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Do you remember your first trip? I took my first plane ride when I was 11. I remember feeling scared and so excited, and being fascinated by the airports. We were going to visit some family in Austin, Texas, and we had so much fun on that trip. I was lucky enough to have several more family trips, all of which gave me some awesome memories. My step mom used to be a travel agent, so chats of planning trips and travel dreams were and still are commonplace around their house. So I guess you could say that my family supports my travel addiction!

During my teen years and college I had my first job at a local inn. Lane’s Privateer Inn has played a significant role in my life; I met my future husband there! My mom took me to the bank to open my first bank account and when I put my first paycheck in, she told me I should save 50% for the future. I did that (most of the time), and thanks to that I had some money during college.

I graduated college, with a student loan, and excitement for the future. I was an adult! I took half of the summer off as “my last summer vacation” and started my first “grown up job” in August 2010. I don’t have a typical job, as a massage therapist I am technically self-employed, although I work in a franchise clinic. I thought I would start my job, be super busy and live happily ever after. Well I’m sure we all know how that goes! I wasn’t super busy, and didn’t make a ton of money my first couple of years. One thing I did do was save all my tips, and in September 2011 I got to take my first trip without my family. My then boyfriend and I went to Walt Disney World, which totally fueled my life long obsession with all things Disney.

I knew travel was a priority for me. I knew I had to make enough money to pay my bills and set some aside to travel. This is where personal finance kicks in. I started tracking my spending, determining where my money was going and how I could change my spending to better reflect my priorities. I thought this was “budgeting” (I later learned it’s totally not!). Years went by and we’ve managed to take some pretty great trips without debt, but I have a feeling that we can be doing a lot better!

This is our journey of changing priorities, paying off some (student) debt, making a budget and hopefully making some pretty awesome plans!

So I want to know, is travel a priority in your life? Would you like it to be?