Thrive - Your Money Mom

Five Things to Do–Instead of Spend Money– on Black Friday/Cyber Monday

December 2, 2019 by Nancy

Yes, I’ve already bought things today.

Full transparency: This year, I have spent money on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. And you probably have, too. But let’s talk about what you can do other than spend money, or even much money, on these busy buying days.

If you’re curious on my purchases, there was a gas stop and grocery stop on Friday, and one online Black Friday deal gift for a teeanger. (In general, I try not to venture out to stores on this day).

Today, aka Cyber Monday, I have made three purchases for Christmas gifts, including another one of our beloved weighted blankets (this one, in particular, with a $40 off coupon), but we have quite a variety of weighted blankets in our family collection. We have had weighted blankets since before they were cool!

But let’s turn to ways to have fun without recreational shopping. These can be true for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or any day within this holiday season.

One: Hiking

One of our family mottos is “Everything tastes better after a hike.” And yes, I am the one who created that motto.

[In fact, when I was at FinCon in September, I told several Motley Fool staffers when I met them that “everything tastes better after a hike” would be my “motley” (This podcast episode describes what a “motley” is and how Fool staffers decide on theirs). But I digress.

Hiking is a big tradition for our family, especially on Black Friday. We actually prefer hiking in the cooler weather, and Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks are prime

Here are two helpful websites/apps that are good for getting started with hiking:

The Hiking Project

The Hiking Project is a “crowd-sourced trail guide built by outdoor enthusiasts just like you.” It is sponsored by outdoor outfitter REI, and has a wealth of information about hiking itself as well as thousands of specific trails.

All Trails

All Trails “helps people explore the outdoors with the largest collection of detailed, hand-curated trail maps as well as trail reviews and photos crowdsourced from a community of 10 million registered hikers, mountain bikers and trail runners.”

Two: Movie Marathons

We have had a tradition of actually going out to a movie in the theater on Black Friday, but it did not happen this year. Yes, that does involve spending money, but depending on the movie, it can be more family-friendly than shopping. We have a local theater with relatively inexpensive tickets and downright cheap concessions, so it can be a bargain.

An alternative is something fun and festive: a movie marathon of a series of movies. Some favorites could be:

*the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (and maybe The Hobbit Trilogy, but I didn’t love those as much).

*The Chronicles of Narnia movies that were made in the early 2000s;

*a marathon of Jane Austen movies (I personally would start with the 1995 Pride & Prejudice–free to stream if you have Amazon Prime) ;

*Movies or series based on the novels of Elizabeth Gaskell that have been produced by the BBC in recent years. North & South is excellent, and also free to stream on Amazon Prime. Wives & Daughters is also a great series, and also free. The several versions of Cranford are also lovely, but not free.

*The Harry Potter movies are a perennial favorite for marathons. From what I can tell, you can stream the movies on demand at USA Networks, if you have a cable provider. And usually around this time of year, they are broadcast on television.

Even if you do not have Amazon Prime or a cable provider, these movies are easy to obtain at the library.

Three: Christmas, Holiday Crafts, and Baking

This is a perennial favorite, even for those who are not generally crafty. (And if you truly hate crafts, you should just do more hiking!)

At Thanksgiving we have done something similar to these oreo turkeys, but there are innumerable other holiday and Christmas crafts to do with kids or kids-at-heart. Search Pinterest for more ideas than you could possibly ever use, and choose crafts that involve things you already have around the house.

You can also get a head start on Christmas cookie baking or other holiday baking.

I find recipes from Sally’s baking blog especially well-designed and usually reliable, and her Cookiepalooza is going on now.

Four: Planning for 2020

Last year, I used a wall calendar like this for annual planning, but I started the process during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. That definitely did not leave enough time to plan. While I love to plan, not everyone does in our family, so extra time is needed.

This year I hope to have more success by “chunking” the year into quarters. We have already begun talking about goals for the first quarter–such as one college visit with our high schooler; an overnight trip for some combination of our family (maybe just Mom & Dad); and more. I hope to have these dates firmed up well before mid-December, but in future years, trying to actually get the dates down on the day after Thanksgiving will be a goal.

