Travel | Well Heeled Blog

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?

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…

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

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

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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.

Read and Return: Buy a Book, Read it, Return it for 50% Back

Written by WellHeeled on March 24, 2011 · 9 Comments

At the beginning of this week I had a quick business trip. At the airport, I went into a book store, as I often to, to browse around. I saw a row of books with a big Read and Return bookmark. Apparently, Paradise Shops, a chain of airport bookstores, has been operating this program since 2003.

The program goes like this: You buy one of their Read and Return books, and if you return the book within six months with the original receipt, you will get a 50% refund on the original purchase price. In essence, you have rented a book for 50% of sales price.

Certainly, it’s cheaper to get a book from the library or even buy it on Amazon.com. Most paperbacks I saw at the shop was $12-$18, so even 50% would be close to $10. That’s pretty steep for renting a book for a few days or even a couple of weeks.

So… of course you know what I did. I bought Mennonite in a Little Black Dress for $14.00 on Tuesday, finished it in one gulp, and then returned it when I came back yesterday. It was a 1-day book rental that cost me $7.00. And the book wasn’t as good as I had expected.

But, I would totally do this again. For the sake of my budget, though, it’d make sense to buy books at used book sales or even on Amazon. There is something to be said, however, for the convenience that the Read and Return program offers. Besides, a book is a healthier impulse purchase than a bar of chocolate, right? Right?

Have you heard of Paradise Shops’ Read and Return program? Would you use it?

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Written by WellHeeled on October 8, 2010 · 7 Comments

I will be out of the country next week because of a family emergency. This is my first international trip in over three years, and while I am grateful for the chance to see my relatives again, I wish it was under happier circumstances. Everyone is flying back, so I suppose even though the occasion is sad it’s nice that the family will have a chance to be together.

Brad of Enemy of Debt has very nicely helped me out with a last minute guest post (that will go up Monday morning – unless WordPress’s scheduling function fails me!). I have also scheduled a few posts through the rest of the week.

If you’d like to send a prayer or a kind thought my way, we can certainly use some.

Eating Out On Vacations

Written by WellHeeled on September 22, 2010 · 27 Comments

This weekend CB and I traveled to the absolutely beautiful city of Boston and had a grand ol’ time walking around, meeting up with friends, and eating. Lots and lots of eating.

All this eating has turned into quite an expense. We were in Boston for three full days – in those three days we had:

3 dinners, including a grand lobster dinner at Legal’s Sea Food
5 brunches/lunches (picture on the left is of the crab cake benedict at Stephanie’s on Newberry. They cost $18 but was 100% worth the price. I can tell that it’s all crab, no filler. Thank you to Saving My Bacon for introducing me to this restaurant!).
2 coffee breaks
1 donut run (can’t pass up Dunkin’ Donuts, can we?)

The total cost of all our meals for two hovered around $350, or around $60 per day, per person. That is much higher than we normally spend, but I tell myself it was a vacation.

What is your philosophy when it comes to eating out on vacations?

Forget the budget and satisfy the senses – after all, it’s a special occasion

OR

Keep the wallet in check to avoid a spending hangover after the trip

I’d like to think I maintain a healthy balance between the two, but when it comes to food and touristy experiences (Duck tours – $65 for two tickets, anyone?), I veer on the side of it’s a vacation! I did stay in one of the cheapest options I could find in Boston ($140/night hotel), so I gave myself a little more leeway to enjoy the culinary delights the city had to offer.

The Joy of Vacation (Planning)

Written by WellHeeled on August 9, 2010 · 9 Comments

Doesn’t some of the fun of vacations lay in the anticipation, the planning and the daydreaming in the days, weeks, months, or years before the actual vacation takes place? If so, I am certainly getting some of the pleasures of my Galapagos trip up front.

Last night I did some very early research on Galapagos tours and came across Friendly Planet’s Galapagos Explorer tour, a 9-day (11 days if you include the optional Cuenca excursion) trip through Ecuador and the Galagagos islands. I love reading Friendly Planet’s well-written itineraries, but most of all I am glad to see that it IS possible to do a Galapagos trip on $5,000 a person – air fare included!

