Not Luxe ☼ Travel
  • ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL
  • WHY “NOT LUXE”
  • Cambodia
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Not Luxe ☼ Travel
  • ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL
  • WHY “NOT LUXE”
  • Cambodia
  • Australia
  • Travel
  • Teaching ESL
  • Move Abroad
  • Travel Insurance

our best purchases

    things worth buying as a minimalist for travel

    Things Worth Buying as Minimalist Nomads

    by Nick & Raychel April 28, 2020

    As perpetual travellers, we often give tips on how to own less, how to save money, and things we no longer buy. But before we’re perceived under the wrong light, we LOVE to spend money!! We just choose to spend money on things worth buying as per our own goals and life standards.

    So what are some of the best purchases we’ve made in our lives? We’ll list ’em below.


    Prefer to watch, not read? Find the video on our YouTube channel!

    Plane tickets & travel expenses

    If you know anything about us, it may not come as a surprise to you – but we love to spend money on travel. For that matter, travelling is the main reason when it comes to why we save money in general!

    We live a pretty minimalistic life. We don’t own a lot of things, but travel is just one of those things worth buying for us. After all, we wouldn’t be who we were without all of these amazing experiences.

    Camera, lights & laptop

    I bought my camera (the Canon 60D) when I was accepted to film school in 2011. This camera has taken me through thick & thin – through cringe-worthy group projects, to my first paid gig and beyond. Lenses & audio equipment have come and gone, but this camera body has never failed me! 

    In addition to my camera, we also have studio lights and a MacBook Pro that just makes our lives so much easier.

    Our beloved HAMMOCK

    When we moved to Cambodia to teach English in 2018, we were ready to embrace the relaxed lifestyle. After finding the perfect apartment, we realized that a hammock would complete our sunroom. 

    That hammock was $30 USD from a local market, which felt like a lot of money at the time and under the circumstances we were in. That said, we used it every single day. When we left Cambodia to move to Australia, we passed the hammock along to our friend.

    things worth buying - hammock - nick and raychel

    Best. Purchase. Ever.

    Concert tickets

    When it comes to things worth buying, concert tickets have always been important to us. Many people leave these on their “Things I Stopped Buying” lists, but we simply don’t agree.

    As two music lovers, we always love to support bands & artists we love by purchasing tickets to their concerts. We love live music and there’s no price tag you can put on that.

    Tattoos

    Yep. We buy them. We love them. We spend a lot of money on them.

    Our retired ambulance

    We bought a retired ambulance which we started working on gutting  to convert it into a tiny home on wheels! This is still a newer purchase under the works, but we are so excited for our next journey with it.

    More on that soon. Follow our journey on Instagram!

    Engagement ring (wedding bands to come!)

    For those who didn’t know, we’re ENGAGED!! The proposal was incredibly special and personal, and the ring is to die for.

    In addition to purchasing an engagement ring, we will also be spending money on wedding bands & other wedding expenses for next year. This seems to be a crazy subject in the land of the internet, but having a traditional wedding is just simply important to both of us.

    We are so excited. 

    Sushi making set 

    It seems silly but it makes me happy.  I couldn’t make sushi without it. And I save A LOT of money by making it at home.

    Skateboards & gear

    Although Nick is now a sponsored skateboarder and no longer has to pay for gear. He says:

    “Any skateboards that I ever bought in the past. Nowadays, I am fortunate enough that the company I ride for will send me stuff when I need it. But when I was younger I would buy skateboards all of the time and I started going through them really fast as I progressed and got better at it. I’m happy I saved any little money I did have to buy skateboards, because it shaped my life and got me to where I am. Even to meeting Raychel. I’m so passionate about it and I’m really happy that I stuck with it.”

    And if that isn’t the perfect example of a great investment, I don’t know what is. 

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Nick & Raychel
Nick & Raychel

In 2018, we sold everything we owned and moved to Cambodia to teach English.

Let’s make this clear: this journey didn’t start with money. This journey started with a desire to see the world and to do something different for a change.

We’re not going to fool you with photos of floating breakfasts and private jets. We know what it’s like to be on a budget. Although we like to take pretty pictures, we aren’t going to wake up at an ungodly hour to give you unachievable travel jealousy. We aren’t going to censor ourselves or lie to you.

What we are going to do is stay in cheap hostels, find ways to make money, give the advice that we would want to hear, and share our experiences with you honestly.

Are you in?

Not Luxe

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CATEGORIES

ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL

About Us Hi! We’re Nick & Raychel, the Canadian travel couple behind the brand ‘Not Luxe’. Far before we were married (and on a mission to see the world), we were working…

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Instagram

  • Every choice comes with sacrifice. We chose to use our money that we work for to travel, and we continue to make that choice every day.

But making that choice means we haven’t been able to do other things that another 30 year old couple would maybe do. We sold our car, all of our things, we don’t have a stable place to live, we haven’t started a family, we don’t own a home.

