Tag: travel hacking

How to Travel the World For FREE

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more. 

I am all about optimizing life through “life hacks”, and one of my favorite ways to do that is by traveling the world for free by travel hacking. When Mike and I first got married, our financial planner asked us to prioritize our goals in life and traveling the world made the top of the list. But how were we to do that when I was sinking in my student debt of $575k after going to dental school? Determined to live out our dream while tackling my debt, I fell upon the topic of travel hacking. Since our marriage, we have been to Alaska, Canada, Mexico (4 times!), Oregon (twice!), Washington (twice!), Colorado, Arizona, Germany, Australia, New Zealand (twice!), as well as the Bay Area (5+ times). Out of all of those flights, we only paid for the Germany one due to a sweet deal that landed us in their country for under $500 each (roundtrip), which ended up being cheaper than if we bought the flights in points. In total, we have taken more than a dozen roundtrip national flights and 8 roundtrip international flights since tying the knot. Just this month, we booked a two-week trip to Iceland for Mike’s birthday and paid for the roundtrip United Airlines flights fully in rewards points through Chase Ultimate Rewards. The savings from travel hacking are huge and before we get into why this is crucial to our financial independence plan, let me first give a brief overview on what travel hacking is.

What is travel hacking?

Travel hacking is a way of taking advantage of credit card sign up bonuses and earning tens of thousands of rewards which can then be traded in for flights, hotels, and car rentals. In order to hit reward bonuses, we open one credit card at a time and use it for all of our daily spending, which will always cause us to hit the minimum required spending in order to redeem the bonus. Once we hit the sign-up bonus, we move on to our next credit card.

The key to success lies in opening multiple credit cards and receiving large sign up bonuses. Once you receive the sign up bonus, continuing to use the credit card will earn you very little in rewards points – an inefficient way to earn a free flight. To optimize the strategy, you must move on to the next card.

It takes a lot of organization to keep track of credit cards opened, as well as discipline to not spend haphazardly with your newfound line of credit, but it is very much worth it. I would say that travel hacking is one of the core fundamental principles of the F.I.R.E. community and it has been absolutely instrumental in both fulfilling our dream to travel the world and getting us closer to being debt free.

Why Travel Hacking Brings You Closer to Financial Independence.

Travel hacking is essentially using your every day spending such as grocery buying, paying bills, and other living expenses (that you would end up doing anyway with or without a credit card) to earn you reward points in an efficient manner. It is a great method because it does not require you to spend more money than you normally would.

At the same time, it removes the need for you to budget as much money as a regular person would for travel. For us, personally, travel hacking has saved us over $10,000 in flight tickets. That’s $10,000 that I was able to redirect towards paying down my student debt. It’s $10,000 I didn’t have to earn to maintain my lifestyle, which gave me more freedom to eventually quit the job that didn’t suit me. Imagine what would happen if you placed an extra $10,000 into your Marcus Savings Account. How much closer would that bring you to other goals, such as buying a home?

However, the real kicker in all this is that travel rewards are PRE-TAX dollars. You are never taxed on the travel rewards that you earn, or the flights that you redeem. If you do not travel hack, you are using POST-TAX dollars to pay for your travel adventures. Do you realize how much money you are actually losing? Take my flight example. Let’s say we saved $10,000 even on flights. Let’s assume for simplicity sake that we are in the 25% tax bracket. We would need to earn $13,333 first, then get taxed 25% of that, in order to buy $10,000 worth in flights. Meaning, travel hacking has actually saved us an additional $3k on top of the $10k that technically we never had to earn through our jobs anyway. This is why I really recommend travel hacking to everyone. Even if you don’t have a dream of trotting the globe, you will eventually need to take a flight either for a honeymoon, someone else’s wedding, or taking your kids to visit their dream college across the country. So why not start earning free money today?

How to travel hack?

Travel hacking is simple, easy, and for me, very fun! I first heard about travel hacking on Choose FI even before I became a guest speaker on their podcast. They now have a free course which you can sign up for here. They taught me everything I know and I would recommend reading the course fully before starting your travel hacking journey.

Personally, my top 3 favorite travel rewards cards are:

These are my referral links and I posted them here to try to connect as many people as possible to the best credit cards for travel hacking. If you know someone who loves to travel, especially young college students and new grads who may feel (like we did) that it would be impossible to travel, do share this post with them. You could change their life!

Here are a few posts on where we’ve been thus far:

Here are related posts on how we travel:

Side Note: An alternative way to travel for free is to use the platform Trusted House Sitters. You can pet sit and house sit around the world through this website. I actually once read the story of someone who used Trusted House Sitters as their living situation. They lived wherever a pet needed them. It’s a great way to have a place to stay while traveling in another city. I know that the logistics of constantly moving isn’t for everyone, but I still highly recommend this to all pet lovers who wish to travel on a budget.

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Finance: How to Budget for Travel How I Flew to Mexico City for FREE with Southwest Airlines + 40K Bonus Points Default ThumbnailTravel: City Guide to Portland, Oregon

How to Get Companion Pass for 2020

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.

I wrote previously about how to travel for free using Southwest. I also alluded to the Companion Pass, which allows you to take someone with you at NO COST, neither in points nor dollars! The Companion Pass is by far our favorite perk for travel hacking. We essentially purchase flights using points for one person and the second person gets to tag along for zilch. When done right, it can last TWO YEARS! You can change your chosen companion thrice a year, like a piece of luggage or carry-on, but with significantly more endearment. How amazing is that?!

How to Get Companion Pass

Getting an elite status of having a Companion Pass requires the accumulation of 110,000 points in one calendar year. The Pass lasts for the rest of the year through the following year after. It is more beneficial to achieve Companion Pass status towards the beginning of the year than in the later part of the year. For example,  if you get the Companion Pass in February, you will have 10 months for that year plus an additional 12 months for the following year, summing up to a total of 22 months of privilege! Compare that to getting the Companion Pass in October, which would result in only 14 months of privilege.

The 110,000 points that you’ve accumulated in order to get Companion Pass status goes towards purchasing your future tickets from Southwest Airlines. Even though 110k points sounds like a lot to accrue, it is easily achievable using the credit card sign-up bonuses. It has never been more achievable than now, because for a limited time (until October 16, 2019), the new Southwest Business Performance card comes with an $80,000 sign-up bonus if you spend $5,000 in the first three months! This is the largest sign-up bonus that I have ever seen with Southwest.

