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Marketing Tips For Growing Your Small Business Today

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The importance of investing in quality marketing when you are running a small business cannot be overlooked. Competition is fierce across industries and it’s important to get your brand out there for recognition by potential clients.

Now, this won’t be achievable if you’re using marketing ideas from the last century, or even from the last decade. It’s time to level up and upgrade your marketing game to get the results you desire and propel your small business into the big leagues. And the marketing tips in this article are going to enable you to do just that.

Start by Checking Out Your Competition

If you want to upgrade your business’s marketing game seeing what others in your industry are doing is a must. That way you can check out what works and what you shouldn’t waste your money on. Of course, it is important to focus on companies of similar size and revenue as yours. It’s hard to follow the marketing efforts of big corporations with a lot more funds to invest in their promotion and marketing channels.

The easiest way to figure out what works best for your competitors is observing what marketing tools they keep returning to over and over again. For example, if they keep running Facebook ads quite often, it’s an indicator they’ve had some return on their investment (ROI) through that form of promotion. Otherwise, they wouldn’t throw money at it so often. That is If they are making smart business decisions.

Have your Clients Help You Out

There is no better advertisement for your business than word of mouth. And testimonials are formal forms of expression supporting that concept.

Having your customers say why they keep coming back or explaining which of your services or products they are the most satisfied with can do wonders for your brand and your business. And most of them will do it for free because they like your business or enjoy what your company offers.

Reviews are also something most people look up before opting for a certain service or product. This makes it important to provide your customers with everything they need to go home satisfied.

Great customer service can help you avoid any bad reviews that could potentially damage your business. And negative reviews can be quite damaging if they pile up. They are the first thing your potential customers see when they google your small business.

Embrace the Value of Offline Marketing

Offline marketing options like quality promotional products and stands at local stores or industry events can also provide a great deal of promotion for your company. Use promotional products as a form of a gift to loyal customers, or simply distribute them with every purchase. People will use and wear them which naturally promotes your brand and your company.

Kiosks or stands are a great way to introduce customers to your product or service if you are in an industry that can benefit from the face to face communication with potential clients. So not only will you be able to sell off some of your merchandise, you will also develop personal relationships and possibly future partnerships. You can have these types of stands in local stores, markets or your industry related events.

You Know We Need to Touch On Social Media

In today’s digital world, social media is something you cannot afford to neglect. The power of it is vast, and it can literally make or break your business. Keeping active social media accounts and even advertising through them is an absolute must for your small business marketing.

Of course, you don’t need to be everywhere at once. Based on the industry you operate in, and the type of product or service you offer, you can decide which social media platforms suit you the most and simply focus on them.

There is no need to spread yourself thin by trying to manage all of them at once. And make sure you also don’t overdo your media blitz. Spamming your customers with irrelevant information and content can do your small business more harm than good. A well structured social media campaign is a must.

Simple Marketing Tips, Bit Results

These tips are simple to apply but can significantly upgrade your small business’s marketing game. And let’s face it – in today’s business world, marketing is probably the most important tool for bringing in new customers. So why not take the time and create a great on- and offline marketing approach to truly bring a visible ROI to your small business? It’ll be worth your effort!

Article contributed by Emma Worden, a business manager from Sydney. She enjoys reading and writing on business topics and giving advice and tips through her texts. Emma frequently writes for BizzmarkBlog and can be found on Twitter @EmmaRWorden

Avani’s A Single Mother Who Went From Minimum Wage To $90K Annually

By Monica Da Ponte on Strive

As the saying goes, when life serves you lemons, you make lemonade. Despite the challenges, that is what Avani a single mother of two managed to do. Avani immigrated to Canada almost 15 years ago; she was driven by the opportunity to live in a country that offered economic growth, high standards of living, best in class education and peace of mind.

Meet Avani

Early 40’s
Specialized dialysis nurse
Immigrated to Canada almost 15 years ago
Studied nursing internationally and re-certified in Canada
Started earning minimum wage
Personal income of $90,000

Born and educated in India, Avani always believed that she deserved more than she was able to get in her country. She was confident in her ability to put in the hard work needed for achieving success. Immediately after finishing her nursing school, Avani was offered a job in Dubai as a nurse. She worked in Dubai for a few years and eventually decided to immigrate to Canada.

In her late twenties, newly married Avani was excited about starting life in Canada, arriving with a small savings of $20,000. Avani and her husband planned their life and thought carefully about how they were going to use their small savings to cover the all the expenses they were about to face. They moved into a small basement and started hunting for jobs immediately.

Avani began working as a personal caregiver while her husband started working at KFC. Earning minimum wage, they brought in around $3,000 a month. Barely able to make ends meet, they eventually exhausted their savings and were living paycheque to paycheque.

As Avani was unable to practice as a nurse until she passed the Canadian Registered Nursing exam, they saw the exam as the gateway to helping them live a more comfortable life. Given that hourly wages for nurses in Ontario start at $21.75 an hour and go as high as $40 an hour with benefits[1], passing the exam would help them leapfrog into a significantly higher income bracket.

Avani was determined to pass the exam because she knew that being a Registered Nurse would more than double her income. For Avani, the exam became her only priority. She would work long hours and then study. “We had not even seen or visited the shops in our neighborhood yet, thinking we will have ample amount of time for that later.” With persistence and determination, she passed the exam on her first attempt and secured a full-time job at McKenzie Healthcare.

There was no looking back for her after that. It was just perfect and everything was finally falling into place. They moved into a bigger and better house, bought a car, and had two kids. Within 3 years in Canada, Avani was once again happy and stable.

But destiny had other plans. Within a few months of working at McKenzie Health, her husband started to reject both his financial and emotional responsibilities. Avani became the sole earner, covering all the rent and expenses. Things started to spiral downward quickly. A frustrated Avani, thinking of the well being of the kids who were now 5, and 2 years old, decided to leave her husband. She dreamed of a stress-free and happier life.

The divorce was messy with her husband refusing to take on any responsibility for the kids. After months of arguments and counter-arguments, Avani agreed to forgo any alimony or child support in exchange for full custody of her kids. Now she had the responsibility of bringing up two kids all by herself. This gave her a sense of urgency and responsibility, which was a source of strength.

She started working harder and was determined to excel in her career, move away from distractions, focus and find ways to save money!

Avani ’s salary now ranges from $40,000 to $50,000. And her kids’ education and well-being took center stage. She decided to move to a smaller town to cut down on her rent and expenses. “Moving to a smaller town was one of the best decisions of my life.” She was able to reduce her rent by 20% and her other monthly expense like grocery and travel by 10-15%. Avani then thought of how she could fulfill her dreams of owning a house with this extra sum. She started setting small goals, and developed a focus on ways to earn more and spend less. Simple logic she says.

Once the kids were settled in with their new school, neighbourhood and studies, Avani started doing 10 hour shifts as this was the only way she could earn enough to realize her dreams. “The cost of living has more than doubled since I first moved to Canada. The expenses keep increasing but the pay remained the same.” Soon the 10 hr shifts increased to 12 hour shifts and shuttling between two hospitals. This took a toll on her ability to give time to her kids.

Economic security was important to her and she did not see another way to get it. She asked her parents to come live with her from time to time and she had to fork out quite a sum on a nanny. She also worked hard to spend as much quality time with the kids on weekends and holidays.

Day to day, Avani worked on earning more and spending less.

She made sure that she kept aside at least $100-$200 every paycheque. Being a self made independent mother she taught her kids from a very young age the importance and value of money. “Kids want lot of stuff, stuff which is not important. I would only buy things that were important and justified the money spent.” Every penny was carefully accounted for. Avani was careful and deliberate about her expenses on everything from food and clothing to appliances and gadgets.

Within 5 years, she had put aside over $10,000 from her paycheque savings, and combined with all her tax benefits and bonuses, she was able to build savings of $50,000. This period was a time of extreme practicality, frugality and prudence. She trained for specialized medical areas and became a highly recommended and sought after dialysis nurse, earning $90,000 annually.

Finally her long unfulfilled dream of becoming a homeowner was on the verge of realization. She was approved for a home loan.

Today Avani is the proud owner of a beautiful 4 bedroom independent house with a monthly mortgage of $2,000. A major chunk of her salary still goes towards the mortgage and other expenses but she believes it is worth it. It gives her security, fulfills her need be independent and gives the children a good home and real life education on the importance of working hard for your goals and managing money. She contributes regularly towards her RRSP to her permitted limit and has also invested in mutual funds. She showed good investment acumen and bought a few plots of land in India. She believes these will secure her retirement or prove to be a good asset to liquidate in case of an emergency.

