t enjoy anything.
Katie:
Yeah. It’s, it is hard, beause we are always like, I mean, it’s the same in New Zealand with the whole kind of like the rush thing, you know, it’s like, “oh, quickly eat your lunch so you can go back to work”, or whatever.
Yeah. So, it’s definitely like that there as well. I think it’s just, we have more leaves there. Like the, the norm is like four weeks of vacation time that you can take like government mandated, I believe.
And then there’s a lot more like public holidays as well. So, it’s kind of just like you are, even though people do still, there’s people that work hard and everything, you still, you do have more leave time and it’s more acceptable to take time off, I think, than it is here in a lot of, workplaces.
Debbie:
Yeah. I mean, in the United States, it’s only two weeks and
Katie:
Mm-hmm
Debbie:
you rush everything. That’s why, when you finally get your vacation, you’re always rushing and then you need a vacation after your vacation.
Katie:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Debbie:
So, when you are not working as a digital nomad, I know that you and your husband travel quite often and you work in different places.
What do you do when you’re you’re there?
Is it something that you find and you apply for, or is it something that you have contacts to?
How does this work?
Katie:
Yeah, so currently at the last, like I started last year really, working events with my husband; he’s done it for 12 years and I actually did an event event management diploma when I was living in London.
And I used to work as a wedding planner, years ago in Sydney, really like when I was 21 and I’ve sort of done event stuff on the side for, you know, on and off for years, like event bartending and waitressing as like a second job just to save money, you know, work hard while I was in London then travel.
Yeah. So, I just kind of was interested in getting back into events, but this is very different than what I’d done before.
It’s working mostly music festivals and similar type things to that. And I’m loving it. It’s really fun, but it’s all US space, so I have a green card now, so it’s all legal and everything, but yeah, we are, we are running the glamping at Gorge Amphitheatre Washington State, right this summer, which is so far really fun; has it ups and downs, but generally it’s, I really love having the contact, one on one with people.
Again, that’s something I miss when I was working solely online, but I still do have some online clients as well.
And I have my own travel website I work on.
So, when I’m not doing this, this is summer only.
So, in winter we usually travel internationally and I just do my online work then. And it’s, I think I found a really nice balance, although obviously it’s perfect for me right now, and maybe at some point that might change and I don’t wanna do this anymore, I wanna do something else. I’ve done so many different things over my work life that I like to keep it, mix it up and keep it interesting.
Debbie:
Yeah, and I do wanna emphasize that, that you can change your lifestyle.
Sometimes it works for you at this moment in your life, and then if things change and maybe you don’t wanna do it anymore and you wanna switch it up, that’s really the beauty of it is that you can change it.
There’s no one size fits all. There’s nobody telling Katie that she has to do this forever.
And I think that’s one of the things that we really have to realize that you can do this and try it and if you don’t like it, it’s not permanent, you can always do a different thing.
Katie:
Absolutely.
I think that people, I mean, I guess too, like I’m not a doctor or anything, you know, and someone that’s studied for years to be something, I imagine that’s a lot scarier, it’s a scary decision.
Although, I do know a lot of lawyers that ended up dropping out of and not doing, you know, working as a lawyer for a couple of years and just, they didn’t like what that actually meant in the end outside of the classroom.
So, they did something else. But I imagine that’s a lot scarier decision when you’ve, you know, there’s thousands of dollars in tuition fees and, you know, to give up a career.
But for me, I never really had a career, I guess, I’ve done so many different things from the beginning that it makes it easier, I guess, just to do that.
And I’m so used to doing it now that I don’t even think about it just of, of suddenly doing something different. It doesn’t yeah, barely registers as like a, a challenge or anything really, for me.
Debbie:
Well, speaking of that, Katie, what would you consider is a challenge for you?
I know this is the norm for you, for a lot of people this is unconventional, but for you, this is how your life has always been. What do you feel are the biggest challenges for you in this type of lifestyle?
Katie:
Ooh, I mean, money’s uncertain. And like I said, I don’t chase money, but you know, we do need it to survive and I want it to have a comfortable life, you know, is comfortable for me.
What my definition of that is that can be a challenge at times. Honestly, since I’ve started doing the events, I feel like that’s less of a challenge because I know that I’m gonna have work in summer cause of different connections I have now.
And now we’ve, we are here all summer. So, I know that this is like a guaranteed job until the beginning of October. And then I, you know, I kind of save money during that time too, to take me through, you know, as backup for the winter months when I’m just making money online. So, it kind of actually takes a lot of pressure off that.
