How I Gots The Money
mi vida estupida|After my last post, GeekHiker asked how I can afford to travel so much, and I realized that I need more than three sentences to explain everything. Sometimes I get lucky with plane tickets. I wanted to go to Bali from early July to early August but the cheapest flight was $2000. I kept pushing back the date until I found a flight for $900, insanely cheap to fly to the other side of the world. And I’m not one for luxury or super-hotels. In London, I’m staying with my family and in Bali I was paying about $15-20 a night for hotels.
But mostly it’s about my priorities. I LIVE to travel. That is my drug of choice, keeping me grounded, making me free. And I am absolutely willing to forgo other stuff in order to have money for travel. I am not a shopper and I don’t have what Suze Ormon calls “the latte factor”. I’m just really good at saving money. And of course the Faustian bargain with the padres is a big help, but it’s also the little things that add up:
- I eat breakfast at home
- I bring lunch to work with me every day
- I’ve gotten better about cooking dinner at home
- I don’t have a TV (though I am debating getting one)
- shopping depresses me so I avoid it (except on vacation, because I’m not going out of my way to stores, just passing stuff while sightseeing)
- when I do shop on vacation, I’ll stock up on lots of stuff (like my $4 dresses in Bali) and won’t have to go shopping again for ages
- if I like something, I’ll keep it forever (like the pair of shorts and a tank top I got in Australia in 1998)
- I don’t feel the need to buy a new dress for every occasion and have worn the same dress for every wedding, christening, you-name-it, for the last six years. (and it looks damn good on me so why fix it if it ain’t broke)
- I have exactly one pair of strappy high heels
- my biggest shoe splurge are my Dr. Martens, all bought ages ago. I am down to 2 1/2 pairs, because there is a lone boot trapped somewhere in the padre’s basement that I hope to unearth one day
- I get my hair cut for free at Bumble and Bumble Model Project and I color it myself
- getting as many non-perishables as possible at Costco is a big help. (I won’t have to buy q-tips for the next five years)
- this year especially, I’ve been working a lot of extra hours at the public library. it’s a good gig and I’m lucky to have it, even if it means not sleeping in some Saturday mornings. But I’d rather sleep in on vacation instead.
There’s a bunch more little stuff like this but I figure you get the picture. I’m not into material things. Getting a fancy watch won’t make me happy but travelling to a new country will. This year I want to travel even more. I haven’t even changed the name on my passport yet because by the time I remember to, I’m already buying another plane ticket. And that’s fine by me.
November 24th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
I ditto that, though I don’t dye my own hair b/c I would look like a hot mess and I like to shop every now and then. Everything in moderation is my motto. I do ask you to throw out some of your things, like the World War II baby shoes, when it’s time for them to retire in the garbage. Sometimes it takes some coaxing.
November 24th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
or those old grandma square heels. vomit.
November 24th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
hahaha at shower.
Yea, ditto for me on the bumble and bumble haircuts (THEY ARE SUCH A GOOD DEAL).
November 25th, 2009 at 5:11 am
Very, very frugal! Now, about those $4 dresses, do you wear them with the grandma square heels or the doc martins?
November 25th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
I have the disadvantage of being a big girl, thus things like bras designed to hold my boulders are quite costly.
November 26th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
ultra - i liked the WWII baby shoes. the only reason i got rid of them was because the soles were worn through from wearing them to work every day for like three years
little sister - well, i like them so they’re staying. unless yo want to get me new ones for christmas…
dene - you go to b&b also? make sure you ask them for samples on the way out. they don’t give unless you ask for them so i think most people don’t even know they can get some
dingo - i’ve only worn them with flip-flops (and i never wore flip-flops till indonesia). but they might look good with docs too.
tcd - yeah, but bras do last a while and it’s not like you need ten pairs. unless that’s how many women normally have and i just don’t know stuff like that.
November 30th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Wow, lady, you are WAY more low maintenance than I am! I’m impressed, and also jealous of your travels. What are you doing for February break?
November 30th, 2009 at 11:23 am
npw - don’t get me wrong, i’ll have my occassional splurges (i just got a facial finally last week after about 5 years) but then they seem special, ya know. and i just plain love to travel. just booked a flight to costa rica for february - rain forest here i come.
November 30th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Carmen Sandiego, meet Ebenezer Scrooge!
December 1st, 2009 at 7:49 am
ron - i get the carmen part but not the ebenezer. wasn’t he a total grouch who never went anywhere and hated everyone and all he cared about was his money and material possessions? as in, the total opposite of me?
December 1st, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Very cool post (sorry I’m late to the party). I actually live pretty frugally myself which, as you know being someone who also lives in an insanely expensive city, can be tough at times. Of course, I wouldn’t say it’s only money holding me back, either.
So, am I allowed to hound you with all my travel questions now?
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:42 am
GH - if there are issues other than money and vacation time from your employer keeping you from travelling then we need to talk. seriously, i think it would be so good for you to get on a plane and get off the grid for a while. and i will definitely try and answer any travel questions. go ahead, pick my brain.