For the past three years, we’ve been traveling the world as a digital nomad family. When we first started traveling, we tried to do everything ourselves. We researched taxation laws, visa information, housing, and healthcare costs and completed the requisite paperwork.
Three years later, that’s changed. Outsourcing simple (and not so simple) tasks allows us to spend more time working productively and spend more time together as a family.
We’ve grown comfortable giving up tasks, asking for help, and paying experts for their expertise.
These are three tasks (or chores) we used to do independently that we now happily outsource – and think you should too!
Housework
One of the major benefits of digital nomad life is not having to do as many chores. Sure, we cook, clean, and do our dishes, but we don’t have to do a deep clean of our living spaces anymore.
We move instead!
While living in Thailand, I stubbornly insisted on washing our laundry. This was inconvenient and involved the entire family, as our home didn’t have a washing machine. We would take the laundry to the machine in the morning. Then, two hours later, we’d pack up our baby and walk to the laundromat to pick up our laundry. Our afternoons were spent ducking around the laundry hanging in our home.
One day, our landlady mentioned that she washed laundry for 3x the machine’s price. That meant we’d pay $1.50 instead of fifty cents per load.
But she picked up our laundry at the house, washed it, dried it, ironed it, and folded it within two days before dropping it off on our porch.
While we didn’t always take her up on this offer, the times we did made our lives a lot easier.
Visa Research
Life as a digital nomad family is a lot of paperwork. There’s birth certificates, medical records, marraige certificates, and, my favorite, the visa applications.
For the longest time, this was my job.
I researched our destinations, the tourist visas we needed, what paperwork we needed to file, the financial requirements, and how/where to file for our visa.
That changed in Madeira.
We arrived on the Portuguese island exhausted after four months of constant travel and needed a break. After renting a house for the next six months, it was time to deal with my visa. The first hurdle is a big one. The phone number you’re required to call for an appointment doesn’t work. I called three days in a row, all day long. After listening to the hold music on repeat, I decided to reach out to a lawyer who specialized in Portuguese Immigration Law. They got us an appointment the very next day!
These lawyers were terrific. They sent me a checklist of all the paperwork required, made our appointments, and answered all my questions. What had once been a stressful job that required multiple days of research and frustration became a simple To-Do list.
Sometimes, it’s worth the cash to save yourself the stress.
Filing Taxes
Last year, we filed taxes in four different countries: Thailand, Germany, Estonia, and the USA. This meant filing taxes in multiple languages, learning about numerous taxation systems, and figuring out the best way for our family to file. Mistakes are costly and could result in jail time.
So, we hired an accountant.
It went so well (and we talked about it so much) that we convinced our two friends to hire their own accountant.
Guys. This was such a great idea. They saved thousands of dollars or the equivalent of a 30% pay increase.
What would you do with 30% more money? I’d probably buy a boat.
Why is Outsourcing a Good Idea?
One of my life philosophies is that we’re all experts at something. But no one’s an expert at everything.
Sometimes, it’s easier and quicker to hire an expert rather than attempt to gain the required skill yourself. When we lived in Hamburg, we hired a cleaning lady.
Irina saved our marriage. It turns out we were really bad at cleaning.
The same principle applies for tax law, immigration law, and even booking trips. There are people who have spent their whole lives booking tickets, helping people immigrate to new countries, and passionately debating tax law. So why should you force yourself to become an expert in these fields, when you’re already an expert in so many other fields?
As a digital nomad family, you’ll have to navigate a completely new lifestyle, country, culture, and so many other new things. You’ll have to make hourly decisions that stationary people can’t understand.
At some point, you’re going to feel overwhelmed. Outsourcing minor (and major) tasks is a great way to get back some control in your life, lessen your research burden, and check to-do’s off your list.
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