So, that’s one challenge that I did have when I worked fully online and doing contract work, you know, you got, I had some regular clients, but then also I was getting bits and pieces through as well.
And you just didn’t know what was gonna come through each month.
So you, you didn’t really know how much you were gonna make. So, that that’s one big challenge, I think.
But that’s something that I’ve overcome to an extent now, I guess, you know, sometimes I think about the future and about putting money away and things like that. Cause I’m not making a lot of money now and I, you know, maybe it would be nice to make a little more, to be able to sort of put some money away.
Other than that, I can’t think off the top of my head of any, there’s no big challenges really, it’s just, you know, making sure I don’t burn myself out, you know, sometimes, and I’m trying to, I’m working really hard doing these events, which I love.
And then in the time off, I’m kind of exploring more of Washington and my dad’s visiting right now. So, I’m sort of taking him around.
I’m also doing my digital work then, so yeah. But I kind of, I kind of like to be busy anyway. I mean, it doesn’t for me, it’s just like, it’s not busy with work. It’s like travel and work and life.
Debbie:
Yeah, and when you are doing work that you enjoy and that’s something that you, you don’t hate, you know, because a lot of people who have jobs it’s, it’s that, you know, it’s just to make the money and they, they absolutely hate it.
So, it’s either, you don’t have a lot of income coming in, but you’re prioritizing your lifestyle and freedom or you do have money coming in it’s stable, but then you hate what you are doing, but there could definitely be a balance to that. Right?
And I always have this mentality that I know, it sounds really insane to a lot of people. And, you know, as you mentioned, Katie, privilege, but I don’t feel like money is very hard to make if you’re willing to do the work.
Katie:
Oh, absolutely.
Debbie:
Right?
It may not be work that you wanna do, but money is always there for you to make, but experience and, challenging yourself, getting out of your comfort zone, that I think is a lot harder for most of us and obviously making money doing what you love is even more of a challenge.
Katie:
Yeah.
Debbie:
so finding that balance, if you can do both is definitely the key to that.
And I think you’re definitely getting into that direction too, Katie, because you’re realizing and understanding how to do that as well with, with your lifestyle.
Katie:
Yes, definitely. Yeah.
Debbie:
I love that.
So now for you, once your season here is over, what do you do with your hubby? Like, what do you guys do once the summer is done?
What do you do during the fall, in the rest of the year? I know you mentioned traveling, is that what you do full time or you stay in one spot?
Katie:
Yeah, so we travel and because I don’t have as much online work now, I’ve let go of a lot of that is kind of, because I wanted to focus more on the event stuff.
So, it’s actually freed me up a lot to sort of travel more. Like, I used to when I used to save money for a year and then travel for a year or a few months and not have to do any work, but I still have my website.
So, I’m working on that, but that’s, you know, I’m my own boss for that. And I, you know, I’m not a slave driver, so I’m pretty generous with myself when I’m traveling and, and that, cause that’s important to me.
I don’t wanna be stuck behind my computer for yeah, 60, 80 hours a week. I’m never gonna be mega successful with it because of that. But I’m okay with that, you know, I have a small readership. I like what I write and honestly I make some money from it and I’m happy with that.
So, yeah, travel. Last year we traveled for five months over winter. So, we got back in the middle of May.
We went to, two and a half months in Columbia, three weeks in the Galapagos islands, and then seven weeks in Mexico and it was fabulous! I loved it!
I worked on my Spanish. I just, we went waterfall chasing and hiking and saw beautiful colonial cities and towns. And it just was, it was great. I really enjoyed it.
We had turns choosing. So, my husband, that was my husband’s choice, that trip. And I, you know, I planned stuff within that, his choices, but you know, those are the countries he wanted to go to.
I was really pushing for the Galapagos though. So, I was very, very happy to be able to go there.
That was amazing. This year, I’m turning 40 in November, which is crazy. I still, I don’t feel that old.
Um, yeah, but I’m gonna go hiking in Nepal, which was meant to do in 2020, but then, you know what happened. So, finally gonna do it. So, I’ve sort of started training for it now when I can, I’m doing some hikes around Washington, so I’m gonna hike the Annapurna Circuit, something I wanted to do for a long time.
One of my friends is gonna do it with me and my husband. And then from there it just depends what’s open. I really wanna go to Japan, but who knows if that’ll be open yet. Maybe Taiwan, if that’s open Thailand, we really love Thailand.
So, we try going back there as much as we can and then back to New Zealand, cause I haven’t been back since I did manage to go back during the pandemic.
