My Job Requires Me to Travel. Why That's Perfect for a FIRE Lifestyle.
Working in the professional services industry, I often feel like my life is constantly on the move. I pride myself in having a face-to-face relationship with my clients, and I enjoy the escape from the same old cubicle every day, but sometimes the long hours on the road and the packing almost every Sunday night can be a bit exhausting.
If you travel for work, I'm sure you have your own list of pros and cons that you've come up with from your own experiences. Sometimes I love it, and sometimes I hate it. But if there's one thing that I have learned over the years, traveling for work can help support a FIRE lifestyle.
What is FIRE?
If you frequent personal finance blogs/twitter/etc. I'm sure you've seen the acronym FIRE thrown around quite a bit. FIRE seems to be somewhat of a buzzword that's really taken off over the past year or so, and the FIRE movement has gained quite a large following judging on the number of articles I've seen on various finance websites. There's even been a full length documentary released on the FIRE movement.
If you're not familiar with the term FIRE, it stands for 'financial independence, retire early'. The premise of the FIRE movement is basically to achieve early retirement through the practices of frugality, saving, side-hustling, and investing. While some folks seem to use the term 'FIRE' to describe a lifestyle where you've saved enough money to pursue a career more aligned with your passions and personal values, some take it as far as quitting the workforce completely in your 30s/40s/etc.
How is traveling for work conducive to FIRE?
So I've got to start with a bit of a disclaimer here: everything I'm about to lay out in this article will only make sense financially if your employer reimburses you for your travel expenses (hotels, meals, mileage, etc.). And if your employer does not reimburse you for these - QUIT. If you're required to travel for work, there is no reason you should be footing the bill. Period.
Now that I have that out of the way, it probably seems a bit more obvious now. The reason traveling for work could help you achieve a FIRE lifestyle more quickly is that during your travels, you are basically living on someone else's dime. To explain this in more detail, I've compiled a listing of actions you can take to make sure you are maximizing your benefits when traveling for work. Some are easy, and some are not so easy - but each of the following can help you achieve financial independence if that's your end goal.
Easy Mode
1. Cut down your grocery or restaurant bill: This is probably one of the most obvious ways that traveling for work can save you money, but it is also one of the most effective. With a typical one-person grocery bill running anywhere from $40-$85 per week, eating on your company's dime can help you pocket some serious cash. For example, a typical travel week for me is from Monday morning through Friday evening. During this time, all my meals from breakfast on Monday through dinner on Friday don't cost me a thing, so I've eliminated the need to pay for 70% of my meals. These savings could easily add up to a few thousand dollars over the course of a year if you have a heavy travel schedule.
2. Save money on your monthly utility bills: Assuming you live alone, another simple way to cut down on some necessary expenses is to simply reduce the use of your utilities at home. Just by not being home, your water and sewer usage will be curtailed, resulting in some savings. To take it even further, you can also turn down, or off, your heat or air conditioning while you're away, and turn it back on when you return to save on gas or electric. One thing to keep in mind though, you wont want to turn your heat all the way off in freezing temperatures, as frozen and bursting pipes will cost a lot more than you'll save! Also, this one probably won't go over too well if you share your living space with a roommate or significant other!
3. Earn free credit card rewards: If you're traveling for work, it's a pretty safe assumption that you're going to be incurring quite a few expenses. Flights, hotels, rental cars, gas, food, you name it - it all adds up. If your company doesn't require you to expense everything on a corporate card, this presents a golden opportunity to take advantage of some free rewards. Are you loyal to a hotel brand? If so, using a hotel branded credit card will get you those free stays even quicker. I personally use a Hilton Honors American Express Card (check it out here - you'll get a free 125,000 Hilton Honors points just for signing up), and I couldn't tell you the last time I paid for a hotel room for personal use. This goes for flight specific credit cards, dining cards, gas cards, and just about any other specialized card type you can think of. And just keep in mind - since you're getting reimbursed by your employer for these expenses, these rewards truly are FREE!
4. Max your cash back with Rakuten: Similar to the credit rewards I just touched on, another way to maximize your cash back rewards is to shop through Rakuten (formerly Ebates) when you book your travel. If you don't know what Rakuten is, I've touched on it before here. The basic premise is you check Rakuten's site when you're about to make a purchase online to see if the vendor is a partner, and you click through a link to the website you were about to go to for your purchase. Then you proceed with the transaction as you normally would, and Rakuten will add cash to your account! It really is one of the simplest ways to earn free money! On a quarterly basis, Rakuten will either mail you a check of your earnings, or deposit straight into your Paypal account. And even better, if you use my referral link, when you spend your first $25, you get $10 bonus cash back! And when it comes to booking travel, Rakuten is partnered with companies like Enterprise, National, Expedia, Hotels.com, Hilton, Holiday Inn, and many more! Just check out the numerous options on the site.