Having achieved her dream house and successfully raising her kids on her own, she is happy and proud of all she has accomplished.

Avani ’s tips to manage your money!

Try to earn more and spend less
Put aside small amounts whenever you can
Buy things you need not want
Put yourself in environments that are less expensive
Pre-authorize payments on all your bills
Stick to the grocery list, don’t overspend

[1] Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, Retrieved April 26 from http://careersinnursing.ca/new-grads-and-job-seekers/find-nursing-job/dollars-and-sense-what-are-nurses-paid

How To Discuss The Money Topic With A Romantic Partner

The more often partners engage in a fight over a money topic, the more likely the couple is to separate. In fact, the frequency of financial disputes has been recognized as the single best predictor of divorce. Beating out fights about sex, children, and division of household labor.

Reports claim couples who have a disagreement about their finances at a rate of once per week are 30% more likely to divorce than couples who admit to having a money based argument a few times per month.

These statistics lead one to wonder, why so many people split over money.

Why is Money such a Combative Topic?

Opposites Attract.

According to this Psychology Today article, there are two types of money personalities: the spender and the saver. The spender doesn’t place a lot of value on money. To them, money is only valuable in that you can spend it on the things they want. The spender takes a short-term, instant gratification stance on money.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the saver. The saver sees money as invaluable. The value of money lies in saving it. The saver has more of a long-term outlook. They see the value in delaying gratification so they can achieve more significant gains in the future.

According to a Forbes interview with David Bach, author of “Smart Couples Finish Rich,” “financial opposites attract.”

So, if you’re a saver, then you are likely to find yourself attracted to a partner who likes to shop and spend.

Talking about money is still taboo.

An article by the American Psychological Association says our beliefs about money, and our ability to talk about money, are primarily affected by how your family discussed the topic.

Did you grow up in a family where it was okay to talk about money? Or, were you told it was rude and inappropriate to discuss topics of personal finance?

A lack of financial literacy.

When you don’t know the first thing about your personal finances how do you initiate a conversation about money with your romantic partner? Where do you start? How do you articulate a financial goal or problem you don’t understand? What do you do if one, or both, of you don’t feel confident enough in your financial knowledge to even approach a discussion about money?

It’s a charged topic.

When you are in a relationship, it’s likely one person makes more money than the other. This can create a power dynamic. “I make more money so I should make more of the decisions.”

Despite living in a more progressive time and society, we still need to talk about the fact that there are some deep-rooted gender norms. A 2017 Refinery article caused quite a stir when it stated women who made more money often felt “ashamed”.

Sad, but true.

Additionally, other studies have found when women earn more than their male partner it can increase their chance of divorce by 50%.

So, times are a-changin’… but slowly.

There’s still a lot more work needing to be done to ensure women are able to feel proud of their achievements and to remove the belief that a man’s value is tied to his ability to bring home the fatter paycheck.

Again, many of these gender norms are ingrained in us by our families and our upbringing. We might not even be aware of them until faced with a situation bringing us discomfort and making us question where we stand on the issue.

When to Approach the Money Topic with Your Partner

The answer is right now!

If you are in a serious, committed relationship, one that you see continuing into the future, then the time is now. If you see marriage in your future, if you are engaged, if you are planning to buy a house, if you are co-puppy parents, then you MUST have a conversation about money.

For real.

You absolutely should not be saying “I do” before you’ve had a serious conversation about money. If it feels awkward now imagine how terrible it will be in 10 years if you end up in a nasty divorce situation with three kids, 2 dogs, and $50,000 in consumer debt.

Yikes!

This might seem unrealistic, but it happens all the time.

How to Approach the Money Topic with Your Partner

Schedule it.

Step one is to get it in the calendar. Write it down, put it in google calendar or find a cool new app you can both use to coordinate your time.

Do it in a public place.

This will help to keep things calm and cool. It will also help to keep you focused on the topic at hand.

It’s too easy to get distracted at home, so take this conversation somewhere public, at least for the first few conversations until you are on the same financial page.

If you are a couple who gets a little heated when you talk about finances, you might want to continue meeting outside of the house indefinitely.

Do it regularly.

Make financial date nights a regular occurrence. How often you want to chat is up to you. If you are just getting things figured out then maybe you need to meet more frequently (every week or every second week).

If you are facing a significant expense, re-balancing your investment portfolio or some other major financial event then talk more often. However, once you feel like you have things under control maybe once a month is all you need.

Share in awareness.

If you have shared finances, then you should both know what is going on with your money. Don’t put your head in the sand and let your partner deal with it. What if one day that partner isn’t there to do it for you?

It’s your responsibility to know how much you have in savings and investments. You should both know the passwords to all of your shared accounts. Learn together, teach each other, motivate each other!

Divide responsibility.

Ideally, this would be a clean 50/50 split. Easy! But, the reality is one person is usually better with money and/or tends to care more about the budgeting and tracking of finances.

You’ll need to discuss who is going to pay what bills, and who is going to manage investments. Maybe one person agrees to take over full responsibility but inform the other partner. Or, perhaps you do find some way of sharing the burden.

There is no one size fits all solution.

You need to do what works for you and your partner. There is no step-by-step method that works for everyone. The most important thing is being open and honest with each other. Remember, you are both coming from different money backgrounds, be patient and listen to what your partner has to say.

What to Discuss with Your Partner

The basics.

Here’s a preliminary list of questions that you should have addressed before you walk down the aisle, move in with each other, take out a loan together, or any other major financial commitment. This list is not exhaustive, but it’s a great place to start.

Do you have any debt?
Have you ever experienced bankruptcy?
What is your credit score?
Do you pay your credit card balance in full every month?
Are you a spender or a saver?
Who’s paying for what?
Do you have a savings account?
Do you follow a budget?
What are your financial goals?
Do you want to rent or own a home?

For more details on why these questions are so important, check out this post: 10 Questions you should ask your Romantic Partner about Money

What is our budget?

Developing a budget can be as simple as writing down a few numbers on a piece of paper. In fact, the simpler, the better. At least when you are first getting started.

Begin by writing down what you both make. Be honest.

Then start listing your expenses, fixed (rent, car loan, utilities) then your variable (eating out, entertainment, etc.). If your expenses are more than your income, you have a problem needing to be addressed immediately.

The end result should be a mutual awareness and understanding about how much you make, how much you need to spend on essentials, how much you can spend on nonessentials and how much you need to be saving to achieve your goals.

Figure out how much each of you will contribute. This can be a difficult decision for couples. If you make $100,000/year and your partner makes $50,000/year do you just split expenses down the middle or do you do it by percentage of income. E.g., if all of our expenses (rent, utilities, other bills) cost $2000/month do you each pay $1000 or does the person making $100k pay $1500 while the person who makes $50k only pays $500?

There’s no right answer. The only way to figure out what is going to work in your situation is to talk it out.

Figure out a strategy that works for you.

Are you going to pool all of your money into one shared bank account? This strategy was common among older generations, mainly because there was often only one breadwinner (the man).

Or, are you going to maintain completely separate bank accounts?

Maybe you are somewhere in the middle with a shared account for all of the bills and then separate accounts for your own money.

Again, there’s no right answer here.

Repeat.

Once you’ve had the tough conversations, made all of the decisions and put your plans into action, there’s still one more step. In order to keep the momentum going, you need to ensure you are continuously following up and communicating with each other.

When a relationship is going well the last thing you want to do is think about the “what ifs.”

What if we break up, what if this ends in divorce, what if…..but, we can’t predict the future. So, it’s essential to have these conversations when you are in a good place, with a clear head.

Normalize the topic of money by having regular conversations. There’s no reason topics of money and personal finance should be off of the table.

Having an open dialogue will allow you and your partner to be on the same page. It will prevent major financial surprises, and it will enable you to work towards specific financial goals together….planning a wedding, a vacation or even for a family.

So, if you and your partner have not had a discussion about money and your financial goals then now is the time to book your first financial date!

Article contributed by, JJ a professional researcher and aspiring freelance writer. She is interested in all things related to personal finance, psychology, women, and motherhood.

Follow JJ on her blog, Twitter, and Pinterest.