We work overtime to afford our travels, and we have very little money for anything else. 

And of course, we must acknowledge that we have huge amounts of privilege to even be able to make that choice. Our strong passports allow us to see much of the world, we were born into a country where our currency is valued worldwide, and we always have a friend or family member’s couch to crash on if we need it.

So this post is not meant to complain, rather show: everything comes with a sacrifice - and if you’re considering giving up your stable life for full-time travel, there may be some things you have to leave behind.

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__

Tags: #notluxe #traveltips #budgettravel #cheaptravel #budgettraveltips  #girlslovetravel #travelgram #getoutstayout #livetoexplore #travelblogger #canadiancreator #vancouverblogger #vanlifesociety #vanlifediaries #traveldiaries
  • We’ve lived on 3 continents by travelling slow and working when we end up 🫶🏼

& somehow our travels brought us back to our home city for the summer this year for the first time in 6 YEARS! Damn.

But we’ve said it once and we’ll say it a trillion times, we will do almost a n y t h I n g in the name of travel.

Any questions?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__

Tags: #notluxe #traveltips #budgettravel #cheaptravel #budgettraveltips #gapyear #travelgirls #travelgirlsgo #girlslovetravel #travelgram #granolagirl#getoutstayout #livetoexplore #travelblogger #vanlifeculture #vanlifediaries #vanlifeideas #liveoutdoors #vanlifeliving #vanlife #homeiswhereyouparkit #tinyhome #canadiantravel #ohcanada #canadiancreators
  • If you want to live in a van in 2023/2024, here is our roadmap for getting started with van life. 

⇾ Embrace minimalism and downsize your possessions

⇾ Research different van options that fit your lifestyle and budget

⇾ Set a realistic budget for your van purchase or build

⇾ Plan your layout and storage needs

⇾ Learn about solar power and sustainability

⇾ Source materials and supplies for your build - you can learn on YouTube

⇾ Talk to insurance companies and classify your van as a motorhome

⇾ Download iOverlander and create a budget for your travels

⇾ Connect with the van life community and attend meetups

⇾ Hit the road and embrace the freedom of van life 

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__

Tags: #notluxe  #vanlife #vanlifemovement  #vanlifegirl #tinyliving #vanconversion #vanconversionideas #vanbuild #camperlife #homeonwheels #vanlifers #vanlifecouple #travelcouple  #granolagirl #vandwellers #explorecanada #travelcanada #yvrcreators #canadiantravelbloggers #outdoorscreator
  • How much I spend in a day living *basically* rent-free in Vancouver 

As many of you know, we live in a van, but we also do housesitting with @trustedhousesitters 

Transit with a compass card is $2.50 which I use frequently - especially to visit my parents who also live in Vancouver 

This day we checked out To Live For Bakery @tolivefor.bakery which I highly, highly recommend to anyone who is cruising through the city and ends up on Nanaimo 

Also popped by @welksonmain for some N/A drinks from  @sobercarpenter & @getgruvi 

And our Trusted Housesitters membership is $11/mo totalling $0.38 for rent per day

& the one day total was $18.23 

Any questions?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

Tags: #notluxe  #vanlifeculture  #traveldiaries #travelgram #livetoexplore #vanlifeculture #budgettravel #worktotravel #traveljobs #travelblogger #vandwelling #discovercanada #vancitylife #bcadventure #canadiancreator #vancouverfoodie #veganfoodie #outdoorsycreator #minimalism #housesitting
  • Things we would have never done if we had listened to ✨ fear ✨(and these are just a few)

• quit our jobs to teach English in Asia
• sold everything we owned (twice) 
• moved to a country we’d never been to before (twice)
• converted an old ambulance into a tiny home with no experience
• drove from Canada to Mexico in our van 
• met up with people from the internet and became best friends 

But mostly, taken a chance on ourselves.

We do our best to not let fear or the opinions of others lead the way. 

Do you have any to add?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__ 

Tags: #notluxe #vanlifecouples #tinyhome #vanlifers #vanlifevirals #vanlifedistrict #vanlifeideas #vanlifediaries #vanlifeideas #liveoutdoors #vanlifeliving #vanlife #homeiswhereyouparkit #travelgirlsgo #exploretocreate #travelcouple #traveltheworld#travelcreator #travelblogger #canadiantravel #ohcanada #canadiancreators
  • Is van life really cheaper than renting? Van life costs vs. monthly expenses living in an apartment.

Not to mention the average price in Vancouver now is $2,700 - so not sure where we’d find that $1,300 rental anymore.

Any questions about van life?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

—

Tags: #notluxe  #vanlifeproject #tinyhome #tinyliving #vanlifediaries #livetoexplore #vanlifeculture #budgettravel #worktotravel #traveljobs #travelblogger #vanlifestyle #livingoutdoors #campinglife  #vanlifevirals #yvr #vancouverbc #canadianblogger
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