Blogger couple made $20,000 during pandemic outbreak

Welcome to "Couples + Money" (opens in new tab). Forget about questions about your sex life. Let's talk about something more personal. Let's talk about what you and your partner do and don't do with your paychecks.

Every other Thursday, couples interviewed by Marie Claire talk candidly about how they divide their finances. All the details of what each person pays personally, what they split 50/50, who pays the tab at restaurants, who fights over bank statements, etc.

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This week, we launched Couple Travel the World (opens in new tab), a travel and romance blog for couples. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, they were earning $60,600 per year ($5,050 per month), but due to COVID-related effects, they now earn $1,030 per month from their blog. They live in Atlanta.

Nadia: Mike and I met at a high school dance when we were 14. My friends told me to ask the most attractive guy in the room to the dance, so I scoured the room until I found Mike.

Mike: We didn't really start dating at this point; we lost touch for a few years until we randomly started talking when we were 17.

Nadia: We agreed to meet and the rest is history. We've stuck together ever since and decided to study law and marketing in college. We were so attached that some of our classmates started calling us "the couple."

Mike: We both always had a great passion for travel. One of the reasons we have been together so long is our mutual interest in traveling the world. In college, we invested our part-time job money in blue chip stocks on the stock exchange, investing when stock prices were low and selling when they were high; during the global financial crisis of 2008, we invested our savings when stocks were low and we made good money.

Nadia: In 2013, the two of us started working at a law firm, but we soon grew tired of the daily grind. I remember one lawyer telling me that lawyers are rats in a cage. We decided to study for a master's program abroad in Copenhagen in 2015, but due to a lack of housing, we instead traveled around the world and completed our master's program virtually. This was the beginning of our life as digital nomads and our travel blog.

Mike: At first, I loved the access to free hotels and products on my blog, but I wanted more financial freedom; by the second year, I was able to live off my blog and spend my days traveling around the world; COVID-19 We traveled full time for 5 years without a permanent home until our travels were interrupted by the We are currently traveling in a converted camper.

Nadia: Before COVID-19 happened, we were exploring the US. Aside from the activities, one of our biggest expenses was a virtual office Starbucks. With a Starbucks every 20 minutes across the US, it's a great place for digital nomads to work for a few hours.

Mike: I have about $1,000 a month to spare in savings (after taxes), which I put away; for many years since 2008, I rarely bought stocks, holding onto my money and waiting for an opportunity to enter the market.

Nadia: The stock market moves in a 7-year cycle, so it generally hits another low every 7 years.

Mike: Whenever we invest in something, we always consult with each other first.

Mike: After COVID-19, our blog went from $5,050 a month in revenue to $1,030. Our ad revenue was down 33% because no one was traveling and advertisers were not spending money.

Nadia: Before the pandemic hit, we had an ironclad contract with a Fortune 500 company. We'd already completed our work for the month and they cancelled our contract a day before, requiring us to stay at an Airbnb, which also increased our expenses.

Nadia: Not only were we able to cover our increased expenses with savings, but we also made smart investment decisions.

Mike: The entire stock market fell 30% and some stocks fell over 70%. Investing during this period has increased my portfolio by $20,000 so far.

Nadia: One of the stocks we invested in was Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCLH) at $8. Many people would probably think we were crazy to invest in a cruise company, but we felt the $8 stock price was very undervalued. Just two months ago it was trading at over $50. We then sold the stock and made a profit. It is now $10, but we sold part of it a few weeks ago when the share price was $16. 8]

Mike: We also bought shares in other cruise companies such as Carnival (CCL) (bought $9, now $14). Another is NVIDIA (NVDA), which makes computer processors popular with gamers (bought $220, now $350). We spread our risk by buying small positions (only $1000) in a variety of companies and industries.

Nadia: We currently have no dependents and are in no rush to have children anytime soon. We believe that one day we will have children, but we wanted to spend our younger years enjoying ourselves.

Mike: We grew up together and neither of us had any money from the beginning. We never had to talk about salary.

Nadia: Having been together since we were young, we had access to each other's accounts at all times. We have always treated each other's money as something to share. But we never opened a joint account.

Nadia: Our living expenses are hotels and Airbnb, not a house with a mortgage.

Mike: A misconception about traveling the world is that you need a lot of money. What we have found is that if you are experienced, you can really do it for a very limited, normal wage.

[Editor's note: Nadia and Mike do not disclose their average cost of living, including average Airbnb stay, gas, and permit costs.]

Mike: Before joining COVID-19, we had to talk about money on a daily basis. That was how we decided which hotels to stay in, what food to buy, etc.

[25] Nadia: We have always had the same idea about money. We are quite thrifty, so we only spend what we need. Any money we don't need we reinvest. Most people like to invest in their homes, but we feel most comfortable investing in the stock exchange. While we are waiting for a good opportunity, we keep it in cash or a time deposit.

Nadia: We are not keeping anything secret, at least not intentionally. Sometimes I make a stock trade that Mike forgets to tell me about and I see the notification pop up in our email, but other than that, nothing.

Nadia: My parents have always been very good with money. Even though I grew up in a comfortable middle-class family, my mother was very frugal and I learned the importance of saving from her. Family meals were based on what was on sale in the supermarket that week, and clothes were not bought until they were on sale. My father was addicted to the stock market, so I learned a lot about investing from him. But if you know when to buy and sell, investing in blue-chip stocks can be a great option.

Mike: My family was also very frugal with money, especially with evening meals. To save money, she often cooked low-cost meals such as potato and lentil soup and called multiple vendors for Christmas vacation rentals, looking for the lowest price.

Nadia: We both come from money-conscious families, so we rarely fight over money.

Mike: Sometimes things happen. We like to keep our income higher than our expenses and have some funds in the bank for a rainy day. Recently, we were driving near Atlanta and all of a sudden our tire shredded and we had nothing. It cost me $100 to buy a new tire, which wasn't even close to my usual budget. Fortunately, I was able to withdraw from my savings.

Mike: We still believe in travel blogging and the ability to make money. We believe that someday in the future our travels will pick up and our income will return.

Nadia: Some of our blogger friends have given up travel blogging, but we have doubled down. Based on the same philosophy of sharing, we believe now is the time to really make a difference. While others are burying their heads in the sand, we continue to write articles in hopes of (hopefully) cashing in on this work in the not-too-distant future.

The interview has been abridged and edited for clarity. Interviewing and editing by Katherine J. Igoe. Design by Morgan McMullen.

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