A Tug Between the Head and the Heart

A deeper dive into our reasons why we are continuing travel therapy

I sit at our dining room table (which also serves as Tyler's office) watching a light rain fall outside in Pacific Grove, CA. The morning air here is a crisp 51 degrees (yes, I know it is much colder in Kansas but we are soft now okay!) The Christmas tree lights are on. It is cozy. But it is not home.

Somehow 13 weeks have slipped away since our last blog post and we are now at the beginning of December which means in exactly 13 days, on December 16th, we will be heading home! I feel an urgency to be home this year that I did not quite feel last year. Over the past few months I have been craving familiarity, comfort, and roots. Am I homesick? Burnt out? Is this just part of getting older? Am I ready to settle down? These are the questions that have been steadily rolling in and out of my mind like waves crashing against the shore. And no, Tyler does not feel this same way as me (feel free to give him a very hard time at Christmas). If it were solely his choice, we would be traveling for another 5 years. Let me assure you - we both agree that will not be happening. What is happening though is a tug of war between my head and my heart. My head knows that at the beginning of January 2023 Tyler and I set very specific goals we wanted to meet before "retiring" from travel therapy. While my heart is longing for home, my head knows that there is a bigger picture as to why we are still traveling.

Besides the obvious positives of travel therapy - exploring and living in beautiful places, the sense of adventure and freedom, and the personal and professional growth - one of the driving factors for Tyler and I when deciding to pursue traveling was the opportunity to make double my salary per month, which for us would be life changing for two reasons: 1. the opportunity to pay off my student loan debt and 2. the opportunity to save for a down payment on a future home. Without getting into too many gritty details lets just equate that:

A naive 18-year-old with zero financial literacy skills + attending an out of state private Christian undergraduate school + attending the same out of state private Christian 2-year Master's Degree program = a whole lot of student loan debt.

Those of us who incur student loan debt know how defeating and crippling it can feel. The joy of graduating, sense of accomplishment, and what is supposed to be the exciting long awaited start of a professional career (and real paychecks!) is met with a daunting 10 years (at least) worth of monthly student loan payments to Nelnet.com (enter student loan provider of choice).

My student loan debt has been a huge mountain on my shoulders that I've slowly been chipping away at since 2017. The last 19 months of travel therapy have allowed Tyler and I to chip away at my mountain of debt even faster. As of this month, we have been able to pay off nearly $50k of my student loans! It feels unreal even just typing that. We have also been able to save monthly towards a future home downpayment, while also being able to still have plenty of adventures and fun along the way.

Our goal of paying off the entirety of my student loan debt while saving for a downpayment before we return home is our reason as to why we are still traveling. Our plan is to continue this journey of traveling until both of our financial goals have been met.

The Lord has been so generous towards Tyler and I by providing for us through the avenue of travel therapy. Tyler has been the partner God knew I needed by giving him the gifts of patience, perseverance, and the ability to make a mean excel sheet budget. When I reflect on the past 19 months of what Tyler and I have been able to accomplish together it all just makes me feel so proud of us and even more thankful to God for His provision and for putting these desires of trying to be good stewards on our hearts.

While my heart longs to be home and for a home of our own, we both know in our head and our hearts that we have been graciously given the opportunity to make wise decisions now that our future selves will be thankful for.

Love,

The Wandering Wrights