Travel: a resource war on the wallet

The best thing about travel, besides the trip itself, is being able to experience it all without breaking the bank. While sometimes we just have to go all out and treat ourselves to elite hospitality, other times it is not only necessary to keep a budget, but doing so can also make a trip more interesting. It’s undoubtedly true that most people enjoy a challenge from time to time, and never will travel fail to provide the opportunity to be given a multitude of challenges. Think about it, when visiting a new city, in a short period of time you’re trying to master navigation of that city, learn the subways or bus system, find the good-off the mainline-restaurants, figure out the currency, memorize a few words and phrases for getting around, and so on. And this can be just over a three-day weekend. Oh, and that doesn’t include the safety aspect of traveling; that alone is a task of its own. We probably underestimate just how great of multi-taskers we actually become when travelling.

“When returning home from a trip, a person should feel rejuvenated and motivated to go again, not feeling like they have to postpone the next one because they just can’t afford it.”

As we all know, traveling can become expensive quick. However, if you’re conscientious about spending and how or where or what money goes to, you’ll also see that you may surprisingly come in under budget by the end of the trip. And while you may have a few ways of your own to save those pennies, here are a couple of options we’ve given you to consider:

• Food trucks and fruit carts

Think about it, a trip may be a good time to trim down the caloric intake and eat healthy for a change. While there are plenty of possibilities to overdo it on eating, many tourist dense cities will offer plenty of fruit cart options. If you are the kind of person who keeps a bag on you while walking around, its too easy to have a few apples, bananas, or otherwise close to you, so that when you do feel the need to snack, you can do so with a healthy and very inexpensive piece of fruit. And not only are fruit carts handy, but food trucks are also a great way to experience local cuisine (especially if you plan to visit Thailand); they are far less expensive then a restaurant dining, saving you the cost of service and plated food.

Photo by Héctor Martínez on Unsplash

•  Public transportation

How great is it to be able to move around a large city for the cost of pennies on the dollar? Even in a large city like Manhattan, a person can literally traverse the city for less than $10, which a strong contrast to what they may pay in taxi or Uber fees. And if for some reason they decide to use their own vehicle, the cost of parking, gas, and time costs far outnumber the public transportation ones. And speaking of time costs, how great is it to be delivered close to the location you are planning to visit, and NOT have to worry about finding a parking space or feed a meter? Nope, instead you can step off the station and just head straight in.

• Minimize amenity needs

Sites like Airbnb and VRBO have really made the travel experience a much more personal and affordable one for many. It used to be either overpriced and under-quality rooms at a hotel, or cheap and even further under-quality rooms at a different hotel. Or, there was always the option for luxurious, but that’s no money saver. Though today we have the choice to experience a new place from the perspective of a local; at least to some degree. Renting a flat from a local is a great way to weed out those unsavory locations, save money, and even better, have the opportunity to cook your own meals. Sure you won’t have the room service or ice machine down the hall, but you WILL have a unique setup of your own, and for a better price. And if that option is still too expensive, there are always the hostels.

Just remember at the end of the day, there are options for saving money and minimizing costs; you just have to look around. Travel does not have to leave a person feeling broke or anxious about having spent too much on unnecessary things. When returning home from a trip, a person should feel rejuvenated and motivated to go again, not feeling like they have to postpone the next one because they just can’t afford it. Take some time before your next trip and research your options, bring a comfortable bag, research the public transportation day rates, and prepare to experience some amazing food options. And that’s all we have to say about that!

For simple travel planning and building a master itinerary, check out: https://www.planiversity.com

“Winging it” doesn’t cut it

Tasked by time constraints, moving with the lines, travel requirements and personal needs, whilst attempting to pull last-minute information together, there are always some who fail to prepare, although knowing that doing so will make things flow smoother. It is a time-consuming process to sift through information, pull out what’s essential, and organize it all; but it’s repeatedly done because that’s mostly what travelers know best. Yet there are many who know to anticipate what’s coming, because they know that when they’ve  consolidated and prepared, they’re ahead of the game.

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In 2012, authors John Crotts and Anita Zehrer published a book titled, ‘An Explanatory Study of Vacation Stress,’ identifying through analysis where in travel the greatest areas of stress originate. This publication quickly became furthered by independent travel bloggers and online influencers since. To echo an article published in 2016 by an independent online travel influencer, about those surveyed in the making of the book, “The participants reported that the most stressful part of their trip was actually the trip planning stage, followed by traveling to the destination, and finally the actual stay at the destination(s).” The author also writes, “The most stressful part, which many people may not anticipate, begins before they even leave their homes in the planning stage.” Makes sense…

Uninformed, ill-prepared, and behind schedule; there’s no need for it. While there are just some circumstances out of our control, most travel stress we bring on ourselves. I’ve been there. I’ve been the guy who digs through his email to find the e-boarding pass two minutes before boarding, who has his itinerary somewhere else, and who is attempting to book a rental car on his phone, while clinging to the last few minutes of free airport WiFi in a foreign country. I can confidently say, to start right reduces a significant amount of stress, anxiety, and confusion. However, I had to know what wrong looked and felt like before fully developing an appreciation for right.

