Laura’s ‘crazy’ year of travelling (and all with a full-time job)
IN January Laura Rettie, 35, set herself the challenge of visiting as many countries as she could in a year – fitting it around her full-time job and only using permitted annual leave – a total of 29 days.
‘It feels like a gap year of sorts,’ says Laura, who lives in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, and works for comparison website money.co.uk.
She says: ‘Travel has been my major focus this year. Saving, budgeting and planning my numerous trips.’
Laura has already clocked up eight countries, including Australia, Dubai, Finland, Greece, Japan and Norway and has a further ten trips booked in before the end of the year – which will take in Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Russia and Sweden.
With the European stays, Laura squeezes the trip into a weekend – flying out after work late on a Friday and returning on Sunday.
Laura says: ‘My motivation for this crazy year came after I visited my brother Bryn in Amsterdam, where he recently moved for work.
‘I met a group of his colleagues – all much younger than me – who were so well travelled. I thought I’m in my mid-30s and I’ve barely seen the world. This challenge is about pushing myself – as I usually travel alone – and broadening my experiences.
‘So far it has been amazing. I wanted to prove you can travel extensively while still working full time.’
To protect her travels, Laura bought a worldwide annual multi-trip policy from InsureandGo for £33. Her travel costs for the year have come in at around £6,000. She has used a mixture of income and savings but also took out a Post Office credit card, which offers zero per cent interest on purchases for three years.
Laura says: ‘The card means I will be able to pay off the balance within the next few years without incurring interest. It has been a great way to spread the costs.’
The added bonus of the card is there are no foreign transaction fees for usage abroad.
‘I have saved a fortune by using this card when I am away,’ says Laura. ‘I rarely carry currency – particularly on the shorter trips – because it costs such a lot to exchange small amounts of money. Many countries prefer card transactions too, so this is a good one to have in your wallet.’