{"id":14817,"date":"2021-05-24T09:00:11","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T13:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nomadicmatt.com\/?p=14817"},"modified":"2024-10-08T09:48:32","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T13:48:32","slug":"why-cynics-like-bob-will-always-be-haters-and-how-you-can-prove-them-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nomadicmatt.com\/travel-blogs\/why-cynics-like-bob-will-always-be-haters-and-how-you-can-prove-them-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Cynics Will Always Be Haters and How to Prove Them Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"a<\/p>\n

Remember when I wrote about Jessica and how she\u2019ll never get to Ireland? <\/p>\n

No? <\/p>\n

That’s ok. Read about her here<\/a> and then come back. <\/p>\n

OK, now that you\u2019re back, I\u2019d like you to meet someone similar to her. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s call him \u201cBob.\u201d <\/p>\n

They\u2019re different people but they\u2019re two sides of the same coin. Whereas Jessica won\u2019t travel because she is held back by the travel industry\u2019s marketing, Bob is our resident travel naysayer and held back by his own cynicism.<\/p>\n

Bob (I\u2019ve changed his name \u2014\u00a0both here and in his original comment) came to my attention when he responded to my blog post about how I make money and afford to travel. He wrote:<\/p>\n

I love this – \u201cAnyone can do it\u201d… Then we find he was able to save $20,000 before his first trip. Most of us are paying off student loans whilst juggling rent. See, folks? There\u2019s always more to it \u2013 former high-paying job or lived with his parents so could save, a monetary gift from parents, taught English abroad, fired or laid off, took a trip, in right place at right time & got hospitality job or teaching or gardening job. It\u2019s all very individual. There is no formula that\u2019s why no one comes out and says. They want you to buy something. This site doesn\u2019t seem that big\/popular enough to generate enough money to fly 25 times\/year. My niece has a bigger blog than this. [Matt\u2019s comment: OUCH!!!]<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Like I said, everyone wants to seem lucky. There\u2019s always more to it than anyone will let on. I\u2019ve been to 20 countries, but that\u2019s because I\u2019ve had rich friends\/lovers & affluent parents. I once had a job that took me places, too. See? I said it. That\u2019s honest. No expensive books w\/some secret. I\u2019m not trying to sound lucky or like I know something because I\u2019m not selling anything.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I don\u2019t know Bob. He\u2019s probably a nice guy and I\u2019m not here to pick on him personally; I simply want to discuss his line of thinking because I think it is shared by far<\/em> too many. People like Bob assume that someone must first have some sort of helping hand, that saving money in order to travel can\u2019t be as simple as I make it seem \u2014\u00a0and that I, and others like me, are just here to make a quick buck by selling a pipe dream!
\n <\/p>\n

Why Bob is Completely Wrong<\/h3>\n

\"Happy
\nJessica will never go to Ireland because she will never break out of the mold the travel industry puts her in. On the other hand, folks like Bob might travel far and wide but will never believe it is possible to do so without a lot of money. I call this the Sarah Palin Syndrome, which I\u2019ve defined as:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe persistent belief that only those with means, helpful parents, or an upper-class upbringing can afford to launch a travel endeavor for any sustained period of time because normal people have too many bills, loans, debts, or obligations to travel.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve named it as such because while running for vice\u00a0president of the United States, Sarah Palin stated:<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m not one of those who came from a background of, you know, kids who perhaps graduate college and their parents give them a passport and give them a backpack and go off and travel the world. No, I\u2019ve worked all my life. In fact, I usually had two jobs all my life until I had kids. I was not a part of that culture.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is a pessimistic mentality. It is one that blames the outside world for your ills and then creates a “no” mindset<\/a> so you never try<\/em> to find ways to travel. <\/p>\n

Bob assumed that I could only afford my original trip with the help of my parents. This goes to the heart of Sarah Palin Syndrome: the assumption that you need a lot of money (either through a good job or helpful parents) to get going and that if you don\u2019t start out with a fair amount of savings, you can\u2019t travel. In his follow up email, Bob told me:<\/p>\n

I’ve lived in the South End. A $30,000 salary, in a city like Boston, particularly w\/school loans, doesn’t bring forth $20,000 savings in three years. That math doesn’t exist, mate…unless you’re living w\/your parents.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yet, as I\u2019ve pointed out before, the math can<\/em> work on that kind of salary. I wrote a list months ago of 20 ways one can drastically cut expenses<\/a>. These are the exact thing I did before I left for my first round the world trip to save money. It becomes pretty easy to save 33% of your salary when you are fully committed to your goal and, yes, also living with your family for a few months as well as ditching your car.<\/p>\n

I think folks like Bob don\u2019t think that it\u2019s possible to save money in such a hyper-consumption world. But, when you stop buying crap, your bank account goes WAY up. When you cancel your subscription services, the bills they generate disappear. I lived like a pauper and made my salary work. And I have always said that I lived with my parents for six\u00a0months to save money!<\/p>\n

I’m not the only one who figured out how to do this. Over the years, I’ve interviewed countless community members who have shared how they saved for their trip too! Here’s are some you can read: <\/p>\n