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✈️🏥😩Sorry! LIFE Got in the Way.
Published 3 days ago • 6 min read
Sorry Folks, Life Got in the Way!
Hey there Reader,
Massive apology for the newsletter-lite this week – we're scrambling to get everything sorted before boarding our flight to the UK via (yes, really) Turkmenistan!
(If you want a refresher on the fantastic deal I got, then you can read about it in the March 24th edition.
Will flying through Turkmenistan be the travel hack of the century, or a spectacular disaster worthy of its own Netflix documentary?
I promise a full debrief in the next edition – assuming we make it to London without accidentally joining a camel caravan.
Anyway…
Last week disappeared into the black hole of new phone setup.
Hours of my life evaporated while:
Migrating our gazillion accounts to the new device,
Streamlining and upgrading our security to the latest available
Deleting duplication and trying to remember why I used one of my six (or is it seven) emails for each account...then sorting it.
Life is made that much more complicated because we change phone numbers frequently. Slowly but surely, we've rid our lives of SMS as 2FA, but there are still a couple of accounts that trip us up at the most inconvenient moments.
Technology, am I right? 😩
Anyway, I'm almost there...and the notes I've taken and knowledge I've gained should make any future upgrades much easier.
Meanwhile, we tumbled down another existential rabbit hole before our planned health checks in KL.
Speaking of which, the incredibly efficient, thorough, and relatively inexpensive full health screens at Princes Court Medical Center gave us the all-clear on the serious stuff, while delivering a good kick in the rear about things we can improve with a few more responsible lifestyle choices - Translation: less street food, more actual exercise beyond walking to the next food stall or craft beer bar!
Again...I intended to debrief the experience to you all this week, but well...next week it is.
Anyway...Nothing says "living your dream life" quite like contemplating your mortality!
The prospect of getting less-than-stellar results rekindled Tim's interest in our financial setup – or, his role as "Deputy Minister of Finance."
Although we have reviewed everything several times over the years, some of our systems have evolved into quite complex beasts, especially start of month money-go-round to ensure we continue to fund our vagabond ways.
I explain everything at regular intervals and clear major decisions with him, but for day-to-day admin tasks, it's faster if I handle them myself.
BUT... that's not a sensible approach when it comes down to brass tacks.
No one likes to contemplate the worst, but it happens.
Far too often, unfortunately, to ignore.
So... we've gone back to square one.
Writing everything down and developing clear checklists and procedures instead of me just "sorting it."
We're reviewing our processes repeatedly until they're bulletproof, ensuring that even if Tim comes in cold after six months, he can still run the whole operation smoothly.
BONUS - All those processes will be so transparent and easy to follow that our Power of Attorney can also sort things out if needed.
NIRVANA.
Moving on...This week:
There’s no discussion of the latest events in travel.
No debrief of our health checks in KL
No update to our travel plans
No new tip
No explanation of the resource that saved us money this week...and there were two that saved us a bunch (next week, I promise.)
No promised TourRadar Review, and
No new newsletters or resources
But I have left in:
The time-sensitive deals that are still current, and
The link to our Mother's Day Gift compilation, because you’ve still got time to shop and if you're like me, you still haven't got to it.
Oh…and by the way…
Less than 1% of you said you wanted me to develop the two resources we discussed last week on:
If you were interested but didn’t vote because you thought everyone else would, you still have time, because..as you've just learned... I’m now behind and I haven't updated “to-do” list.
So, if you really do want either of those created and haven't said so already, hit the links above and add your details.
*Note: Some of the links in this email are from our partners, including AMAZON. If you purchase a product or service using those links, we get a SMALL commission to help pay for the website and this newsletter. But we promise - you won't pay any more than you would if purchasing directly. You can read our full disclosure here.
Time-Sensitive Travel Deals From Our Partners
Deals Alert! Not much has changed since last week, but some of these awesome offers are expiring VERY soon.
Don’t miss out—take a look now if you’re even a little curious!
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We're long-term travelers sharing our passion for independent, budget travel. Every newsletter gives you travel tips from experts, lessons from the road, great deals, and carefully curated travel products & services.
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