Travel | Well Heeled Blog

10 Ways to Deal with Your Wanderlust When You’re Short on Time and/or Money

Written by WellHeeled on January 27, 2012 · 18 Comments

I’ve been bitten by a serious case of wanderlust lately. Part of it is the fact that I have not flown since last October, and another part is that I just really cannot wait until our honeymoon to Buenos Aires. What to do, what to do, when you are itching to travel, but cannot (at least not yet) because of lack of resources, whether that be time or finances?

Here are 10 ways to deal with that wanderlust when you’re short on time or money.

Attend a travel convention. That’s what I’m doing this weekend – the Los Angeles Time Travel Show is here, and if I can’t head to London or Barcelona at least I can listen to Rick Steves TALK about the wonders of Europe. (If you want to go, use the code “LATR” or “LATO” for $2 off the $10 admission tickets).
Set up a dedicated travel fund. If one of the obstacles to a trip is money, there’s only one way to resolve that obstacle – with money! Putting dollars away in a specific fund help us prepare for a big vacation – our Galapagos Fund has grown from a twinkle in my eye in April 2010 to $10,000+ now.
Subscribe to well-written travel catalogs with lots of colorful photos and detailed itineraries. OK, this might only make your wanderlust that much more powerful, but it’s a fun way to torture the traveler in you! I especially enjoy Wilderness Travel’s paper catalog (it’s free, and they don’t spam). I have one from last year that I’ve read, cover-to-cover, more times than I can count on my fingers.
Read blogs of folks who have visited the destination of your desire. I am a frequent visitor of this Galapagos trip blog. I try to tell myself that my time will come.
Plan out an entire trip in your head. From airfare, to specific hotels and restaurants, to entertainment options, to local transportation. Maybe keep a few spreadsheets detailing the budget breakdown of what such a trip will cost. Go back to #2. Repeat as necessary for all the trips that you want to take. Thanks to my penchant for researching and planning trips, I now have the itineraries of Turkey, Paris, New Zealand, and a several other places floating around in my head. Hmmm.. Oops? (I can’t be the only one who does this!).
Host a foreign exchange student or foreign traveler. If you can’t go to Rome, you can bring someone from Rome to your home! If you are ready for a longer-term commitment, serving as a host for a foreign exchange student would be a great way to learn more about that person’s culture. Or sites like couchsurfing will let you play host for a few days.
Pretend to be a tourist in your own city. So many times we forget or overlook the tourist attractions in our own cities, attractions that real tourists pay good money to be able to visit! I’ve been guilty of this. So play tourist for a day – maybe even ask someone for directions.
Go on a day trip. Leave early, come back late means that you save on the hotel costs but can see visit someplace a little bit different from the day-to-day. If you are in Los Angeles, you can make it to Santa Barbara on a day trip. If you are in San Francisco, Monterey (and the famous aquarium) is doable. If you are in D.C., the wineries of Charlottesville are 2.5 hours away. If you are in San Diego, land of perfect 72 degrees, WHAT are you complaining about?!
Open a rewards credit card to pay for your hotel or flights. Done and done. Of course, only do this if you can pay off your balance in full every month.
Drink wine and pretend you are in Paris. Enough said.

Share in the comments! What effective, unusual, wacky ways do you try to deal with your wanderlust, when you just can’t get away?

Categories: Travel - Tags: how to, I am a bookworm, vacation

Are Travel Flash Sale Sites Really Cheaper? Do Your Homework Before You Buy

Written by WellHeeled on January 11, 2012 · 8 Comments

As someone who (1) loves to travel, (2) enjoys luxury, and (3) has a budget, I was so happy when travel flash sale sites started popping up a few years ago. These sites host “flash sales” on hotels, cruises, vacation packages, or even airfare. The sales last for a few days and is often final sale, and in exchange consumers are supposed to get a deal that’s much better than what is available on the travel vendor’s own website. But don’t assume that you are automatically getting the best price. In some cases, you won’t be saving money going through travel flash sale sites – you’ll actually be paying MORE by going through a flash sale site.

Case in point

Last night, I was looking up hotel options for our honeymoon to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Jetsetter, Gilt.com’s travel site, features several hotels in the city. Palermo Place caught my eye – Jetsetter offers me a price of $235/night rack rate. Sounds pretty good, right? The picture below is of Jetsetter’s checkout page – as you can see, 4 nights over a weekend in May will cost $1,132.

But wait! On Tripadvisor.com, Palermo Palace is advertising a 30% off special, which would make it cheaper than Jetsetter. So I input the same dates, the same room type, and same number of nights at the hotel, and it turns out that booking directly with the hotel would only cost $796, $300+ cheaper than the Jetsetter price. $300 is no chump change, especially in Buenos Aires where it’d be enough for several very nice meals, a bunch of leather souvenirs, and more than a couple private tango lessons!

