This week I would like to introduce you to some very close personal friends of mine; Kimmy and Drew from AfterGlobe.  With a main focus on Hawaiian travel, Kimmy and Drew are about to expand their travel expertise and take on the world!  They have been saving desperately before they embark on their upcoming adventures and are experts on becoming debt free in order to travel.

We had a chat about travel, money and married life!

AfterGlobe- How one couple quit the American Dream and went after their own.

What do you love the most about travelling?  

Getting to experience things I never have before. Learning about other cultures and traditions. And the food. Oh, the food!

What inspired you to start travelling?  

I’ve always wanted to travel, but grew up without a lot of money and had my daughter young. Travel just wasn’t an option for me for a long time. Drew and I have been together for over 6 years and always said we’d travel once we retired. Then one of my best friends lost her husband to an extremely rare form of cancer. He was only 43.

We realized the time to travel was now. You can’t wait for tomorrow. You never know what will happen between now and retirement and we didn’t want to take the chance that one of us wouldn’t be here by retirement age. We’d be leaving sooner if we didn’t have debt to pay off first.

You say you quit the American dream to go after your own – was it easy tearing yourself away from your “normal life”?  

Mostly, yes. I’m excited for the adventure ahead and to finally get the chance to travel long term. Every once in a while though, I think about all the hard work we’ve put into our house and how much we love it. For a fleeting second, I question what we are doing. Then it passes and I’m right back to the excitement and anticipation. I’m ready to leave behind the American Dream and go after my own to travel the world!

Kimmy and Drew on the beautiful island of Maui.

Getting debt free is a big part of your blog – what advice and tips can you give those wanting to get debt free so they can travel? 

There’s a lot of advice and tips on AfterGlobe about getting debt free. It’s not easy, but you just have to buckle down and do it. Go over all your expenses, make a plan, set up financial accounts to help you track your funds, cut the wants out of your life, stay at home, stop eating out all of the time, sell whatever you can to get out of debt quicker, and stick to your budget. Sure, it’s going to suck and it’s a lot of work, but isn’t being able to travel long term worth it?

Have you ever travelled while still in debt?  

Yes, all the time. And still do. It’s the American way to still travel while in debt. However, now we travel without creating any new debt for ourselves. Travel is so important to us, we couldn’t give it up. We just travel in a different way now.

What’s it like travelling with your spouse?  

Obviously I enjoy it or we wouldn’t be planning this big trip. We are very supportive of each other when it comes to travel. It’s nice when you are exhausted while traveling to have the other person wait in line for food and bring it back or sit with all the luggage while one of you uses the restroom. I keep an eye out for each other, push each other when needed and are always there to help the other out. Is traveling together perfect? Not even close. We get into fights and need space from each other, but it’s not any different than living in a house together.

Snorkeling Molokini Crater on Maui.

Biggest cultural shock you have experienced while travelling?  

None! Isn’t that sad? I can’t wait for the first one. I really need to get outside of the USA.

The greatest challenge you’ve faced while travelling?  

Getting my wedding dress and all of our wedding supplies to Maui for our wedding last year. No, I’m serious. For those who have never flown with a wedding dress as a carry-on have no idea. They’re big, heavy, and there’s nowhere to hang them. I almost got stuck with it on my lap for a 6 hour flight.

Funniest or most embarrassing travel moment?  

We were on a boat and I was serving up some food. A big gust of wind came up and blew my dress right up. I had a plate of food in one hand and a serving spoon in the other. I couldn’t do much to put it down except back up into my husband to at least hide the back of me.

Most embarrassing moment when Kimmy’s dress flew up on a dinner cruise.

Three things you can’t travel without? 

•  iPhone
• Wet wipes; and
• Camera.

Which destinations are at the top of your bucket list?  

This changes all of the time. For now, as many of the Polynesian Islands as possible, including Easter Island, Fiji, Thailand, Laos, India, Morocco, Madagascar, Costa Rica, the Galapagos Islands…. Oh, to make it easier- The Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia. Maybe I’ll even add Antarctica, some day.

Why should people travel? 

It’s the best way to step out of your comfort zone and really live. You can’t learn in a classroom like you can when traveling. It’s the only real way to experience new cultures, food and people.

Kimmy Hayes is the founder and editor-in-chief of AfterGlobe; a site on becoming debt free and traveling the world as a married couple.

She is passionate about traveling to experience new cultures, snorkeling the waters of the world and reading with her toes in the sand. You can follow along with AfterGlobe on Facebook, Twitter and InstaGram.