Five: Begin De-Cluttering in Advance of Christmas

Remember last January, when Marie Kondo‘s Netflix show was all the rage? (I even wrote a blog post about the phenomenon back then on Clarus Money Coaching, my coaching website–and hey, it’s another “Five” post–I sense a trend!)

One of the things I love about December is that it is also the liturgical New Year for Catholics and many Christians. Advent begins a new year, and since we are Catholic we try to celebrate that way. De-cluttering and getting rid of things, especially when new stuff will inevitably .

We try to work on this each week of Advent until Christmas, and then also decorate for Christmas gradually as we clean/declutter a room.

Six: Giving

I know the title of this blog post says “five,” but I wanted to be sure to include giving, as it is so important during this season.

Giving Tuesday is a recent thing, but generosity during Advent and Christmas time is a timeless tradition.

Why not get a head start on choosing charities, actual giving, or scheduling time to review this part of your money plan? Here are a few articles about creative ways to give.

*Our Next Life: Free & Cheap Ways to Give In Early Retirement. Tanja and her husband are part of the FIRE community, but her advice about giving is helpful in sparking ideas.

*Physician on Fire: The Donor-Advised Fund–A Smarter Way to Give. This gives a good overview of what a donor-advised fund is, and why it is a great way to maximize your ability to give.

Now it’s your turn–do you do anything special that does not involve money for Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday?

Takeaways from My First Time at FinCon

September 20, 2019 by Nancy

2021 update: I attended my third FinCon, and I wrote about it here. Reading this makes me a little nostalgic for pre-pandemic optimism. 🙂

A few weeks ago I attended my first ever FinCon and it was amazing. I am still recovering, but in a good way.

What is FinCon?

FinCon, for those of you not familiar with it, is a conference for “money nerds,” as people in the personal finance space are fondly known. The slogan for FinCon is “Where Media & Money Meet.” The goal of FinCon is to “Help financial influencers and brands create better content, reach their audience, and make more money.”

In the summer, I listened to this Laura Vanderkam podcast episode — “Going to a Conference? Do This.”–in which she recommended that people not worry so much about attending every session at a conference you are attending, but rather seek out time one-on-one with attendees, like having coffee with others.

At the time, I had already signed up for FinCon, and started pondering how I could make that happen. The Facebook group for FinCon has nearly 4,000 members, a podcast, regular emails, an app, and I just felt overwhelmed by it all.

At some point during the summer, I realized that since this was my first FinCon, I would just go to soak up the information, the atmosphere, and keep an open mind about what I would learn.

I am so glad that I did, and I am even more glad that I went to FinCon.

My experience at FinCon

The conference was held in early September in Washington, DC. I was able to get a room at the Washington Hilton, where the conference was held. That was a smart move.

I could write volumes about FinCon, all I learned ,and what happened, but let me try to focus my thoughts on a few big takeaways from my first FinCon. This could be helpful to others attending FinCon in future years, anyone attending a conference of any kind, and

Money nerds are congenial.

FinCon is for financial journalists, influencers, and services. Virtually all of the people I met, from my fellow FinCon-goers, the speakers, and the vendors, were terrific and friendly. I truly feel a part of a community of people.

Managing your energy and time is vital at a big conference.

One afternoon I hit overwhelm with people and sessions, and I took a long walk in the neighborhood (Dupont Circle). That was also the day I met my sister who lives in DC for dinner and talking. Worth it.

The Virtual Pass may be a good idea.

The sessions themselves are pretty darn valuable. But as noted above, you cannot attend everything, and you may want some time to yourself.

At first I wasn’t going to get the Virtual Pass for FinCon 2019, because I thought, when am I going to have the chance to watch all of those.

But I decided to do so for two main reasons:

*missing a few sessions and getting to see them has been super helpful. For instance, I met Michelle Black in an elevator and asked her to give me the “elevator talk” of her session, since I was meeting a sister during that time. So her talk is one of the first ones I watched. Solid information about freelance writing!

*some of the sessions I did attend, I want to rewatch (for example, the Steve Stewart session on podcasting was chock full of info).

For those who are coaches or advisers, it’s good to schedule clients right after you get back from FinCon.

I actually had scheduled a first-time session for a married couple for less than two days after I got back. And I LOVED IT. I get so much energy from helping people with their financial lives.