“When one knows what to expect, they keep circumstances within, or close to within their control.”

Time management is usually within our control, and so is planning. The best that a traveler can do to eliminate the potential for stress is ensure that they’ve done the best that they can to prepare for the trip, as well as prepare for the unexpected. Let go of the winging it, even if you think ‘winging it’ will reduce the amount of stress. Some people think that planning leads to expectation (and it does) and when expectation fails, they are forced to deal with stress and adapt. But studies show that the more prepared a person is, the less they are likely to experience stress; that can be applied to almost anything.

Admittingly, there is some adventure in just going where the wind takes you, but that isn’t something that can easily be embraced by the many travelers working on a timeline, traveling for business, or going somewhere for a purpose. When one knows what to expect, they keep circumstances within, or close to within their control. When the choice to forego preparation is made, and impromptu decision-making valued, it should not be a surprise when frustration creeps in. Take the time the plan in advance, have your ducks in a row, consolidate your information, and know where things are.

Check us out at https://www.planiversity.com

Like anything, experience has to be earned.

Experience changes an individual, often for the better and in permanent ways. So why should it not be fought for, sweat for, bank breaking for, and earned? Many believe that the best things in life are free; that’s true if those things are air, sun, and a view of the stars at night. But in reality, most things today are not free. Not the water we drink, nor the resources we depend on, the grass that we walk on, and even falling in love; it all has a cost. And with the exception of love, those things just sustain, not change us.

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”

~ Helen Keller

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If a picture is worth a thousand words, where are we with experiences? Stagnation is a sad reality, but growth through learning about more than we are, seeing more than we know, and pondering more than we commonly conceive is priceless…I’d say. Therefore, the best way to learn, see, and conceive more is through experience, and that is what travelling is best for. To be clear, a person does not have to jump on a plane and fly halfway around the world in order to feel like they are legitimately traveling; a neighboring state will do just fine. Although, an opportunity to experience the way a foreign culture lives can promote tremendous perspective in all of us.

Logically speaking, its not the actual experience that brings anyone change. Instead, it is the result of an experience that yields the high returns. The actions–our experiences– those are just the means; the vehicle, if you will. But the result, the facilitator of change in all of us, that must be earned. And the cost…not always a financial dilemma. Rather, the cost of change (of experience) is fortitude; its facing a fear of the unknown, stepping outside the comfort zone, and taking away the most comfortable aspect in our lives, and that is control. Without control a person is powerless, and vulnerability is the absence of control, something travel presents an abundance of.

According to multiple sources, common reasons for avoiding traveling include the following: no one to travel with, can’t afford it, the element of danger out there, a lack of time and vacation days, language barrier, logistical nightmares, and germs (LOL). What these reasons all boil down to is a lack of resourcefulness and/or fear. Overcoming a fear of the unknown, fear of loss, fear of leaving the comfort zone, it’s not what we are designed to endure. Our brains are designed to do one thing, and one thing only; keep us alive. A desire…that goes beyond survival. It’s take guts and a real f***it kind of attitude to say “to hell with familiarity and comfort, I want to know and see more.”

Like most things in life that aren’t handed to us, we need to earn it. We need to put in, in order to be able to take out something in return. Experiences make a person grow. They formulate differing perspectives, intelligence, understanding, and debate. If you want the experience, you aren’t going to have it given to you. To learn about the world you don’t know, you will have to take yourself from the one you do. And it will cost. It will make you nervous, intimidated, and timid, until you return home a different person than the one who left. OF COURSE it comes with a cost, but almost anything worthwhile does, so you have to make the effort to be someone other than the person in you who refuses to change. You have to actually try, and want to be and know more. Jim Rohn once said, “if you think trying is hard, wait until you get the bill for not trying.”

So, if you want to know what the cost of experience is, it’s life as you know it. And whether a person chooses to experience all that life has to offer or not, they should know that they will pay in any case. Pay for the experiences now, or pay for the regret later. It’s something to think about.

The travel destination represents you as a person?

There’s a reason why we choose the destinations that we do, and it’s not a simple as basing it on the aesthetically pleasing photos that Google has just revealed in your search for trip ideas.

“Energy is always a good indicator of where on the scale you are.”

In a 2017 article posted by the Huffington Post, travelers were identified as representing one of multiple identifiable personality traits in choosing the type of vacation that they want to have. People could range from being the classic or posh traveler, to the chill or offbeat, to the artsy or daydreaming traveler. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that where a person decides to spend their time has something to do with their individual likes or dislikes; obvious, right? But the decision to go somewhere you’ve never been comes not from a place of curiosity, but rather from a place within the brain that represents who a person is as an individual; it’s a clue which reveals their inner most personal design.