How to Get Companion Pass for 2020

Because of this new deal, you can easily reach the 110k points needed by pairing the SW Business Performance card with a SW personal credit card of your choosing. The personal card will give you 40k points in sign-up bonus after you’ve spent $1k in the first 3 months. Together, both credit cards will get you 120k in points, thus reaching the minimum 110k threshold for Companion Pass. It is important to get both sign-up bonuses in the same year, preferably towards the earlier months. The Companion Pass considers when you get the bonus points only, not when you opened the credit card. So if you want to get companion pass for 2020, you can open both credit cards 2 months prior to January and hit the minimum spends IN JANUARY.

Here is a how-to guide for getting Companion Pass

  • Sign up for the SW Business Premiere CC sometime between now and when the deal ends (October 16, 2019). You want to make use of the 80k sign-up bonus deal. If you miss this time frame, you will only get the standard 60k sign- up, which will not meet the minimum 110k even if you pair it with a personal card.
  • Plan ahead on how you will spend the 5k minimum spend within the first three months.
  • Do not spent all 5k in 2019. You want to make sure that you get the sign-up bonus in 2020. For us, we plan to use the credit card for everyday spending, the holiday season, and booking AirBNBs and transportation for our Japan trip in March. We will spend only 4.5k on the credit card, which will give us a healthy buffer that ensures we do not accidentally overspend. In January, we will be spending the first few days of the year on a short trip to celebrate our third wedding anniversary, where we will likely hit the minimum spend.
  • Sign up for the SW Rapid Reward Plus personal credit card in November or December. I like this one because it has the lowest annual fee ($69) with $900 worth in bonus points, which makes it very worth it! If you would like more perks, applying for another personal credit card at a slightly higher annual fee may be for you. The Points Guy details them well in this chart.
  • Spend only $500 on this credit card in 2019. The minimum spend is very low ($1000) and you do not want to go over this amount! If you do, you cannot count these points towards 2020. In the first few weeks of January, you can easily spend the $500 on utilities, internet, groceries, and other everyday spending.

Tips on How to Meet Minimum Spends

If you are having trouble reaching minimum spends, here are some ideas:

  • Pay bills ahead, whether it be utility bills, insurances,.
  • Buy non-perishables that you will definitely use for the home.
  • Buy non-perishable staple food from the grocery store.
  • Purchase big ticket items during this time period.
  • Book future travel plans.
  • Offer to buy gifts for friends/family ahead of time.
  • Offer to pick up the tab for all your friends when you dine out, and then just have them Venmo you their fair share.
  • Ask friends and family if you could use your credit card to make big ticket purchases for them and have them e-wire you the cost. (Of course, choose your friends and family wisely).

Roadblocks You May Encounter

  • Being Denied a Business Credit Card: Gone were the days when you could apply for two Southwest personal credit cards. This method was how we got Companion Pass two years ago but alas, it is no longer an available one. They now allow only one personal and one business card. Thankfully, there is still a way! However, qualifying for a business card may be difficult if you do not have a business. Previously, I’ve written about the cons of depending on a single income stream, and credit-card-hacking-made-difficult is one of them. Off course, your life’s work shouldn’t depending on card hackability, although it’s yet another example why multiple modes of earning money could be beneficial. Often times, as reliable as they are, single income streams may lead one down the path of working for another rather than working for the self. Side hustles, however, open way for your own business. Take myself for example. I opened an S-corp for my dental practice which makes ME and MY SKILLS “the business”. My dental office pays Samantha De Leon Tillapaugh DDS, Inc. via a 1099 who then pays myself via a W-2. But even without that, I could also demonstrate my income and spending reports for Aero Bakery. I could demonstrate the dog-sitting business that I’ve grown via Rover, with letters of reference from dog owners. I can demonstrate this blog as a business, listing the affiliate marketing that I’ve entailed as well as the upkeep spending reports. Those are four “businesses” that I could use to justify the loose qualifying terms for a business credit card. Note how none of those have LLCs. I had a friend who got a business credit card from Chase when he detailed a business he wanted to start, indicating why he needed a business credit card to get the business off the ground. There are many creative ways to do this, and side hustles definitely help. If you babysit children, or tutor teens, you can rationalize why you need a business credit card. If you hold creative workshops or cook for others, you can again rationalize a reason. If you do photoshoots for special events or play music as a DJ …. well, you get my drift. Having hobbies turned side hustle can help avoid this pitfall.
  • Hitting the minimum spend in 2019 – This is definitely not a problem you want to have. Because you apply for the credit card earlier than 2020, you run the risk of hitting the minimum spend the year prior. You definitely do not want to split the sign-up bonuses between two years, because then you will have a very tough time reaching the 110k points. My advice keep track of all spending on the credit card and stop short a few hundred dollars. You can then resume spending on the credit card in January to make sure that both reach the minimum spend in 2020.
  • Not hitting the minimum spend in 3 months – If you fail to hit the minimum spend in three months, then the benefits of the card that would have outweighed the annual fee would be gone. It would defeat the purpose of travel hacking altogether. Since hitting $5k in 3 months may be difficult for frugalists, check the list above to see how you can actually use that $5k to plan ahead and relieve some of your future spending! However, beware of falling into the habit of spending just to spend. The purpose of the credit cards is not to allow you to buy more than you need. Rather, it is a tool to get you what you want without having to spend money for it (travel!). As always, spend wisely and well below your means.