I am still considering cruise-only operators but I am glad that there are more options out there. When the time comes to book the trip, I will be sure to do my due diligence. From the first glance though, I am very intrigued by the possibility of staying overnight on an island instead of spending the every night on cruises.

Friendly Planet’s pricing makes our $10,000 Galapagos Fund goal seem like a realistic amount, especially because it includes airfare. Actually, the trips are currently just under $4,000 per person including a 2-day side trip to Cuenca. I figured with inflation / price increases the trip will still be around $5,000 in 3-4 years. Or at least I hope.

We are currently at just a hair above $1,000 in our fund, or 10% of our goal. I hope to end 2010 with another $1,000 so we will be at 20%. It might take us 10,000 steps to get to our goal, but at least we can enjoy the anticipation as we take those steps!

Has anyone traveled with Friendly Planet before, or have traveled to Galapagos? What big trips are you all saving for? Share your stories.

image from friendlyplanet.com

Where to Stay in Boston

Written by WellHeeled on August 1, 2010 · 24 Comments

CB and I are planning a little trip to Boston this fall. Because September / October is considered high season in New England and we are traveling on the weekends, I am finding that everything is more expensive than I had expected.

We’d like to stay in downtown Boston, with easy access to the T (preferably near the Green Line if possible). We will not be renting a car.

My friend found Hotel Marlowe listed for $170-$180 / night on Expedia.com, which is a big discount from the best listed price on the hotel’s website. I am leaning towards that hotel, because it’s nice and in a great location, but at $550 for three nights it’s still a significant cost. So before I book, I’d like to ask for the collective wisdom of the blog.

If there is something nice for $150 or below, I’d be really happy. I found a couple of B&B’s and inns that offered rooms in the $130-$140 range, but we’d have to share a bathroom down the hall. Even Hotwire hasn’t turned up anything satisfactory – I see 3 star hotels listed for $165, and at that price I’d rather just get Hotel Marlowe.

Part of me is thinking that as it is a vacation, we should splurge a little. On the other hand, we will already be spending money on the flight and transportation (almost $700 for the both of us) and the food (another $300-$350), it’s probably wise to save a little money on the hotels if we can. On the imaginary third hand, however, let me just admit it: I really want to stay in a nice place.

If you have any suggestions for where to stay in Boston at the end of September / beginning of October, please share! And between the two hotel choices ($180/night vs. $140/night), which would you choose?

5 Year Travel Plan: Making Your Travel Dreams a Reality

Written by WellHeeled on May 4, 2010 · 60 Comments

I’ve been struck by a bad case of the travel bug lately… I haven’t been out of the country since 2007, which seems like a long time. CB and I are saving for Galapgos, but we also want to travel quite extensively in the intervening months before our Big Galapagos Adventure.

Plenty of people have a 5-year plan for career and educational goals. So why not have a 5-Year Travel Plan? Two years ago, I posted on my Big Ticket Travel Dreams – since then, I’ve accomplished 1 dream on my list (Disney World). Most of the destinations overlap. Here are the destinations on my 5-year Travel Plan (the 5-year mark also coincides nicely with the entrance into my 30s).

New York City:

I’ve been to NYC quite a bit in the last few years, but CB has never gone. NYC is lovely in May/June, so perhaps we will plan for a Labor Day weekend 2010 or a Memorial Weekend 2011 trip. I’d like to stay at least 5 days and 4 nights and squeeze in a Broadway show. A back-of-the-envelope calculation puts our budget at about $1,500.

Japan:

CB really wants to go to Japan. I’ve been to Tokyo and Osaka for a short while several years ago, but I’ve never been to Kyoto, the former imperial capital and arguably Japan’s most historical city. I’m not sure how much a trip to Japan would take in terms of both money and vacation days – $5,000 for two including airfare? 8 days? (2 days for travel, 6 days for play). Debt Hater booked a 4-night stay in Toyko & airfare package for only $1,200 in 2009. This will be a 2011 or 2012 trip.

China:

CB lived in Beijing for several months while I’ve spent time in Southern China. My aunt and uncle work and live in China, so we can stay with them when I’m in their city. For the rest of the trip, CB and I will be on our own (although my uncle can probably wrangle some travel discounts for us). Plane tickets will be around $1,600 for two, with another $1,000+ in lodging / meals / travel within China costs. $4,000 for two for 2 weeks - doable?