5. Accumulate free vacation rewards: Staying on the topic of earning free rewards, it's a no-brainer to sign up for reward programs for vendors you use time and time again when traveling. Like I mentioned earlier, when I am out of town, I make sure to always stay at a Hilton branded hotel, and the points I've earned throughout the years of travel for work will last me for years of vacations to come. All major hotel, airline, and car rental companies will have rewards programs, and they often come with some pretty nice perks once you start to build some loyalty. After taking just a few minutes to sign up for each, you'll be on your way to earning a free vacation on your boss' tab.
Hard Mode
6. Stock up on your essentials: If you frequently stay at hotels, you'll know that housekeeping services will often re-stock your toiletries on a daily basis if you use them. Why not take advantage of this and start to collect these items to use when you're back at home. To be honest, I could not tell you the last time I bought a bar of soap, and I have a drawer full at home that I'm not sure will ever run out. Just by packing these items in your bag every time you have a hotel stay, you can cut down on what you'd normally spend on items such as soap, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and sometimes even toothbrushes, make-up wipes, and razors, though some of these items are not always the highest quality. Further, if you have half-used shampoo bottles or bars of soap at the end of your stay, as I often do, taking these home to use also serves to reduce unnecessary waste.
7. Share your travel tips: Maybe you travel to large metropolitan areas where there are too many things to do to try them all. Or maybe you travel to small towns, and you know the best little coffee shops and diners that you frequent over and over again. Either way, and anywhere in between, chances are someone, at some point, could use your help in making a suggestion of where to eat, what to do, and where to stay wherever you travel. While travel blogging does take some more time and effort than anything on this list so far, if it's something you think you'd enjoy, you could earn a few bucks just by sharing your experiences. Even better, you could steer travelers new to the area to your favorite spots, who will be happy to enjoy the boost in business. Who knows, some of those spots might even want to put an ad on your site if you generate enough views.
Extreme Saver Mode
Alright, you've made it this far. Everything up until now has seemed pretty easy, right? Maybe you've picked up a few ideas along the way, but if you're a seasoned traveler, you've probably thought of most of them before. Well, this is where I'll get a little "out there" with my money-saving ideas. And just an FYI, I don't recommend trying the items on the "extreme" list unless you're completely dedicated to seeing them through.
8. Rent out your empty space: Let's face it - if you travel all the time, you've probably had the thought before that if feels like you're throwing money away on your rent or mortgage payment. While you pay for the entire month, you may be spending more time on the road than you are in your own space. If you could only get something out of the fact that you're not taking up your own house or apartment!
Well, maybe you can. Maybe. There are a couple of things here that could stand in your way of monetizing your empty space before you go any further. One - if you rent a house or apartment, you may have a stipulation in your lease that says that you're unable to sublet your space to another person (it's best not to go against the person who owns your home). And two - if you have roommates or a significant other, you definitely want to run the idea past them before you make any moves. Even if you've cleared both of these hurdles, you also have to think about the risks involved. Having someone else occupy your space while you're not home puts you at risk that someone may trash your place, steal your belongings, or even get injured and sue you. These risks are pretty serious, so this idea is not for the willy-nilly, half-hearted... firee? (What's the term you call someone who's part of the FIRE movement?)
Assuming you've done all your research, considered all risks, taken all the steps to protect yourself from any possible negative outcomes, and still came to the conclusion you'd like try this, you can use platforms like VRBO and Airbnb to list your space for the weeks that your space will be vacant. If you're going to be gone for long periods of time, and multiple renters may be going in and out of your space before you're back, you will want to have somebody come check on your place in between visitors and freshen the place up a bit. You could always start off having a friend or family member help with this task, but if you really travel a lot, a cleaning service or management company may even make financial sense at some point.
While this idea isn't something I'm likely to try anytime soon, there is another, less risky way to take financial advantage of leaving your home empty all the time. Assuming you're living a little above your means, you could always downsize your house or apartment, and likely save on your monthly rent or house payment. If you're constantly out of town and staying in hotel rooms, do you really think you'll mind a little smaller "home base"?
9. Eliminate your car payment: The last idea on the list is another one that takes some planning and analysis before taking the dive in. Also, if you're mostly flying when you travel, this one probably won't make too much sense either. But if you're spending a lot of time in the car traveling back and forth to your destination - this could be for you! With the average car payment in the US being approximately $500 on average, how much driving would it really take to totally cover the cost of a new car? Let's break it down.