It’s Never Too Late To Improve Your Money And Life

Hi, I’m Ruth (aka Prudence Debtfree), and I live in a suburb of Ottawa, Canada’s national capital city. I’m 55 years old, and my husband David is 59. Of our 3 daughters, two are in their 20s and have flown the nest, and the youngest, 19, continues to live with us.

David and I earn a household income that is above average, but it’s not as high as the income we used to receive before the high tech bust of the early millennium sent us reeling.

Before the tough times set in, we had a bad habit of maxing out, and our debt-to-income ratio (total debt divided by total take-home income) just kept increasing. We carried our debts comfortably, and we thought we were doing fine.

With a sharp decrease in income, our debts suddenly became oppressive. After having worked for 10 years as a part-time teacher and then having resigned with the birth of our 3rd child to be a stay-at-home mom, I needed to go back to work full time.

My income as a teacher was much lower than David’s salary as an engineer had been, and there was never enough money. It took a long time for David to carve out a new career path – 6 years – and in that time, our relentless financial stress played into marital and parenting strife that combined to create an awful scenario that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

I felt like a victim of circumstances at the time, but with hindsight, I know things didn’t have to be as bad as they were. By maxing out, we had set ourselves up to feel any bumps in the road keenly. Many other people were also experiencing career upheaval at the time, but some absorbed it so much more easily than we did.

I remember a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of many children, telling me about her husband’s job loss. He managed to find another position that paid 20% less than his previous work, “but we paid off the house 3 years ago, so it’s OK,” she said. And they gave 10% of the severance package he’d received to a homeless shelter. So different from us!

What is Your Money Blueprint?

Why had we managed money so poorly in the years when we had a high household income? One of the most powerful concepts David and I came across once we had decided to tackle our debts was from T. Harv Eker’s book, Secrets of The Millionaire Mind. That concept was the money blueprint.

Eker encourages his readers to consider the messages about money, spoken and unspoken that we absorbed in childhood. These messages, he says, create the money blueprint by which we each continue to operate in adulthood – usually without being aware of it.

In late May of 2012, just a week before we would start our journey out of all debt, I wrote my second ever blog post about the money blueprints David and I would have to overcome. To sum it up briefly:

David realized he had learned that money was something to worry about and that it needed to be controlled. Result? When things were going well financially, he would initiate a big purchase – a new car, furniture, a trip … – so that he could get back to the homeostasis of worry and control about money again.
I realized that despite the excellent role modeling I’d had from my frugal parents, money was a taboo topic, and it was laden with guilt. I had a false angel on one shoulder saying that money-management was shallow. I had a real devil on the other shoulder telling me that if I whined loudly enough, I’d get to spend what I wanted. I also had a deep-seated expectation that “the man” would take care of all money matters.

So a combination of worry, chaos, control, over-spending, denial, gendered roles, and confused financial motives led to our mess.

“Aha!” Dave Ramsey & The Total Money Makeover

Our 6 six years of intense financial stress came to an end when David started a home business (complete with a business debt) in 2009. Encouragement came quickly, and before long we felt the huge relief of “going back to normal again.” But as our old habits surfaced, we had a vague sense that something wasn’t right. “Normal” felt hazardous.

Again, in hindsight, we have clarity about what was going on, but at that time we were still operating without a compass. This was actually our most vulnerable time. With the business debt and a still uncertain income, our debt-to-income ratio was well over 300% – nearing the level at which many bankruptcies happen.

Although we didn’t realize how tenuous our “new normal” was, we wanted to do better with our finances – to get away from the vague hazard we felt. But our efforts were scattered. Save a bit. Pay off the car debt more aggressively. Oops! Maybe that was too aggressive! Borrow from the line of credit to make the mortgage payment …

In the spring of 2012, a friend of mine dropped off a copy of a book-CD by someone named Dave Ramsey: The Total Money Makeover. After letting it sit by the front door for several weeks, I felt a slightly irritated obligation to listen to it, so mid-May, I popped it into the CD player for my commutes to and from work.

And that changed everything.

By day #2 of listening, I was crying. Not tears of sadness, but tears of revelation and hope! We had too much debt! We had always had too much debt. We’d been dupes of the marketing powers of a debt-ridden culture, and we had the power to change that! We had the power to change us!

I stayed up late that night listening to the CD again with David, and when I eventually fell asleep, he kept listening – long into the night. And we were both convinced. Both psyched to take on this beast!

Team Approach

We had never managed our finances as a team, so it was awkward to make the transition. I had to yank my financial head out of the sand, and David had to release his compulsion to control/worry. Our first attempts at tracking and budgeting were really messy and way off. Our weekly budget “dates” (ha!) were often marked by conflict and irritability. But we made immediate progress!

In June of 2012, aged 49 and 53, our debts were:

$21,000 in consumer debt
$81,000 in business debt
$155,000 in mortgage debt
$257,000 total debt

I started my blog for 3 reasons:

I love to write.
I wanted to keep myself accountable.
I believed that what we were doing was important – not just for us, but for others who needed and wanted to do the same.

David is leery of online financial tools, so we’ve just used a spreadsheet to keep our numbers visible. And here is the amazing thing our numbers revealed after the first year of our journey out of debt:

In the year before we officially started our debt snowball – keep in mind this was a year when we were trying to “do better” with our finances – we paid off $16,000 in debt.
In the year after we officially started our debt snowball, we paid off $50,000 in debt.

With no difference in income, and with no difference in expenses, we increased our debt-repayment by 312% – !!!!!

Sacrifice? Not really.

So what exactly was our secret? Two words: intention and focus. We were on a mission to get out of debt, and we didn’t allow ourselves to scatter our efforts as we had the year before.

Our lifestyle became more frugal, but nothing close to the extremes of frugality featured on reality TV or even in many personal finance blogs.

We let go of our cleaning service and had to figure out a team approach to get the house-cleaning done. We didn’t travel much. We put limits on our discretionary money – his and hers. When big purchases were necessary (like a new roof), we slowed down our debt-repayment and saved until we could pay outright. We played more board games and card games, and we went out less often. We hosted more meals and potlucks and dined out less often. We said, “No thanks” to many invitations that involved spending. Our groceries were budgeted.

We don’t feel like we’ve missed out on much – in fact, we’ve gained the confidence that comes with asserting boundaries – and we don’t expect to change many aspects of our lifestyle in the years to come. We’ll travel more, and we’ll give more, but budgets, board games, potlucks, buying without debt, and team house-cleaning are here to stay. So are focus and intention with regards to our finances.

In December of 2017, after following Ramsey’s plan for 5 years and 7 months, we had paid off just under $200,000 of our debt, we’d saved an emergency fund, and we’d ramped up our investments.

An inheritance then allowed us to speed up the last 20% – our remaining $60,000 mortgage. We had been on track to be debt-free in June of 2019, but we’ll now make the last payment against our mortgage (without any penalty) in September of 2018.

prudence debt free — Soon, I’ll be taking a bare-footed walk across this grass!

My Advice

My advice to anyone struggling with money – particularly if that person is middle-aged and has been through significant financial upheaval:

Own your financial situation. Circumstances outside your control no doubt contributed to your current stress, and you might feel victimized by those circumstances. But focus on what was within your control – and acknowledge where you went wrong. So you can have a guilt-fest? No! So you can harness your power to change!
As you take on your money issues, you’ll find it’s not about the money after all. I found that concept annoying at first, but it was true. There was that faulty money blueprint to unearth; character flaws to recognize; dysfunctional patterns of relationship to confront. Let humbling self-realizations surface as you focus on the monthly budgets and tracking. When you deal with them, you will gain confidence.
Don’t try to outsource the solution to your financial problems. There is a growing industry out there promising to rescue you from your debt, but be very careful! For example, debt consolidation without changed habits will only free up room on your credit card and lead to greater debt. (I know someone who has consolidated debt 3 times with this result.) Just as a personal trainer can’t do your squats for you, no one else can make your finances healthy. You have to do that. Find your plan of action; find your support network; and then be your own superhero.
Be prepared for challenges from others who aren’t comfortable with the changes you are making. Friends who don’t like your refusals to go out to restaurants with them; family members who seem hurt by your ramped-down gift-giving; people who don’t get that you have to do what works for you – not what works for them – as you manage your finances differently. Don’t argue with them, but don’t capitulate either. Learn to stand your ground with grace.
If you are in a relationship, share your financial management together. Don’t make the mistake of leaving it all up to one partner. Even if one person is better at it than the other, both people in the couple need to be engaged, aware, and consulted. If you’re like me, this will involve the discomfort of getting your head out of the sand. If you’re like David, it will include the fear of releasing control.
Don’t be discouraged by imperfection! Expect your budgets to be inaccurate and your tracking to be incomplete. Your decision-making process will be marked by conflict and uncertainty. Financial progress will be uneven and challenged by the unexpected at every turn. Keep your focus; keep trying; be patient. And maybe your progress amidst the mess will be 312% better – just like ours was.