So this is what I’ve learned - always, always do your homework. It is easy to assume that travel flash sale sites have the best deals. After all, that’s what they are there for. But it only takes a few minutes to do a quick search on the Tripadvisor, the hotel or cruise website, and Google. You might discover that the so-called deal isn’t that great of a deal given what other discounts or specials are out there. Or, you might confirm that it is truly too good to pass up (our proposal weekend bed & breakfast was $149 on Living Social Escapes but $280+ on the hotel’s website). In that case, click buy and enjoy the trip!

Do you use travel flash sale sites? Have you found that they are more or less expensive than other sources?

Categories: Luxury, Travel - Tags: vacations

I Cannot Stop Spending At Airports

Written by WellHeeled on December 6, 2011 · 17 Comments

After 10+ flights in the last few months, I have realized something. The airport is SO GOOD at getting money out of me. I suspect that the TSA security screening process scans away whatever spending discipline I had and renders me helpless against purchases.

Magazines. Water. Coffee. Sandwiches. Organic fruit snacks. More magazines. Travel pillows. Coconut juice. Books. You name it and I’ve probably bought it. From $7 Martha Stewart Weddings to $9 pack of chocolate-covered kiwi slices to $14 paperbacks to $20 travel pillows, I’ve handed over my wallet way too many times to keep track. Part of this is that traveling can be so exhausting that I’ve kind of given myself carte blanc to use money to buy some comfort. Part of it is that I recognize all things are marked up in airports, so after a while the outrage has melted away to be replaced by exasperated resignation. Of course that tiny cup of latte costs $5. And that stale ham-and-cheese sandwich? $8.50. Wouldn’t think expect anything less. Here’s my credit card.

I think – and I am sure there is research on this – that when a person is sleep-deprived and bored he is more likely to spend money. And there is no other place that I am more likely to be sleep-deprived (leaving New York on a 6am flight when I am still on West Coast time) and bored (miss a flight and a 1 hour layover becomes 4) than in an airport. So it’s only natural that when I head into an airport my wallet becomes lighter. My body is conspiring against me to spend! That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

I’m not the only one who feels this way, right? Do you find yourself spending a little (or a lot) more in an airport?

Categories: Travel

Getting Into Credit Card Points & Miles

Written by WellHeeled on October 17, 2011 · 20 Comments

It’s funny, just a few years ago I was debating whether I should open a second credit card. Now, I am signing up for cards left and right. OK, that sounds just a tad irresponsible. What I mean is, I am signing up for cards that have good terms and great signing bonuses, while making sure I am paying all of my bills on time so I can enjoy the rewards guilt-free. There, much better!

Now, I have 3 current credit cards:

Citi ThankYou Visa: This is my first – and for many years, my only – credit card. I trade all my ThankYou points for gift cards to Sephora or Banana Republic. At 10,000 points to $100 gift card, it’s not the greatest conversion, but it’s not the worst either. No annual fee. I keep this card because it’s my card with the longest credit history.
British Airways Visa (issued by Chase): I got this card a few months ago for the 100,000 miles British Airways miles bonanza it had. It has $95 annual fee, so I may cancel this card in March before I get hit with the fees for the second year. I do feel like I got my money’s worth with the $420 round-trip tickets for CB and me.
Starwood Preferred Guest American Express: This card is a perennial favorite among credit card bloggers and review sites. CB and I both got it for the 25,000 points promotion with a mind to cash in the points when we travel. We need to complete our $5,000 spend by the end of March. The clock is ticking! I just checked the rates at Sheraton Iguazu at Iguazu Falls. Rack rates are $225 per night, but we will be able to get the room free for 12,000 points or 4,800 points plus $90. Either way you look at it, “free” or $90 sounds a whole lot better than $200+.

Credit cards I am considering:

Hyatt Visa Credit Card (issued by Chase): 1 free night at ANY Hyatt property with first purchase, and 2nd night free with $1,000 spend in 3 months. $75 annual fee, not waived for first year. I’d like to apply for this card and have CB get it as well so we can cash in on 4 nights in Park Hyatt Buenos Aires, where rooms go for $500+ a night!
TBD card with a great mileage offer (So bummed we missed the 75,000 points Citi AAdvantage deal!). We are not considering taking an international trip other than the honeymoon, so I am waiting for some good offers to come around. There’s also the minimum spend that I have to make on the credit cards to get the bonuses, but honestly, I am traveling (and spending) so frequently right now that I don’t see a problem making my minimum spend. Plus, more wedding expenses coming up! I am trying to figure out a way that we can get to Turkey – Istanbul and Cappadocia might not be our honeymoon destination any longer, but gosh darn it I am going to find my way to that country come miles or high water.
Hilton American Express: With this card (which has NO annual fee), I can earn up to 62,500 HHonors points. I am a Hilton Silver member – just ONE more stay until Gold status! – so it’s probably beneficial for me to get the card. Also, as a Hilton Amex member I will be eligible for AXON member-only redemption rates that can get me into highly-rated properties for fewer points.