We'll start by estimating the total annual cost of a new car. Using the figure above, the car alone will cost you $6,000 in payments during the year. To recoup this cost, using the 2020 IRS standard mileage rate of 57.5 cents per mile, you'd have to drive 10,435 miles per year.
But the car payment isn't the only cost you have. Next, let's consider insurance. The average annual car insurance premium in the US is approximately $1,500, which requires another 2,609 miles of travel.
Now let's say you've got a pretty fuel efficient car, and you're able to average around 30 mpg. Considering you've already got yourself over 13,000 miles worth of travel to cover the car payment and insurance alone, you'll need to add another 1,400 miles or so to cover the gas you'll be pumping (assuming a little under $3.00/gallon).
Also, with all those miles you're tracking, you'll probably want to get a few oil changes throughout the year to keep your engine happy. I, personally, am about a 5,000 mile per oil change guy myself, so I think 3 oil changes per year should just about cover it, and if you do enough coupon-clipping, you can probably get yourself a deal for under $30. That'll add another 160 miles to your tab. As far as other maintenance goes, if we stay with the assumption that it's a brand new car, most work should be covered under warranty. If you're calculating this using an older car, you'll want to factor that into your analysis as well.
While there are probably a few more costs associated with owning a car that are either pretty minimal (license plates, registration, etc.), or I just am flat-out forgetting, I think the above considerations do a pretty good idea of getting a rough estimate of travel necessary to essentially get yourself a free, brand new car. Our total from above: 14,604 miles per year. Broken down by week, this amounts to 280 miles of reimbursed travel. To be honest, if you are traveling far distances almost every week, this actually could be do-able. Just keep in mind, to get the car completely free, you'll have to keep this up for the life of your auto loan. But even if you can't quite get the whole payment covered, it's always nice to get a little help with your payment.
--
At times, anyone who travels for work feels the inconvenience of living out of a suitcase on a weekly basis, and missing out on time with their friends, family, or even just missing out on sleeping in their own bed! The above list is just a way to turn that inconvenience into a bit of an advantage, to ease the pain a bit at times. While I haven't done quite everything on the list above (sorry, but I can't consider myself an "extreme" saver), this is a list I've mostly put together from my experience spending about half my time on the road. In fact, most of this post was written at the desk of a DoubleTree hotel room.
If you travel for work yourself, maybe you've got a few items you could add to the list. Please feel free to drop a comment below sharing your money saving travel tips, or let me know if you've tried any of the items above yourself!
- FI Anon
If you travel for work, I'm sure you have your own list of pros and cons that you've come up with from your own experiences. Sometimes I love it, and sometimes I hate it. But if there's one thing that I have learned over the years, traveling for work can help support a FIRE lifestyle.
What is FIRE?
If you frequent personal finance blogs/twitter/etc. I'm sure you've seen the acronym FIRE thrown around quite a bit. FIRE seems to be somewhat of a buzzword that's really taken off over the past year or so, and the FIRE movement has gained quite a large following judging on the number of articles I've seen on various finance websites. There's even been a full length documentary released on the FIRE movement.
If you're not familiar with the term FIRE, it stands for 'financial independence, retire early'. The premise of the FIRE movement is basically to achieve early retirement through the practices of frugality, saving, side-hustling, and investing. While some folks seem to use the term 'FIRE' to describe a lifestyle where you've saved enough money to pursue a career more aligned with your passions and personal values, some take it as far as quitting the workforce completely in your 30s/40s/etc.
How is traveling for work conducive to FIRE?
So I've got to start with a bit of a disclaimer here: everything I'm about to lay out in this article will only make sense financially if your employer reimburses you for your travel expenses (hotels, meals, mileage, etc.). And if your employer does not reimburse you for these - QUIT. If you're required to travel for work, there is no reason you should be footing the bill. Period.
Now that I have that out of the way, it probably seems a bit more obvious now. The reason traveling for work could help you achieve a FIRE lifestyle more quickly is that during your travels, you are basically living on someone else's dime. To explain this in more detail, I've compiled a listing of actions you can take to make sure you are maximizing your benefits when traveling for work. Some are easy, and some are not so easy - but each of the following can help you achieve financial independence if that's your end goal.
Easy Mode
1. Cut down your grocery or restaurant bill: This is probably one of the most obvious ways that traveling for work can save you money, but it is also one of the most effective. With a typical one-person grocery bill running anywhere from $40-$85 per week, eating on your company's dime can help you pocket some serious cash. For example, a typical travel week for me is from Monday morning through Friday evening. During this time, all my meals from breakfast on Monday through dinner on Friday don't cost me a thing, so I've eliminated the need to pay for 70% of my meals. These savings could easily add up to a few thousand dollars over the course of a year if you have a heavy travel schedule.
