Digital Nomad Advice I Would Give My Younger Self
By: Cody James Howell Phd, Raiden
Tags: Investing, Travel, Life Lessons, Passive Income, Digital Nomads

Income and Travel

Digital Nomad Advice I Would Give My Younger Self

What to start yesterday, or today at the latest

Photo by Derek Owens on Unsplash

If only I knew then what I know now.

How many times will we end up thinking that to ourselves as we age? I suppose I can write a similar article 10 years from now!

I have accomplished quite a bit over the past decade; but when prompted to think about what I could have done differently to make my place in life even better, I know of several distinct answers.

I have been a digital nomad now for 2 years, it’s a freeing experience. It has allowed me to live in 3 different countries over the last year for significant amounts of time. It also let me be with my foreign wife wherever she was at the time. Now, we are about to head out on a 6-month van life adventure around her native New Zealand!

What is a digital nomad (some of you may ask)? It’s someone who is able to make money from anywhere. Their income is location-independent. They aren’t tied to a job. Generally, this means they are an entrepreneur of some sort, but not always. And contrary to many popular depictions of our lifestyle, being a digital nomad will mean (for most people) working longer hours and putting in far more effort than a standard 40-hour per week job; and at first, it probably won’t pay as well.

It takes perseverance. Perhaps more importantly, it takes a big picture mindset where the goal(s) will justify the means. That goal is no less than true freedom.

Being a digital nomad means being free from job ties, being able to live anywhere; depending on how you make your money, it probably means deciding your own hours and work ethic too.

Generally, it also involves having multiple income sources — some of which are passive. Honestly, this is something that everyone should have if at all possible; but being a digital nomad both encourages and sometimes demands it.

Everyone can benefit from the demands and lifestyle changes required to live as a digital nomad!

So if I could go back in time and tell my younger self what to do then to put future me in an even better spot, this is what I would say.

1. Create multiple income streams ASAP

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels

Digital nomads and working Joes alike, this is a huge factor that everyone should plan to address as soon as possible. Double speed for those who are dependent on a specific job or employer.

The problem with single income sources is the extreme risk you take by relying on them in the current economy. In the past, employers could be relied upon for a stable wage and a good pension. Those days are gone. Most jobs will be replaced by technology in the near future anyway.

I also relied on a single income stream a decade ago, and not a very good one if I’m honest. I have learned, progressively since then, that the most freeing aspect of money isn’t the money per se, but the security which comes with having multiple sources of cash flow.

Start early, most passive or semi-passive income streams take time to build.

Take freelancing for example. This popular route for digital nomads not only requires practice but the building of a client list. No matter if the freelancing is writing, art, web design or anything else.

Another example is publishing books and/or online classes. This too will take time to produce and market before become an income stream in its own right. In the beginning, it may just feel like a time sink; but it’s worth it in the end.

One of the first alternate income streams I produced was also probably the most complex (options trading). I wrote an intro to it here:

Suffice it to say that gaining more income streams will also gain you more security both at home and abroad.

One of the biggest hindrances to starting side hustles is the fear of time commitment, but this will actually make you more productive and efficient with the time you spend everywhere else.

I have watched this happen during my own progress towards living life as a digital nomad. The more side hustles I add, the more efficient I become with my time. This makes everything I do better overall (at least that's the idea, certainly feels that way). Each individual project benefits both from its interconnectedness with other projects and from my own increased focus and motivation. It’s the virtuous cycle at play!

Start the ball rolling as soon as possible There’s no telling where starting earlier will get you with exponential growth!

2. Embrace minimalism and frugality

Being able to travel the world, having a location-independent income, and being flexible requires the ability to move around both within your means and within your own ability.

What this means in a practical sense is that having less stuff makes life easier.

“The things you own end up owning you.” -Tyler Durden, Fight Club

I got a full education in minimalism during my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. After 142 days of hiking, I came back home with a renewed appreciation of the simple life. Here is an example of that applied philosophy:

I began to sell, or give away, anything I didn’t need or really want. Even my books, some of my most prized possession, when it came down to it. The local library was pleased to see the hundreds I passed their direction! I knew they were going to a good home where others could benefit from them as I had.

All through my education, I accumulated more and more stuff. I moved it from house to house every year and doing so was always a huge undertaking. Getting rid of most of that was a liberating experience. Since then I traveled across the world for a 6-month adventure in just 2 bags.

My advice to my past self would be to adopt a more frugal mindset, rather than an accumulation/consumer mindset. This would have left fewer items to get rid of this past year, and far more cash in the investing account!

3. Travel more

To be fair, my younger self didn’t have much time to travel while I was stuck in the lab. You may be in a similar situation.

My solution at the time was to hike whenever I could. Before my PhD, I could have traveled abroad at least once, but it got neglected. This was partly due to an (slightly-)unhealthy lifestyle I will touch on in the next section.

It’s almost cliché to say so, but travel really does change how a person sees the world and their place within it. Traveling early and as often as possible is worth it if you can still afford to live!

When I was a child, my family often went on trips that involved hiking. My brother and I saw much of the country as kids, and I think it influenced my love of nature significantly. My parents are to thank for that. That love of traveling eventually led to an Appalachian Trail thru-hike, which itself led to finding my wife and writing our book. As our honeymoon, we are now traveling New Zealand in a camper van we built ourselves.

Once again, the virtuous cycle at work. Get it started ASAP!

4. Live a healthier lifestyle

Overall, I can’t complain about my health. Almost all of the times I’ve been to the hospital have been sports injury-related. That, or stress during my PhD program. All fine reasons for injury, I suppose.

But in undergrad, I hadn’t yet had enough of the “Netflix and Chill” lifestyle yet, and instead of going out adventuring we tended to stay in and debate philosophy, science, and state of mind. I hope you’re catching my drift. This, of course, had many of its own benefits; but I could have used a bit more exercise and travel.

Although my meditation game was strong at the time, adding in a daily (or near-daily) workout routine is always a good idea. Nowadays we will be hiking often enough, and hard enough, to keep in great shape. We also eat mostly vegetarian, but fresh food as often as possible, and no ‘vice’ of any kind. It’s cheaper and healthier that way! Never too early to start.

5. Stop renting and house hack instead

When I was in undergrad, and later grad school, I was renting an apartment. This worked fine, and it was within my budget. But then I learned about “House Hacking” and it changed the way I view investing. I think learning this trick helped me better understand points 1 and 2 from above all the better as well.

What is house hacking? If you don’t know, I suggest you give it a study. The good folks over at Bigger Pockets (who came up with the term) will explain it better than I will:

But put simply: you own and live in a multifamily house while renting out the other units to pay your mortgage. It’s elegant and simple. It’s also a perfect way to acquire your first cash-flowing property when you move away a few years later (into another one, perhaps?). If I had started this when I first got to undergrad, that house would be paid for by now and still giving me tax-advantaged passive income!

If house hacking is an option for you — do it. It’s really that simple. In fact, if it's your first home, all the better. You can get FHA loans and other first-time homebuyer advantages that will apply to any house with 4 units or less.

I sure do love a good, cash-flowing investment! This is the only thing I kick myself for not doing when I was younger. My only major financial mistake.

Conclusion:

Is the digital nomad lifestyle something you’re interested in? I didn’t know I would be in this position 10 years ago, but here I am, and it’s fantastic.

I leverage everything I have done in the past (education, writing experience, thru-hiking and minimalism skills, finance know-how, etc) to keep the ball rolling. I believe we, as a society, will find this lifestyle of location-independent income becomes easier year after year.

The real key to success here is to start as early as you can. If you haven’t already taken the first step, do it now!