I’ve also pulled two free credit reports and I’m still lookin’ good. With judicious use of credit cards, I know I can take advantage of the great rewards, save money, and stay in nice hotels and go to fun places. The only thing I regret is that I’ve waited THIS LONG to get into miles and points. Seriously! I’ve always appreciated credit cards, but now I really appreciate them. I do have to be careful that I am still spending what I would normally spend. If you know you can use credit cards responsibly and aren’t afraid of (or even find some fun in) finding bonuses, signing up for membership programs, and doing some research on how to maximize your rewards, I think credit card points and miles can be well worth your time.

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Categories: Credit, Travel - Tags: vacation

Tipping Your Hotel Housekeeper / Maid

Written by WellHeeled on October 12, 2011 · 14 Comments

I love staying in hotels. I like the plush bedding, the spotless, well-appointed rooms, the fact that I never have to make my bed. But rarely did I think about the hotel maids who make the nice stays possible. According to travel experts, guests are supposed to tip hotel housekeepers/maids, but most folks don’t. I’ve only heard that guideline a while back, and have only started tipping a few months back.

One thing that struck me was that hotel maids are so invisible that it’s easy to forget them. Unlike a waiter or waitress who’s right in front of you bringing you drinks and food, I’m not in the room when a housekeeper cleans the toilet, changes the sheets, or dusts the TV.

Once I started learning more about hotel maids, I felt guilty about all those years of not tipping. But I also don’t want to start adding $10 in tips to every 3-day trip. Now, to make sure I’m a conscientious guest, I do a couple of things. I hang a “Do Not Disturb” sign on my door – I am rarely in a hotel room longer than 2 days, and I just don’t need the room cleaned and the bed remade every single day. When I check out I leave $3 or $4 underneath the pillow (somewhere where the housekeeping is sure to find it).

CNN Money published a good article on hotel tipping:

So when and how much? (Lizzie) Post offered these guidelines:

• Tip every day to ensure your tip gets to the person who actually cleaned your room.
• Leave a note in your room with the money indicating it is for housekeeping.
• Tip $1 or $2 per person, per night in most hotels. In higher end hotels, $3 to $5 per person per night is typical.
• In a motel, tips are generally not necessary for a one-night stay. The $1 or $2 standard is appropriate for multiday stays.

Tipping housekeepers is “a really lovely thing,” said Reneta McCarthy, a Cornell lecturer who started out in the industry as a housekeeping manager with Marriott.

“But generally speaking I would say the majority of people don’t do it. And when you look at it, you know, I hate to say it, but this is not considered a tips position. The housekeepers, unlike the bellmen, are not filling out tip reporting forms,” she said.

The national average hourly wage for bellhops was $11.40 in May 2010, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics wage estimates. The average for housekeepers was $10.17, according to survey data. Survey forms issued by the bureau ask for information on tips, but it’s unclear how reporting varies between housekeepers and bellhops.

Even now, I don’t always remember to tip. Sometimes I will run out of cash. Sometimes I will be running out to catch my flight and simply forget. But most of the time I try to tuck in a few dollars here and there. I guess I figured if restaurant servers are tipped, hotel maids – with an arguably more difficult (and much less visible) job – should be too.

Do you tip your hotel maid? How much do you tip?

Categories: Travel - Tags: consumer behavior

We Saved $2,000 On Our Honeymoon Airfare

Written by WellHeeled on September 29, 2011 · 18 Comments

Credit cards and I have always had an amicable relationship bound by mutual expectations: I pay on time, they give me rewards. Recently, though I’ve realized that I really have not been taking advantage of all the great things that can happen with credit cards.

In this case, a good thing is my honeymoon airfare. For two round-trip flights from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires, business class on the outbound flight and economy class on the return flight, I paid $418.20. Per Kayak.com, the cheapest flights on those dates would be $1,205 per person, economy class. For a mixed flight like ours (business class one-way and economy the other), the cost was $1,800 per person.

For airfare that would cost at least $2,400 for the both of us, we paid just over $400. A $2,000 saving does wonders for our honeymoon budget. All thanks to British Airways Chase credit card and the 100,000 miles sign-on bonus I picked up in May. Even if I include the $95 annual credit card fee in the airfare, it would still be just over $500 for two people, an incredible deal.

I’ve had my first taste of points experience and I think I’m hooked! I never really signed up for credit cards for the bonuses before, but I think I am a changed women. My Blog Reader is now filled with points and miles blogs such as The Points Guy, Million Mile Secrets, Mommy Points, Help Me Travel Cheap, and Frugal Travel Guy.

The Points Guy’s guide on British Airways miles helped me figure out how to book an award (and convinced me to do so before November 12, which is when a big devaluation on British Airways miles is supposedly due). After 2 hours of playing with dates on the British Airways website, I finally found this deal…. with the departure date a full week-and-a-half after our wedding date. A small hiccup, but for less than $250 per person I can wait a few days to go on our honeymoon.

