We quit our jobs & pulled our kids from school…we make £15k a month doing up houses, it’s funded a round-the-world trip
A COUPLE “sick of asking permission to go on holiday” quit their corporate jobs and spent £55,000 on a five-month cruise around the world for their entire family.
Tiffany Baker, 38, and her husband, Mark, 40, packed in their finance roles in April 2019 and decided to ‘live life their way’.
They pulled their daughters – Giuletta, nine, Penelope, seven and Delia, six – out of school and embarked on the adventure of a lifetime.
The epic cruise called at 50 ports in 21 countries – including Australia, Africa, Spain and Singapore.
And the pair will homeschool their children while they are working remotely.
In December, the family plan to fly from their home in Terre Haute, Indiana, US, to Prague, Czech Republic, to visit the Christmas markets and then Marseilles, France, where the cruise will set sail.
Tiffany and Mark have splashed out $70k [£55,000] for two bedrooms on the cruise – and say the cost includes activities on board, food and drink – and have also given themselves a $10k [£7,800] spending allowance.
Mark, a real estate investor, said: “We operate on 12 month goals.
It didn’t sit well with us that we had to ask permission for a day off
Tiffany Baker
“This world cruise was one of our goals that we thought ‘one of these days we will take our kids on a cruise’.
“Tiffany planted the seed while we were on a drive back from our vacation in New Orleans, Louisiana, and she said ‘why don’t we do the cruise now?’.
“We looked into it and it has worked out.”
In January 2019, both Tiffany and Mark quit their six-figure corporate jobs and decided to take life into their own hands.
Tiffany explained: “The reason we did that was we didn’t have a work-life balance.
“It didn’t sit well with us that we had to ask permission for a day off.
“When we quit our jobs it was more to design our lives and live them unapologetically.
“With our daughters being in school, we realised that the schools were now dictating when we could go on holiday.
We have probably flipped 50 houses over the last five years
Mark Baker
“We had the same realisation that we did when we quit our jobs.”
After packing in their jobs, Mark and Tiffany started flipping homes.
Now the couple own 35 properties – from houses to commercial buildings – which they rent out.
Mark revealed: “We have probably flipped 50 houses over the last five years.
“Flipping those houses has allowed us to start renting out properties.
“We have around 35 properties and they bring in $20k [£15,700]-a-month which has allowed us to go on this cruise.”
During the Christmas holidays in December, Mark and Tiffany will travel to Prague, Czech Republic, before making their way to Marseilles, France, where the cruise will set off from.
It is about taking the chance to see whether we can do it and make it work
Mark Baker
Tiffany shared: “We love Europe, we lived there for four years – there is something special about it. We will start and end the cruise there.
“We have visited Bali and Indonesia before and had a special trip there so we are excited to go back there and visit friends.”
Mark then added: “We have never been to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil – that will be a cool place.
“Australia has always been on our list and the ship’s itinerary laps the continent down there.”
Tiffany and Mark explained that both their daughters are “super excited” for the cruise but admit homeschooling them might be a challenge.
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Tiffany opened up: “The children are so excited. They were all born in different countries – Italy, USA and Japan. Our nine-year-old is on her fifth passport.
“For me I am looking forward to see if it works, to see if I can homeschool our daughters from anywhere on the planet.”
Mark added: “It is about taking the chance to see whether we can do it and make it work.
“The worst scenario is that it doesn’t work – normal school will be waiting for them.”
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Home schooling rules
Anyone can choose to educate their child at home, and you must inform the school if you wish to take them out of education.
Home-schooling parents must ensure that they are giving their children a full education from the age of five, but do not have to follow the national curriculum.
The council can make an ‘informal enquiry’ to make sure your children are being taught properly at home and can serve a school attendance order if they think your child needs to be educated at school.