China is so huge and there are so many things I want to see that I’d like to devote at 14 days to this trip (2-3 days will be lost to traveling to & from the US / overcoming jet lag). I would like to go to China next year, which would push Japan to 2012. Or, I could try to squeeze China and Japan into two weeks, which would use up all my vacation for the year. 2 weeks is a little short for these two countries, but at least we’d do the bulk of the overseas flight in one go.

Australia and/or New Zealand:

CB has proposed these destinations for a potential honeymoon trip. If it were to be a honeymoon trip.. I want it to be at least 10 days! Budget: no idea. I expect it to be fairly high because of the travel costs (round trip tickets to Australia will be at least $2,500 for two) and because we’d probably want to splurge. So… $7,000?

I would want plenty of snorkeling, relaxing, and eating. And of course, indulging in the world-class culture that Sydney or Melbourne offers.

Greek isles:

Oceans the color of lapis lazuli and beaches as white as sugar – sign me up please! I’ve been dreaming of the Greek Isles ever since I saw my first picture of Santorini. I’d like to spend a day or two in Santorini, but also visit the other, less well-known islands in the area (Paxos – doesn’t the picture look enticing?). Budget: no idea. I assume this trip would also cost a pretty penny (or $2,500 to $3,000 for a week?).

France / Italy / Spain:

I would love to do a tour of Western Europe. Sunflowers of Debt Chronicles estimated that her 15-day London-Paris-Germany tour cost $8,000 to $9,000 for two, so I expect that’s about the range CB and I would be look at. Maybe we can shave $1,000 off if we got really good deals or stayed in hostels, but I think a trip of this magnitude would cost at least $7,000. Perhaps this trip will get pushed off until we are older, however.

Galapagos Islands:

Say hello to the dream! People don’t tend to equate savings with romance, but CB and I are committing our financial resources for a future adventure together – what can be more romantic than that?

The cost of trip will be $10,000 to $12,000 for two. We are basing our budget on Lindblad Expeditions. Not sure that’s the operator we will select, but I know that I want a company that offers small groups, safe and comfortable ships, great food, knowledgeable biologists and scientists as tour guides, and a reputation for respecting and protecting the fragile ecosystems of the Galapagos Islands. For operators of similar caliber, I assume that the high prices will be here to stay. I want to do this trip in 2013, before I head to business school.

Thinking about all these travels have really put things into perspective for me – perspective on how much money we’d need to save! New York, Japan, China, and Australia alone will cost almost $18,000. Galapagos will be another $10,000. At the risk of being discouraged, I think this is a good exercise – I don’t want to keep “talking” about how much I want to go to Galapagos or Japan or Greece but never taking the steps to make those dreams a reality. (To be honest, I have no idea how I’m going to fund these travels and max out my retirement accounts at the same… I guess that’s all the more incentive to make sure I perform well enough at work to get the full bonus and refrain from needless purchases).

image source: (1) wired.com, (2) finnair.com, (3) travel.nationalgeographic.com, (4) textually.org, (5) greece-holidays.sunvil.co.uk, (6) photos4travel.com, (7) gliving.com

Share your 5 Year Travel Plan destinations in the comments! Or, if you have advice / feedback about the places I’ve listed here, I’m eager to hear your thoughts.

Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step

Written by WellHeeled on April 9, 2010 · 17 Comments

CB and I got our Galapagos Fund (or Account #1234567) set up. Joint accounts don’t appear to offer the option of nicknames. Though we couldn’t name it something fun like “Going to Galapagos,” “Swim with Turtles,” or “Date with Darwin,” a fund by any other name is just as money!

It truly is great motivation to have a specific “home” for each of our dollars designated toward Galapagos. The total amount of what we have to save, however, is quite daunting. This trip costs over $10,000 for the both of us in today’s dollars. Our savings won’t be earning an interest rate that matches inflation, so we will need to save even more because we’re losing a bit of real purchasing power every day as we save. (And we’d have to set aside money for things other than this trip – say, retirement!).

Assuming a 3% per-year increase in the price of travel to the Galapagos, we will need $11,000 by 2014.
A 5% increase means $11,500.
In 4 or 5 years, the Galapagos trip will likely cost $12,000-$13,000.