Categories: Budget, Travel

Change of Plans for Honeymoon

Written by WellHeeled on September 28, 2011 · 7 Comments

We finally, absolutely, unequivocally decided on our honeymoon destination. Originally, we planned on Turkey. I had visions of flying in hot air balloons over the lunar landscape of Cappadocia, but ultimately we decided it would cost a little bit more than we are comfortable with at this point. I definitely plan to go in the future when we have a bit more time (and, er, money). Instead, we are going somewhere where our dollars will stretch a little farther.

The Plan

We are spending 9 days and nights in Argentina, with the majority of the trip spent in Buenos Aires – the “Paris of the South” and a couple of days in Iguazu Falls – “Big Water.” We will also spend a day at an estancia – a ranch where guests can go horseback riding and feast on steaks and empanadas.

I spent several months in Buenos Aires when I was in college, so I have extremely fond memories of how ~~good~~ ~~great~~ increíble the cuisine is. Which is one of the reasons we chose Argentina as our honeymoon destination. From buttery croissants and creamy gelato to melt-in-your-mouth osso buco and grilled meats of all types and stripes, all at very inexpensive prices when compared to comparable restaurants in the U.S., Buenos Aires is an eater’s dream.

The Budget

I still have to write out a budget for the trip, but thanks to a very favorable airfare, I think we will be able to keep this entire trip at $4,000, with 1/4 of that budget going to the Iguazu Falls excursion. Domestic flights in Argentina is killer for foreign tourists.

The Argentine peso to the dollar is at 4 to 1 right now, so even though Buenos Aires is not the bargain it once was, it’s still a pretty good deal!

The Feeling

The flights are booked. The dates are marked on my calendar. I can already taste the sizzling steak… just 8 more months until I am married and living la vida sabrosa!

photo credit: David Berkowitz via Flickr

Categories: Travel - Tags: all things wedding

Travel Planning – the costs add up!

Written by WellHeeled on September 14, 2011 · 20 Comments

Do you ever think that you are doing a great job keeping costs down on an upcoming trip, but once you’ve added up everything, you think – wow that’s a lot of money! CB and I are planning a trip to Boston area for me to interview at a business school and then to spend a few days playing tourist. We first went to Boston almost exactly a year ago to visit CB’s prospective graduate program, so I am really excited to come back to the city.

Here is our budget for Boston:

2 round-trip direct flights to Boston-Logan on Virgin America cost $630
1 night on the outskirts of Boston took 30,000 HHonors points plus $15 for the tax & fees
2 nights in Boston proper at a small B&B – with shared baths – cost $300 including tax & fees (it’s the same place we stayed at last time)
2 days car rental – haven’t booked yet – estimating at $150
Food & drinks for Thursday, Friday, Saturday is budgeted at $350. We are definitely big eaters on vacations – and we’re stopping by Stephanie’s on Newberry for its crabcake benedict!
Subway tickets, estimated at $25

Total estimated cost of trip: ~$1,500

*Eye pop*

When I look at the elements of the trip individually, they don’t look unreasonable. In fact, I was almost patting myself on the shoulder for managing to (a) find a red-eye from the West Coast to Boston so that we wouldn’t have to pay for a hotel Thursday night, (b) buy tickets that were less than $350 per person, (c) use points to get a free night at a hotel, (4) resist the nice $200+ hotels and instead stay in a small guest house with shared baths.

I love to visit different places, but no matter how carefully I budget individual pieces, somehow the sum of trip just seem so much higher than the costs of its parts. Do you ever get sticker shock once you get to the total cost of a trip?

photo credit: rachel titiriga via Flickr

Categories: Budget, Travel - Tags: MBA, vacation

Should We Reschedule Honeymoon for $2K Savings?

Written by WellHeeled on August 25, 2011 · 24 Comments

Travelers know that the difference in cost between high season and low season / off season can be staggering. As I research more and more into our Turkey trip in 2012, I am asking myself the question: how much is temperate, predictable weather worth to me?

I originally wanted to visit Istanbul, Cappadocia, and Ephesus for our honeymoon, which would take place in June. After I’ve priced out the airfare and hotels, though, I’ve realized that this trip is looking MIGHTY expensive. Given that 2012 will be a year of: (1) 50% of income because we are heading back to grad school, (2) tuition to pay for the privilege of higher education, and (3) wedding, it doesn’t seem responsible to be blowing $7,000 on a honeymoon. But we still really want to go to Turkey. So if you can’t change your budget and you won’t change your destination, what do you do? You learn to incorporate the word “flexibility” into trip-planning! I decided to price out a trip for late March.