How to Stay Patient to Achieve Financial Independence

“Financial independence is the ability to live from the income of your own personal resources.” – Jim Rohn

Financial independence should be the goal of everyone, but it is not going to happen overnight unless you win the lottery or get a big inheritance. You have to be patient and stay motivated until you reach your financial goals. But it is difficult to be patient year after year while you watch your net worth grow.

So the question becomes, how will you be patient as you work to achieve financial independence? Here are nine ideas to help you stay focused and give yourself some credit along the way!

Stay the course, even if the progress is slow

When your progress is slow (and some years it will be…), don’t make the mistake of changing your plans unless you know you’ve made a significant mistake. Stick to your original plan and remind yourself this is a process, not an event. It will be more difficult to measure your plan and progress if you keep changing things chasing after the next big return on your money.

Analyze what you have achieved

Speaking of measuring, take time to look at your progress and determine how far you’ve come. Even seeing small positive steps in the right direction is a reason to pat yourself on the back. Try to stay optimistic and look forward rather than behind.

Set small, realistic goals

Do a reality check with your goals. You can’t meet a big target like financial independence quickly if you’re living paycheck to paycheck. Scale back and create small wins by setting goals you can achieve within a reasonable timeframe and without creating too many struggles.

Investing is a long-term process

When you invest an amount, it won’t get bigger in a week or sometimes in a year. You need to give some time to your investments. What you’ve invested could even go down in a bad year, but over an extended time, it should rebound and grow.

Break it down

If your goal is to save $35,000 for a down payment on your home in 3 years, set a target to save about $11,666 every year. This is about $970 every month or $225 every week. It seems more achievable when you look at it in smaller payments! You’ll see progress which will help you be more motivated and patient to reach your goals.

Give yourself some credit

When you reach a goal, celebrate the achievement – however small it might be. Splurge a little and don’t feel sorry for doing so. This will help you stay on track until you reach your next goal and eventually financial independence. Just make sure you save your small splurges for these times only so that you don’t get too far off track with your goals.

Make it hard to get at your money

When you have to wait a long time to build wealth, you may feel tempted to spend money you’ve saved or invested on other things. If you have to save three years for that down payment on a house, don’t take the money out to do something different. Resist your temptation and make it hard to access the cash you are building up. That may give you time to change your mind.

Plan and save for your next big purchase

You can’t wait to make every big purchase until you achieve financial freedom. So, what can you do instead? You will have to be patient and plan your big purchases carefully whenever possible. Try to wait for the item to be offered at a discount. Watch for sales and set up alerts to let you know when the price has dropped. Ask at the store when the item might go on sale. You can also consider buying used for some items too.

Things might not go as planned

Even if you are managing your financial life well, there might be some emergency situations that stress your budget and emergency fund. You may even go into debt. Depending on the type of debt problems you’re facing, you have to look for options to solve your debt dilemmas and still remember you can have financial independence in your future.

You may have to be more patient than ever, but in time you can still achieve financial independence.

Article contributed by Good Nelly. She analyzes financial happenings and writes articles to help her readers plan for their financial future. She has been associated with Debt Consolidation Care for a long time, and she’s contributed her pieces to a variety of websites.

Sustainable Slow Travel – Considering the Considerations

Slow Travel – Defined

What is Slow Travel exactly? Per theartofslowtravel.com the answer is rather simple…

“Slow travel is not so much a particular mode of transportation as it is a mindset. Rather than attempting to squeeze as many sights or cities as possible into each trip, the slow traveler takes the time to explore each destination thoroughly and to experience the local culture.”

Slow travel, or wandering, is a way of traveling while living as a local. It means to experience the specific flavor of a destination by engaging in certain activities. Eating like a local – savoring local market delicacies, cooking with the food available and eating in typical fashion of the culture is crucial. Living like a local in an apartment, AirBnB, as a guest in someone’s home or in a hostel avoiding the luxury hotels with room service is also part and parcel of slow travel. To utilize transportation like the locals while you are there – walking, taking the chickenbus, shuttle or uber (if that is the common mode of transport) is part of the experience. This allows you to become worldly in a way that the tourist experience won’t allow. Slow travel is to experience a place as a local NOT as a tourist. It provides a way of traveling and living life less expensively because you are not flitting from place to place. You are savoring the experience. There’s no living out of a suitcase planning your departure to and from the next destination endlessly. You make friends. You enjoy the culture. The best part? It costs less if you choose your location well.

Considering Slow Travel in My Own Life

I have always been a restless person. Moving constantly while I was young, I lived a sort of nomadic life where my parents uprooted our family regularly. I once went to a school for 3 days before my parents realized their error and moved us back to the town we just moved from. Who knows why. Unfortunately, I’ll never know because my parents are no longer living. As a child, I embraced change and flowed easily to one school or the next. I said goodbye to friends as easily as I said hello. I was not terribly sentimental. I was a good student which generally allowed me to fit in. I got used to the chaotic dysfunction that was my parent’s life.

This changed with the final move of my youth. My mother, originally from Georgia, wanted to return to the “sunny” South. Although not planned by my parents, as they were the opposite of racists, my family settled next door to my uncle. I was uprooted and moved into a community where racism and bigotry were the norm. My parents quickly bought land. The decision irreversible. Moving had ceased to be fun.***

I spent four years in a high school torture chamber. I made sure that I slowly but surely built a life of independence. This is when I first became aware of my restlessness. Later, I liked to move a lot along with job hopping. I got bored easily. I thought there was something terribly wrong with me. Finally, I realized that I was comfortable with chaos and dysfunction in my life. My choices reflected this.

When I “grew up”, I attended college, got my degrees at age 30 and 39. Throughout my early nursing career, I invited chaos into my professional life but began to remove it from my personal life. I chose to work in emergency medicine. It was “good” chaos for a lot of years. There was crappy stuff to deal with to be sure, but I had great stories. My career took off. I began to make decent money. I enjoyed collegial relationships with excellent physicians and talented mid-level providers. I enjoyed working with the nurses who were frequently much more like me but sometimes even “crazier” than I. To this day, it is rare that I meet an ER nurse with which I don’t have instant kinship. I think you have to be a little nutty to be an emergency room nurse. That’s not a bad thing. You have to be comfortable working in cuckoo-land. This requires a certain personality profile. It has something to do with being comfortable in chaos, being able to shift, adapt, stay flexible and remain unflappable.

I think this is why the concept of slow travel is so attractive to me. It’s not the exotic experiences, so much (although it is badass, isn’t it?) as it is being comfortable with not knowing what’s coming next. The ability to remain calm and focused, moving through changing landscapes is key to enjoying slow travel. Not knowing exactly where I’ll be in a month or next year….well, I just love that. It fits extremely well with my personality and my need for freedom from boredom.

Is Slow Travel for You?

Slow travel works best when you attain a measure of financial freedom. However, I have met many fellow wanderers lately that think differently. Several have surprised me with their willingness to embrace slow travel with little regard for a long term financial plan. They are slow traveling but have not achieved financial stability let alone financial freedom. Some travelers are young. Some are in their 30’s and 40’s. They decided to live life differently. Some take advantage of a change in life circumstance or a thrown curveball. They jump at a chance to take a break from the expected.

There are the stereotypical “gap year” types — the youth typified by recent graduation from high school or college with no strong pull to get a job, make a living or live in one spot. Their freedom frequently comes from family financial support. That’s a wonderful gift. Tasting freedom early is a blessing. Maybe this one taste will propel them into a life of well timed sabbaticals and world travel that will sustain them through the dreadmill of work. Perhaps, it will keep work from being a dreadmill. They won’t burn out, as I did, because they are able to refresh and rejuvenate themselves at regular intervals.

Others yearn for anything other than normal, rejecting the lives of their parents. They wander to new places, experiences and adventures staying as long as they can keep their boredom at bay. They don’t want to live a life like any other and cannot be compelled to do so. They appear restless. At times, they may appear unmoored. These wanderers move from one place to another because of circumstance or boredom. I am a little bit this.

