Tag: travel

Popping open travel budgets

There I was, in England for the very first time. It was the start of my two-week vacation that I had saved and planned for. My hotel included breakfast, so that expense was taken care of. But on day two I found myself thinking negatively about having to pay for meals out. It’s a combination of two things I like the least – food and spending.

London-Lamb and Flag view
My view from the Lamb and Flag pub in London, where Charles Dickens used to hang out. Photo ©Dossier Communications.

Usually I try to be as disciplined with food as I am with money. I found myself fretting (some may say minor meltdown) and had to have an honest (some may say harsh) talk with myself. What did I want to remember about this trip – pinching pennies or everything else? I had saved, I had planned and I had the money, so it was okay to loosen up a little – it was vacation after all!

Trying local cuisine is part of the art of travel. I did create inexpensive picnics by shopping at the Marks & Spencer grocery store but I also ate hot meals in pubs.

London-Hotel room picnic
I don’t always love my life, but when I do, I’m having a picnic in my London hotel room with shortbread and cider from Marks & Sparks. Photo ©Dossier Communications.

I tried steak and ale pie, Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding, and a concoction the name of which I forget but involved beef wrapped in pastry. I picked raisins out of scones and I tried 12 different kinds of cider. Since India was part of the British Empire until 1948, even the curry I had counts as English food, especially as Indian take-out places are everywhere.

London-Lamb and Flag-Steak and ale pie.JPG
Steak and ale pie at the Lamb and Flag pub, London. Photo ©Dossier Communications.

Each meal was a chance to get off my feet after hours of walking, reflect on my trip thus far and enjoy my surroundings. The best was at the Lamb and Flag pub in London, where Charles Dickens used to hang out. I visited pubs from the 1700s, 1600s and 1500s – taverns older than my entire country, each with their own story and each contributing to mine.

When I got home I paid off my credit card with the remainder of my travel savings. While I’m sad it’s depleted and the trip is over, I’m glad I don’t have a financial hangover combined with my jet lag.

Once again I’m struck by how similar diets and budgets are, how primal the feeling of deprivation can be, and how we should do everything in moderation – including moderation. (Thank you Oscar Wilde.)

Sometimes you need to loosen up a little and enjoy the experience. Even if that means popping open your wallet or the button on your pants.

Netflix and chill — and spend

(Part 1 of Other People’s Money post)

I was chatting with a colleague about how I recently watched the first season of Riverdale (Jughead + Betty forever!), but because I don’t have Netflix I had to wait until it came to iTunes. He said, “You’re a single woman, you don’t have kids, you have lots of money – why don’t you have Netflix? It’s only $10 a month.”

Well, that gave me enough for two blog posts, so welcome to the first one. Let’s get started with Netflix itself and “it’s only $10 a month.”

piggy-bank-3117655_1920

Do you really think I can afford the fees for an image of Jughead and Betty, or Netflix? Instead, please enjoy this cool piggy bank I found free on Pixabay.

That’s $120 a year, not including tax. But I’d have to increase my internet bandwidth and at minimum, that’s another $10 a month, or $120 plus tax. That’s spending $240+ a year on a season of Riverdale.

Yes, there’s a lot of other content on it, but that’s what I feel like watching right now. Even paying as I go to download occasionally from iTunes, I do not spend $240 a year on TV shows or movies. (I track my spending. I work for myself, of course I do.)

When you’re considering spending, what else is involved and what are the whole costs? It’s like home renovations. First you fix the kitchen, but then by comparison the rest of the house seems off, so you keep going and spending. (Canadians spend an awful lot on home renos! ) Or you find the perfect cute top, but it doesn’t go with anything in your wardrobe, so now you need new jeans or a new skirt, and of course then you need new shoes. Hey, I get it, the whole spending scope creep.

One that catches me is the hidden costs to travel. Besides the airfare and accommodations, there’s the vaccinations if needed, the incidentals like sunscreen or bug spray you need to stock up on when they’re out of season and thus more expensive, the Uber fare to and from the airport and so on.

Ever play the game I’d Rather? You may have heard of it in other contexts. Kate Moss once said, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” (Obviously she’s never had chocolate cake. Or tacos. Or… but I digress.) She plays the I’d Rather game – she’d rather be skinny than indulge on food.

Personally, I’d rather put that $240 towards a trip, my concert fund, or some activity that doesn’t involve me sitting at home with my butt on the couch staring at a screen alone. (Even going to the movies, where I sit on my butt and stare at a screen is better, because I like the social aspect.)

Netflix is obviously just not a priority for me right now. Yes I’ll probably get it eventually, but until then I have other things to do with my money. It’s all about your personal choices.

Jughead and Betty will just have to hold on until then.