Turkey travel: high Season budget vs. low season budget

June:

Round-trip fares x 2 = $2,300
Hotels (~$150 per night) x 10 nights = $1,500
Hot air balloon ride x 2 = $650
Other activities / admissions / tours = $550
Food = $100 per day x 11 = $1,000
Plus 10% of total budget for incidentals & misc. costs
Total estimated budget = $6,500

March:

Round-trip fares x 2 = $1,200
Hotels (~$100 per night) x 10 nights = $1,000
Hot air balloon ride x 2 = $650
Other activities / admissions / tours = $550
Food = $100 per day x 10 = $1,000
Plus 10% of total budget for incidentals & misc. costs
Total estimated budget = $4,800

Of course, going in March has it’s price – the weather is not as temperate as June. In Northern Turkey, there may be rain, chill, and snow. On the upside, the crowds are thinner and it’ll be cheaper trying to get there. By going in March, we’ll be saving almost $2,000. But of course, we won’t be able to go to Turkey for our honeymoon, and then there’s the cold and wet rainy season thing. So maybe there’s something to be said for just sucking up the cost and going in June.

What would you do? Turkey honeymoon in the warmth of pricey June, or Turkey vacation in cheaper, colder, and wetter March?

photo credit: Alaskan Dude via Flickr

Categories: Budget, Travel - Tags: all things wedding

British Airways: 50% Off Miles to Redeem Reward Travel

Written by WellHeeled on August 4, 2011 · 5 Comments

When I checked my email yesterday morning, I saw this British Airways Executive Club promotion:

Dear Ms _____,

Get 50% off with your BA Miles. Wherever you want your reward flight to take you, you’ll need 50% fewer BA Miles if you book by 12 August 2011.

So you can go either sooner or further than you expected. And use 50% fewer BA Miles on British Airways, whether you fly in World Traveller, World Traveller Plus, Euro Traveller or Club Europe.

If you’ve got a promising collection of BA Miles, this is too good to miss. Just pick a destination on your must-go list and book before the ten days are up.

Since I opened up my British Airways Signature Visa card at the beginning of May, I have already accumulated 106,000+ miles (100,000 of that is from a sign-up promotion). With MBA applications, travel, and wedding expenses in the near future, I expect the miles to continue growing.

I decided to price fares from Los Angeles International to London Heathrow (San Francisco to Europe is sold out everywhere, according to BA’s website). For weekend travel in June, the cost is 25,000 miles per person (compared to 50,000 normally). The taxes and fees, however, add up to a whopping $550. Still, that is a fantastic price for a West Coast to London flight. The 2012 Olympics will be held in London, so travel to the city is expected to be extremely busy all through the summer. If you want to take advantage of this promotion, book your tickets soon! Many destinations are already unavailable.

I had originally wanted to use my BA miles to pay for our flights to Istanbul. Unfortunately, rewards flights for Istanbul are completely sold out for the entire month of June (and April, May, and July!). So it looks like we’ll be spending another $2,500 for our tickets.

January, February, and March are still relatively open, as those months are the low season for Europe. I really wish we can take advantage of this BA deal, because it sounds pretty fantastic, especially if you have enough points for Economy Plus or Business Class. Maybe we can swing the February Paris trip that I had originally planned? But it strikes me as overly extravagant – having two big international trips, a wedding, and upcoming grad school tuition payments, all in the same year!

Categories: Travel

Planning Our Unusual, Romantic, Adventurous Honeymoon

Written by WellHeeled on July 21, 2011 · 39 Comments

What’s the best thing about getting married? Lifelong partnership, dual income household, honeymoon? Yes, yes, and YES.

There is a school of thought that a honeymoon should be a warm and sandy cocoon of tranquility, for the couple to relax after the stress of wedding. But let’s face it – what better excuse to have a big fun vacation – perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime trip – than a trip to celebrate the beginning of our married life? I can justify expenses like I never can before! (A room with ruby-encrusted chandelier and personal butler? Why of course, please. …kidding).

This trip will be a real treat for the both of us, and to be honest, we have neither the vacation days or money for just lying on the beach. So I wanted somewhere a little bit unusual, romantic, luxurious, and adventurous. After some thought, we’ve decided to head to where Europe meets Asia… for a 2-week honeymoon in Turkey!

We are going to Istanbul, with an excursion to Edirne, Cappadocia, and Ephesus. Using Turkey Travel Planner’s website, we estimated 200 Turkish Liras (or $120-$125) per person, per day. So for the two of us it will be $250/day, or $3,000 for the 12-day itinerary. Flights to Istanbul (considered EuroZone 3 for British Airways) will cost 100,000 miles plus $1,000+ in fees, taxes, and surcharges for the both of us.

I am going to set the budget at $5,000 total for our honeymoon. I am also thinking of having a travel agent help with the planning. It should be a FANTASTIC journey. As you might have already guessed, we are raiding our Galapagos Fund, or rather, changing that to the Honeymoon Fund. It currently has $7,000, so enough to fund the honeymoon in full, but I am planning to add $3,000 in there to pay for the wedding. Although, I have not yet booked anything or anyone for the wedding. But the wedding will happen… if only because I am going to Turkey, gosh darn it!

