Browsing Category Budgeting
Vacation anticipation: the best part of the trip
Going on the trip is the fun part, right? Well, I would also argue that planning the trip can be just as much fun. In fact, I read a New York Times article a few years ago that always stuck with me. It’s based on a study they did in the Netherlands on the effects vacations, and vacation planning, had on peoples’ happiness. Their findings revealed that the most vacation happiness came from what they called “vacation anticipation.” Vacation anticipation is just as it sounds: the excitement of actually going on the trip.
After the vacation, even if they were truly relaxed on the trip, their happiness levels resumed to a baseline happiness after about two weeks. This means that the actual anticipation of the trip was bringing more happiness than after they got home! Their recommendation after these findings was to plan small trips throughout the year, instead of just one large one, to increase your vacation anticipation happiness year-round! (You can read the whole article here. If you really want to read the entire science report, here’s the actual study.)
How to spot false travel advertising
I see this stuff all the time. A photograph for an amazing adventure tour, an ad for a 5-star hotel that looks almost too good to be true, and a historic site that looks like it was created for stock photography. I like to call these “false advertisements”, because they’re misleading. They’re not the real deal, the authentic deal… or anything you’re looking for. But it looks like it is.
That adventure tour is twice as expensive as others, and they’ve paid good money for you to see the ad. The tour charges you for things that would ordinary be free. The photographs taken of that hotel were taken when it was first built… 10 years ago. You know, before thousands of tourists have run it down. That stock photograph of the historic site was taken at the right moment, with a $4,000 camera. You can make anything look appealing with a little Photoshop and the right camera angle.
So what do you do? How do you know if what you’re seeing is what you’re going to get? Here are a few of my personal tips for spotting a fake experience, hotel or site.
A tip for finding cheaper airfare
Airfare. It’s the most expensive part of any trip. This means, I’m always scouring the internet looking for ways to save money on airfare. There are a lot of articles out there where travel hacks that offer tips to save money. However, some of these “travel hacks” appear a little too sketchy for my taste.
For example, one hack I read was to get a credit card with rewards, buy a gift card, then use the gift card to purchase a money order, then deposit the money order into the bank and use it to pay off the credit card. I mean…. I guess technically it’s not illegal. Maybe it’s just “scamming the scammer.” However, I just want to get a good deal on a plane ticket; not take a gateway drug to becoming a real money launderer.
8 things that are free when traveling
Traveling costs money. No way around that. But, there are so many things that are free about travel that you shouldn’t take for granted. Yes, you have to pay for food. Yes, you have to pay for a place to stay. However, there are so many things that cost you $0.
I’ve mentioned this before, but getting out and exploring is just as much “traveling” as flying to Paris. Maybe not as exotic and dreamy, but you don’t have to shell out thousands of dollars to enjoy exploring, especially when you consider all the free things available to travelers.
How exactly do you plan a trip?
I always have a trip planned. And I’m not talking about those that I know for sure I’m going on, but ones that I’ve planned for the future. There are a lot of places I want to visit, and I like to keep a running list. I also like to have the itinerary, budget and number of days needed all figured out so I can simply look at the list and pick a place based on a number of factors.
Believe it or not, this enables me to be “spontaneous” and also satisfies my need to be planned and organized. I already have many well-thought out trips, so when we find a time to go somewhere, I just pull up that list and pick a place. Maybe we only have 4 days, so I can see what I’ve already planned for four days. Maybe we only have $1,000, so I can see what I have planned for $1,000. Maybe the time of year is a factor, and I want to see what I have planned for a winter destination. This makes things a lot simpler. Depending on how detailed I got in my trip planning, I may have already found restaurants and hotels (or Airbnbs) for places to make booking things even simpler.
