How To Use Travel To Build Wealth
I am writing you today from beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico in an “adobe”/Pueblo-style home with a breathtaking view of the Sandia Mountains. Every quarter, I take a trip with my wife where we spend time recharging from the past 90 days and planning for the next 90 days. I simply call these “Quarterly Trips”. They usually last 3–5 days and are done toward the end of the quarter for that quarter. The Q4 trip reviews Q3 and plans for Q1, for example. Each one is a bit different, and all of them have the same underlying format and today I want to share this with you because it’s a valuable tool I think you may be able to use to enhance your wealth building.
Let’s address first what all of my Quarterly Trips have in common:
- They are away from home. For me, it is extremely important to change my environment and get out of my day-to-day space and routines. This makes me more enthusiastic, broadens my horizons, and forces me out of the mundane.
- I refrain from doing my day-to-day work and life activities. I believe the future only exists…in the future. If my mind is wrapped up in the present or the past, I’m not going to have the mental clarity I need for the future. I leave the work projects, the kids, the pets, the chores, etc. alone for these 3–5 days and focus on what I am creating in the next 90 days and how it aligns with my long-term goals.
- I am going to spend the first 1–2 days doing nothing but clearing out my mental space, recharging, and taking it all in. I believe my future is my creation and my creation is art. It would be hard for any artist to work on their masterpiece if they’re not using a blank canvas. With planning, my mind is my canvas and it does need to be clear.
- I ONLY do things I enjoy. That’s the rule on these trips. If it isn’t enjoyable, I don’t do it.
- I experience new things. This goes along with broadening my horizons and breaking out of the mundane.
- I work on something business or investment-related at least 4 hours per day. This allows me to write the trip off on my taxes.
Next, I want to address each of the 4 trips so you can see the overall theme. I will start with December as the first trip as I believe it sets the tone.
- December (Q4) Trip: Okay for a moment put yourself there. It’s the end of the calendar year and things are wrapping up. Most people get all wrapped up in the busyness of Christmas and New Years that they don’t review how their year went and they don’t think about how the next year will go. This trip helps me break that cycle. A general rule of thumb is that anything that “everyone” is doing, you probably shouldn’t be. While “everyone” is getting sucked into the holiday hecticness, I am actually pulling back and doing this trip. Now that doesn’t mean I don’t celebrate the holidays, but it means for 3–5 days in December, I am going to do a Quarterly Trip.
There are a few key focuses for this one:
o End of year final tax planning so that I can put in place any final strategies needed to lower my tax bill.
o Review of yearly wealth statistics (Total Income, Passive Income, Savings, Net Worth, Generosity)
o Any last-minute tactics needed to achieve my annual goal for that year (which is why I don’t do this trip at the very end of December)
o Goal setting for the New Year and the new quarter (Q1 of the new year)
- End of March (Q1 Trip): This is toward the end of the 1st Quarter of the year and 90 days into the new year. It is enough time to take a look at how the year is going in comparison to the plans I had and to make any quick adjustments right off the bat. I’ll be honest, my 2024 goals that I set in Q4 have gone very differently than I planned so far. So this weekend in New Mexico, I will be reviewing and adjusting accordingly so that I still achieve my main goals for 2024.
Here are the main things I’m covering:
o Review annual goals and planning
o Review the goals set for this past quarter and see where I am in relation to them and what adjustments need to be made
o Review of yearly wealth statistics (Total Income, Passive Income, Savings, Net Worth, Generosity)
o Adjustments and planning for the coming Q2
- End of June (Q2 Trip): This is half time. The year is a game and the game is hallway over. Just like in sports, this is a make or break moment and this meeting will often set the tone for how the rest of the year needs to go. If things are going well, we are going to identify them and reinforce them. If things are not on pace, we are going to make the right adjustments for the 2nd half of the year so the goals are still met.
o Review annual goals and planning
o Review the goals set for the past quarter, compare and make adjustments
o Review of yearly wealth statistics (Total Income, Passive Income, Savings, Net Worth, Generosity)
o Adjustments and planning for the 2nd half of the year and the planning to begin Q3
- End of September (Q3 Trip): There are only 90 days or so left in the year at this point. This is the final sprint and depending on how the year has gone will determine how intense this final 90 days needs to be. This is also when I begin implementing my tax planning. With 90 days left, I have a pretty good idea of what my income and tax bill will be and I can start to decide how to mitigate it.
Here is what I do:
o Review annual goals and planning
o Review the goals set for the past quarter, compare and make adjustments
o Review of yearly wealth statistics (Total Income, Passive Income, Savings, Net Worth, Generosity)
o Tax Planning to reduce my tax bill
o Adjustments and planning for the final quarter And then we roll back into the Q4 Trip to prep for the new year.
Now, when I was first starting out, I kept these VERY inexpensive. One of the rules is these trips must set me forward financially, not set me back. This means I allocate a percentage of my income to quarterly trips so the funds are there and I don’t go overboard. If done correctly, each trip should lead to a more successful quarter and year, the income should climb, and you should be able to increase the quality of your trips, which all reinforces itself.
I also want to note that if you have kids and pets, do not bring them on these trips. And if you need to prioritize other trips with them for other purposes, definitely do that. But the purpose of these trips is for you as the CEO of your family’s wealth and as a leader, to get space, time away from the day-to-day, and the ability to put all of your attention and focus on your future. Things that will interrupt that, pull you back into the present or past, and that will pull your attention away from the future shouldn’t be part of this trip. And that doesn’t mean you love your kids and pets any less. It means you love them enough to set them aside for 3–5 days and plan ahead.
I hope this article gives you some valuable tools that you can begin to apply to build a life of abundance & prosperity in all areas.
In closing, my mission in life is to help good people build more wealth who make the world a better place. So if you’re a good person who wants to help make the world a better place and this article helped you, I want to encourage you to start planning your next quarterly trip and putting this into practice. And feel free to write me and let me know how it went.
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The Blueprint to Financial Freedom by Jerry Fetta
To Purpose, Wealth & Freedom,
Jerry Fetta
Jerry Fetta is the CEO and Founder of Wealth DynamX. He is a nationally recognized financial expert featured in Forbes, Yahoo Finance, Fox, Chicago Weekly News, New York Finance, interviewed on over 45 podcasts with world renowned experts, earning endorsements and affiliations throughout his career with names like Kevin O’Leary, Grant Cardone, Dave Ramsey, and Pamela Yellen.
Jerry’s mission in life is to help create millions of financially educated and solvent families achieving greater financial freedom and sharing the truth about money with those around them.
Learn more at www.WealthDynamX.com
(DISCLAIMER: The information in this content should not be considered tax, financial, investment, or any kind of professional advice. Only a professional diagnosis of your specific situation can determine which strategies are appropriate for your needs. Wealth DynamX can and does not provide advice unless/until engaged by you.)