Categories: Travel

Staycation Ideas for the Summer

Written by WellHeeled on July 18, 2011 · 5 Comments

Why go on vacation when you can have a nice, relaxing, budget-friendly, traffic-easy staycation?

Yeah, you tell me. Head on over to LendingTree Blog to check out four of my staycation ideas.

Can you have a vacation with all the fun and relaxation of getting away, minus the expenses and logistics of travel? By planning a staycation – a vacation where you stay close to home, you not only get to enjoy time off, but you can also save money and avoid the hassles of security lines, high gas prices, and car rentals. And if you only have a few days off, a staycation means you won’t waste any of your vacation days on the road.

I say, YES! In fact, I am planning a staycation of my own right now… it still counts even if it’s only for a night, right?

Categories: Blogging, Travel - Tags: vacations

Travel = Holy Grail of Personal Finance Spending?

Written by WellHeeled on June 13, 2011 · 22 Comments

In the personal finance blogosphere (and among writings by PF experts), there are a few things that fall into the Bad Spending Category and a few that inhabit the Good Spending bubble. Spending $5,000 on a state-of-the-art flatscreen or a Chanel Caviar Flap and spending $5,000 on a trip to Barcelona hits your checking account the same way, but somehow we have accorded travel spending as a higher status than almost all other forms of spending. Why?

When did travel reach that status of the holy grail of spending?

Kelly @ Alterations Needed, one of my favorite petite style bloggers, recently commented on my post A Spender Trapped in a Saver’s Body. She wrote (emphasis mine):

Believe it or not, but I have major saver tendencies. I tend to not spend any money on any other aspect of my life, except for my wardrobe. My apartments has always been cheap, I eat cheaply, and rarely go on vacations, let alone exotic expensive ones. I sock all that extra money away, and then splurge on what I really love in life…my closet! Yes, I’m that girl who drives a tinker toy car, lives in the ghetto…but damn, I’ll look good when I step out in my Burberry coat. Credit cards paid in full every month, baby!

That’s fantastic. That’s what puts the personal in personal finance. Kelly knows what’s important to her, and she prioritizes her spending accordingly.

It’s easy to be an avid traveler in the personal finance community. It’s a socially-acceptable way to spend your extra money. That doesn’t make travel intrinsically any worthier than spending on something else. Don’t get me wrong, I love to go places. But that’s a personal preference. I could easily derive more enjoyment out of spending on clothes or cars or my Civil War reenactment hobby (just for example). Travel brings new perspectives, but I also don’t fool myself that many trips will be just another type of luxury consumption. Has anyone seen the prices of a Galapagos trip or an African safari lately?

Personal finance is personal. So once you have the basics of saving and investing down, I say spend away on whatever makes you happy. Make your hard-earned dollars bring you joy. That’s what Kelly and I are both doing, even though we might be going about it with different purchases.

Don’t think you are going to escape more travel posts from me, though!

Categories: Travel - Tags: vacation

Don’t Forget Domestic Travel

Written by WellHeeled on June 9, 2011 · 21 Comments

International travel is where all the glitz and glamour is, but as the fourth largest country in the world, U.S. offers an amazing array of cultural and geological diversity. I love to go places, but I’ve really neglected seeing different parts of the U.S. In fact, I’ve been to more countries than I have states. Recently, I started to travel more for work, so my list of states visited has tripled.

California (my home!)
Nevada
Hawaii
Arizona
Oregon
Florida
Texas
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Kentucky
Virgina
Washington, D.C.
Maryland

Because I’m in town for work, I don’t really have the chance to visit local attractions. But I have been lucky to do one of my favorite things to do while on the road – enjoy local cuisine. I’ve had lump crab cakes in Maryland, sweet tea in North Carolina, ribs in Ohio, and of course, Dunkin Donuts all up and down New England.

My trips has made me want to see more of this great country. So the next time you plan out your vacation, don’t forget to think about domestic travel (but still, have a passport!). Domestic travel will probably be more budget-friendly than going abroad, and it can be just as fun and worthwhile. I’d love to visit Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina. I also would love to go back to D.C. and spend some more time there.

What domestic destination is on your list?

Categories: Travel - Tags: vacation

Paris & Lisbon 2012 Budget: Is $4.5K Enough?

Written by WellHeeled on May 22, 2011 · 37 Comments

Europe 2012!! I am getting more and more excited about the prospect of leaving gloomy February in California and heading off to… gloomy February in Paris. I’ve been quite liberal with spending lately, so I wanted to use this opportunity to really buckle down and save. We are planning on staying for 6 days and 6 nights, 4 nights in Paris, France and 2 nights in Lisbon, Portugal.

