All things considered, it's by far the easiest and least time consuming part of my life - probably by a factor of 100 or 1000.
i.e. this was over a week of my life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z740focQL4U
Eh, my book is the only thing I sell and it's $2.99.
If you don't want to, don't buy it. There are thousands of informative posts on my website, tens of thousands of photos and now hours of videos on YT for free.
Also, http://wikioverland.org is completely free, and is stacked with the info you need to drive your own vehicle around the world. It's my side project, and my way of giving back to the overland community.
Ask me anything you want to know about what I do, and I'm more than happy to help you get out there to live your dreams too.