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‘I got married young, at 21. After two years, my husband and I decided to go on a trip, not wanting to give in to the rigors of life just yet. We went to Australia for a year together and it was so much fun, so adventurous, that when I got back I wanted to work in the travel industry too. I applied to a major travel company and really had to bluff my way in because I’d only had administrative jobs. In the end, I have enjoyed working there for twelve years. The disadvantage was that I needed more personal contact, for example by asking afterwards how the trip had been. That was not possible there. So a colleague and I decided to start our own business.
“In the beginning I just did something, I really didn’t know how to run an independent business. But after a year I got the hang of it. We form a general partnership and both work part-time. Work is not the most important thing in life, it should be fun. I am religious and I also enjoy volunteering. In addition, we both have a family.
“The corona time was very tough, I was very sorry for all those people who had booked travel for thousands of euros. We worked for months without generating any income, all those trips had to be canceled or rebooked.
“I am not yet on my income from before corona, but luckily people are going on holiday again.”
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‘Every year we take a long trip with the family. I would be a bad customer as I only book the flight and the first two nights hotel. I really like the freedom, that adventurous. I know where I want to go, but we don’t commit much. We have been doing this since our children – now 23, 19 and 13 years old – were nine months old. Cambodia and Fiji were the highlights, very memorable. With children you are much faster among the local population. For that matter, it’s almost a shame they’re big now.
“I find it difficult to indicate how much we spend on groceries. Our oldest doesn’t live at home anymore, but the youngest two often have friends over who stay for dinner. We have a tiny house on our property – normally the man cave of my 19-year-old son – which now temporarily houses three Ukrainian women. All three have found work, but now and then they also eat with us and the heating costs are now a bit higher than normal.
“We are bad at advising our children financially: if they want something, we just buy it. The youngest does not get everything new, because he destroys a lot because he is too careless. We do teach them that they have to work for their money, for example they do not receive pocket money or clothing money. If they need underpants, they just come.”