Nomads may choose a life of slow travel from the get go. Some are educated, have a profession and they have location freedom and independence. They are lucky, skilled and in demand. They have jobs they can take on the road. They parlay their skills into freelancing. They work their own schedule. They only require secure WiFi so they have assured income…”let’s work a little and slow travel a lot, baby”.

Some embrace living on a shoestring. Living life on the “edge”, they figure that it’s better than being chained to anything. These nomads are working, making a little money here and there, making and selling jewelry, trading time for room and board, settling into a job at a tourist bar or guiding hikes on volcanoes. They don’t mind uncertainty.

Some wanderers play the game for years. Patiently trading time for money, they finally achieve enough financial freedom to live life on their own terms or at least take an extended break. They hurl themselves into travel because it’s new, exotic and it smells a lot like freedom from the dreadmill to which they were chained. I am also a little bit this.

My Decision to Slow Travel

Knowing that I had a few years before I became “stale” and less marketable, the time was nigh. I could go back to work if I wanted to but I had a window NOW to make my slow travel dreams come true. I have the knowledge and security of knowing I can obtain another position in my chosen field if I want. Alternately, I have the freedom after saving sufficient assets to reject a similar job. I can change fields completely if I desire it. I recently met another slow traveler wrestling with career decisions and continued marketability if she stayed on the slow travel path. Her story resonated deeply with me because I have the same thoughts and concerns about choosing my future path.

The Conundrum

“Elle” is my age. She’s a professional engineer in Germany. She is 54 years of age, youthful in appearance, physically fit, attractive, vital, intelligent and restless. After being downsized, she began entertaining other job offers (as I did). None “floated her boat”. After a gentle nudge from a friend, she jumped at the chance to roam the world and took a long sabbatical. She’s been on the road for a while. India, Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Columbia, along with some European counties – these were checked off the bucket list. Now, she’s a little panicky–feeling the pressure to go back to work. Her slow travel time is drawing to a close. She said to me that within the year, sustaining career marketability or becoming “stale” will be realities for her. She hasn’t saved enough to never work again. Slow travel has ignited a fire of curiosity, freedom and independence. She’s unable to muster the desire to return to work. Slow travel has made returning to work even less attractive. She must work until she’s 65 to obtain her country’s version of social security. She is wrestling with her situation.

On the Road to Slow Travel

It may take years to achieve the financial stability that allows the jump off the dreadmill to take time out to try this lifestyle. Slow travel is not expensive but the time off IS. Unless you have a relatively high income, your savings rate likely won’t allow you quick exit from the dreadmill. You must plan it if you want security, otherwise there’s no easy entrance into the world of slow travel. Living on a shoestring, banging it out on the odd job here and there, living a life of nomadism is unthinkable for many, including me, because there is little security in this existence. Security requires planning. A nomadic life, without financial security, can be stressful. It can produce a lot of anxiety. I already have enough anxiety in my life. I’m not built to withstand more of it. Hand to mouth living and/or working on the road is not for me.

I’ll be facing the marketability issue soon enough. In two years, I’ll also be “stale”. I have been trying to think of palatable ways to re-join the work force later because having another job I hate is not an option for me. Another two to three years of high income would assure more comfort and alleviate any possible uncertainty about the future. My nest egg would then be more than I could or would ever want to spend. The issue is that I simply can’t stomach another dreadmill job. I could live on shoestring in exotic lands and never earn a paycheck again but I’d be tracking spending scrupulously and be limited to countries with a low cost of living. Latin America, Southeast Asia and/or housesitting gigs in Europe would be my only options for the foreseeable future. There would be stress and anxiety because I would still budgeting and frugaling every day. Slow travel outside of these countries would risk running out of money.

Other Slow Travel Considerations

Family and Friends – It’s important that should you have a partner, he or she is on board and you share the same goals. My partner and I are in agreement. You also need to consider your child(ren). Certainly more than my parents did. My grown child, having finally achieving adulthood with a career to match in the last two years, no longer needs me to guide her or subsidize her life. She is independent and makes all of her decisions. I have no say. It is the way it should be. I declared my independence last year when she turned 30. I believe I was a successful parent. I raised a productive member of society with minimal scars.

Also, a sign of success is that we are dissimilar in many ways. I never endeavored to burden her with my happiness. Now that she’s an adult, her happiness is her own responsibility, too. She is non-adventurous and non-contrarian by nature. She likes the 9-5, teaching in a public school, the stability and security of everything, having summers off, consumerism and routine. Her life is much more about things than experiences. She doesn’t have a restless bone in her body. I jumped through every hoop possible to make sure that her life remained as stable as possible. I tried to give her what I didn’t have.

Sometimes, I think I did too much in that regard…but that’s another story. She has expressed that she wishes I’d stay put. She doesn’t really embrace my desire for slow travel and a life abroad. Occasionally, I must remind her that my life is my own as hers is her own. When people find out my daughter’s age, they ask me about grandchildren and I honestly, don’t think grandchildren would change my mind about needing to stay put either, to my daughter’s chagrin. This may be a major consideration for others so I mention it, but I have never had a particular desire to have grandchildren. People always say that when grandchildren are born, this will be different. I wouldn’t know so I can’t predict this. It’s not my decision to make and if my daughter decides to procreate, I wish her the best with that decision. But then again, freedom is my jam. Not hers.

People ask about friendships. The friends that matter stay in touch no matter the distance. I have a few close friends that I actually only talk to a few times a year, otherwise, we write or send messages. I have a few from high school with whom I stay in touch. I’d probably see my friends more if I built a life in another location – all the better that it’s a bit exotic. It bears mentioning here that I am an INFJ. I have few close friends. I have many acquaintances. I have always been a bit solitary, likely because of my upbringing. I definitely have become more introverted over time. I prefer deep connections to shallow ones. I find friendships are fleeting at times because unless someone is equally committed to staying in touch with me, I lose interest. So, as far as friends go, the close ones will always be in my life. We are kindred and our feelings reciprocal.

Technology Changes Everything – The next consideration is technology. Being tech-savvy keeps you connected. You can change a sim card and suddenly you can text anyone anywhere from What’sApp. You can stay in touch via Instagram and FaceBook. You can start a blog and people will know exactly what’s going on with you. SKYPE or Facetime can be the next best thing to hugging your loved ones, whether you are in Atlanta, Athens or Anchorage. No, it will never be the same as being “face-to-face” but I’m not really “face-to-face” much with anyone but my partner anyway. There’s no reason to be isolated when slow traveling. You can easily maintain important relationships.

Additional Financial Planning – Lastly, if connection is important, build into your financial plan some consideration for helping others come visit. Be flexible and adaptable. You can always plan a visit home. You can always invite people to come to stay with you. Likely if you can provide a bed, you have alleviated a major cost of the vacation for them. You can always plan a meet up at the beach by building reunions into your budget. You can sign up for newsletters (Scott’s Cheap Flights is a must) for finding unbelievable fares to parts unknown.

Do you have any other considerations for slow travel or wandering? Did I miss anything big? Is slow travel for you or are you content with vacations? If you suddenly met your financial goals for independence, would travel be at the top of the list? I’d love to hear what your motivations are for slow travel. Thanks for reading.

Republished with permission from Lean Fire ATL

There is No Such Thing as a Free Trip (But You Can Get Darn Close)

Free travel is the best!

Whether you travel for work, spend on rewards credit cards, or just travel occasionally for fun, it pays to belong to airline and hotel rewards programs so you can collect miles and points. Over time, these points build up and can be redeemed for free or highly reduced trips (see our friends at The Points Guy, Million Mile Secrets, and Go To Travel Gal for more info on rewards travel).

We love saving money here at Money Saved is Money Earned, and so it’s a given that we both utilize credit card spending and loyalty programs to reduce travel costs. If you have enough points, you can even take a trip for free!

Or so it seems on the surface.

Here’s the deal. Even though points can significantly reduce the cost of travel, there is really no such thing as a FREE trip.

That’s because no matter how many points you have, there are some things that simply cannot be covered with points. This means every trip is more money out of your pocket. Think of it this way: for every trip you take you’re spending money on incidentals (no matter how much you save on airfare and hotels). Money is still going out the door that could be saved if the trip wasn’t taken.

Now, don’t get us wrong, the less money you must spend on hotels and airfare, the more trips you can take and the more things you can do. Instead of taking one trip a year, you can take two or three with the same money spent. In fact, it’s a great way to have Money Earned through Money Saved. However, we want you to be aware of the unavoidable costs of travel, as well as ways to minimize these costs to save even more!