Related posts:

How I Flew to Mexico City for FREE with Southwest Airlines + 40K Bonus Points Frugality: Travel Hacking, An Introduction How to Travel the World For FREE

Feature: How to Manage and Pay Off Multiple Credit Cards with Andrew Rombach

I LOVE credit cards. I think that credit cards are really useful when their perks are used efficiently, in things such as travel hacking for example. We use them frequently to fly to places around the world for free. However, my relationship with credit cards wasn’t always good. In fact, I used to hate them. My money egg story here explains how my perception of money was greatly shaped by my parents’ influence. At sixteen years old, they had me open a few credit cards under my name, and then maxed out those credit cards. By the time I was a freshman in college, I was getting letters in the mail saying that the credit card minimums are not being met and that my credit score was being affected. When I confronted my parents, their answers were “Don’t worry about it. We have it under control.” Since 2007, they had maxed out my cards at $20,000. Eventually, when I was 21 years old, I became brave enough to say “No more” and shut down all credit cards that they had access to so that they couldn’t keep using them. To this day, they still owe $8,000 towards that debt. This relationship with money is what made me fear my student loans, and it is eventually what propelled me to knock ’em down! Because this means that all this time, my parents were paying massive amounts of interest on credit card debt, and they still have not been able to pay it back. Credit cards have some of the highest interest rates and unless they are paid back in full at the end of every month, they only work to hurt your financial journey. Therefore, while I advocate the use of credit cards in order to propel you forward in reaching your finance goals, I also warn that you must have the wherewithal to be able to handle credit cards well. If you are starting from a place with existing credit card debt, my advice would be to work with all you’ve got to pay it down … OR COMMIT FINANCIAL SUICIDE! We don’t take credit card debt very lightly around here. So when Andrew Rombach from LENDEDU asked if he could share some tips with my readers, I was all on board. If you are struggling with paying off your credit cards, I hope you find some useful info in this post. 

Do you find yourself in the vicious cycle of trying to pay off your credit card debt? Do you have multiple cards and aren’t sure where to start? You’re not alone in that struggle. Credit card debt is a common problem for consumers. It’s all too easy to fall into. Just take a look at a few nationwide statistics.

According to the Federal Reserve, households in the United States owed a collective $999 billion in credit card or revolving debt by mid-2018. Some sources put average credit card debt at over $6,000 per consumer, and cardholders typically have 4 credit cards. That’s quite a hefty sum to deal with for any household, and if you find yourself in this situation, then you may find yourself stuck paying the minimum endlessly on several cards.

While getting out of excessive credit card debt is hard, it’s certainly not impossible. There are a few ways to manage your credit cards or transfer the debt that can save money, make your life simpler, or both. Check out a few of these tips if you want to find a different approach to your credit card debt.

Try Debt Consolidation Loans

A debt consolidation loan is basically a personal loan used to pay off various forms of debt, or credit cards in this case. To put it simply, you apply for and take out a loan from a bank or lender, which is usually unsecured. That loan pays off your credit card balances. Now you must make monthly installment payments on just one loan instead of various credit cards.

Consolidation loans provide the benefit of simplifying monthly payments to just one payment; plus, it adds certainty to repayment because you can stick to one repayment schedule with an end goal in sight. Furthermore, clearing your credit cards may lower your credit utilization ratio. Finally, a possible interest rate reduction on your debt could save money. This new debt consolidation loan comes with a new rate, so it could be lower than your credit cards depending on your credit.

A drawback is the eligibility requirements for a new personal loan. Lenders prefer applicants with a great credit profile and high income; in fact, those applicants are more likely to get lower interest rates. Also, remember to use newly-cleared credit cards wisely moving forward. You don’t want to be left with a loan balance and mounting credit card debt again.

Time Your Payments Accordingly

Some credit card debtors consider timing multiple monthly payments to save on interest. Interest cuts into your principle payments and extends the repayment process, but timing additional payments can help reduce your principal balance before interest accrues.

After making your monthly interest and principal payment, your interest balance should be lower moving forward. Before it accrues again, it may be worth making an extra payment on your cards. This will cut into the principal balance more significantly, and it also reduces the amount of interest paid on the next scheduled monthly payment.

On the negative side, not everyone has the extra cash to make a second payment each month. If you don’t have the money, then you may need to settle for another way to save money and expedite repayment. 

Try Either the Debt Avalanche or Snowball Method

The debt avalanche and snowball methods are two different ways to handle multiple credit cards over time, and neither requires taking out a loan or new credit card.

The avalanche method requires you to make large credit card payments on the account with the highest interest rate, while paying the minimum on all other accounts. After you pay off the high-interest credit card, you repeat the process with the next high-interest card.

It’s counterpart, the debt snowball method, works in a similar way, except you must prioritize low-balance credit cards. You would make larger payments on the credit card with the least debt and maintain the rest. When paid off, start paying more on the next low-balance card.

A major benefit of these methods is simply organization. They help you get on track with a plan of action. By prioritizing high-interest debt with debt avalanche, you’re paying off multiple debts more efficiently which should save money (eliminating high-interest debt reduce interest costs). With the snowball method, you can simplify repayment by cutting out low-balance cards from the equation. It’s generally accepted that avalanche saves more money than snowball, but that is still up for debate.

These methods are ideal because they require budgeting with your own cash (no loans involved), but this may also be a drawback because it’s very hard to pull off without the extra money for larger payments.

Balance Transfer Credit Card

If you opt for this method, you will take out a new credit card that comes with a lower interest rate, preferably a super-low or 0% rate during an introductory period. You then must transfer your credit card balance to this new card and begin repayment. It’s similar to debt consolidation, but the debt is transferred to another revolving account instead.

The point here is to get a lower interest rate on your credit card debt in order to save money. Ideally, you can get a zero-rate offer for up to a year or more which would save the most money. The goal is to pay your debt before that intro period is over.

Like with debt consolidation, you may be tempted to rack up more charges on a freed-up credit card. Remember that the debt doesn’t go away; you still need to pay it off. Also, balance transfer cards may be less suited for transferring multiple balances depending on your new credit limit.

Find the Method That Works Best for You

Each method offers its own set of benefits and drawbacks. One method could suit your budget perfectly, but another may not be the best fit. If you have the cash and organization skills, then maybe debt avalanche/snowball would work best. If your credit is stellar and you’re used to loans, a debt consolidation loan could be the solution.

Finding the method that works best for you is what matters most. Be honest with yourself and look at which style will best suit you – and then starting acting on it.

Andrew is a Content Associate for LendEDU – a website that helps consumers with their finances. He got his start in content and finance by writing all about credit cards. When he’s not working, you can find Andrew hiking or hanging with his cats Colby and Tobi.