Right now, we have $500 in the fund, or less than 5% of our eventual goal.

There’s a popular saying: “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Inspiring and true, to be sure, but I wonder if the poor soul staring down those thousand miles ever thought, “I’m going to 80 by the time I cross the finish line.”

Opening a Joint Savings Account to Save for Vacation

Written by WellHeeled on March 27, 2010 · 48 Comments

CB and I want to take a vacation to the Galapagos Islands, one of my Big Ticket Travel Dreams. I’ve been dreaming about a jaunt to the famed green isles and emerald waters ever since I’ve heard about the place. Galapagos seems like it would be paradise on earth. Entrance to paradise, however, does not come cheap. An excursion with a quality operator (small tour group, knowledgeable guides, comfortable and safe cruise ship with amenities) costs at least $5,000 per person. See Lindblad’s pricing for example.

It’s expensive, but Galapagos is one of those once-in-a-lifetime trips that I really want to do right. In fact, I want so much to go that I told CB I’d rather have an engagement vacation than an engagement ring. Diamonds might be a girl’s best friend but I’d get to swim with turtles in the Galapagos! Easy decision for me.

CB worked overtime a few weeks ago. He suggested we put that money towards the Galapagos vacation instead of frittering it away on eating out (I love food, but I will LOVE going to the Galapagos). I thanked him for his financial foresight and immediately began pondering the question of two committed-but-unmarried individuals who want to set up a joint savings account for a very specific purpose, i.e. a vacation.

Based on preliminary research, ING Direct Online Accounts appear to be a good option for us. We can even set up sub-accounts for other trips. I want a joint savings account that is completely detached from either one of our individual accounts. A very crass way of thinking about it is: in the unfortunate event that CB or I turn into vindictive and heartless people (because aliens have taken over our bodies, of course), the only money either of us can lose is our contribution to the joint savings account.

Although CB said that he doesn’t mind just transferring the money over to my account, I would feel better if it were an account with both of our names on it. Right now it’s not a big deal, but it might feel a little strange when the account gets to several thousand dollars and it’s still in one person’s name. We could just save for the vacation on our own, then write the check when the time comes (we did this for our Disney World trip). But I think having a joint savings account where we can keep track of our progress will be much more motivating.

Does anyone have experience opening ING joint savings accounts? Or with joint accounts in general?

image source: naturetrek.co.uk

This post was featured in the Carnival of Personal Finance: Unanswered Questions Edition hosted by Mighty Bargain Hunter

Santa Barbara On A Budget

Written by WellHeeled on March 15, 2010 · 27 Comments

Why Santa Barbara? Well, I have an interview half an hour away from the city, so I decided to visit my friend in beautiful Santa Barbara for a few days after the interview. Santa Barbara has been called the American Riviera for its beautiful beaches, charming downtown, and exorbitant prices! Fortunately I’ll be staying with my friend, so at least I can save on the lodging costs.

(For those of you keeping up, the job search is still going on. I am waiting to hear back from a few places, going on interviews, and chatting to recruiters. The job search is at once exciting and unsettling – I can feel a marked improvement in the job market compared to a few months ago, and I’m excited about the potential jobs I’ve applied for and interviewed for. Still, while interviews are easier to come by the competition for an offer remains intense – wish me luck!).

In preparation for my trip, I’ve found several things for those will be visiting Santa Barbara on a budget:

Hotels - It’s not cheap to stay in a slice of Santa Barbara, fortunately, if you are forgiving of tight spaces, thin towels, and perhaps lumpy beds, you can find cool and funky motels to stay in without breaking the bank.

The Presidio Motel: Rates aren’t listed on their website, but I called about a year ago, and received quotes of $100 to $150 per night for weekend stays.
The Agave Inn: A sister hotel to The Presidio Motel, The Agave Inn is located 10 minutes from Downtown Santa Barbara and has rates in the $70-$100 range.
Inn at East Beach: For the last weekend of March, the cheapest rates available are $190 per room.

Dine - I love food, and Santa Barbara does not disappoint. I’ve had very good French food in this city (although not on a budget). If you can, I’d suggest you splurge at least once when you’re in the city.

