The Things I’m Willing to Spend Money on When I Travel Now

I’m still a frugal traveler. That probably won't ever change. Mostly because I see money saved as the possibility of more trips. But I like finding a deal. I love a good travel hack, especially when it also saves me time and money, and I will absolutely always compare prices, look for free options, use points and miles when it makes sense, and think twice before spending money on something that doesn't add much value to my trip. 

But I've also learned something after years of traveling...the cheapest option isn't always the best option.

There was a time when I would automatically choose the least expensive flight, the hotel that was a little farther out, or the itinerary with the longest layover if it saved me $50.

These days, I'm a little more willing to spend money to make a trip easier, more comfortable, and less exhausting.

Maybe that's part of getting older. Or maybe it's simply having enough travel experience to know exactly what I don't want to deal with anymore.

I've had the 3 a.m. wake-up calls. I've carried a backpack that felt like it was filled with bricks. I've stayed far enough outside a city that I spent a small fortune getting back and forth. I've heard the stories of what happens when a trip goes sideways and you suddenly realize just how expensive international medical care and transportation can be.

So now I have a list of things I'm willing to spend money on when I travel.

I'm still not throwing money around. I'm just spending it where it actually makes a difference.

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What I Stop Buying at Home So I Can Travel More

I like nice things. 

I like a good meal, a pretty hotel, a cute outfit, a great cup of coffee, and yes, I absolutely love shopping. I'm not interested in living a life where I never spend money on anything fun just so I can say I saved every penny.

But there is one thing I like even more than buying stuff and that's traveling. 

Over the years, I've realized that one of the easiest ways to make room in my budget for travel isn't necessarily to find more money. It's to stop spending the money I already have on things that don't matter nearly as much to me.

This isn't about deprivation. It's not about never going out to eat, never buying clothes, or making yourself miserable in the name of saving money. I've always believed that frugal living works best when you can still enjoy your life. Instead, it's about deciding what deserves your money.

And for me, travel wins.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately because my relationship with money has changed over the years. When I first wrote about the things I was wasting money on, my kids were younger, our family expenses looked very different, and I was looking for every possible way to stretch a dollar. I wrote about borrowing books from the library instead of buying them, avoiding unnecessary fees, limiting expensive coffee, skipping upgrades, and buying classic clothing instead of chasing every trend. Those ideas still hold up surprisingly well.

But now that I'm in a different stage of life, I've realized that I'm not just trying to save money anymore.

I'm trying to save money for something.

And that something is often a plane ticket.

So here are the things I stop, or at least drastically limit, buying at home so I can travel more.

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Small Towns I Loved More Than Big Cities

When people ask me for travel recommendations, they're usually expecting me to name the biggest cities I've visited. 

London. Rome. Seattle. Dublin.

And while I've loved spending time in each of those places, I've noticed something after years of traveling: it's rarely the big cities that stay with me the longest.

Instead, it's the smaller towns. The places where shop owners remember your face. Where you can hear church bells instead of traffic. Where dinner lasts for hours and no one seems to be in a hurry.

I've learned that some of my favorite travel memories happened in places that weren't necessarily on my original itinerary. These smaller destinations became the highlights of the trip, and in many cases, I'd happily return there before revisiting the larger city nearby.

Here are three small towns that completely won me over.

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The Ultimate Guide to Free Birthday Freebies: Companies That Want to Celebrate You

One of my favorite ways to save money {and do a little treat yo self!} is by taking advantage of offers that companies are already willing to give away. If you've followed me for any length of time, you know I'm not about spending money just because something is on sale, but I am about saying yes when something is completely free. Free is my favorite four letter word!

Your birthday is one of the easiest times of the year to score freebies. Restaurants, coffee shops, beauty stores, and retailers love celebrating their customers with complimentary treats, discounts, and gifts. Most of these offers simply require signing up for a free rewards program ahead of time, and then the birthday surprises start showing up in your inbox.

If you've never taken advantage of birthday freebies before, here's how to get started and some of my favorite companies that offer something special during your birthday month.

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Saving for College: How a Young Couple on One Income Helped Their Three Kids Graduate Debt Free!