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Property Ownership: 5 Things to Avoid During Mortgage Application (Travel Hacking Included!)

We are extremely open about how we are able to travel on a tight budget. Our dream to explore Earth is not to be deterred by things such as massive student loans. I have already outlined how we travel hack our way to achieving our adventurous dreams. As much as we love travel hacking, we needed to put a complete stop on our strategies, at least for the time being. While we have proven to ourselves that travel hacking does not negatively affect our credit scores in the long run (how to understand your credit score, here), we also are very aware that it will affect our mortgage application short-term! Travel hacking violates a lot on the “Don’t list” of Mortgage lenders, so in order to understand why we should put travel hacking to a halt, let’s review what NOT to do when applying for a mortgage loan.

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1. Don’t allow tardy payments.

Missing a payment (or worse, adding judgements to a credit report) can surely tank any chances you have of getting a mortgage loan approved. It may seem as if a small missed payment won’t matter much, but your score can lower by more than 100 points if a 30-day late payment occurs on any type of credit account! After spending all this time being reliable and building up good credit, the last thing you want to do is give the lenders any indication that you are a risky borrower.

Be very wary of what you owe. Even missed payments for medical bills or court judgements can weasel their way, uninvited, and interrupt, delay, or all together annihilate the entire mortgage lending process. Even utility bills, parking tickets and library fines can cause damage. I would simply be hyper-aware about all payments that need to be made.

2. Don’t have revolving credit.

As I mentioned in my post, Understanding and Improving Credit Scores, the second most important factor in determining your credit score is how much you owe. Therefore, it is important to avoid revolving credit as much as possible and to pay off all credit cards in full. I mean, you should be doing that anyway, but now isn’t the time to slip. I know that during the entire mortgage process, you are likely thinking of so many other things, however, you want to make sure your credit report is at the forefront of your mind. You can lose as much as 45 points on your overall score just by maxing out one low-limit credit card!

Sometimes, travel hackers have that push to hit minimum spend within a certain time period, but they do so unwisely by spending more on their credit card than they can pay back by the end of the month, thus creating revolving credit. Live below your means, an advice that should be heeded at all times, independent of a mortgage application.

3. Don’t open any new credit cards! (Travel hackers, I am talking to you!)

Here is where travel hackers need to beware. You want to be approved for the mortgage but you also want to snag a credit card offer that’s pretty much handing you 80,000 points FREE. Your fingers are itching to pull the trigger and sending in that online application with just one click more. Don’t do it!

Unless, off course, your okay with risking mortgage approval. But if you are applying for a mortgage in the first place, I am assuming it’s because you don’t have the money to buy your house in cash. AKA, there is no alternative. Other sign-up bonuses will be there in the near future. The mortgage lender may not.

Here’s the thing: Mike and I have not seen our credit scores go down since we started travel hacking in November 2017. Within 6 months, we had opened 5 credit cards between us, and our credit scores have actually increased. They say that your credit score may go down 5 points with each credit card inquiry. If you have a really good credit score (800+), then I would consider your argument that one additional card will not reduce your score to a low enough point that a lender would deny you a mortgage loan. However, I like think we are better off safe than sorry. A recent inquiry will indicate to the lender that you may be a high risk candidate for a loan, let alone multiple recent inquiries. And if I am being honest, every time you do a credit pull, it will give you the top reasons why your score is the way it is. Me and Mike’s top reasons? “Recent Credit Card Inquiries”. Then again, our scores were around the 800’s. You may take that with a grain of salt, a dash of pepper, or however way you want to, but we chose not to open cards during this 45 day period.

The day after you close on the house, feel free to apply for whatever card you want. Just make sure not to max it out on home improvement stuff! (More on that, later.)

4. Don’t close unused accounts. (This too, applies to travel hacking.)

Many people believe in the fallacy that closing accounts will improve their credit score. Some believe in an even worse falsehood, and that is, closing credit accounts will wipe off bad credit history from their credit report. Sadly, no and nope.

The truth is that closing accounts can lower your credit score. Why? Because your credit history makes up a large part of your score. If you close an account that’s been open for ten years, that maybe you haven’t kept active in a long time, that will cut your credit history. Additionally, they will always consider the credit utilization percentage, which is the amount of credit being used versus the amount available. When it comes to closing cards, apply the same practice as with opening cards: wait until after escrow closes!

As far as travel hacking is concerned, there comes a time when credit cards need to be closed to avoid the annual fee. Mike and I were lucky in that we were not even close to any of our one year anniversaries for our credit cards. If you are planning to apply for a mortgage, it would be absolutely wise to plan ahead.

5. Don’t use this time to dispute anything in your credit report.

Which isn’t to say, don’t try to fix any inaccuracies with your score. Right away, if you see an accuracy, the best action to take is to notify your potential lender of the mistake. Current rules dictate that a single dispute under investigation by the credit bureau is enough reason to delay or nix the loan, in order to avoid consumers trying to improve their loan last minute by disputing negative (and possibly, accurate) information.

 

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Finance: How to Budget for Travel

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.

It’s no secret that the number one priority in our lives from a financial standpoint are my student loans. Off course, more important matters such as health, relationships, and happiness trumps that, but really not much else is prioritized before the loans. However, even before paying down the student debt entered the picture, Mike and I had decided early on in our relationship, before we even got married, that a top priority of ours would be travel. That hasn’t exactly changed, as you can probably tell from all the travel posts on this blog. Today, I wanted to go through how it is that we have the means to travel on a very tight budget.

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Set your priorities

Our ability to travel the world is built on a clear understanding that travel will remain a top priority for both of us. By defining this activity as extremely important, it makes it easy for us to give up less important things if it means that we will be able to travel. From the very beginning, even before we started paying down student debt, this is something both Mike and I felt strongly about. In fact, it was at the very forefront of our conversation when we started to check the feasibility of paying down over $550k in ten years. The first question to answer was, “Will we have enough money to still travel?”

Since this is such a high priority for us, we would give up almost everything in order to make it happen. The only exception, off course, is being free from my student debt. We were willing to give up buying a house, buying things in general, dining out (if it means dining out when we travel), the newest tech gadgets, and so much more. We were already frugalists before, but having travel as a motivating factor makes us even more successful at being frugal weirdos. When your priorities are clearly defined, the budgeting part becomes easy.