So, I left there in February, 2022. So, it would’ve been nearly two years by the time I get back there. So, I wanna spend a couple of months and summer there and see my family and my friends and just beautiful New Zealand. So, it should be good.
Debbie:
That is incredible. Well, it seems like there’s a lot in your, your roster.
There’s a lot on your list on what to do in terms of your traveling. That’s gonna be really exciting and I’m sure so many more things are gonna be opening up soon as well.
Katie:
I hope so. Yeah, I mean, it’s just like most countries are now, you know, to some extent and I’m totally fine to, you know, follow all the rules and do a test or whatever they need from me.
But yeah, Japan’s really holding out so I’m hoping they’re gonna open.
I’ve been, I was meant to go there in 2020 as well and it’s somewhere I’ve, it’s like top, big top of my list for a long time. And I think the reason I put it off for so long was cause you know, it’s meant to be expensive, but honestly like I am very good at traveling on a budget and I know that I could go there and you know, cut costs in some ways and splurge in other things that are important to me and that I, that I would be fine. So, I really hope it opens.
Debbie:
Yeah, I know. My dad, he loves Japan, he was in the Merchant Marine and he traveled all over the world and Japan is the one place he always talks about.
And he’s like, “when this is all done, we’re all gonna go together.”.
And I can’t wait and I’m like, yeah, hopefully soon.
Katie:
Yeah.
Oh, that sounds fabulous. It’ll be so nice doing a family trip there.
And I think it’s just, it’s so, it’s meant to be so different culturally, you know, to anywhere else. And that just is, I find that so intriguing and I, it just looks so beautiful as well.
I wanna hike the, you know, some hiking there in the mountains and visit the beautiful cities and towns and yeah. Beaches and islands, it’s got everything.
Debbie:
And the food.
Katie:
The food, definitely the food!
Debbie:
I’m always about the food. I’m like what’s the food like?
Katie:
Yes. Oh, me too! I love food! One of my favorite uh, yeah, favorite activities is eating good food.
So, definitely.
Debbbie:
I know, you’ll just lure me in just with the food alone.
That’s the first thing that I always go to whenever I look at a country I’m like, “What’s the food like? Is it good? All right, we’ll go there.”.
Katie:
Yeah. I mean, I think it’s such an important part of, you know, travel.
It’s like a massive part of, you know, really discovering a culture of the country and the food, you know, it’s one of the ways, so yeah, food’s a massive focus for me too.
And I love trying, you know, different, you know, different regions of some countries have different kinds of food and getting to know those and yeah, I love it.
Debbie:
So, since you’ve traveled to so many different places, Katie, you’ve lived in a lot of different countries, traveled to a lot of them as well, which place do you feel like it’s home for you and the best place for you to, I guess, settle or maybe work digitally that has really been on your list of going back to?
Katie:
Yeah, well, it’s kind of a boring answer. I mean, really, New Zealand always will be my, you know, my home.
I will always be a Kiwi even when I get, you know, I guess I’ll be a Kiwi-American when I get my passport here. Yeah. So I, really, one day would like to move back to New Zealand. And my husband’s very interested in that too.
Even just like half the year, maybe spend half the year in the US half the year there and, you know, a few months traveling in between.
Also, yeah, Colorado, where my husband’s from. And where usually is our base this year. Not, it’s not because of being in Washington for the, for Gorge Amphitheatre, but Colorado is just, I love it.
I love hiking. I love the mountains. I have a, a very big soft spot for the Rocky Mountains in particular, cause I spent a lot of time in the Canadian Rockies in the past and now in the US Rockies.
So, it was just kind of, felt like when I met my husband and then, you know, we were friends at first and then we started sort of dating. I just seemed like it was meant to be that I met a Coloradan really, because that just, that state was just, I just love it.
Yeah. So I could see us buying a little, you know, building a little cabin in the woods there somewhere that we can spend part of the year or..
Debbie:
That would be awesome! Half of the year in Colorado and half of the year in New Zealand.
Katie:
Yes.
Debbie:
That sounds ideal!
Katie:
I know. Yeah, definitely. And this one other place like visa wise, I can’t do it, but I, I really, really love Canada.
Yeah. I have, I just love it. Like, I used to live in Vancouver. It’s my favorite city. I’m really looking forward to going back in a few weeks, for the first time since the pandemic started.
Yeah, if I could, I tried to go every year, but obviously I couldn’t in, in 2020 and 2021 cause the border was shut.
