You don't have to be rich to travel the world and buy a home in an expensive city. Esther from NZ Muse proves you just need to be smart with your money. Long description: It was such a pleasure chatting with Esther from one of my favourite personal finance blogs NZ Muse. I've been following her only her own personal finance journey for years, and I'm so glad I was able to finally chat with her one-on-one for this episode. Not only that, she's the first non-North American guest I've had on the show! This episode is all about Esther sharing how she eventually got to a place in her life where she was able to afford to leave work to travel the world for 6 months and also buy a home in the incredibly expensive city of Auckland. Esther's story isn't some crazy story either. She was able to make something most of us only daydream about a reality simply by be strategic with her career and her money. Similar to me, Esther started out working in the media/journalism business. What used to be a thriving and exciting industry is one that has devolved since Facebook and YouTube became major players. It's sad, because journalism is so important (especially with all the fake news floating around), but also like me, she eventually realized that if she wanted to grow in her career and make a decent living, she needed to change course. That's when she decided to move into more a content marketing role, and was able to save up $10,000 to for her 6-month trip. She was able to take a leave of absence for work, but she was also financially prepared to have to look for a new job after her travels. Everything worked out pretty well, because after her bucket list trip she was able to save up another big chunk of money to buy her first home. You see, nothing sensational or unattainable in her story. She just made smart choices! She saw that there was a ceiling in her industry so she switched careers to make a better living. She wanted to fulfill her dream of travelling for a long stretch of time, so she lived frugally and saved up enough cash to do it. She wanted to buy a home to have a nice roof of her head and to build some equity, so she hunkered down once again and saved up enough for a down-payment. The message here is that if she can do it, anyone can do it. You just need to work hard, make smart financial decisions, maintain focus and take action. Some of Esther's Best Posts How to break the cycle of underearning (because you're worth it) What my Asian parents taught me about money The best decision I ever made My first love was a practice run Demystifying the introvert Check Out Esther First Free Course! Great timing for me to share our podcast episode together because Esther just released a 5-day email course all about how to reclaim your money mojo! Make sure to sign up to her free email course to get out of your money rut. Follow Esther on Social Like Esther on Facebook Follow Esther on Twitter Check Out Esther on Pinterest For more podcast episodes, check out the podcast page. Show notes: jessicamoorhouse.com/91