Set a budget

It is very important, especially in our particular situation, to plan for travel. I think that budgeting is useful for every category of spending, but it becomes imperative for those categories that will make your life happier. We don’t want to leave the decision of whether or not we can go somewhere to the whims of everyday life. In other words, we want to avoid the excuse “Life happens”, and we actually want our lives to happen.

Our budget for travel changes according to where we want to go. Typically, we decide on an amount to set aside every month using our favorite budgeting tool, YNAB! We will probably continue that trajectory for a couple of months. We treat it like money stashed away in an envelope. We use the “cash” in this envelope to pay for anything that involves travel expenses. If we ever go over, we would have to borrow from another envelope that month. As an example, overspending $50 in travel would require us to pull $50 from our allocated grocery money. In the past six months, we have not over-drafted from our travel envelope. When calculated, 2.6% of our income each month went towards travel.

Keep in mind that this is our top priority! Yet only 2.6% of our income went towards travel. That’ll give you an idea of how frugal we’ve been and how focused we are on paying down my student debt. 100% of my post-tax income in our first year of student loan repayment went towards the loans, plus help from Mike too!

To be fair, the budget is changing every once in a while. For example, since we have a huge three-week trip planned for the beginning of next year (where we will be visiting ten cities and two countries halfway across the globe!), we will be increasing our travel budget to 3.5% of our income for the last 6 months of this year. Nothing wild and crazy, but it is fluctuating as needed.

Have a plan

Call me Type A (and you would be right in doing so), but I don’t like to travel without a plan. Mostly because I find that travelling without a plan can sometimes be very costly. Choices will need to be made in the spur of the moment, and while that is fun at times, it also means limited research can go into choosing the best financial option. Plus, not having a plan makes the previous goal of setting a budget very, very difficult. It is hard to guess just how much money you need to allocate if you have no idea what you are allocating your money to. That being said, this isn’t to say our plans are entirely rigid. We have flexibility and I am the first to admit that our recent trip to Banff did involve cancelling an entire day of hikes in exchange for napping on a hammock lakeside and resting sore legs. And if we come across an ice cream shop that we want to grab ice cream at, we aren’t going to say to ourselves, “Oops, not in the budget. Can’t.” But typically, these changes aren’t so drastic that it throws our financial game plan out the window entirely. Within the budgeting, we have already budgeted for the possibility of a change of plans.

Save for the big stuff.

Usually, when we go someplace, there is one activity that we are uncompromising on. We don’t just visit a place to randomly visit. We went to Germany for Oktoberfest. We visited Mexico City because we wanted to eat at Pujol. I wanted to go to Banff to see what was left of the glaciers while I can. We went to Oregon after hearing about how a devastating fire last year wiped out all of its beauty. And we are going to Australia to celebrate our two year wedding anniversary on New Year’s Eve in Sydney. These are the big things. If you have a particular reason to go someplace, then go ahead and go for that reason! But go knowing that it requires you to save for the big stuff. We scrounge up the savings by giving up some of the everyday spending that a normal couple would make. I always say how easy it is for me to give up dining out regularly, if it means I can dine out when I am traveling elsewhere, and eat local food in a different country. We had no problem celebrating our first year wedding anniversary eating pizza, if it means that on our second year, we will be watching fireworks over the Habor Bridge in Sydney. Interestingly, even THAT is a free event! But you see what I mean. Don’t skimp on the big stuff, especially if there is a specific reason for your travels. Skimp on the little stuff that you could do without. I promise, it’ll make the big stuff that much more valuable.

Be frugal, still.

There is no need to skimp on every adventure. What’s the point of seeing a country when you don’t want to spend to see a country? Off course, there’s transportation that we need to pay for to get around, and food to be eaten. But, where you can, be frugal still. Our budget would not be the small sliver of a fraction of our income that it is without us being frugal, still. Here are the ways in which we save quite a bit on travel money.

  • We travel hack in order to buy our flights. I have written about the pros of travel hacking and what that has afforded us in this year alone. Long story short, we have used only points to book all our flights for this year!Personally, my top 3 favorite travel rewards cards are:

    These are my referral links and I posted them here to try to connect as many people as possible to the best credit cards for travel hacking. If you know someone who loves to travel, especially young college students and new grads who may feel (like we did) that it would be impossible to travel, do share this post with them. You could change their life!

  • We opt for AirBNB whenever we can. Typically, we find that those rates are cheaper than most hotels.
  • We book with Turo to save money on car rentals. Turo is the car version of AirBNB and we have had a great experience thus far with this company.
  • We reach out to friends and family in the locations we travel to. Some of our favorite trips are made more special by the company we keep. A plus side would be a place to stay, or a way to split the costs. I stayed at an old college roommate’s apartment when I visited Salt Lake City, UT. We stayed in my high school best friend’s extra bedroom when we visited New Orleans. Both of these friends drove us around everywhere we went! My sister provided an air mattress and shared her bed when we went to visit San Francisco. She also lent us her car for the weekend. Our Munich trip meant a free ride to the Castle Neuschwanstein when we hit up a friend’s cousin’s family. Also, we were invited to their house and got served the most amazing dinner, which to this day, remains one of my favorite memories while traveling. We reached out to my family to see if they wanted to go to Oregon with us, thus splitting the car rental fee and the AirBNB costs among seven people. All of this to show, not only is group travel more fun and entertaining, it saves you money as well!
  • We skip the touristy stuff. As I become better versed in traveling, I have found that less and less attraction lies in the touristy stuff. We would rather fill our days with free tramps through nature, exploring the city by foot, people watching as we eat at a café, and so on. We have found ways to see cities without having to spend much. I used to book excursions on every trip, until I realized that some of the best excursions are free. Our most recent Banff trip was focused around hiking all day. Trips to Calgary and Munich involved mostly walking around the city. Oregon was a mix of both. Skipping the touristy stuff also means that you can explore your way, without having to adhere to someone else’s timeline.
  • We don’t buy souvenirs to take home. Most of the stuff they sell in souvenir stores are absolutely useless and unnecessary. Unless we come across something that we think someone back home would really like, we do not shop for souvenirs for the sake of bringing something back. What we bring back to our friends and family are photographs and stories, mostly.
  • We borrow “just-this-once” items. When we go on camping trips, we borrow sleeping bags. I borrow my dad’s camera lenses when I go on big trips. I borrow clothing from my mom if I don’t have it in my minimalist wardrobe. Borrowing is such an important life hack, because it prevents us from purchasing things that we will only use once for travel.
  • We choose to disconnect. Going to a different country may require signing up for an additional payment plan in order to use your cell phone and other techy gadgets. Whenever possible, we simply go without. A trick would be to just opt for signing into the WiFi in cafes or our AirBNBs. Since a majority of our days are spent soaking in every last little detail of our current surroundings, we don’t really have a need for our cell phones. Planning the night before by looking up directions or the next day’s itinerary makes it a lot simpler too. Choosing to disconnect saves us not only money, but also, time since it keeps us from wasting time being “plugged in”.

