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TRAVEL

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though that’s what most of us do for a living,” Elam says.

Staying on budget

Ironically, much of what she does to earn money does indeed involve staring at a computer screen much of the day. That comes when she’s editing photos for portraits she’s taken or some landscape photography she’s come across during her travels. She also helps people design websites and has her own website, adventurelacephotography.com, to put her work on display. It’s somewhat similar to a 9-to-5 web design job she had when she got back from Europe, but she opted for the freelance route to avoid what she considers unnecessary office-work drama.

She also has her boyfriend to share expenses and travel with along with a pair of Siberian huskies, Storm and Athena, who often make cameos in the photos she posts on her Instagram feed (@advanturelace).

“If you don’t have a partner or a roommate, its hard to afford just to live on your own in this in this day and age, much less travel,” Elam said.

Then, of course, there’s her car, a 2007 Honda CRV that has racked up close to 247,000 miles. She took it to Europe with her and has never had to make major repairs.

When Elam is traveling, she keeps hotel stays to a minimum and often finds places to camp. She also uses gas apps on her smartphone like AAA to look ahead at what gas stations are charging. Fuel for her CRV, she said, is often the biggest expense on her trip, so looking ahead is vital or “gas stations will screw you,” she said.

She also has a cooler she packs food into for longer trips — a drive to North Carolina can take up to 30 hours one way, she said — and she rarely gets fast food since “it’s terrible for you.”

At home, if she and her boyfriend ever eat out, it’s “very rare. Like, once a month.”

Then there’s the hair and cosmetics thing. Elam has gone from spending up to $300 per month on hair products alone to using maybe four beauty products every few months.

She no longer gets her nails done — it’s a counterproductive service when she spends a lot of time outdoors and hiking — and almost never wears makeup anymore. And she cuts her own hair.

In the end, it’s added up enough for her to have enough of a cash flow to make it to North Carolina, Zion National Park in Utah, the Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Park just this year. Elam said she has more trips planned this winter — mostly around snowboarding — and doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

“If you want a steady 401(k) or good health insurance, don’t do what I’m doing,” she said. “I made a decision that I was going to work for myself and not for someone else, and it’s worked enough for me to be able to be able to do these things. I’m looking forward to being kind of low key for a while, but there’s some big things on the horizon.”

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2022-12-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.gazette.com/article/283184382458868

The Gazette, Colorado Springs