Living Life on Purpose. How to Ditch the Desk and Become a Full Time Traveler​ | Ep 18

Published: Oct. 22, 2019, 5:55 p.m.

Have you ever felt there must be more to life than a 9-5, or for some of us a 9-9, to pay the bills and keep up with the Jonses? In this episode we hear from two courageous women who ditched the desk to live a more purposeful life and hit the road with their husbands for full time travel. Ellen McGregor Kortan hit refresh in her 40s and found a way to travel full time on just $24,000 a year, for two people! Tara Marlow moved back to Australia, and with her daughter in college, finally started a life of travel, something she had long planned to do. Both women had wake-up calls which reinforced the truth that tomorrow is not guaranteed. 

What We Discuss

  • Leaving a 40+ hour a week office job for a life of freedom and full time travel
  • How to retire early by making smart saving choices
  • Traveling the world for 2 on $24,000 a year budget
  • Slow travel and the long-term Airbnb accommodation discount
  • Getting diagnosed with breast cancer abroad and treatment in a foreign country
  • A virtual friendship with Jodi Cullen
  • Transitioning from a career as a project manager to becoming a writer and photographer
  • Hitting refresh with a family
  • Saving $15,000 via house sitting
  • House sitting with Trusted House sitters
  • Losing loved ones and the wake-up call to live life on purpose

About Ellen

Early retired budget travel Goddess; breast cancer warrior.

Follow her on Facebook, Instagram @vagabondspirit, and her website Earth Vagabonds.


About Tara

Tara Marlow is a writer of both fiction and non-fiction, a travel blogger and a photographer. Tara ditched the desk in 2011, emptied the nest in 2017 and now travels the world full time, inspiring others, like herself, to do the same. Her philosophy is straightforward: Live life on purpose.

In between writing a (fiction) novel, publishing some short stories, working on a second (non-fiction) novel and running an online business, Tara has explored some amazing places, housesitting as she goes.

Follow her on Facebook, Instagram @travelfarenough, Pinterest, LinkedIn and her website Travel Far Enough. 


Follow us:

Join our She Hit Refresh Facebook Group, get more tips and advice on how to hit refresh on our blog, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.