Related Content

So, without further ado, let’s talk about the travel incidentals to be aware of when taking trips on miles and points, as well as tricks to keep those costs down.

Fuel Surcharges

Alas, not even the airfare is free!

Less experienced rewards travelers may not realize this, but most airline rewards redemptions (maybe even all of them) do not include the fuel surcharges. In fact, we’ve read travel blog posts where fuel surcharges for international flights were several hundreds of dollars! While using points to pay for the fare will reduce the cost of the flight significantly, it’s important to consider and plan for the cost of fuel surcharges so you aren’t surprised by them. Some airlines (like Southwest) charge minimal surcharges for flights within the U.S., but typically charge more on international flights.

Side note: This is also true of extras on budget airlines. While the reward redemption (or cash cost) of a flight might be reduced, most budget airlines charge for services that come free of charge on other airlines (cough*Spirit*cough).

Resort Fees

Did you know that the points you use to book the hotel may not cover all the fees?

Well, now you know.

This may be especially true when you book a resort style hotel and may drive your out of pocket costs up $30 or more a day. While there may not be much you can do about hotel fees, it is important to pay attention to exactly what is and is not included when you book with points to avoid unexpected expenses. Read the fine print, call the hotel/rewards program if needed, and take a picture of the room terms and conditions in case there is a dispute later. It is important to know what you are getting with your points, and if fees are not included, consider booking a different place to keep the cost down. You may even want to book the same hotel anyway, just factor the daily fees into the total cost of the trip.

Car Rentals

Renting a car is a big-ticket item that can drive the costs of a trip up, despite how much money you save on airfare and hotels. A basic economy rental will typically run you around $30 a day and up, plus gas. This means a rental of 3-5 days could cost you between $90 and $150 at minimum, not including the cost of gas.

Another factor to consider when you have a rental car is parking. We both have personally experienced the horror of paying an outrageous amount for parking (over $50 for a couple days!) in a garage when staying downtown in a big city. Valet parking isn’t any better. While convenient, it’ll typically run you an extra $30 or more a day (bringing your total to $120 to $180, plus gas). Even if you decide on street parking, you may find yourself walking a long way back to the hotel, not to mention the fact that you’ll have to go move the car every couple hours to avoid a ticket!

So how can you save money on car rentals?

The good news is that most car rental companies also have rewards programs, so if you use the same company many times you may build up points to use toward free rentals. You may also have some status with the program, which carries perks. Additionally, some rewards programs (like Chase Ultimate Rewards) can be redeemed for rental cars for a good value. Thus, there are ways to get the rental itself for free or reduced cost using points and programs, just like the airfare and hotel. Another tip is to book the smallest available car. Most people book the cheapest cars, so often you can get a free upgrade on the spot because they’ve run out of small cars!

But what about parking?

We’ve both been burned on parking so this is a big one for us. One option is to book a hotel that offers free parking. That way, you know going in you won’t have the hassle or expense of parking your rental. But beware, if it doesn’t say FREE parking (just parking or parking available) it is likely not free. Another idea is to simply forego the car altogether. In this case, you can either utilize a ride-share service like Uber or Lyft, take public transportation, utilize free airport and hotel shuttles, or walk. If you’re staying in and around town, using a combination of the options listed above will likely cost half what you would spend on a car rental, parking, and gas.

Food

No matter how much you save on airfare and hotels, a girl (or guy) has to eat! Money spent on food can also really drive the price of your vacation up, especially if you’re spending a lot on fine dining. Spending money on food is unavoidable, but there are some tricks to saving as much as possible on your meals.

First, stay at a hotel that offers a complimentary continental or buffet breakfast. However, similar to parking, if it does not say complimentary or FREE breakfast (as opposed to breakfast available or something similar) then it is likely not free. This tip has saved us TONS of money on food over the years. While fancy hotels are nice, they tend to nickel and dime you on items that you can get for free at lower-priced places, especially when it comes to food. As a result, we prefer to stay at less expensive places like Hyatt, La Quinta (use this link and save up to 25%!), Best Western, Country Inn and Suites and any others that include breakfast. Not only is breakfast included (saving you $10 to $20 a pop per person), but you’ll save on the cost/points of the hotel too!

Oh, and don’t forget to save some of your breakfast for a later snack. That way, you might not even need to buy lunch!

Another tip to save on food is to stay in a place with a kitchen and make your own meals. We’ll admit, the last thing we want to do is cook on vacation, but making your own meals is a super effective way to save big on food. Even if you don’t want to go all the way to making your own meals, make sure your hotel room has at least a mini-fridge so you can store drinks and left-overs. I (Tawnya) learned this trick the hard way my first time in Las Vegas. The hotel I stayed in (and many others) purposefully neglected including a mini-fridge so my friends and I were forced to go out and eat all our meals and regularly buy cold drinks in the hotel/casino. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Won’t happen again.

On a side note, a Vegas-specific meal trick is to go to a buffet at the end of lunch and stay until dinner. That way, you’ll pay the lunch price but get to eat the dinner food as well. Naughty, but it saves money!

Lastly, you can cut out the cost of meals altogether by staying at all-inclusive resorts. Now, this option will likely cost you more in points (and don’t forget those resort fees!), but if you have enough to get the room for free, staying at a place where all meals are included is a great way to cut this incidental cost out of your trip.

Activities

What’s the point of going on vacation if you’re not going to do anything? (this is also why staying at a less expensive hotel is a good option, as theoretically you won’t be in the room that much).

If you’re anything like us, you like to explore the area when on vacation. Unfortunately, this also means you’ll be forking out money to pay for your activities.

Bummer.

But wait! There are tricks to saving on activities too!

First, look for free activities. Lot’s of sights can be seen by simply taking a walk around town. Historic sites, buildings, bridges, and other such can be experienced for free (photography anyone?). One of my (Tawnya) favorite activities is to see cathedrals. I love the architecture, stained glass, and how different (yet similar) each one is. I also really enjoy seeing the large pipe organs that dominate the balconies of most cathedrals.

If architecture isn’t your thing, try experiencing well-known tourist areas, many of which are free. Think Pike’s Place Market in Seattle, the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, Time’s Square in New York, and so many others. Each city has something special, and many of these activities are completely free. Take Las Vegas for example. While Sin City is known for drinking, gambling, and super expensive shows, most don’t know you can get first-rate shows for free all over the strip! Check out the Bellagio Fountains (Tawnya’s favorite) or the sinking of a pirate ship (yes, really) at Treasure Island, to name a few.

Another option for free activities is to take advantage of nature. Hiking or simply enjoying the scenery in and around a new city is completely free. This is especially true of a beach vacation.

Lastly, you can enjoy many activities for reduced costs by knowing where to look for discounts. Many cities offer coupon booklets on their tourism websites which contain coupons for tours, activities, and restaurants. Another option is to check out Groupon, Living Social, or a similar discount site for deals in the city you are traveling to. While not free, utilizing coupons will cut down on the money you will spend on your must-see activities.

Moral of the Story

There is no such thing as a free trip, plain and simple.

No matter how many airline and hotel points you have, there will always be some incidental costs, and you must take these into consideration when planning your vacations. Luckily, there are many tricks to reduce incidental costs as well, making your trip as close as possible to free.

First, read the fine print on your airfare and hotel bookings, and watch out for fees not included when using points.

Second, consider the cost of a car rental, and look to reduce them by joining rewards program, using points to book the car, staying at hotels with free parking, or skipping the car altogether.

Third, consider the cost of food, and reduce it by staying at a hotel that offers complimentary breakfast, make your own meals with a kitchen in the room, save drinks and left-overs in a mini-fridge, or cut out food costs all together by staying at an all-inclusive resort.

Finally, consider the cost of activities, and reduce them by finding things you can do for free or utilizing coupon books/sites to reduce the cost of your must-see activities.

Talk about Money Saved!

Republished with permission from Money Saved Is Money Earned

Diving With Octogenarians and Not Worrying (So Much) About Money

These past 6 weeks have been crazy busy. Three work trips and a 10-day vacation totaling $5883 (over five months rent!!).

The work trips were actually pretty great in their own rights. I was able to get in some sightseeing, meet up with family I haven’t seen since I was literally a baby, and grow friendships. I’ve always been fairly friendly with work colleagues, but now I’m building more honest-to-goodness friendships – the kind where we would actually keep in touch if I quit work tomorrow. It’s pretty awesome.