These are just some of the ways in which we remain frugal while we travel. But like I said before, none of this equates to deprivation. It simply requires you to analyze what parts of travel you actually value, and what parts are simply excessive consumption. Once you’ve identified those priorities, it is very easy to cut down the spending in some areas in order to have enough in your budget to be able to see that one item on your bucket list. And if you need to, you can always borrow from other “envelopes” throughout the months leading up to your trip!

What about you? What are some ways to squeeze in a little extra money towards travel on a tight budget?

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Travel: City Guide to Portland, Oregon

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I would say with confidence that I would gladly move to Portland, Oregon. Between the great food, eco-friendly habits, nature hikes, and overall vibe of the people living there, I felt very much at home and relaxed. (But seriously, great food!) And our AirBNB location could not have been better! We were located on 28th St. and Division St., a five minute walk from some of the great restaurants we visited, including Pokpok, Ava Genes, Bollywood Theater, Salt & Straw, and Eb and Bean! It was lovely to step outside and walk to and from these eateries. Here is a guide to our most recent trip. I hope you enjoy!

♦◊◊◊
Not worth the time.

♦♦◊◊
Good, but ordinary.

♦♦♦◊
Great. Worth a visit.

♦♦♦♦
Exceptional. A must-do experience.

$
Frugal friendly

$$
Reasonable

$$$
Pricey

Lardo

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♦♦♦♦
1212 SE HAWTHORNE BLVD
PORTLAND, OREGON
$

We arrived at Portland very late and had originally planned to pick up Lardo sandwiches for our hikes the next day. However, we were so tired and hungry that we decided to make Lardo the only stop for the night and to just eat dinner there instead. It was a wonderful introduction to the food scene in Portland. We had ordered the Pulled Pork Vindaloo (Cabbage Porial Slaw, Assamese Pineapple Chutney, and Mint mayo), the Korean Pork Shoulder (house kimchi, chili mayo, cilantro, lime), and Salt and Vinegar Chicharrones. Everything was delicious! Mike and I split everything, and he favored the vindaloo while I favored the korean pork shoulder. Mostly because the bread of the korean pork shoulder was absolutely amazing. Which may or may not be fair to the vindaloo… The sandwiches are very heavy, so we did not even get to finish the chicharrones, which was fine since we brought the left-overs along on our hike as a snack. Definitely a must stop if you like meaty sandwiches, but I would not recommend taking the sandwiches on any hikes. It just wouldn’t have been as good.

Milk Glass Mrkt

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♦♦♦♦
2150 NORTH KILLINGWORTH ST.
PORTLAND, OREGON
$$

We went here for breakfast on day 2 prior to leaving Portland for a day of nature walks. They source their ingredients seasonally from local farms, including Gathering Together Farm, Wobbly Cart Farm, August Farms, Viridian Farms & Groundwork Organics. Everything is made from scratch, in house, everyday. They are dedicated to paying their employees a living wage and to support to local community. The store also sells some local goods. The space is bright, and is an ideal place to catch up with a friend over breakfast on a weekend. I ordered a Quinoa Bowl (quinoa, asparagus, farm greens, charred spring onion, manchego, crispy prosciutto, topped with a six minute egg), and Mike ordered the Cheddar Biscuit (with egg, cheddar cheese, bacon, and greens).  The quinoa bowl that I had was extremely fresh, bright, and had just the right acidity in the vinagrette to balance the ingredients. It was also exactly what I needed after our heavy dinner at Lardo the night before.

Brass Tacks Sandwiches

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♦♦♦
3535 N VANCOUVER AVE
PORTLAND, OREGON
$

We swung by Brass Tacks Sandwiches after breakfast to grab a few sandwiches that will keep well on our day of hiking. Firstly, I would just like to say how eco-friendly Portland is. I had absolutely no problems at all with plastic there. Everything, even to-go  items, were wrapped in paper. No straws were ever provided. I did not see people carrying around plastic bags or water bottles, but rather, re-usable bottles, linen bags, or paper carryout bags. The sandwiches we got here were wrapped in paper, as were the home-made kettle chips, and he did not even provide us with a bag. PERFECT! I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now that I am done geeking out about their eco-conscious habits, I am going to say that the sandwiches were bomb, although standard. Nothing that you can’t get in California, but really well made. You can order one of their specials or make your own. They are also one of the many places to eat that are mindful of vegan diets and vegetarian diets. In fact, Mike ordered the vegan Frank Sinatmeat (with agave smoked “ham”, roasted red pepper “salami” on a french roll with garlic aioli, pickled jalapeno, red onion, lettuce, oil/vinegar/oregano, and cashew cheese) while I ordered Turkey It To The Limit (oven-roasted turkey on ciabatta with mayo, tomato jam, avocado, lettuce, and provolone, panini-grilled). Brownie points for the clever names.

Jory Coffee Co.

