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A couple who engineers all their trips to cost 'nothing' explains how they broke even on a $37,000 tour of the US National Parks

Lauren and Steven Keys, a millennial couple from Florida, traveled to all 61 US National Parks in 2019.

Lauren and Steven Keys
  • While the trip cost about $36,800, they earned roughly the same amount during that time through side hustles, part-time work, and passive rental income .
  • They paid for the trip upfront with savings, but their nest egg didn't lose value in the end.
  • Read more personal finance coverage.

Steven and Lauren Keys are obsessed with traveling. They're also obsessed with financial prudence. At just 29 and 30 years old, they've crafted a life that fosters both.

Throughout spring and summer 2019, the husband-and-wife pair, who are based in Florida and run a blog called Trip Of A Lifestyle , traveled throughout America on a quest to visit all 61 National Parks .

In just seven months, they traversed the continental US in a renovated van and flew to Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, and the US Virgin Islands.

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The total cost of purchasing the van, food, accommodations, transportation, gas, airfare, insurance, and incidentals came out to $36,875 just shy of the amount they earned during that same period, the couple told Business Insider.

Amid the long-distance driving and on-the-ground exploration, Steven worked part-time for his employer at a reduced rate, clocking in around 10 to 12 hours a week of work. Lauren picked up a freelancing job doing marketing and social media management a few hours a week.

Together, they pulled in extra cash as photographers for hire and utilized rewards credit cards to earn cash back on their purchases. And perhaps most significantly, they rented out their mortgage-free condo in Gainesville, Florida, for their entire seven-month absence.

In total, they brought in about $37,000 in income (before accounting for self-employment taxes ) during their travels.

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"In order to get to a financial position where we had the freedom and confidence to try something like this trip in the first place, we have lived pretty modestly for a long time," Steven, a former high school teacher, told Business Insider via email. "For the last seven years or so, our total household expenses have typically ranged somewhere between $18,000 and $27,000 per year, for the two of us combined."

Since graduating from college in 2012, Lauren and Steven have consistently saved 50% of their modest incomes. They keep most of their savings invested in fairly liquid stocks and bonds and their balance was in the six-figures prior to their National Parks trip, they said.

"It's certainly not necessary to have anywhere near this much before trying what we did, but having a buffer of investments definitely allowed us to dive into something new without fear," Steven said.

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But it's not the first time the Keys have traveled virtually for free. In 2015, they pared down their belongings and took a six-month honeymoon in Hawaii. Thanks to income from side hustles and contract work and some penny-pinching habits they broke even.

Steven and Lauren said their frugality is driven by their ultimate goal: financial independence . But the system they've engineered allows them to enjoy their money now without making massive sacrifices.

"The idea is to reach a point where the returns on our passive investments exceed our living expenses, so work becomes completely optional for the rest of our lives," Steven said. "Some people would call it ' early retirement ,' but we prefer to think of it as 'work-optional.'"

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