This Couple Quit Their Jobs and Sold Everything to Travel the World on $1,000 a Month

June 29, 2015

Matt and Jessica Johnson, both 32, quit their jobs to sail the high seas with their cat Georgie.

Matt, a former automobile sales manager, and Jessica, a billing specialist, have since traveled to 16 countries including Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas, and Peru.

The couple who are originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, told the Daily Mail:

“Our lives were the typical American Dream. Go to school, get married, buy a house, start a career. So far we’ve also left out the part of having 2.5 kids.”

“For too long we had spent all of our weekends in front of the TV without ever doing anything productive or enjoyable. We realized this needed to change.”

“We’d also been hearing stories from so many others that had been putting their dream on hold until retirement and for one reason or another until their dreams were no longer attainable”

In 2011, the couple ditched their typical life for a more adventurous one on a boat.

“We sold our house in June of 2011… when we realized we wanted to be gone for longer, possibly 4-5 years and go much further.”

“In July we both quit our jobs, sold our cars, and were ready to start the cruising life.”

In 2012, the two adopted their cat, Georgie, who seems to be taking her new life on the open waters quite well.

They realized their cat knew how to swim when she jumped overboard in Grand Cayman and climbed back on the boat from the back.

The Johnsons say their cat is probably better on its feet than they are.

“Georgie loves sitting on the deck and watching the fish over the side of the boat when we are at anchor.”

The life change also seems to be working out well for their relationship, which has been going strong for ten years.

Jessica Johnson explains how living on a boat has affected the way they deal with conflict: “There’s no walking away from an argument when one person gets mad at the other, you have to keep working together until the job is done.”

The couple get by on their savings spending an average of $1000 a month on diesel, docking feeds, boat maintenance, insurance, and other general living costs.

They even have a blog, mjsailing, that breaks down the expenses for readers who are interested in pursuing a life on the seas.

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