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♦♦♦♦
3845 N MISSISSIPPI AVE
PORTLAND, OREGON
$

I am only going to write about Jory once, when the truth of the matter is, we went there twice of the two days, because it was just that great. They serve only pour over coffees, so don’t expect to order a latte or any other type of espresso based drink here. If you would like, you can opt for a splash of milk or Oatly in your cup, but that’s it. It’s a minimalist’s dream and they have made it so that it allows you to drink good coffee and appreciate it the way it’s meant to be appreciated. There are a selection of six local coffee roaster’s beans, all of which can also be purchased for those who want to make coffee at home. The offerings they had was a well-curated selection that really makes distinct and unique coffees. There is standing room only in the narrow shop, which is reminiscent of many Australian coffee shops. People are meant to buy their coffees and then go about their day. There is outdoor seating right outside the shop, enough chairs for three couples, which Mike and I took advantage of the second time we went. We spent an hour idling by ourselves outside on our last day in Portland, because we just loved it so much. The machine they have for making the coffee was great and the coffee was served efficiently, and the folk were extremely friendly. We even met the owner Jorian! If you are a real third-wave generation coffee fan who drinks it black, this is the place to go. The first time we went, I ordered Heart – DECAF (cherry, apple, milk chocolate) and Mike ordered Extracto (blueberry, cinnamon, and dark chocolate). The second time around, we took both of Jorian’s recommendations, which were Barista (peach, caramel, golden raisin) and Case Study (blackberry, citrus, deep and sweet).

Latourell Falls

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♦♦♦♦
$

Latourell Falls was the first hike we did. It is a very easy loop trail. From the parking lot, it is a few steps until you get to the lookout point to the waterfall. We hiked up to the very top of the falls, which did not take us more than ten to fifteen minutes. We got pretty close to the very edge of the waterfall, but to look over would have been very ballsy. I loved hearing the rush of the water as it fell over the cliff, and got a kick out of waving to the citizens below, who gladly waved back. The trail continues on and is a fairly easy hike, ideal for young children or older adults. There were no steep inclines past the waterfall. Continuing on reveals other smaller waterfalls. We walked up to one in particular that I would actually categorize as still being very large and it was amazing to feel the spray of the water and the whirling wind as you got closer. Along the way, we saw all sorts of beautiful plant life, as well as a cool little millipede. We must have spent two hours idling along that trail, stopping every few feet to gaze at large clovers, purple flowers, and blue-veined leaves. Worth every minute of it, and it was free!

Dog Mountain Trail

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♦♦♦♦
$

I was sitting next to this lady on the airplane ride to Portland when the topic of hiking came up. She had recommended Dog Mountain Trail in Washington as a wonderful hike that led to the top of a large mountain with amazing views. Since it’s spring time, the flowers were very much in bloom at the top and the overlook provided wonderful views of the Columbia River Gorge as it snaked around bends. Since a majority of the hikes on the Oregon side were closed due to the major fire last September, this was one of the only alternatives we knew of. It is a very steep 3.8 miles to the top with a 2,800 feet elevation gain, resulting in 7.5ish miles round trip. Mike and I had a dinner reservation, so we knew we had to truck it if we were going to get to the very top! We started the hike at 3 pm and finished in 3.5 hours! I almost had a mental breakdown when the steepness got to be too much, but Mike cheered me on (and sometimes pushed me up the mountain) and we ended up making it! I recommend this to other hikers, but I would definitely rate this is a difficult hike.

Ava Genes

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♦♦♦♦
3377 SE DIVISION STREET
PORTLAND, OREGON
$$$

“Our story can be told through our pasta: it’s milled, extruded, rolled, cut, cooked, sauced, and eaten in house.”

Off course, dough lovers unite. Their ingredients are locally sourced and support a local community of small farmers and artisans. There are things other than pasta on their menu, but we just knew we had to stick with pasta. The quality of the pasta is great! Plus, we needed some carbs to replenish our energy stores after our long hikes. This restaurant is just what the doctor ordered! I had the Tagliatelli (with cauliflower ragu, rosemary and garlic) and Mike had the Sunday special which was the Campanelle (with sausage sugo and ricotta). So simple, but so elegant.

Salt & Straw

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♦♦♦
3345 SE DIVISION ST.
PORLTAND OREGON
$

I love ice cream, and Salt & Straw receives much of the hype. We decided to do a late night ice cream pit stop on our walk back to our AirBNB from Ava Genes. By late night, I do mean that we were one of the last few to make it through the door before they closed up shop at 11 pm. There were many amazing offerings in terms of flavors. I was specifically drawn to their monthly menu, which was centered around florals. I ordered Rhubarb Crumble with Toasted Anise and Mike ordered Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache. The flavors were unique and great, but we have had better ice cream before, which is why I did not give this place 3 stars. While it was good, it did not live up to the hype.

Heart Coffee

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♦♦♦
2211 E BURNSIDE ST.
PORTLAND, OREGON
$$

Day 3 started off very slowly for us, after a late night dinner and a day full of hikes. We made our way to Heart coffee, since trying their decaf at Jory was such a good experience. It was a good coffee shop, however, they offered mostly espresso based drinks, landing Mike and I with standard cappuccinos. I still think their worth the visit, although next time, I may have opted for a drip coffee. They have three locations, but we went to the one on Burnside St. It is a perfect study space, but do note the noise level is moderate to loud. Luckily, we were just slowly still coming out of our dreamlike reveries.

Pokpok

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♦♦♦♦
3226 SE DIVISION ST
PORTLAND, OREGON
$$

If I could give something five out of four stars, I definitely would. But that wouldn’t be fair to the other reviews, would it? Needless to say, this lives up to the hype. Mike and I both agreed that while the experience of eating outdoors in a shack on a plastic table and chairs is not exactly worldly, the food compares to Pujol, not in quality, but in flavor, and for the fraction of the price. People visiting Portland should definitely eat here at least once! We were the first people there (we showed up thirty minutes early from opening) so we got seated immediately. But by the time the restaurant opened, the line was around the corner of the street and not everyone was seated. By the time we finished our meal at 12:30, the wait times for 2 people was an hour. If you are staying close by like we were, it wouldn’t hurt to come by and put your name down, then return to your AirBNB and relax while waiting for their call. Or you can walk up and down the shops on Division Street. We ordered Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings (Spicy) (Half dozen fresh whole natural chicken wings marinated in fish sauce and sugar, deep fried, tossed in caramelized Vietnamese fish sauce and garlic and served with Cu Cai (pickled vegetables)), Yam Kai Dao (Crispy fried farm egg salad with lettuce, Chinese celery, carrots, onions, garlic, Thai chiles and cilantro, with a lime, fish sauce, palm sugar dressing), Muu Sateh (Carlton Farms pork loin skewers marinated in coconut milk and turmeric, grilled over charcoal and served with peanut sauce, cucumber relish and grilled bread), and Coconut Ice Cream Sandwich (Coconut-jackfruit ice cream served on a sweet bun with peanuts, sweet sticky rice, condensed milk and chocolate syrup.  Found on any Thai street, especially in the markets) for dessert. Surprisingly, the dessert was the least cool thing about the meal, although I hear if we would have opted for the affogato instead, it would have been a different story.

