The surprisingly, unexpected benefits of a traveling husband

This post may contain some affiliate links for your convenience. We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

When my husband started traveling every. single. week. for work, I didn’t know what to expect. It took a good 6 months to figure out a routine and start to kind of like having him gone. I certainly wasn’t expecting the perks and benefits of a traveling husband.

For the first several months, it was hard. Being on duty 24/7 is exhausting. And not having a break until the weekend is rough.

Then something happened. I started noticing there were some perks and benefits of a traveling husband.

Top benefits of a traveling husband

The following is just a quick list of some of the perks and benefits of a traveling husband. I am certain there are more. But this list took a while for me to learn to enjoy. Some I noticed right away, some took years to enjoy.

Points

In the beginning, my husband would travel and tell me he got points on the airline, hotel and on the credit card he the company issued him. What I didn’t realize was how quickly the points would add up. And I didn’t realize the points on the credit card were my husband’s to keep.

In the last 5 years, we have traveled to New York City and Orlando as a family…for free! My husband has paid for my flight to North Carolina for a blogging retreat, and I am going to Arizona in a couple weeks for a girls weekend.

These trips are all because he travels for work. We have been saving points because we are planning a big trip for next year.

Related: How to conquer Solo Parenting when your husband travels
Related: How to stick to a daily routine to conquer exhaustion

Whole bed to myself

At first, when my husband traveled, I didn’t enjoy having the bed to myself. I missed having him next to me. But then as the months wore on, I realized it was nice when kids were sick or they had a nightmare, I could bring them into bed with me. Now that my kids are older, it’s nice to just have the extra room to stretch out in.

We save more money!

This benefit wasn’t something we expected at all. When my husband is gone, we spend far less money. I’m at home with the kids and since they have so much to do after school, we always eat at home. Also because my husband is gone, he uses the company card and therefore isn’t spending our money when he goes to get lunch.

I cook less

In the beginning, I used to maintain a meal plan and I still cooked like my husband was home for dinner. Now, I don’t cook nearly as much as I once did. I still plan our meals, but now they include a store-bought rotisserie chicken and sandwiches for dinner. Once I switched to easy dinners, life at home was SO MUCH easier.

If you are stuck and think you need to prepare an elaborate dinner for you and the kids, you don’t. The only person who cares about what food is in front of them is you. If you are trying to maintain certain healthy eating I recommend batch cooking or freezer meal cooking. My go-to is freezer meals and I do make those when my husband is gone. My kids love them!

No guilt

When my husband is home I have found that it is more difficult to separate the kids’ attention and his attention. When he is gone, I can focus 100% of my attention on the kids and not feel guilty about it. For example, those times when the kids need help with their homework and other things.

Less cleaning

Since my husband started traveling, I clean so much less. I used to try and clean a little every day. Now I just focus on cleaning the day before he comes home. With the kids being older, they help me and we all clean the night before Daddy comes home.

Work late

This perk I just started using in the last year. Before I was too tired to think about anything after the kids went to bed. Now I use that time to do research for blog posts or do some pinning for clients. I don’t feel guilty for working late because I know my husband is in a hotel room somewhere working late, too.

I don’t work every night, but I do work some nights so I can be fully present when the kids and my husband are around.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

When my husband first started traveling, I really struggled with resentment and loneliness. Now I can honestly say that I miss him. I realize he isn’t always going to fancy dinners and eating all this awesome food. I have grown to learn that he misses me as much as I miss him. So when we come back together, it’s more intimate than it was at the beginning.

Having a husband who travels for work isn’t easy. All the responsibilities are on you. But when you take a moment and reflect on the benefits of a traveling husband, you see that things aren’t that bad.

Do you have a husband who travels? What are your favorite perks or benefits of a traveling husband? Sign up for my email list and send me an email. I would love to hear from you!