How We Afford a Life of Travel
Our Story
We Quit. We Traveled. We Figured It Out.
In 2018, we both walked away from stable TV careers — good salaries, respectability, two weeks of vacation a year — and decided to trade all of it for a life on our own terms. No inheritance. No trust fund. No plan B.
We started from scratch: seasonal resort work to fund travel, then slowly building content creation from zero. First brand deal was a barter. We restarted our account with under 1,000 followers while traveling with a one-year-old. We learned every piece of it — Instagram, brand deals, guides, affiliate revenue — by doing it, failing at it, and doing it again.
Now 90+ countries in, living in Spain with two girls, we have a real location-independent income. And we teach others how to build theirs too.
Ready to build yours?
Learn to get paid on Instagram — even without a big following.
@withmarae is where I teach creators how to land brand deals and build income using AI — without needing 100K followers. Built by someone who did it from zero with a baby on her hip.
From the Blog
How We Do It
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The Tools We Actually Use to Fund This Life
Travelpayouts — This is the affiliate platform I use to earn from every hotel, tour, and train recommendation I make. 45+ travel brands in one dashboard. If you’re a travel blogger, they also pay up to $600 per creator you refer. Join Travelpayouts →
SafetyWing Nomad Insurance — Our family’s travel and health insurance for life abroad. Covers medical emergencies worldwide. Essential when you’re not covered by a home country plan. Get SafetyWing →
DiscoverCars — We save 23–54% on every car rental by comparing 500+ suppliers. Use this instead of booking direct or through the hotel. Compare car rentals →
Our Amazon Storefront — Every piece of family travel gear I actually use: packing cubes, travel strollers, kids’ travel pillows, eSIM routers, and more. Shop the storefront →