We became parents while we were still in college ourselves. Both of our parents had committed to paying for our college tuition and despite the little bump in the road with an unplanned pregnancy, continued to pay for our college so that we could graduate debt free. After graduation, we quickly saw how very beneficial it was for us to not be burdened with debt and we were able to start our life on a firm financial foundation. I chose to stay at home with our children {three of them all by the time I was 26!} and despite only having one income, we lived below our means, so that we could hopefully provide the same gift of higher learning for our own kids. This is a bit of the story on how we did that. We were able to turn financial limitations into financial freedom, not only for ourselves, but for our children as well. There wasn't any magic involved, just mindset, strategy, and steady action and sacrifice. I'm not sharing any magic formula, but instead, hoping you are inspired to plan intentionally not only for yourself but for the next generation.

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How I Scored a 10-Day Trip to Vietnam on a Budget (Hint: Flexibility is Key!)

My brain started spinning and I started thinking. Every day I get messages from people and I try to respond to all of them. One message slipped into my DM's after I shared a recent sale from the thrift shop. You see, I often thrift with one thing in mind...find one piece that I can flip that will cover all of my purchases. I often say I try to live frugally so that I can spend money on the things that matter to me. For me, what matters is travel! So why not combine both of those things and create a travel budget from nothing? And hence, the Trash to Travel Challenge was created! So many people tell me that they'd love to travel, but they don't have the extra money. Well friends, I feel like I showed you one way to overcome this issue! 
At the end of my challenge, where I traveled to was dependent on how much I made. You see, I would be ok with a staycation nearby, but in one month, I managed to make about $2500! I decided I'd see if I could maximize that travel budget and hit off one of those bucket list destinations. I wanted to show other people what was possible and honestly, I kind of surprised myself! But then after the trip was booked, I got a lot of questions about how I was able to get a trip "so cheap". Well friends, I'm going to tell you how I decided on my trip location {Vietnam} and how I was able to score a 10-day trip from the South to the North on what some people might feel like is a limited budget. 
Maybe you don't want to go to Vietnam, but you have another bucket list international destination in mind. This is how I managed to score a deal, and how you can too! 

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Practical Tips for Saving Big So You can Afford the Life You Really Want!

Saving money can often feel like a daunting task, especially when you are dreaming of big things like traveling the world and being financially free! One of my greatest skills is stretching a dollar and because of that, we've been able to pay off our home mortgage, send three kids out of state to college with no student loans, and have lived a Nordstrom life on a garage sale budget! I can't even say a Walmart budget because sometimes even that is more than I want to spend! I'm putting together a few practical strategies so that you can save more every day and make the dreams that you have a reality. Here are some actionable tips to help you save money without feeling deprived. 

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How to Find Cheaper Produce

If you’ve been around the produce section of your local grocery store, then it’s not a secret that food has gotten outrageously expensive! Getting inexpensive produce is not as impossible as it might seem, and you can avoid paying full price for the fruits and vegetables on your meal plan. Here is how to find cheaper produce no matter when you’re looking!

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The Best Thrift Shops in Tacoma, Washington

I've been shopping at thrift shops for decades. In a world of fast fashion and disposable trends, I love that there is a shift towards second hand. Not only is it great for the environment, it can also be a great way to save money too. Many of these shops are a fun treasure hunt for one-of-kind pieces while embracing sustainability and maybe getting a deal too! I love exploring the thrift shops in my area and thought this blog post from 2013 needed an update! We will also explore the differences between each of the different retail destinations from resale boutiques to consignment and vintage shops. I'll even share my local favorites. No gatekeeping here! Come along for the ride!

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6 Tips for Reducing Food Waste

The amount of food waste the average family wastes each year is higher than most of us would like to own up to. Now that the teens and young adults have moved out and left the nest, it can feel like you still need to make those massive family dinners for five even though your family has shrunk. Here are my secrets to help you avoid food waste as a smaller family and help you avoid wasting both food and money!

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The Best Frugal Living Tips for Beginners

Being a beginner at anything kind of sucks. Even something simple like frugal living can be hard and even daunting when you’re just getting started. If you are new to being frugal and are looking for some tips on how to get started, I put together a list of the best frugal tips for beginners to help you out!

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Is a Meal Subscription Service Budget-Friendly?