And that vacation? Best ever, hands down. Me and Fergus, my 80-year-old grandparents, and two of their “retired” friends spent 10 days in the Cayman Islands full of sting rays, sunscreen slathering, and scuba diving. Yes, scuba diving.

They may have multiple joint replacements under their belts, one of them may or may not need to use a walker to get around, and they definitely need a little help zipping into their wetsuits, but damn it, my grandparents scuba dive and they will continue diving for as long as physically possible (Which, with amazing organizations like Dive Pirates, is likely a very long time).

Earlier this year when I heard they were planning a trip (the first in two years, due to surgeries & recovery time), I was determined to tag along. There is simply a limited supply of grandparents, let alone grandparents who scuba dive. Going on this trip would mean zero regrets.

The Costs

Oofdah. One of my grandparents’ friends was organizing the trip. At an all-expense-paid resort. In the Cayman Islands (Grand Cayman is currently listed as the 3rd most expensive place to live, ahead of London, NYC, San Fransisco, and Singapore, for reference). Throw in the usual expense of scuba diving, plus the increased costs for valet diving (somewhat necessary for my grandparents), and it’s a lot of money.

Since 7/10 days were on an all-inclusive resort, we had little choice in the matter of how much we spent. We were, however, on our own for three days on Grand Cayman.

1 Week at Fancy Dive Resort: $3,425

Tips and Incidentals $421

2 Nights on Grand Cayman (one night paid, one reward night): $136

Rental Car + Gas (3 days) $110

$275 Restaurants and Grocery (Very expensive, and on the whole not worth the money. We did have an absolutely fantastic farewell lunch at Vivo that was phenomenal, but there wasn’t any other restaurant where we weren’t even a little bitter about the cost.)

Jet Skis $60

Snorkeling at Stingray City $90

Flights: $1,088 (right around as cheap as you can get them)

Uber to Airport: $8.43 (got $20 off with sign up promotion. Use our code “ymkoe” for $20 off your first ride with Uber)

Taxi from Airport: $62.50 (Uber would have been over $80)

Hotel Layover (flight diverted/delayed): $92.42

Cash Food and Misc (gifts, souvenirs): $115

Total: $5,883 (Ouch!)

The Experience

Priceless? It’s so cheesy, but it’s true.

We will never forget this trip, and we were able to be a part of something magical. That moment when you turn around underwater and see a turtle swimming towards you, two feet away from your grandfather and grandmother? Or when you make friends with a grouper? Or when you have your ear talked off for forty-five minutes by a local celebrity jeweler and just make it back in time for the crab race? Even with the insane price tag, it was all very much worth it, and we’re incredibly lucky to be able to afford a trip like this.

For our week at the resort, food and drinks were already paid for, meaning we didn’t have to have a heart attack at every meal. One principle of Happy Money is to pay for things first – to separate the pain of payment from the joy of the experience. It worked – we were noticeably more relaxed at the resort vs. our days on Grand Cayman.

It was weird to turn off the “worry switch.” Not that we’re constantly stressing about money – but we do think about it a lot. When a large iced coffee is calling my name at work, I can’t help but think about the huge markup and how easily I can make the same at home for a tenth of the price. It was nice to just relax and spend time with my grandparents and new friends.

The Future

We’re huge fans of optimizing experiences/memories vs. expenses, especially with the expensive hobby of scuba diving. Two diving destinations I know to be cheaper and still awesome are Cozumel, Mexico and Honduras. You can have basically the same vacation for right around half the price. Thankfully my grandparents are also frugally-minded and we should be able to go with them again in the future to a more wallet-friendly dive resort.

Millennial Money recently posted about their 10 day vacation to Hawaii for far less than half the cost of our Grand Cayman trip. They also had a fantastic experience in a tropical destination, but for just under $2500 for two. You could throw some diving into a trip like that and still come in under $3000 for a couple.

Heck, if we get enough friends together that scuba dive, we could rent a house somewhere and get some real cost-savings going on…excuse me while I AirBnB…

Republished with permission from Fetching Financial Freedom

How to Travel Hack Without Using Credit Card Points

People in the FIRE community love to travel. For many who become Financially Independent and Retire Early, that’s the whole point. Give up the cubicle and explore the world! Learning to travel hack will get you started.

Travel Hack = Save Money on Travel Expenses and/or Travel for Free.

Whether independently wealthy or still working towards Financial Independence, no one wants to pay more than they have to when traveling. In this post, I’m going to share some ways to travel hack your way to savings without playing the credit card points game.

Why Not Use Credit Card Points?

You may be wondering, why wouldn’t I want to take advantage of credit card mileage points to travel hack my way to free travel?

First of all, I’m a die-hard Dave Ramsey fan. Use credit cards to travel hack? Dave would rather hack up all credit cards with a pair of scissors!

Dave’s methods helped us get out of debt. We’re not about to go back in. Even though we are debt-free, I still listen to the Dave Ramsey Show for inspiration and motivation to stay on track and out of debt.

Second of all, why do you think credit card companies offer sign-up bonuses with free mileage points? Is it because they admire your desire to experience different cultures, and want to help you out?

Noooooooo! It’s because they know that most people end up carrying debt, and credit card companies are more than happy to rake in profits by charging you interest, late fees, etc.

I know there are people out there who pay their accounts in full each month, but you two are in the minority.

Other Ways to Travel Hack . . . . .

Let’s explore some of the many other ways you can score free or reduced cost travel besides dealing with a deck of credit cards. Some of these travel hack ideas are perfect for a single person, and some work great for couples or families.

The ABCs of Travel Hacking (without using credit card points):

A – Airbnb. I love Airbnb because of the flexibility, savings, and unique places to stay. Airbnb is ideal for couples and families traveling together, and some places even accept pets.

Airbnb is less expensive than staying in a hotel. It can be cheaper to book a 7-day stay than a 5-day stay! Airbnb hosts can also give inside tips on the best things to see and do in the area that don’t cost an arm and a leg.

We look for Airbnb sites that come with fully equipped kitchens and laundry facilities so we can cook some of our own meals and do our own laundry (helping us to save more money, time, and even eat a little healthier, too).

Airbnb is my favorite travel hack for low-cost lodging!

If you’ve never tried Airbnb, use this link to get $40 in free travel credit.

B – Budget Airlines. These are no-frills flights – no food, no assigned seats, and minimal luggage. Avoid extra fees by reviewing luggage size restrictions ahead of time.

We flew Ryanair from London to Leipzig, Germany. That same fare at the time of this writing was under $14 one way!

The top ten budget airlines according to Skytrax include AirAsia, Norwegian, Jet Blue, Easy Jet, Virgin America, Jetstar, AirAsia X, Azul Brazilian Airlines, Southwest, and IndiGo.

C – Couch Surfing connects travelers and hosts in a meaningful way. You’ll stay in someone’s home and learn about a different culture firsthand.

There’s no money involved with Couch Surfing. You can travel the world like a local and get an experience that money just can’t buy.

D – Diverbo offers a free stay and cultural experience that you’ll never forget! Volunteer in a language immersion program like Diverbo and your lodging and meals are covered.

Spend a week in Spain in exchange for some friendly conversation? Yes, please!

E – Ebates. To score big savings and free cash back when making travel plans, take advantage of Ebates. I’ve used Ebates to book flights and hotels, rent cars, and even used it when I needed to purchase new luggage.

Shop with Ebates at your favorite stores, earn free cash back on your purchases, and get paid by check or Pay Pal. Simple!

F – Friends. Visiting friends in other countries is a wonderful way to travel. You’ll have a place to stay with people you care about. We recently visited friends in Germany, and it was one of the best vacations we’ve ever had.

G – Be a Global Freeloader and take advantage of the hospitality of others, even though you weren’t friends already. Globalfreeloaders.com is an online community designed to bring people together from around the world through free accommodations.

H – House swap or house sit. If you own a home, you can house swap. My boss and his family spent two weeks in Paris by participating in a house swap, and saved a bunch of cash.

HomeExchange.com bills itself as the “World’s #1 International Home Exchange Site” with over 65,000 homes in 150+ countries.

Other house swapping sites to check out include HomeExchange50plus, as well as Love Home Swap, and Home Base Holidays or homebase-hols.com.

If you’re not a homeowner, you can house sit. In exchange for watering the plants, feeding the cat, and keeping an eye on things, you’ll score free accommodations!