2. Save money on your monthly utility bills: Assuming you live alone, another simple way to cut down on some necessary expenses is to simply reduce the use of your utilities at home. Just by not being home, your water and sewer usage will be curtailed, resulting in some savings. To take it even further, you can also turn down, or off, your heat or air conditioning while you're away, and turn it back on when you return to save on gas or electric. One thing to keep in mind though, you wont want to turn your heat all the way off in freezing temperatures, as frozen and bursting pipes will cost a lot more than you'll save! Also, this one probably won't go over too well if you share your living space with a roommate or significant other!
3. Earn free credit card rewards: If you're traveling for work, it's a pretty safe assumption that you're going to be incurring quite a few expenses. Flights, hotels, rental cars, gas, food, you name it - it all adds up. If your company doesn't require you to expense everything on a corporate card, this presents a golden opportunity to take advantage of some free rewards. Are you loyal to a hotel brand? If so, using a hotel branded credit card will get you those free stays even quicker. I personally use a Hilton Honors American Express Card (check it out here - you'll get a free 125,000 Hilton Honors points just for signing up), and I couldn't tell you the last time I paid for a hotel room for personal use. This goes for flight specific credit cards, dining cards, gas cards, and just about any other specialized card type you can think of. And just keep in mind - since you're getting reimbursed by your employer for these expenses, these rewards truly are FREE!
4. Max your cash back with Rakuten: Similar to the credit rewards I just touched on, another way to maximize your cash back rewards is to shop through Rakuten (formerly Ebates) when you book your travel. If you don't know what Rakuten is, I've touched on it before here. The basic premise is you check Rakuten's site when you're about to make a purchase online to see if the vendor is a partner, and you click through a link to the website you were about to go to for your purchase. Then you proceed with the transaction as you normally would, and Rakuten will add cash to your account! It really is one of the simplest ways to earn free money! On a quarterly basis, Rakuten will either mail you a check of your earnings, or deposit straight into your Paypal account. And even better, if you use my referral link, when you spend your first $25, you get $10 bonus cash back! And when it comes to booking travel, Rakuten is partnered with companies like Enterprise, National, Expedia, Hotels.com, Hilton, Holiday Inn, and many more! Just check out the numerous options on the site.
5. Accumulate free vacation rewards: Staying on the topic of earning free rewards, it's a no-brainer to sign up for reward programs for vendors you use time and time again when traveling. Like I mentioned earlier, when I am out of town, I make sure to always stay at a Hilton branded hotel, and the points I've earned throughout the years of travel for work will last me for years of vacations to come. All major hotel, airline, and car rental companies will have rewards programs, and they often come with some pretty nice perks once you start to build some loyalty. After taking just a few minutes to sign up for each, you'll be on your way to earning a free vacation on your boss' tab.
Hard Mode
6. Stock up on your essentials: If you frequently stay at hotels, you'll know that housekeeping services will often re-stock your toiletries on a daily basis if you use them. Why not take advantage of this and start to collect these items to use when you're back at home. To be honest, I could not tell you the last time I bought a bar of soap, and I have a drawer full at home that I'm not sure will ever run out. Just by packing these items in your bag every time you have a hotel stay, you can cut down on what you'd normally spend on items such as soap, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and sometimes even toothbrushes, make-up wipes, and razors, though some of these items are not always the highest quality. Further, if you have half-used shampoo bottles or bars of soap at the end of your stay, as I often do, taking these home to use also serves to reduce unnecessary waste.
7. Share your travel tips: Maybe you travel to large metropolitan areas where there are too many things to do to try them all. Or maybe you travel to small towns, and you know the best little coffee shops and diners that you frequent over and over again. Either way, and anywhere in between, chances are someone, at some point, could use your help in making a suggestion of where to eat, what to do, and where to stay wherever you travel. While travel blogging does take some more time and effort than anything on this list so far, if it's something you think you'd enjoy, you could earn a few bucks just by sharing your experiences. Even better, you could steer travelers new to the area to your favorite spots, who will be happy to enjoy the boost in business. Who knows, some of those spots might even want to put an ad on your site if you generate enough views.
Extreme Saver Mode
Alright, you've made it this far. Everything up until now has seemed pretty easy, right? Maybe you've picked up a few ideas along the way, but if you're a seasoned traveler, you've probably thought of most of them before. Well, this is where I'll get a little "out there" with my money-saving ideas. And just an FYI, I don't recommend trying the items on the "extreme" list unless you're completely dedicated to seeing them through.