My Paris + Lisbon Budget

Airfare x 2: $1,000 for fees and taxes. For 50,000 miles, I can get a round-trip economy class ticket to Paris. Since my British Airways Visa Signature card allows me to rack up 100,000 miles fairly quickly, I should have enough for tickets for both CB and myself. I am going to budget $1,000 for fuel charges and taxes that we will incur when we exchange the miles for tickets. I am going to try to get an openjaw ticket – flying into Paris and out of Lisbon.

Hotel: $1,000 for Paris x 4 nights and Lisbon x 2 nights. I haven’t done much research into hotel options. The one that I’ve found, Hotel Muguet near the Eiffel Tower and Palace Invalides, charges 115€ per night including tax during our dates. A few readers have suggested renting an apartment, but for my first trip I’d be more comfortable at a hotel. For the two nights in Lisbon, I imagine hotel would be cheaper than that in Paris.

Food: $1,400 at $100 or 70€ per person, per day. Obviously, one of the big reasons why we are going to Paris and Portugal is for the food. I don’t expect to spend time in Michelin starred establishments, but I do want to frequent the cute little bistros and neighborhood cafes, enjoy goodor local wine and drink lots and lots of cafe lattes.

Internal transportation: $200. One way ticket from Paris to Lisbon. Apparently EasyJet has some options for one-ways at around 50€ per person.

Tours and entertainment: $600. To be honest, I picked this figure only because it will make our total trip budget a nice round number. We will probably get the 4-day Museum Passes. Other than that, I am not quite sure how much this will cost.

Books and shopping: $300. I plan to pick up a Rick Steves’ guide books to Paris, and maybe a small book of French phrases. I also want to have a little bit of money to buy some scarves (from everything I’ve read, Parisian women are always stylin’ with scarves!) and perhaps a few pieces of custom jewelry at flea markets.

Total: $4,500 If we are very conscientious, perhaps we can cut this down to $4,000.

Do you think this Paris & Lisbon vacation budget is reasonable? Now I need to figure out how to save for this trip…

Categories: Budget, Travel - Tags: eating to my heart's content, vacation

Paris in the Winter

Written by WellHeeled on May 20, 2011 · 20 Comments

Guess who’s going to see Paris, France next year?

I am not much for impulsive decisions, but I just impulsively made a decision last night. Now, I shall work diligently to put that impulsive decision into action.

It all started with CB and I talking about our honeymoon. We are looking at a wedding in April, right before the high season but still close enough to the summer to have nice weather. Unfortunately, with the way that CB’s schedule is shaking out, we will have a period of time from January to mid-February where he can take time off. Then, he wouldn’t be able to take any time off until late-June.

So we will have to go on a very short honeymoon immediately after the wedding, and the delay the longer trip for the summer. We had talked about going to Paris for our honeymoon – not because either of us ever had any burning desire to go, but I know we will enjoy the city, and besides, it is the city of romance, no? It’s also somewhere where neither of us has been before. Hi That’s My Bike is in Paris right now, and writes so beautifully about the city that I couldn’t help but be moved by her enthusiasm. @Single Ma, who has ended her blog, went to Paris and wrote a nice recap of her time there. Fortunately I still have those posts in my Google Reader!

Paris in the February

Back to CB’s schedule – if we were to go to Paris in June, July or August, we’d be crushed by the throng of like-minded tourists. The prices will also skyrocket from merely expensive to almost unaffordable. Besides, I had hoped that we can go to South America or perhaps an African safari during July. So I had a thought - what if we went to Paris in February?

Sure, the songs are about Paris in the Springtime, but Paris in the Winter is a cheap time to go! If we go in February, we can spend Valentine’s Day in Paris, and what can be more romantic than that? We can get a cute hotel and enjoy the city and being with each other. We can take advantage of the shorter lines at museums. It may be rainy and cold, but that’s just another excuse to duck into cafes and order warm mugs of hot cocoa and crepes smeared with Nutella.

So, here’s my new goal. Paris in February. I shall call this a pre-wedding-moon. I am not sure what a budget for this trip will look like, but it seems that round-trip airfare, per person, will cost at least $1,100. I have signed up for a British Airways credit card back when it had a 100,000 miles bonus, so I hope that will defray the cost of the airfare somewhat. A hotel room will cost around 115 euros a night, and at the dismal 1.4 dollars to 1 euro exchange rate, six nights will probably cost $1,000. So that is at minimum $3,000+ before food, incidentals, museum passes, etc., are factored in. Budgeting $100 per day (is that too high? too low?), per person, a 7-day trip will be $1,400. In all, I expect to spend $5,000 on this trip. Hopefully we can bring that cost down to $4,000 with the credit card miles.

Now, my focus is to “sell” this trip to CB (a relationship is all about negotiation!). We can use the $5,600 we’ve saved up for the Galapagos trip, or just start pinching pennies for this trip. I need a big goal to get excited about saving money again. Paris in February just might be it.

