If January have you dreaming about tossing in the job and heading for warmer climates and beautiful adventures, you might want to brace yourself in case you develop a serious case of life envy right now.
When 25-year-old Garrett Gee from Utah in the US sold his mobile scanning app to Snapchat for $54 million (OK, who wants to take up app building right about now?!) last year, it sort of left him twiddling his thumbs a bit.
But instead of opting for a mansion, a private jet and a fleet of slick cars, the dad-of-two and his wife Jessica, 29, decided that what they would really like to do, was to sell everything and bring their young children, Dorothy, 3, and Manilla, 1, on an epic around-the-world adventure.
“We didn’t need that stuff,” Garrettt told People about the couple’s decision to not go on a spending spree with the cash. “We were young, healthy and really didn’t need much of anything. So we started joking about putting our money in savings, selling everything and using those funds to travel the world.”
A photo posted by The Bucket List Family (@thebucketlistfamily) on
What followed was a bucket list, a giant yard sale (where they got rid of all their belongings, except two boxes of photos and diaries) and a one-way ticket out of there.
Since then, the family have travelled around the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Indonesia. They have dived with humpback whales in the Pacific Ocean, run along white sandy beaches in Fiji and taught their son, Manilla, to walk in Tonga.
A photo posted by The Bucket List Family (@thebucketlistfamily) on
But before you start hating them for their incredible luck and charmed existence, know that the family have also made their bucket list about people not as fortunate as themselves.
They have already given a family of five, who were going through tough times, a free trip to Disneyland, offered to pay for people’s surgery and have many more altruistic actions planned for the next few months.
“As a family, we’ve been very blessed to see the world together and we’re always looking for special ways to share with others,’ they explain on their blog.
A photo posted by The Bucket List Family (@thebucketlistfamily) on
Of their decision to take time out for a while, Garrett says: ‘We’ve learned to find happiness with less, and we’ve become more open-minded and open-hearted.’
‘We’ve learned about other cultures and where they seek happiness. Good, happy people, I’ve learned, come from everywhere.’