Yeah. So, I’m really excited to go back there too. And I just always felt like very at home there, like it, it feels like, I think Canadians in New Zealand just really identify with each other. Like we, we have a lot of similarities we’re kindred spirits.
So yeah. That’s another place that I really, I would, I always wanna spend more time in. Yeah.
Debbie:
And it seems like you really like areas that have great hiking, you know, cause Colorado has great hikes.
Uh, Canada, Vancouver has amazing hikes. Obviously, New Zealand is incredible nature and all the scenery there is amazing.
So,
Katie:
Yes.
Debbie:
I hear you, Katie. I hear you.
Katie:
No, you’re a hiker as well, Debbie, so yeah, these, these places, I’m sure that’s why, you know, they’re good hiking places. So,
Debbie:
I was like, “Yes! I know! “,my husband and I, everywhere we go, we always try to find somewhere that we can hike to.
And yeah. I always get excited when someone’s like, “oh, it’s a really good hiking spot here.”. And I’m like, “really? Okay, well we’ll put that on the list of places to hike.”.
Katie:
That’s definitely a big thing for me. I like, you know, the whole mountains or ocean thing.
Like, I grew up by the ocean, being in New Zealand, you’re never far from the ocean and I love it.
But the mountains just touch a special place in my soul. It’s just, I don’t know, there’s something about them. I didn’t grow up around the mountains and I just love them.
I just, yeah, it’s my favorite place to be very close. Second is the coast, but, it’s the mountains for me so that, that’s why those are the places I love.
Like, I love British Columbia and Canada. I love Alaska. I really wanna go to Patagonia. Love New Zealand. Love Colorado. Yeah. All the mountainous places. It just, I think is so beautiful.
Debbie:
Yeah. Have you gone to Iceland yet, Katie?
Katie:
I have!
God, it was a long time ago that I went, I went in 2012 and I’d love to go back. So, definitely at some point I’d love to go to Greenland too.
Yeah. Cause that looks incredible.
Debbie:
There’s just so many places, oh my gosh!
Katie:
I know!
Oh, it’s so hard. I really wanna go back to Scotland too.
I lived in London for six years and I went to Scotland a few times, but I wanna go hiking there. I wanna go into the more wild parts, you know, and it looks a lot like south island of New Zealand.
Yeah, but with way more history.
Debbie:
Absolutely.
Katie:
So that’s somewhere else. I definitely wanna go back to, but definitely Iceland as well. Uh, I did the, I drove the ring road in 2012 and I really loved it, but it was only a taste. It was, you know, one week. So, I’d love to go back for longer.
Debbie:
That’s awesome. Questions for you, Katie, I know you mentioned your husband a few times. How did you both actually meet??
Katie:
Um, so we met on new year’s Eve in the Philippines.
Debbie:
Oh my gosh!
Katie:
in 2015 going in 2016 and I actually was in another relationship at the time.
So, we met, there was like a big group of us that met and we were just all hanging out, just, you know, all travelers hanging out together on new year’s Eve, had one of the best new year’s Eve ever.
It was amazing. Yeah. And then we just kind of stayed in touch and then, me and my ex broke up soon after, cause we were having issues at that point.
And then I decided that I was, me and Toby, my husband, were talking, but we, you know, we were still just friends and everything. And then I went traveling in the US and I was visiting people and I visited him and then it kind of became something more during that time.
So, I ended up just kind of staying in the US longer and hanging out with him. I met his whole family, when we would like, just after we kind of became official. So, it was, it was very fast. And then we did a two months road trip together.
Uh, it was kind of our first date, we say.
Debbie:
I love that.
And you met a kindred spirit when you met your husband because you know, it’s, it’s interesting how so many people look for a partner who has that same adventurous spirit. And you definitely found that with, with your partner, which is awesome.
Katie:
Yeah, definitely.
That was the reason my last relationship broke down because, you know, as much as we had loved each other, he wanted a very different lifestyle than I did.
He wanted to have a more settled life. He wanted kids, which I, you know, at that point, I wasn’t sure if I wanted or not.
Now, I know I don’t want them. Yeah, so he’s, you know, he’s happy now and he’s married to someone with kids.
I’m happy with Toby who wants to live the same lifestyle I wanna live. So, it’s worked out really well in the end and I feel very lucky to have found someone, you know, after going through that heartbreak to find someone that wants the same lifestyle as me cause I couldn’t have gone through that again, having, you know, just it’s hard if you are, if you wanna travel and live this kind of yeah, this offbeat lifestyle and your partner, doesn’t like, there’s only so much you can compromise.