I've always been pretty budget-conscious, especially when it comes to one of our family's largest expenses: food. Food costs have gone up since the late 90's when we first got married and I started paying attention to a grocery budget, and our life has changed a lot in the past two decades since we've established our family. If you are like me, you get ads and coupons and bloggers/influencers telling you all about meal subscription services. I often entertain the idea when I get those coupons for $100 off! or 17 free meals, could you be getting a break on your food budget by using them?  I'm breaking it down for you and helping you decide if a meal subscription service is worth it for your budget-conscious family.

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Fixer Upper Decor for Less on Amazon

Who doesn’t love the classic Joanna Gaines’ inspired fixer upper style? We all want that timeless farmhouse decor that you see on her show, but it’s easier to get than you think. You don’t need to go all the way to Magnolia Market in Waco to get these great Fixer Upper finds. Here are my favorite Fixer Upper Decor for less on Amazon.

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5 Frugal DIY Swaps for Expensive Decor

If you have been trying to redecorate your home, then chances are you know that it can get expensive very quickly. It takes a lot of cash and a lot of time to put together a beautiful home, and cash only gets you so far. These DIY swaps are inexpensive and so easy to put together! So if you’re looking for a cheaper way to redecorate your home, here are five frugal DIY swaps that you can do to replace that expensive home decor.

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5 Money Habits that Will Turn You Into a Saver

Do you consider yourself to be a spender? Or are you a saver? When it comes to managing your finances, you likely fall into one of the two categories. I would consider myself to be a saver, but I wasn’t always this way! There was a time when I would have categorized myself as a spender. So what changed? I changed some of my money habits to make me into a saver or a recovering spender, I should say. Here are some of the money habits I developed to turn myself into a saver.

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8 {Money-Saving} Reasons Why You Should Save Your Receipts

Organization isn't my strong suit. It's just not. I like organized people and organized systems, but it's not something that comes naturally to me. My husband though, it's his thing. He loves spreadsheets and envelopes and labels and order. I appreciate that because time and time again, this one thing has come in clutch {look it up in Urban Dictionary}. For the last 23 years, I've saved crumpled receipts placing them in my husband's inbox and he smoothes every one of them, inputting the numbers and reconciling them with our bank statement before carefully putting them into a monthly envelope. Why save receipts? I've got a few reasons why this one habit could save you money!

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How To Give Generously On Any Budget

You don't have to be wealthy to live generously. On both sides of our family, generous living and giving were modeled for us. I think this is one of the reasons why it was easy for us to make giving a habit in our daily lives. Even when we were living on $12,000 a year, we still made it a priority to give generously on a regular basis. Now that we are living completely debt-free {even paying off our home!}, we have more freedom to give generously. Living generously will vary from person to person and from situation to situation, but I have some tips for how you can give generously on any budget.

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How to Pay Off Your Home Loan Early

This week we will be making our final mortgage payment on our home. It's the only debt we have and at 42 and 43 years old respectively, it feels like quite an accomplishment. Sharing about this came after hours of conversations with my husband during our final year of mortgage payments. These types of conversations actually make my husband and me very uncomfortable. My grandma never wanted to talk about money. She would have rather people thought she had no money than people knowing the truth - that because of her frugal lifestyle she actually had a lot of money. 

This doesn’t come from us wanting to brag but instead comes from a place of humility and wanting to help others be financially free because being free is a pretty amazing feeling. We felt like this could be beneficial information for others to know. And as I've shared our countdown to the final payment with all of you, many of you have reached out asking us how we did it. Today, I'm going to share how we paid off our home in 10 years and are now completely debt-free. Did you even think that was possible? It is, and you can do it too!

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Fun and Free: How to Find the Best Free Resources in Your Community

Whether you’re on a tight budget, spending freeze, or just trying to save a little bit of money, there are plenty of fun, free things to do! When it comes to frugal fun, you can’t go wrong with any of these fun free resources in your city! No matter where you live, these are great options for any family. Here are the best free resources you should be taking advantage of.

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Money-Sucking Habits to Break Today!

Habits are pretty hard to break, especially bad ones that we know aren’t good for us, like drinking soda or impulse buys, but the rush of serotonin we get from those habits can make it hard to quit. Your habits, especially when associated with money, can shape your financial future. Do you want to know the secret to building wealth? It starts by cutting these money-sucking habits!

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