Hey there, I’m Megan!

I’m so glad you found my blog.

I’m a 28-year-old performance engineer from Indiana with a passion for adventure travel and experiencing new places.

Like most of you, my husband and I have regular corporate jobs, and we don’t have plans to sell our home and backpack across the world full-time (I love having a place to call home and seeing the world!).

Having a regular 9-5 doesn’t have to limit your passion for adventure! Using your time off wisely, budgeting appropriately, and making travel a priority in your schedule will give you the freedom to see the world while also maintaining stability. Being financially responsible and traveling frequently do not have to be mutually exclusive!

On my blog, you will find attainable adventure travel itineraries to US National Parks and beyond, along with tips for traveling more with a full-time job. I especially love hiking in beautiful places and learning about unique areas in our country’s history. 

Unlike most other travel blogs, you will also find realistic budget breakdowns and how my husband and I afford to travel with our corporate jobs!

I am extremely type-A and love bringing you well thought out itineraries that you can fit in your budget and allotted paid time off. For me researching a trip is almost as fun as actually going on the trip!

I recognize the time and financial investment traveling is, so I want to help you make the most out of every trip you take! I believe that a thoughtful, well-planned itinerary (that also provides downtime!) will make your trips worth the investment.

More about me…

I didn’t grow up traveling very often. Every summer my family would make the stereotypical Midwestern vacation to Florida, Michigan, or Gatlinburg (no shade to those places, I was just dying to go out west!).

My first ever flight was my senior year of high school!

It wasn’t until my junior year of college when I had the opportunity to study abroad in Shanghai, China for a semester that my real passion for travel began. 

I traveled all over China with people from my study abroad program and it was truly a life-changing experience. When I came home, I promised myself that I would continue traveling and broadening my horizons.

2 years later, I graduated with a mechanical engineering degree, started my first job, and realized that I had $56,000 of student loan debt. I had to learn how to balance having fun, saving for the future, and paying off my loans on an entry-level engineering salary.

While I was enjoying my first job, I often spent slow afternoons at work daydreaming about amazing places to go see. Even though I imagined quitting my job to travel the world, I also realized that it wasn’t a sustainable long-term plan (I had to make money to like, pay off my student loans, eat, and house myself).

I learned how to budget my salary and 10 vacation days to maximize my adventures outside of work while also throwing extra money at my student loan debt and contributing to my 401k.

During the first year at my corporate job, I was able to explore places like New York City, the Upper Peninsula and west coast of Michigan, Denver, and the Outer Banks in North Carolina.

I got married in May of 2021 and my husband and I became completely debt free just 5 months later! 

While there were some seasons of sacrifice where we didn’t travel as much so that we could save for our wedding, pay off debt, and buy a home, we now have a lot more financial freedom to travel more! Those years of sacrifice were totally worth it (and we never stopped traveling and having fun along the way, either).

Even though engineering is my day job, I don’t fit the engineering stereotype of being antisocial and introverted. I have learned over the years that I am actually quite extraverted and have a creative side. 

However, I do also love plans and efficiency. I want to use my type-A, detail-oriented skill set to help you plan awesome trips when you do use your PTO.

As a full-time engineer myself, I know the time, effort, and money it takes to plan a trip while working full-time.

Whether it’s helping you budget your salary so you can travel more, giving you the most efficient itineraries to copy and paste for your own trip, I’m here to help you make your travel dreams a reality!

-Megan