It can be, people make it work, but it just wasn’t, it wasn’t working for me, my ex so..
Debbie:
Yeah, it definitely has to be something that you both want because you don’t wanna force someone to live a life that they absolutely hate. You wouldn’t want that.
Katie:
Exactly. Yeah.
My ex was very career focused, which is completely fine. It’s a different path than me.
And so he compromised. He was very good. He compromised a lot.
We lived in a couple of different countries together and everything, but he kind of, I think he thought I was gonna grow out of it.
Cause we met when we were 24 and I just, you know, I was like, “no, this is who I am”.
I’m nearly 40 now. It’s not gonna change.
Debbie:
Yeah, and you know, at the end of the day you found somebody that has the same mindset, has the same spirit as you, which is really good. And you both found happiness with who you’re supposed to be with.
Katie:
Yeah, exactly. So I’m very, yeah, if you’re very lucky with that and that, you know, I’m living this life now that I kind of dreamed of living, but I was scared to want it cause I, you know, didn’t think it was possible when I was with, when, you know, in the past and I, I had a good life, like when I was living at different countries and I was working more kind of regular jobs and then traveling in between and everything.
But yeah, I just felt like I still had some constraints because my ex wasn’t into living exactly the same lifestyle that I wanted.
So, now I feel like me and me and Toby are on the same page and we both, you know, he’s very, very open up, I’d be like, “oh, let’s move here.”, he’s like, “okay”, you know, “let’s do this.”, “Okay”. You know, he is very, he says yes, most of the time, it’s my crazy ideas. And he has crazy ideas too. So, it’s both of us.
Debbie:
There you go. Two crazy people found each other, which is awesome.
Katie:
Exactly, yeah.
Debbie:
Love that.
So, Katie let’s look forward to 30 to 40 years from now and you’re looking back at your life, what legacy would you like to leave and what do you wanna be remembered for?
Katie:
Ooh. Um, I guess I don’t have any need to be remembered by people that don’t know me.
Like, I don’t need any fame or anything like that. I just really just have no desire for that.
I hope the people that, you know, but I hope the people that I have come in contact with, or even if, if it’s, you know, friends and family or through my website, like I hope I’ve inspired people to live a different life or that it’s okay to live a life and that it can work, you know, not to be scared that, yeah, that’s kind of why I started my website to say like, “look, I am not rich, like I probably have a lot less money than you do and I’m doing this because I have different, you know, I’ve prioritized things differently and I don’t have a big house already, you know, only spend loads of money on stuff I don’t need”. Yes.
So, I think yeah, to, to be remembered as someone that like did to live differently and hopefully, yeah, that, that’s the main thing I guess.
And I hope that people think you remember me as being, I don’t know, kind and you know, all the good stuff, with my friends and family and then just yeah, inspire, maybe inspiring for the people that follow me on my website, or that I’ve met in person. Yeah.
Debbie:
Love that.
Yeah. And also somebody who’s redefining what success looks like because it’s not always a one way thing. It could be different for, for everybody.
Katie:
Actually. That’s exactly right.
And that success, isn’t always about how much money you have, you know? I feel like I’m successful cause that, this is what I wanted. So, that is success to me. Maybe it’s not to someone else, but you know, success can mean different things to different people and it’s okay that you don’t have to follow the norm on what success is means, you know?
Debbie:
Absolutely. And somebody could be listening to this and could be looking at your life, Katie and is striving to be where you are right now.
So, you are somebody’s idea of success right now.
Katie:
Yeah. I want, you know, I think the most important thing is that I’m, I am my idea of success, like my life now, and honestly, as long as like that’s the whole point, like I hope I inspire people, but really I just wanna be, doesn’t everyone just wanna be happy? You know, just feel good and feel happy, not at the expense of others and, and I think that’s kind of like the reason we’re here. So, for me, this is it.
Debbie:
Love that.
Thank you so much, Katie, for sharing with us your journey, we really appreciate you!
Now, if our listeners wanna learn more about you, where can they find you?
Katie:
The best place? I’m not super active on social media, but I am on Instagram, it’s @the worldonmynecklace and then my website, that’s the main place that you can find me, and that’s theworldonmynecklace.com.
Debbie:
Perfect. Thanks, Katie!
Katie:
Thank you, Debbie!
Listen to Katie’s extended interview where she talks about how to find jobs that aren’t online that allow you to travel.
What you’ll find:
In this episode, Katie talks about how to find jobs that aren’t online but will allow you to travel.
