'We are not rich:' A couple share one money tip that lets them travel full time — on land and sea

"What if I were to dice tomorrow, what would you bash for the remainder of your life?" 

That's what Malaysian Samantha Khoo asked her Singaporean hubby Rene Sullivan successful 2017, erstwhile helium came location precocious from a agelong time of work.

"It was truly abrupt and it took maine immoderate clip earlier I answered her," helium told CNBC via video from Langkawi, Malaysia. "I said, 'Well, if that happens, past I conscionable instrumentality my guitar ... and past question the world'."

Khoo replied, "Why are we waiting for maine to dice for you to bash this?"

"Here we are chasing these goals. Pay up your debts, get your house, bash your concern … We did it all. We're astatine this constituent wherever we're inactive like: When is it ever enough?"

The couple, present successful their precocious 40s, were moving businesses of their ain backmost then.

"It was a alteration of perspective. Money tin nary longer beryllium our currency due to the fact that … it's ne'er going [to be] enough. Time became our currency — however bash we walk our clip doing what we want?" 

The archetypal happening the duo did was merchantability astir of their possessions, including their businesses and existent estate, said Sullivan.

"We commencement cutting everything," helium said. "You recognize you don't truly request a batch of wealth — due to the fact that you're not paying your staff, you're not paying your rent, you're not paying for a property, you're not paying for your [credit] cards."

They person since go "small-time investors," said Sullivan. 

Sullivan and Khoo, who've been joined for 22 years, said the astir important happening that enabled them to question afloat clip was being debt-free. 

"We are not rich," Khoo insisted. "It was precise important [to beryllium debt-free]. For example, for properties that we bought, we made definite that [they were] paid disconnected wrong 5 years." 

The mates bought an ex-military van for $3,600 and converted it into a campervan. For 3 years, they traveled crossed Malaysia and conquered "the full of Thailand," said Khoo. 

"The champion portion of van beingness for some of america is the state of not having to pre-book aerial tickets oregon trains, buses oregon hotels. We tin travel and spell erstwhile we like," she added.

In 2019, they started readying a six-month roadworthy travel to the U.K., which would person taken them done China, Mongolia, Russia and Europe. 

They were each acceptable to spell erstwhile the Covid-19 pandemic hit. So they enactment their plans connected hold.

Earlier this year, galore countries reopened their borders to travelers, and the mates were preparing to leave.

"And past the [Russian-Ukraine] war happened. Nothing said that it was a bully clip to bash onshore travel," said Khoo. 

With their plans thwarted, the mates started dreaming astir their adjacent adventure. Khoo spent a batch of clip watching videos connected YouTube, and she chanced upon 1 astir surviving successful a tiny boat. 

"I was like, 'Oh, I tin bash this,'" she said. Sullivan, however, was not truthful keen.

"I was skeptical of everything — [dealing with] the upwind and past being successful the water each by yourself. I'm benignant of chickenhearted that way," helium said with a laugh. 

The compromise? Sullivan agreed to trial the waters of sail beingness earlier committing to buying a boat.

They spent 4 months astatine Pangkor Marina successful Malaysia, wherever they worked for vessel owners without wage to summation cognition astir vessel beingness and maintenance.

Sullivan yet fell successful emotion with the lifestyle. In April this year, the mates bought a secondhand full-keel vessel for $15,000.

While the thought of surviving connected a sailboat is relaxing, Khoo and Sullivan said it's thing but glamorous. 

"There's truly a batch of hard enactment that goes into it. We are learning caller skills each day," said Khoo. "This vessel is not conscionable our home, but it's besides our university, our dormitory, our office."

There is simply a communal saying that "boat" stands for "bring connected different thousand," said Khoo. 

"It means that erstwhile thing breaks, you're going to walk $1,000 connected it."

Sullivan added, "Learning astir the motor and [fixing] it ourselves, you prevention a lot. So if you cognize however to bash it, you conscionable bargain the parts, and you hole it yourself."

Sullivan said helium picks up skills from different boaters arsenic good arsenic online.

"It's each disposable connected YouTube ... It conscionable takes much clip for you to learn," helium said.

That's wherefore the mates person yet to permission Talagar Harbor successful Langkawi, wherever their vessel has been anchored for the past 3 months. 

"People are like: 'Go already, you guys are ready,'" said Sullivan.

But helium said they're contented to spell dilatory — to absorption connected anchoring the boat, past returning to enactment for the clip being — and reappraisal their advancement quarterly.

"We don't unit ourselves due to the fact that we conscionable privation to beryllium similar 1% amended than yesterday," helium said.

Khoo and Sullivan besides tally a YouTube transmission called 24 Hour Travellers, wherever they papers their adventures and interrogation different travelers.

The mates said being round-the-clock travelers is substance of perspective. 

"It's astir … however you tin alteration your position and beryllium blessed wherever you are," Khoo said. 

"At Talagar Harbor, erstwhile we locomotion to the main gate, we walk a South African captain, a French captain, a German sailor, an Indonesian carpenter … they go your neighbors," she added. 

"Knowing the vessel owners, it's already similar traveling the world," she said.

For now, the mates are focused connected taking "baby steps" to execute their extremity — to go susceptible sailors and acceptable sail to Thailand adjacent year.

"The imagination is to anchor our vessel successful bluish h2o and beryllium surrounded by islands," Khoo said.