Photo credit: daphatone from morguefile.com

Categories: Travel - Tags: vacations

Galapagos Fund at 50%!

Written by WellHeeled on April 19, 2011 · 29 Comments

Today marks a milestone:

The Galapagos Fund has crossed the $5,000 line. We are officially 1/2 of the way there to our $10,000 goal.

I can’t believe it has already been a year since we first started the fund. The $10K goal was daunting from the get-go. When I first wrote about this goal, it was a 4-5 year plan. Then I thought, heck, life is short. I want to go see the turtles NEXT YEAR.

So the new goal is to go to Galapagos in Spring or Summer of 2012. Which means we have just about a year to save up the remaining $5,000.

Here’s how we got to the first $5,000:

April 5, 2010: We open the account and fund it with $500.
May 31, 2010: By the end of May, with measly interest and some of my freelance money, the balance has grown to $1,031.30
June-September 2010: We didn’t put any money in. We get about $1 a month in interest. By the end of September our balance is $1,035.08
October 31, 2010: $300 of freelance money + $1.01 in interest means we now have $1,336.09
November 30, 2010: Thanks to CB’s overtime (and the $1-plus in interest), we break the $1.5K mark to reach $1,587.41
December 31, 2010: HUGE month for the Galapagos Fund thanks to a sudden burst of saving on CB’s part and a work bonus on mine. We end the year with a cool $3,500.00
January – February 2011: Just interest. Balance at $3,508.54
March 31, 2011: More freelance money goes into the pot. Pot grows to $4,168.48
April 19, 2011: $5,613.48! Thanks to CB’s tax refund and my side hustle, we are half way to Galapagos, baby.

We are not as good about eating at home as we could be (understatement of the year), or else this fund would be much plumper. As you can see, we try to put in a few hundred at a time, and sometimes we don’t add to the fund for a few months at a time. But slowly, the money is adding up.

I am so excited about this trip – I don’t even know where I first HEARD of Galapagos. Ever since I started reading about the islands, though, I can’t get them out of my head. I am afraid that I’ve built it up to be so great that the actual vacation can’t possibly match my expectations. In fact, I googled “overrated” and “Galapagos” to try to gauge the experiences of those who were unimpressed with their trip. But I guess I’ll see when I actually go. I’ve also got bitten by the safari bug (see Madame X’s post about the glorious trip she took to Botswana) and have begun to hound CB about going on a safari after Galapagos.

Another $5,000 by April 2011… can we do it? I certainly intend to! It will be so fantastic. I can’t wait to go on this adventure, and I can’t wait to blog all about it.

1. Do you have a travel goal you are saving for?

2. Also, if you have visited the Galapagos, did you think it was worth the time, money, and energy? Would you consider it a “overrated”? I can take brutal honesty!

photo credit: James Preston via Flickr

Categories: Travel - Tags: vacation, wishlist, worth the money

The Curious Case of Hotel WiFi

Written by WellHeeled on April 14, 2011 · 8 Comments

Has anyone noticed that while the hostels and cheaper hotels are unfailingly generous with free internet access, the most expensive and nicest establishments are still stuck in the $15-$20 PER DAY for WiFi?

I can get free wifi at the local Youth Hostel International but Four Seasons and InterContinental will charge you up the wazoo. The nicer hotels generally cater to business people or vacationers, and may assume that the former can charge the hotel access to their companies and the latter don’t care much about staying connected to the internet.

Still. I just hope that this trend changes, and that providing reliable and free internet access become as much a marker of hospitality and quality as having comfortable bedding and good ventilation.

Categories: Travel

Here are 10 ways to deal with that wanderlust when you’re short on time or money.

Share in the comments! What effective, unusual, wacky ways do you try to deal with your wanderlust, when you just can’t get away?

Case in point

Do you use travel flash sale sites? Have you found that they are more or less expensive than other sources?

I’m not the only one who feels this way, right? Do you find yourself spending a little (or a lot) more in an airport?

Now, I have 3 current credit cards:

Credit cards I am considering:

Do you tip your hotel maid? How much do you tip?

The Plan

The Budget

The Feeling

What would you do? Turkey honeymoon in the warmth of pricey June, or Turkey vacation in cheaper, colder, and wetter March?

When did travel reach that status of the holy grail of spending?

What domestic destination is on your list?

My Paris + Lisbon Budget

Do you think this Paris & Lisbon vacation budget is reasonable? Now I need to figure out how to save for this trip…

Guess who’s going to see Paris, France next year?

Paris in the February

Today marks a milestone:

The Galapagos Fund has crossed the $5,000 line. We are officially 1/2 of the way there to our $10,000 goal.

Here’s how we got to the first $5,000:

1. Do you have a travel goal you are saving for?

2. Also, if you have visited the Galapagos, did you think it was worth the time, money, and energy? Would you consider it a “overrated”? I can take brutal honesty!

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