Today we’d like to introduce you to Mel Bailey.
Mel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In 2016, I started a new job that I quickly realized I hated. Feeling like there wasn’t anything better, I continued there for 3.5 years. I thought going to work at a normal job was what everyone did. I didn’t see any other options. During this time, my husband and I read a personal finance book together. Being newlyweds, we wanted to get out in front of money issues. We were so motivated after reading it that we began budgeting together. I saw that we were paying over $1,000 a month in debt alone. That sparked the idea to pay off all of our debt. Eight months later, we paid off $48,000 in student loans, car notes, and credit card payments and were debt-free!
It felt like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. Everything changed when we got to keep all the money we made – excluding taxes, of course. I got a small glimpse of the freedom I craved in other areas of life. After completing a huge milestone that I didn’t think was possible prior, I felt ready to tackle another ‘mountain.’ My husband and I talked about doing something different and we decided to quit our jobs and travel the world. We were able to save such a huge percentage of our income since we were already accustomed to putting everything towards the debt. We simply put everything into a savings account.
Everything else fell into place from that point forward. I began a blog to share our travels with friends and family at home. As time progressed, I got a lot of questions on how others can do the same thing. My blog grew to become a “how-to travel long-term manual,” including how to afford it. I began creating resources for women and couples who wanted to travel long term with a focus on financial preparation. Without building great money habits in my own life, The Baileys Go wouldn’t exist.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
A smooth road – what is that?! Absolutely not, most recently hasn’t been a great time for the travel industry. I’ve been working with my clients to prepare them better financially amongst the pandemic since travel is halted. Overall, I had no idea what it takes to run an online consulting business and blog. I had zero systems and worked haphazardly for a while. I’m still improving my workflow to be more effective and more efficient.
Please tell us about The Baileys Go.
The Baileys Go is a resource for women and couples who are interested in long-term traveling – whether a month backpacking Southeast Asia or indefinite trips around the globe. I specialize in working with clients to create a plan. My business goes past providing travel inspiration and we put actionable steps in motion for our clients. The question we love to help with is “How do I afford to take extended time away from work?” Most of us know our dreams with travel to exotic locations. I provide tools and guidance on actualizing your travel dreams.
We’re most proud of the people we help. Many people message me that “it’s not possible for them.” I’m able to extend their idea of possible and I don’t take that for granted.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I would seek business coaches sooner. There are so many moving pieces in running my business that I wasn’t prepared for, from marketing to pitching. I naively thought that I could write great blogs and give people a few tips on what worked for me – it is so much more.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thebaileysgo.com
- Email: connect@thebaileysgo.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thebaileysgo
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/thebaileysgo
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thebaileysgo
Image Credit:
Joeline Payton
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