8. Rent out your empty space: Let's face it - if you travel all the time, you've probably had the thought before that if feels like you're throwing money away on your rent or mortgage payment. While you pay for the entire month, you may be spending more time on the road than you are in your own space. If you could only get something out of the fact that you're not taking up your own house or apartment!
Well, maybe you can. Maybe. There are a couple of things here that could stand in your way of monetizing your empty space before you go any further. One - if you rent a house or apartment, you may have a stipulation in your lease that says that you're unable to sublet your space to another person (it's best not to go against the person who owns your home). And two - if you have roommates or a significant other, you definitely want to run the idea past them before you make any moves. Even if you've cleared both of these hurdles, you also have to think about the risks involved. Having someone else occupy your space while you're not home puts you at risk that someone may trash your place, steal your belongings, or even get injured and sue you. These risks are pretty serious, so this idea is not for the willy-nilly, half-hearted... firee? (What's the term you call someone who's part of the FIRE movement?)
Assuming you've done all your research, considered all risks, taken all the steps to protect yourself from any possible negative outcomes, and still came to the conclusion you'd like try this, you can use platforms like VRBO and Airbnb to list your space for the weeks that your space will be vacant. If you're going to be gone for long periods of time, and multiple renters may be going in and out of your space before you're back, you will want to have somebody come check on your place in between visitors and freshen the place up a bit. You could always start off having a friend or family member help with this task, but if you really travel a lot, a cleaning service or management company may even make financial sense at some point.
While this idea isn't something I'm likely to try anytime soon, there is another, less risky way to take financial advantage of leaving your home empty all the time. Assuming you're living a little above your means, you could always downsize your house or apartment, and likely save on your monthly rent or house payment. If you're constantly out of town and staying in hotel rooms, do you really think you'll mind a little smaller "home base"?
9. Eliminate your car payment: The last idea on the list is another one that takes some planning and analysis before taking the dive in. Also, if you're mostly flying when you travel, this one probably won't make too much sense either. But if you're spending a lot of time in the car traveling back and forth to your destination - this could be for you! With the average car payment in the US being approximately $500 on average, how much driving would it really take to totally cover the cost of a new car? Let's break it down.
We'll start by estimating the total annual cost of a new car. Using the figure above, the car alone will cost you $6,000 in payments during the year. To recoup this cost, using the 2020 IRS standard mileage rate of 57.5 cents per mile, you'd have to drive 10,435 miles per year.
But the car payment isn't the only cost you have. Next, let's consider insurance. The average annual car insurance premium in the US is approximately $1,500, which requires another 2,609 miles of travel.
Now let's say you've got a pretty fuel efficient car, and you're able to average around 30 mpg. Considering you've already got yourself over 13,000 miles worth of travel to cover the car payment and insurance alone, you'll need to add another 1,400 miles or so to cover the gas you'll be pumping (assuming a little under $3.00/gallon).
Also, with all those miles you're tracking, you'll probably want to get a few oil changes throughout the year to keep your engine happy. I, personally, am about a 5,000 mile per oil change guy myself, so I think 3 oil changes per year should just about cover it, and if you do enough coupon-clipping, you can probably get yourself a deal for under $30. That'll add another 160 miles to your tab. As far as other maintenance goes, if we stay with the assumption that it's a brand new car, most work should be covered under warranty. If you're calculating this using an older car, you'll want to factor that into your analysis as well.
While there are probably a few more costs associated with owning a car that are either pretty minimal (license plates, registration, etc.), or I just am flat-out forgetting, I think the above considerations do a pretty good idea of getting a rough estimate of travel necessary to essentially get yourself a free, brand new car. Our total from above: 14,604 miles per year. Broken down by week, this amounts to 280 miles of reimbursed travel. To be honest, if you are traveling far distances almost every week, this actually could be do-able. Just keep in mind, to get the car completely free, you'll have to keep this up for the life of your auto loan. But even if you can't quite get the whole payment covered, it's always nice to get a little help with your payment.
--
At times, anyone who travels for work feels the inconvenience of living out of a suitcase on a weekly basis, and missing out on time with their friends, family, or even just missing out on sleeping in their own bed! The above list is just a way to turn that inconvenience into a bit of an advantage, to ease the pain a bit at times. While I haven't done quite everything on the list above (sorry, but I can't consider myself an "extreme" saver), this is a list I've mostly put together from my experience spending about half my time on the road. In fact, most of this post was written at the desk of a DoubleTree hotel room.
If you travel for work yourself, maybe you've got a few items you could add to the list. Please feel free to drop a comment below sharing your money saving travel tips, or let me know if you've tried any of the items above yourself!
- FI Anon
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