Look for house sitting gigs through these sites: TrustedHousesitters.com or HouseCarers.com or MindMyHouse.com.

I – Instructor. There are many opportunities to teach abroad. Another social worker I know quit her job to teach English in Japan for a year.

If you have already invested in training and certification, you may be able to turn your hobby into a travel hack that lands you a gig in a resort community, say as a scuba instructor.

My husband and I did a lot of scuba diving when we were younger – we saved money on our scuba travels by investing in our own gear, camping on the beach in Mexico, and staying with relatives in Roatan.

As an herb instructor, I’ve led herb walks and taught herb classes across the country to pay for my travels. When I teach herb classes now, that extra cash goes into my retirement savings.

Many instructors organize trips. My yoga instructor has been organizing and leading yoga trips to Mexico for the past 20 years. She gets free travel, lodging and meals on these trips.

J – Get a Job! If you enjoy adventure and the outdoors, Adventure Work lists short and longer-term gigs around the world. Many positions offer a weekly wage plus meals, lodging, insurance, and travel expenses.

K – Knapsack. Use a knapsack or backpack instead of bulky luggage for increased flexibility as you travel. You’ll avoid excess baggage fees and size restriction penalties by traveling light.

L – Linguist. A post on the Adventure Work website listed a job for a Linguist / Walk Organizer. Imaging leading walks in the beautiful Italian Dolomites, Austrian Alps, the Picos de Europa or the Pyrenees mountains of northern Spain.

Ideal for a fit, friendly, bilingual nature lover who can speak English and German, or English and Spanish.

M – Military. It’s not for everyone, but members of the armed forces do get to travel the world. My nephew joined the Army and has spent time in Germany and Korea so far.

N – National Parks. National Parks, National Monuments, and National Forests offer paid and volunteer positions, which vary widely depending on the need of each park and your skill set.

Some of my relatives have served as camp hosts, cataloged petroglyphs, operated telescopes and led evening star shows for park visitors.

One summer I worked in an art gallery at Mount Rushmore. It was a great experience, and I got to see a part of the country that was new to me. Meals and lodging were provided, and I made some extra cash.

O – Overnight train travel. By taking the train at night, you save time and money. Get from Point A to Point B on your travel itinerary while you’re sleeping and you won’t have to pay for a hotel.

P – Peace Corps. Are you a changemaker? Peace Corps volunteers work on pressing challenges alongside community members in over 60 countries.

Peace Corps applicants should have a four-year college degree (or extensive work experience that is specifically related to the volunteer position).

You can join the Peace Corps as a single person, or as a couple (but you won’t be able to bring your kids). The Peace Corps accepts same-sex couples.

Peace Corps volunteers receive a “living allowance” which is just enough to live like the locals. But transportation costs to and from your country of service are covered, and you even get medical and dental care!

Q – Quick travel deals. Sign up to receive online newsletters and notifications from budget airlines for last-minute travel deals. For last-minute international deals, sign up for Scott’s Cheap Flights tips.

R – Rent out your home while you are away. Turn to short-term rental websites like HomeAway.com and even craigslist.org to rent out your home.

S – State Parks. If you enjoy camping or traveling in a motor home, state parks offer an inexpensive way to travel around the country. Book early because campsites go fast!

T – Toastmasters. Are you a member of Toastmasters International? It’s a great personal development resource, even if you don’t plan to become a TEDx speaker.

My friends Alan and Katie traveled to the United States from the UK, and they contacted fellow Toastmasters in all the cities they wanted to visit. They were able to stay for free everywhere they went, and made great new friends!

U – Urban Backpacking is a flexible and low-cost way to travel. Basically, it involves carrying everything in a backpack as you travel from city to city, staying in inexpensive hostels.

V – VRBO. Cheaper accommodations can be found through Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO). Having access to a kitchen and laundry facility makes this travel hack a real money saver.

Less expensive vacation rentals can also be found through sites such as bedycasa.com (worldwide) and casaparticularcuba.org (Cuba).

W – WWOOF your way around the world for free! World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) is a grass-roots organization that enables volunteers (WWOOFers) to live and volunteer on organic farms around the United States and the world.

In exchange for 4 – 6 hours of work per day, WWOOFers are provided with food and lodging. Stays can be as short as 2 – 3 days, or as long as 6 months.

From the website ” WWOOFing is very rewarding, you can participate in a huge range of experiences, alternative lifestyles and learn new skills. Many WWOOFers are so inspired by the experience that they end up changing their lifestyles and even setting up their own organic properties!”

X – Help X is another exchange site that matches up volunteers helpers with farms, ranches, bed and breakfasts, backpacker hostels, etc. In exchange for 4 – 6 hours of daily work, Help X volunteers receive meals and a place to stay.

Y – Youth Language Experience through Servas. Ideal for an extrovert between 18 and 30 years old, who can speak the language of the host country well enough to get by.

Servas Youth Language Experience (SYLE) participants pay their own travel expenses, but scholarships are available.

After a one month stay with a host family and participation in organized SYLE activities, you will have improved your foreign language skills and enjoyed a rich cultural exchange.

Z – Zeppelin Rides. My daughter suggested renting a zeppelin when I couldn’t come up with an idea for “z”. Book a zeppelin ride in Germany for unique, if not inexpensive travel.

It was hard to find a travel hack beginning with the letter “z” so I open it up to you, dear readers, to suggest one. My best idea is to secure a volunteer or paid position in a zoo on the other side of the world.

But then you’d have to stay in one place for a while . . .

Travel Hack Wrap-Up

In summary, there are many more ways to save money on travel than just playing the credit card points game.

Republished with permission from Baby Boomer Super Saver

Important Lessons From A Woman Solo Traveler

I’ve been traveling solo since I was a student at college. Before that I had always traveled with family or friends, never once thinking I should, or could, go it alone. But this all changed when I left for Sydney, Australia, by myself, on a semester-long study abroad trip.

Over the last five years, I have embarked on a huge life-changing adventure. I’ve continued traveling solo and would have no qualms about doing it again. I’ve learned a lot traveling as a woman during this time. Some of these have been new things. Sometimes they’ve been things I already knew about myself, but somehow traveling cemented them more in my mind.

You’re Not The Only One

I’ve realized there are so many people around the world doing exactly the same thing as me. Whether we’re jumping on a bus, train or plane to an unknown destination, we are all ready to gain new experiences and explore different cultures. And when you meet these people, you share stories of your travels, of where you came from, and eventually, you may even get to call them friends. So next time you think you can’t travel alone as a woman, remember, you are not the only one.

It’s Not That Scary

One of the biggest things I’ve learned as a woman traveling is it’s not as daunting as you think. Yes, I was nervous about heading to Sydney alone. It was a city where I knew no-one, across the world from everyone at home, but I got past it. I knew I was heading to a dorm where there would be people I could make friends with. And the same goes if you’re staying in a hostel or embarking on a tour – there will always be people you can talk to. And what’s more reassuring is that most of them are in the same boat as you.

Independence is Freeing

I knew this one before I went away, but traveling has taught me how to be even more independent than I already was. I realized I didn’t always need a travel companion; I could go out for a nice meal by myself. I would have missed so many experiences – like exploring the Christmas Markets in Cologne or sleeping under the stars in Uluru if I wasn’t so independent. Sometimes being independent is a trait people don’t give enough credit to or completely understand, but it has allowed me to do things and feel confident, and for that, I am thankful.

Safety Is Always On Your Mind

I think traveling as a woman (especially as a solo woman), is always different from traveling as a man or traveling with a big group of people. You’ll always be thinking about safety while you’re traveling. You might have to pay for a cab if you’re heading back from a late dinner, instead of walking the short distance. You might have to rethink going to specific cities or countries because of their reputations regarding women travelers.

But for me, this process isn’t that different from how I act when I’m going about my day to day life at home. If you’re sensible and take the right precautions exploring, an unknown city shouldn’t be scarier than if you were to go and explore a neighborhood close to where you grew up. And if you’re still worried about safety, that’s fine too. Just know there are so many destinations around the world known for being exceptionally welcoming to solo women travelers. If you’re feeling nervous, focus on those destinations first.

Which of these have you also learned while traveling? Or have you experienced something else that you can share?

By Sage Fitzpatrick

Sage is a tattooed, tea drinking girl who is always reading and traveling the world. When she’s not traveling, she spends her time blogging about her travels over at A Virtual Postcard.