There is so much more to be said about FinCon, from the unique products and services offered to people, to all the bloggers, podcasters, and others I connected with.

For those involved in the financial industry of any kind, I highly recommend FinCon. I already signed up to attend FinCon 2020, which will be in Long Beach, CA.

Have you ever been to to FinCon? Do you have any questions about it?

Eating in Europe: A Moveable Feast

June 18, 2019 by Nancy

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE SEE MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

Eating good and different foods is one of the best parts of travel.

I may say this because I’m Italian, but I’m not wrong. Who would disagree?

In fact, at one point I considered titling this post, “I’m getting hungry again.”

This post is the third in a series. I’ve written about transportation and places to stay in Europe, and now food.

My overall theme here is to give you my perspective on travel in Europe. It’s one person, or really one family’s, experiences.

Other people or families do things differently—spending less or much more than we do, staying or traveling or eating in different ways—but overall I am happy with how we manage to keep well fed and happy.

(As with all travel, I make notes as I go to try to improve on future visits, so you will notice these at various places.)

Similar to my view of staying, my overall theory on food is to try local foods as much as possible. But “local” includes restaurants or locations that have multiple locations, even if they are not “chains” in the traditional American understanding of it.

The best croissants in the world

Oddly, I don’t feel that I ate as well in France as we did in England. Easily the best meal we had in France was a super-simple, but delicious, roast chicken and vegetables at the house of my daughter’s host family. But, not surprisingly, probably the best thing we ate in all of our travel were the croissants throughout Paris.

Breakfast

Let me just go through a typical day:

Breakfast: this was the best, often. It was a croissant or other pastry from a local patisserie. So delicious, and definitely worth it. Normally, if I don’t eat protein for breakfast, I will get sleepy or sluggish. But we were often walking and so busy through the day that the pastries were the right kind of fuel. Or maybe it’s something about France.

The magic of Carrefour

Lunch usually became an on-the-go meal purchased at a mini-supermarket like Carrefour. (Carrefour means crossroads in France).

What is Carrefour? There isn’t really an equivalent of Carrefour or Marks & Spencer in the U.S. These are giant grocery/store chains, like a Target, but in many cities and towns there are smaller storefronts of these stores (sometimes called “Carrefour City” or “M&S Simply Food”). Carrefour is common in France & Belgium; M&S in the UK but also in several European countries.)

These stores have a large selection of prepared foods, snacks, & drinks that ranges from pretty good to gourmet.

Wandering through a Carrefour can be a cultural experience in and of itself–what are the current popular snack foods? How many different kinds of yogurt can one offer?

So, for instance, when we arrived in Paris, we dropped our bags at our hotel room (read this post about where we stayed and why), and then headed out to walk around.

We were hungry, so we stopped at the Carrefour nearest our hotel (they are dotted throughout Paris). My daughter got a baguette sandwich, and I chose this lentil/falafel salad. It was delicious, full of legumes, nuts, and veggies. Very filling and just what I needed.

I didn’t realize this was vegan when I bought it. The nuts really made the salad.

We also got two apples and some bottles of water (more on that later). We started our walk to the Eiffel Tower, very near our hotel, and stopped in the park that runs in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Depending on how much we were purchasing, our Carrefour visits cost around $8-15 per time, and covered more than a meal for two, and usually snacks for our hotel room or wandering times.

Eating out in France

We would eat out at a restaurant about once a day, depending on our travel. And sadly, I have to say, we didn’t have a “great” meal in Paris.

(I am sharing a couple of restaurants here I have read about since we got back, to bookmark for our next visit).

Bouillon Julien

Aux Bons Crus

Next time I will plan better so that we can ensure at least one outstanding meal.

For instance, one day we stopped into a restaurant that had been recommended to us, and it was about 5:30 p.m. I thought, we probably don’t need a reservation this early because all the French tend to eat late.

Well, even though Google (which must be right!) listed the restaurant as open from noon-11 p.m., when we stopped in it was completely empty.

I thought, wow, we are going to be the absolute first ones here! A waiter came out after a few minutes to tell us that they didn’t open for dinner until 7:30 p.m.