Petit Valentien: A French bistro located downtown. I especially enjoy the appetizers (I like the variety, the ample portions, and the affordable prices). On my last trip to Santa Barbara, a friend and I split several appetizers, and the tab for us came out to be under $20 per person. Not bad for a nice evening meal on a budget.
Cajun Kitchen Cafe: One of my favorite places to get brunch in Santa Barbara. I’ve been here a few times, and my favorite is the salmon eggs benedict (a special, ~$10) and the cornbread. Prepare to be stuffed. Yum!

Play – What’s a vacation without some fun? Santa Barbara has a lot of places that visitors can go to for free or for cheap.

Santa Barbara Courthouse: I love love love this courthouse, which might be the most beautiful courthouse I have ever seen. Old-mission style architecture with emerald green lawns and statuesque palm trees – what else can you ask for? The Courthouse offers free tours, or you can just pop in on your own to admire the scenery (Budget brides can also get married at the courthouse for a low fee. See details here).
Urban Wine Tasting Trial: No time (or money?) to explore outside of downtown Santa Barbara? You can see go on a wine tasting trip with this handy PDF map of local wineries. Most places are around $5 a tasting for 5-8 wines, making this a fun and budget-friendly activity.

image source: wikipedia.org

Taking Debt to Fund Once-In-A-Lifetime Trip

Written by WellHeeled on February 23, 2010 · 16 Comments

Most people would say “no” to borrowing money for a vacation.

But what if the circumstances were slightly altered? What if this trip wasn’t purely a vacation but a visit to the place of your birth? What if the travel isn’t for you but for your elderly parents, who might not have the opportunity to make a similar trek in another 5 or 10 years? What if this really IS a once-in-a-lifetime chance?

This is the difficult situation that The Asian Pear is facing. Most of the commenters said that they would go into debt to fund the trip for their parents in those circumstances, and I’d have to say I would do the same for my parents too.

Because even though there are good “rules of thumb” when it comes to saving and spending and how you should (or shouldn’t) fund travel, it’s impossible to make a decision based purely on financial considerations. Especially when it comes to family.

Disney World Picture With Stitch

Written by WellHeeled on February 17, 2010 · 16 Comments

Our Disney World adventure concluded in December. Two months later, we finally printed out 200 – a fraction – of our pictures. Here’s one of my favorites.

A Disney World vacation isn’t complete until you get pictures with some of its characters. I don’t normally like to wait for pictures, but since we were in Disney World, of course we’re going to take as many character pictures as we can.

We never got a picture with Lilo, but it’s okay. We all know that Stitch stole the show in the movie! For this picture, we didn’t even have to stand in line and wait – most of the other character photo shoots at Disney World required at least 20 minutes of standing in line.

We did wait to take pictures with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Buzz Lightyear. At a dinner, we took pictures with the Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore. We did see Lilo at a photo shoot, but decided we didn’t want to wait. I would’ve loved to get pictures with Woody, but he was no where to be found! Maybe Stitch scared him away?

P.S. I had wanted to get Mickey Mouse Ears for us, but they were really expensive (over $20 a pair). Luckily, as we were waiting for the bus to take us from All-Stars Sports Resort to Epcot, a nice Disney Cast Member gave us the pair of reindeer antler ears you see in the picture.

She assured us that many people will be wearing the same antlers because Disney was giving them out for Christmas Day. “You’ll be a herd of Santa’s Reindeers,” she said. Curiously enough, we never saw another person with those antlers. Could it be that that Cast Member was really an… antler fairy!? I think so!

Love Might Be Free But Long Distance Relationships Aren’t

Written by WellHeeled on February 16, 2010 · 27 Comments

This post is a guest post by The Asian Pear for the My Honey, My Money series. AP is a twentysomething Canadian who is trying to find a balance between a healthy lifestyle and frugal spending habits to yummy food and fashion indulgences.

I am one of those people who will always know the current conversion rate of the Canadian dollar to the Euro.** I am one of those people who will always know which are the best phone cards, who are the best long distance carriers and who has the best long distance plans. I am one of those people who will always know the going-price for airplane tickets to go to Europe. Particularly Finland.

The reason is because my boyfriend, Bear, lives in Finland. And I live in Canada.