Citizen Ruth

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♦♦♦♦
3070 SE DIVISION ST.
PORTLAND, OREGON
$$

I absolutely loved this extremely progressive, feminist store. I was having a blast perusing the shop. What stuck out most to me was a collection of children’s books lining a wall with a revolution sign over it. Each children’s book taught a lesson about being different, unique, and absolutely okay with that. The rest of the store contained different crafts from local artists and quirky knick knacks that had faces such as Frida Kahla screaming their message.

Powell’s Books

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♦♦♦♦
1005 W BURNSIDE ST.
PORTLAND, OREGON
$

Powell’s Books is a bookworm’s fantasy land. I was absolutely blown away by the selection of books, both new and used. Mike and I separated our ways and we were there for an hour and a half before we found each other again. I posted up and grabbed a book from the shelves and read it in it’s entirety front cover to back cover. I then moved on to another until Mike found me. How do we get one of these in Orange County?!

Multnomah Whiskey Library

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♦♦♦♦
1124 SW ALDER ST.
PORTLAND OREGON
$$$

I gave up drinking alcohol for two reasons. At some point, I realized how much money goes towards being a social drinker. I was never one to guzzle the stuff on the daily (or the weekly, even), but buying alcohol in public or even from a grocery store can add up. So one day, I quit cold turkey. The other reason was that I just wanted to be a healthy individual and be without the tiredness the day after a good night. The exception to the rule is when we travel. In Germany, I allowed myself a beer at Oktoberfest and in Mexico City, I allowed myself one cocktail when we were dining at Pujol. In Oregon, we swung by Multnomah Whiskey Library per my sister’s recommendation and I decided to break the fast once for one day. We ordered three cocktails, all of which were superb. Their collection of alcohol was very impressive. The knowledge of our bartender Jackson was great. Per his recommendation Mike had an Improved Old Fashion, and I ordered a Huckleberry Revival. We ended our drinking session with a drink that had tumeric in it.

LucLac

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♦♦
835 SW 2ND ST.
PORTLAND, OREGON
$

We went to LucLac after Multnomah Whiskey Library because it was walk-able and we wanted time before we drove again, so dinner served as a good occupation for our time. We were lucky enough to get the last available seat before those in line had to wait for tables. To be completely honest, I thought the food was very mediocre. I gave it two stars because I didn’t think it was a waste of time, but since there were so many other great eats in Portland, I’d say it was just hyped and not a “MUST-SEE”. I thought the taste of the food was pretty bland. We both ordered vermicelli plates (Mike got the combo and I got the pork), but there wasn’t much flavor to them. I have eaten better vermicelli plates elsewhere, I guess. Mike liked this restaurant enough though to rate it as top four on the list of all the places we ate at, so that’s something worth considering.

Multnomah Falls

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$

Unfortunately, due to the recent fires last September 2017, the Multonomah Falls is closed. We did not know that when we went there. We were pretty happy to still get to see it (Mike has hiked up to the top on a previous trip). The great thing was that we learned it was closed so that we could tell our friend who is going up there this weekend that it may not be worth the $60/person bus ride he purchased for him and his S/O to simply step out of the bus to look at the falls from below. I can’t imagine what we would have felt like if we paid to see the falls, only to learn that we literally step off the bus to see the falls. So it gets a rating of one diamond, only because for now, it is not worth the time.

Broder Cafe

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♦♦♦♦
2508 SE CLINTON ST.
PORTLAND, OREGON
$$

This brunch place is fantastic! Broder has two other Portland locations, but this just happened to be walking distance to us (yet again, another five minute walk!). The morning was moody, perfect for a warm Nordic breakfast. Mike and I split the Aebleskivers (danish pancakes that are more like soft doughnuts served with lemon-tart custard and lingonberry jam) and the Pytt I Panna (with charred onions, asparagus, and roast mushroom). Our biggest regret? Getting the 4 count of the pancakes and not the 6 count!

Pistils Nursery

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♦♦♦♦
3811 N MISSISSIPPI AVE
PORTLAND, OREGON
$$

This nursery was right next door to Jory, so on our second visit to the coffee shop, we decided to swing by. It had a great collection of both indoor and outdoor plants with beautiful vases and coffee table books, all about green living things. As you can probably tell from the photos, I was very excited to be there. I also debated whether it would be wise to carry a cactus back home with me to California on a plane ride.

Bollywood Theater

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♦♦♦
3010 SE DIVISION ST.
PORTLAND, OREGON
$

We hardly get Indian food, mostly because there is no good Indian food where we live. Most of the time, it is a hit or miss for me. We decided that prior boarding the plane, we want food in our bellies that will get us through the rest of the day. We each ordered a small plate of Indian curry and my mouth is salivating just thinking of it. Or maybe I’ve been writing about food for way too long. I ordered the Goan Style Shrimp (shrimp with curry leaves, chile, coconut milk and lime. Served with saffron rice), and Chicken Curry (Bone-in thigh and leg with an aromatic and creamy curry. Served with saffron rice). 

Eb & Bean

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♦♦
3040 SE DIVISION ST.
PORTLAND, OREGON
$

This colorful store was right next door to Bollywood Theater and also houses a collection of chocolate from The Little Nib! We had planned to grab ourselves a sweet little something before we headed off to our flight. I had a Brown Sugar Strawberry Ricotta frozen yogurt on a vegan waffle cone and Mike got the Salty Pistachio (with Almond Milk) on a vegan waffle cone as well. It was very good, and I am sure it would have been better if we had added toppings to it. However, I am just not as big a lover of frozen yogurt as I am of ice cream, hence the lower rating.

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