So, because we were hungry and not up for a two-hour wait, it was back to the drawing board. We did find a place nearby, and had a decent, but not astounding, meal.

Looking ahead to my next trip to France, I will plan ahead and make sure that we double-check the hours of a restaurant, as well as plan ahead to try one of the ones we know.

Another place that we did not eat at, but I wish we had: one of the cafes at the Musee d’Orsay. The Musee d’Orsay is the wonderful museum housed in a former train station. One of these cafes is top of list for the next visit: ….

One of the charming-looking cafes at the Musee d’Orsay.

Train Picnics are THE BEST

When we took the Eurostar from Paris-London, we both chose interesting foods from the many restaurants in the Gare du Nord train station. Then we had a “train picnic.”

I chose a quiche from Paul, a patisserie chain with reliable and yummy foods around France.

We also stocked up on bottles of water, and there was likely some chocolate involved. 🙂

Food in London

Once we got to London, we actually ate better and less expensively than in France. Go figure!

When we first arrived in London, we dropped our bags off at our hotel (read about that here).

Eating out in London

We knew we were going to want to have dinner within the next few hours. On our list to return to was Dishoom (“From Bombay with love”), a British chain of Indian food with a very 40s/50s vibe, and reliably delicious Indian food.

After a quick visit to the Design Museum, a free and interesting small museum around the corner, we got to Dishoom Kensington between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., which I knew would be early, and fortunately we got a table right away.

Dishoom’s dinner menu. I’m getting hungry, again …

(Fun fact: Dishoom a sound effect in Bollywood movies, the equivalent of “kapow”).

We ordered a selection of things from the menu (lamb, chicken, and maybe chickpea dishes? I can’t remember exactly—some kind of legume, plus rice, and an order of samosas). We ate like royalty.

Just a small selection of our Dishoom feast. (note the naan on the left)

To round out our meal, we had naan, of course. Our waiter assured us that one order of (freshly baked) naan would be plenty. We raised our eyebrows at him, but trusted. Pretty much right after it arrived, we ordered another one. There can never be enough good naan, if you ask me. So delicious.

Our total for this feast for two? Less than $45.

Another repeat restaurant was Poppies’ Fish & Chips. This is one of the best and most authentic fish & chips shops. The original Poppies location is near to Spitalifields Market.

We ate a huge meal at Poppies. (I don’t think we got drinks) for $41. It surprised me how high this was, compared to our feast at Dishoom. If we had taken out (which is quite fun here, as they wrap your fish & chips in paper), it would be less expensive, but we wanted to sit down inside.

Fish & Chips at Poppies. Cod & haddock are the two offered, but we preferred cod.

Tipping in Europe

Here is one very lovely thing about dining out in Europe: tipping is less than rare, and not expected. Apparently wait staff are paid well enough without tips, and it’s not a “thing” at all.

(Dishoom in fact is considered one of the best UK employers overall to work for, according to a survey.

Food halls/markets

The “food hall/market” types of storefronts in London (and throughout the UK) are chiefly Marks & Spencer, or M&S. Other chains include Tesco, Sainsbury, and Waitrose (the latter here is more high end).

Having the M&S and other chains here points up one disadvantage of not staying in an Airbnb: no ability to heat up food.

When we rented our flat in London way back in 2010, our usual dinner was a selection of entrees from the M&S near our apartment building, and heated up in the kitchen microwave. Chicken tikka was a frequent favorite, but we also enjoyed shepherd’s pie. I did miss the ability to have that, and I wish hotel rooms often had a fridge & microwave. Note to Premier Inn: consider it?

However, you can still eat extremely well from the prepared foods that do not need to be heated, from salads to sandwiches to tea treats.

Just one of the many sections of ready-to-eat food at M&S.

I’m not going to even defend this, because no defense is needed: at least one of the evenings, scones, clotted cream, and blackcurrant jam was “dinner.”

This was actually a cream tea at Chawton House.

Breakfast of Champions

As I mentioned in my “stay” post, we added breakfast onto our room at the Premier Inn. Breakfast cost about $11 per person per day, but it was well worth the cost.

