With less than 5 weeks until I once again pack up and leave my life in Australia, I have reached the point where I need to decide what I will sell, store or throw away.

You don’t realise how many things you take for granted in daily life until you need to leave them all behind. Houses, cars, possessions, memberships, pets, friends and family are all huge elements that need to be dealt with before you hop on that plane.

So how am I doing it?

As this will be my second time leaving for long-term travel I’ve been able to pick up a couple of great tips along the way that make leaving for long-term travel easier, but also help when you finally decide to come back home.

Don’t Cancel Memberships, Suspend Them

Whether it be healthcare, fitness or phone/internet plans try to suspend your account rather than cancelling completely. Healthcare plans such as Bupa here in Australia offer loyalty bonuses for each year of membership. I was able to suspend my account for the 9 months I traveled last year and then reinstate it upon returning without losing any of my loyalty benefits, and suspend again this year.

If You’re a Home Owner, Lease

I’m fortunate to be a home owner that is able to travel long-term. Many people might read that and think, “How is owning a house fortunate? Aren’t you now burdened with paying the costs of being a home owner?”

Yes, whilst there are many costs associated with owning a home, for me it has worked out perfectly because I’ve been able to become a landlord and lease out my home whilst traveling.

Additionally leasing has saved me money as the house is offered fully furnished. I receive increased rent whilst being able to retain my large furniture items without needing to pay for storage.

As a side note to this however, I can’t be too attached to my belongings. A stranger living in my house and using my furniture is a weird feeling and as I have previously written tenants are not always the most considerate people.

Decide to Keep or Sell

Think strategically about your life. How long is your long-term travel? A few months? A year? A few years? If you can’t easily store you possessions whilst you’re away, selling is the thing to do. Filling your bank account with the resultant cash will also be of huge benefit to your travels.

But whilst it’s great to be carefree and loose with your travel plans, I find that it’s great to have some kind of return strategy just in-case things don’t work out the way you thought. Where are you going to live when you return home? Will you need furniture? Is it better to keep some of your things in storage rather than selling?

Last year I decided not to sell my car before traveling. Though I was going to be away for the best part of a year I was able to store the car in my parent’s driveway and knew I would be returning to Australia. Upon my return, deciding to keep the car gave me immediate freedom.

For this trip however I’ve made a different decision. Retaining my car meant I had a large asset to sell and fund this year’s South America travels. When I do eventually return home this time of course I won’t have a car, but that’s something that I am happy to deal with upon my return.

Be Truthful with your Workplace

I have always been honest with my work place about leaving to travel. Whilst I’ve previously and will again this time resigned from my position, I’ve been fortunate to quickly find work once I arrived back home. However if you’re someone who has been in your workplace for a while you may be fortunate enough to be offered a leave of absence or career break.

A career break allows you the safety net of a secure job to come back to once your traveling is over, which can be great when you’ve spent all your dollars around the world and desperately need an income.

Feature image credit: Natasha Mileshina