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Lovers of romance and traditional or classic aesthetics are more likely to find themselves wandering the streets of Paris, while the thrill-seeking adventurer type, who prefers the offbeat style, would more often find themselves in an area where they can participate in a more active lifestyle. This doesn’t mean that there is no mental flexibility, as all of us have taken trips to destinations that we just want to see, even though we lack a sense of true excitement while there. For example, historical sites are often an interesting find, but without having that true passion for history, with all the appreciation for what it represents, energy will be lower.

Energy is always a good indicator of where on the scale you are. A vacation to an area that is less aligned with a person’s personality is likely going to be met with less enthusiasm, a.k.a. low energy. However, in getting to visit those places that we’ve longed to see, we become charged, excited, and more inclined to get out of the hotel room and soak in as much of it as we can while the opportunity is present. Even if the trip is to just chill and soak up some sun on the beach or horseback riding at a ranch in the mountains, a person will feel that sense of being in the right place, rather than just experiencing something for the sake of experience.

When people go to where they feel more aligned with their interests, energy in them is higher, and the sense of being in the right place more in focus. An understanding of this concept can shed light on who we are deep down. Are we more romantic and traditional, or do we need a rush and sense of non-stop adventure? Or maybe does nothing more than falling off the grid completely recharge us? Wherever a traveler decides to spend their time and enrich their sense of exploration, you can be sure it has more to do with their personality than just what they find interesting in general. Having said that, have you ever thought about what your travel choices say about you?

What type of person does your destination reveal? It’s something to think about.

Why traveling says more about you than you think

A departure flight from Nuremberg, Germany to Istanbul, and then on to Tel Aviv, with an arrival of 5:30 a.m. Hit the ground, collect the baggage, head to customs, and then onto a taxi, hopefully getting to a bed sooner than later. Sleep sounds more than ideal, but the sun is already up and the body is fading towards shutdown mode, while the mind is becoming active with every passing minute into the day. Wanting desperately to get some shuteye, the Airbnb flat can’t be checked into for another five hours, so then the choice to grab a hotel room–just to be able to nap–is what happens.

There’s no fear, no regret, and no hesitation to step into a reality other than the one they are most comfortable with.

This was the introduction into one of my travel experiences, in the not so distant past. It was a stressful trip initially, but the thought to avoid travelling again never once came to mind.

Christmas time, 2017, hit the road later in the day, bound for Quebec City (QC), Canada. Traffic thins, temperatures are dropping, the roads of upstate New York are becoming more saturated in snow and ice; something virtually non-existent in the Philadelphia area at that point. Close to crossing the Canadian border and still no word from the Airbnb host, and knowing that cellular service will soon be lost, a decision is demanded in that situation, and once again–just to be able to sleep–a hotel room gets booked. An overnight stay on the outskirts of Montreal, then onto QC to haggle over the first day’s booking cost for a flat unoccupied the night before. Again, the thought of travelling does not become discouraged.

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Travelling is–and always will be–an addiction for many. It’s a sensory experience that rarely goes as planned. Unless you are on a business trip and following a schedule, your time is yours and its subject to the extensive list of experiences that one can add to their individualistic bag. The things that stun and thrill travelers equally–an inability to speak the language, no knowledge of and discovering the hot (less touristy) spots, authentic cuisine, and getting to talk to people from a completely different walk of life–are what keeps them coming back for more.

Like many things in this world, the experience offers a number of stressors, likely to question the less adventurous why travelers do it as often as they do. But the simple, and yet strangely complex, answer…they don’t know. Travelers are special breed; a specific type of individual wired for and geared towards a love for the unknown. They love being out of their element and know that every experience gained in a far away place is just another notch in their adventured personalities. There’s no fear, no regret, and no hesitation to step into a reality other than the one they are most comfortable with. Being a traveler means being adaptive; someone who makes necessary split second decisions, has a sharp sense for independence, and a heightened posture of survivability.

Every traveler knows and can identify many people in and around their circle, who are less than willing to put themselves out of the comfort zone, and yet the traveler cannot seem to mentally identify with that concept. I alone know more than ten people who have never traveled farther than the neighboring state or set foot on an airplane. The traveler, he or she isn’t wired for limitations, for permanence in the comfort zone, or for letting a fear of the unknown trump the feeling of experiences. Being a traveler says a lot about a person, more so than it does to speak against them. They may be a lot of other things in their lives, and in some areas they may be much less. But one thing they will not be in the end is a person who regrets not living to learn and to experience the unknown.

All this is the reason why a traveler is much more than they appear to be on the surface; it’s just not something for everyone.