I don’t buy Burberry (though I dream of it), or Saint Laurent handbags (even when they are beyond perfect) or – as a matter of fact – clothing over $100. I live quite frugally, with two lovely roommates and a car that could give up on me at any moment. I do all of this so that I can spend my money on the things that really matter to me: adventures.
I am strangely bad at budgeting. If there are restraints, I will break them; but if I’m only conscious in the back of my mind I have excellent self control, which is why I devised the strategy of paying myself in order to save money. The main place I exercise this restraint is with lunches and you wouldn’t believe the difference it has made.
When I started my new job in October, I found myself taking any opportunity to get outside, which normally meant walking to a store to buy lunch. I was dropping FAR too much money (and gaining weight), but the idea of cutting back simply for the sake of cutting back was too existential. So I devised a scheme to earn money whenever I didn’t spend money. I keep a sticky note next to my computer screen charting my contributions to the travel fund:
- $8 every day I don’t buy lunch (though really I’m saving $10 or $12 – after all, not everything can go to a plane ticket)
- $1 if I eat a salad (motivation for the waist line)
- $2 on the rare occasion I make it to the gym
Since January, I have saved $546 by bringing my lunch and by being better about eating salads. With this, I’ve also completely cut out grocery store vegetable purchases and rely exclusively on the farmers market, which saves money, makes me healthy, and contributes to the local community. And, of course, when I do travel it is always on the skinniest of shoe strings – but more on that after this trip. Between this and my tax rebates, Croatia is paid for in advance and I can still pay back my monthly student loan payments. Success!
The Travel Log(ue) 