The Unexpected Perks of Having a Traveling Husband

When my husband first started traveling for work (EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK.) I was absolutely miserable.  I had no idea how I was going to deal with it.  I was used to hanging out with him every night and life was simple enough that I had no need for personal time or extra money.  I didn’t feel safe in my house alone and I hated taking the trash out. It was awful.

And then things changed. We had a baby…and that pretty much changed everything…including how I felt about my husband traveling.  Now, not only am I used to it, but I actually enjoy a lot of aspects of it…which is something I was convinced would NEVER happen.  So for the newlyweds out there that are wondering how they’re going to get through a new job, or for the long-time traveling family that just needs a pick-me-up, here’s a list of all the great perks of having a traveling husband:

Reimbursements

Ok, I had to start with this one because it’s my favorite – the bottom line!

Obviously your spouse is paid to travel, but often the travel comes with extra money that you take for granted like reimbursements for everything they eat, the gas they need to use to get there, and anything else they do while away (dry cleaning at the hotel anyone??).

These reimbursements may not seem like much at the time, but think about how much money you’re saving by not having to buy food for your spouse!

Travel Points

This perk is even better than reimbursements – they will rack up soooooo many travel points on hotels, airlines, and rental cars.  

Not only are we able to stay free pretty much wherever we go, but once you become a regular customer for most of these companies they treat you like royalty.

You will get room upgrades, additional free stuff, no waiting in lines, and even special discounts.

Credit Card Points

This is the most recent perk that I have uncovered and I am obsessed with it.  

My husband (and I imagine most travelers) is required to  book and pay for his own travel expenses and then is immediately reimbursed for it.  

This means we’ve got a lot of activity going on with our credit card.  Luckily his company is very quick to pay him back, so we’ve never had to worry about paying it on our own…which is great because we then have time to thoroughly enjoy the credit card points we get through these expenses.

Since our goal is to pay off our mortgage in 10 years (which is quickly becoming 9 years!), we picked an awesome credit card that actually puts money towards our principal balance depending on how much we charge.  There are a ton of other ways you could go with this (college funds, retirement, gift cards, cash back), so just make sure you pay off your balance and enjoy the extra perk. 🙂

More Personal Time

This is an area that, for me, wasn’t a perk until I had a child.  It used to be that the drive home from work was enough alone time for me, so once I got to the house I wanted to hang out with my husband.  

What I realize now is that the drive wasn’t my only alone time – being at work was alone time.

Not once did anyone ever insist on sitting on my lap at work or pull my hair if I didn’t make direct eye contact, or stick their finger up my nose (because picking one’s own nose just isn’t gross enough).

Now, my only opportunity is when my son is asleep and sometimes I just want to sit alone in a stupor….or watch Grey’s Anatomy. 🙂

Less Cooking and Cleaning

Toddlers are messy.  But it seems so are husbands…because when my husband is home I find myself doing far more cooking and cleaning than normal.  And while I still do enjoy that, I have also started enjoying not doing it.

Granted, when my husband is home I want to make a really nice meal for us, but that involves not only the cooking but also lots of dishes.  

When he’s gone, it’s cereal and PB&J time!  

It’s a bittersweet conundrum, but being able to not cook and clean when he’s gone makes me much happier to do it when he is home.

Justification to Be a Stay at Home Parent

For me, this is the biggest perk and one of the main reasons I was even willing to give this lifestyle a chance.  

If I had continued working, it would have put an unbelievable amount of strain on both of us.  

Either my husband would have had to look for a different job or I would have had to be responsible for all child care and working.

I know I’m lucky just to have had that choice so I try my best not to take it for granted.  

Now, he’s happy that he can focus all of his time on work and I’m happy that I can stay home with my son.

Tagging Along

I will not be accompanying my husband on his business trip to Iowa next week.  I will, however, be accompanying him on his winter trips to Florida, Las Vegas, Texas, the Bahamas…really, anywhere that’s warm and sunny.  

This is a huge perk!  He already has a hotel room that I can crash at and sometimes it’s exciting to have the day to yourself!

Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

For a very long time I was in complete denial that this was true…I didn’t want him traveling so there was no way I was going to admit that it made me love him more!  

But alas, I have seen the error in my ways.  I get so excited to see him sometimes that I will clean and scrub things I normally wouldn’t touch, I will put my son to be early, and wait by the window.

 Distance DOES make the heart grow fonder.

So there you have it!  All the reasons you should consider that traveling job that takes you from coast to coast.  The perks really do exist and you may find out that it’s the lifestyle you were meant to live.