In May, Bear and I will be celebrating our 8th year anniversary together. All of which has been through long-distance. I wish I can say that having a long-distance relationship was simple and easy. In some ways, it is. In some ways, it is not. One thing for certain is that a long-term/long-distance relationship is NOT cheap.

When you’re dating someone traditionally, you take a lot of things for granted such as the act of conversation. You just simply phone that person or meet them after work. For Bear and I, things get a bit more complicated and expensive… When we first started dating, we were on instant messengers frequently. It was and still is the cheapest form of communication. Soon it wasn’t enough.

So we both went out and bought $70 webcams and $20 mics. We had trouble finding a suitable relay system and started using phones instead. This was even more costly. I had a land line but Bear only had a cell phone and finding a long-distance plan that works on mobiles is quite difficult. I remember paying $100 monthly bills often. Bear once had a phone bill close to $200 even. (Thank goodness we’ve found Rebtel since!) And that’s just the financial cost of conversation. Don’t get me started on our time differences and scheduling!

When you’re dating someone traditionally, you can give gifts and little tokens of affection. When you’re in a long distance relationship, the rules of the game change. You have to consider: how big is the gift, how much it weighs, will customs allow it through, how much the postage will cost and the type of postage. The first gift I ever sent to Bear was a package of homemade cookies. Not having ever sent anything abroad before, I did not even know the rules. A box of cookies ended up costing me almost $70 for air mail to Finland. My homemade cookies probably only cost $7 to make. Now I know better. Send light meaningful things. Send it 6 weeks in advance by surface mail. Nothing more than 500g optimally or 2kg at most.

Physically seeing each other is the hardest and the most expensive task. There’s a lot of planning and saving when it comes to a long distance relationship. I’ve learned over the years that money and time is a paradox. When we had time, neither of us had any money to make the long trip abroad. Now that both of us have (some) money, we don’t have the time.

From my personal perspective, not only do I have to save the money now for the trips but I have to ensure I have enough paid vacation days to cover it. If not, I have to request unpaid vacation days (and honestly? Who wants UNPAID vacation days?). A trip to Finland from Canada will costs about $800 – $1,200 CAD depending on the time of the year. Basically, this is a continual savings goal. As soon as I spend it, I’m already saving for my next trip because I miss Bear already.

I can’t complain though. I am very happy with Bear. He makes me smile despite the thousands of kilometers between us. I know I am lucky to have found him. Despite what it financially costs to be with him, I would say he is well-worth it.

Writer’s Footnote: For those of you interested, as of writing (February 13th), the Canadian dollar to the Euro is 69.86 cents.

Do you have tips for surviving long distance relationships without going broke?

image source: cyberlens.wordpress.com

How To Shred On The Road

Written by WellHeeled on January 18, 2010 · 12 Comments

This week, I’ll be in NYC for an extremely short trip – flying a redeye on Thursday night, getting in on Friday morning, and leaving Saturday morning to be back at home by noon. A company that I’ve done some freelancing for is having a cocktail reception to mark a business milestone, and they’ve invited me out there. I am really excited.

In a display of fitness dedication that I have never experienced before, I’ve decided that just because I am on the opposite coast for one day does not mean that I have to miss the Shred (Friday would be Day 12 for me). So, I’ve decided I’m packing up my old and heavy laptop (because the new Lenovo laptop I got in August 2009 is being shipped for repairs for the third time) and my DVD and I’m going to do the Shred in the hotel room.

Now, if I do not bring my weights, and I do all the exercises without the hand weights, do you think I can legitimately say that I’ve finished Day 12 of the Shred? I hope the answer is yes… because I am committed to doing all 30 days in a row, but I don’t relish the prospect of packing 4 extra pounds in my carry-on. Hmm. I suppose I can bring 2 empty water bottles with me, then fill them up in the hotel room and use them as 1 pound weights? What do you think?

In addition to The Shred, I can never head into another city without partaking in the tango scene (my biggest regret about the Austin trip was not going to a milonga. It was a really busy trip, yes, but I could’ve squeezed in a couple hours of tango if I tried really hard and planned better). Last time I was in NYC I danced in Central Park. This time, I’ll also be dancing. So, tango shoes, into the bag!