Breakfast at Premier Inn includes a large buffet of well-cooked and presented hot & cold foods, with tea, coffee, and other drinks on demand. When we were in London, we always ate a very hearty breakfast, and that would keep us full for a long time before we needed to eat again.

Am I the only American who loves Weetabix? I loved having it every morning.

The buffet at Premier Inn, including items I didn’t get but are authentically British breakfast fare, like mushrooms and baked beans.

I had to capture the black pudding here, which we actually saw a few people eating.

Random food notes & locales in London

*Ben’s Cookies, with locations around London and the UK, is surprisingly good. (and there is one location–NYC–in the USA). We purchased a small box, and they were delicious and held up well during the several days. The cookies reminded me of Insomnia cookies, a staple these days on college campuses, but they tasted much better.

*markets are a great place to consider eating a meal or sampling different foods while sightseeing or shopping. Two that are worthwhile:

1. Borough Market is popular for this, but it has gotten much more crowded than when I was last there. On this trip we arrived around lunchtime, and it was packed. We did end up having a delicious meal from one of the stands (I had a roasted chicken wrap that was amazing). We also had some delicious cheese and bread. If you’re going to visit Borough Market, I recommend arriving at an “off peak” time to avoid the crowds.

2. Spitalfields Market. I love Spitalfields so much, and food is the least of the reasons, but the food choices are amazing.

Spitalfields is not quite as big and crowded as Borough Market, but also has more non-food shopping in and around the market.

There are lots of food stands there to try, but since we were already planning on Poppies, we didn’t. Next visit we will consider trying a different fish & chips shop, and then try out one or more of the food stands.

A small but money-saving hack on water bottles

This only seems obvious once you discover it, but if you are going to stock up on water bottles for your hotel room, a train picnic, or other needs, head to the water section of the food hall/mini-supermarket, rather than at the front by the prepared foods.

So, for instance, an approximately 16 oz. bottle of water at the front of the store would be 50 Eurocents, but a much larger, 1.5 L bottle (about 50 oz), would be only 21 cents.

Have snacks, will travel …

If I have to say there is one thing that I was neglectful on this trip, it was having snacks on hand.

I should have had more non-perishable packages of nuts, trail mix, and other healthy snacks for hunger emergencies.

So note to self for next time: have maybe six servings of healthy, non-perishable, snacks on hand for the trip (and refill as needed).

Now it’s your turn. Do you have any suggestions for me for easy healthy non-perishable snacks to have on hand during travel?

And do you have a “food theory” when it comes to eating or eating out when you’re traveling?

Why I’m NOT a Fan of Airbnb, and Where We Stay Instead

June 5, 2019 by Nancy

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE SEE MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

This is the second in a series about European travel. For transport options to and around Europe, see this post.

(This is an aside that only fellow grammar-lovers will appreciate. In writing this, I have trouble with pronoun consistency—when making reservations, it’s “I,” but it’s our family (or members of our family) traveling, so sometimes it’s “we.” This article in general will stick with “I” but know that I’m talking about family travel, not solo travel).

I am definitely in the minority, but I am NOT a fan of Airbnb. I’ve used it several times, and they were all pretty horrible experiences.

That isn’t the chief reason that I don’t use Airbnb. I know a lot of other people who’ve use and enjoy Airbnb rentals, but it’s really not my “style.” So the moral of this story is to know yourself and what you like, and then stick with that for your travel.

Airbnb issues

I’m not trying to convert anyone to not use Airbnb, but I will say that I prefer the protection and security offered by staying at hotel. NY Times personal finance columnist Ron Lieber has written on this extensively, here, here, and here, among other places.

(Let me share an aside by saying that I’m not opposed to renting out a home! Our family does rent private homes, when our extended family meets for a family reunion vacation every year at the beach. But we rent through one of the many local real estate firms that offer the service).

So, now that we’ve gotten Airbnb out of the way, let’s consider other options. I am a big fan of Rick Steves, and before trips we’ve either purchased his books or borrowed them from the library.

But I don’t really love his theory on staying places—he prefers local, very small hotels and B&B type places.

Where we stay instead

In the US, I really like to stick with chains that we know, not just for points but because we know what to expect.

Here’s what I mean: if you book a Hampton Inn or an Embassy Suites, you know what to expect, generally. If it’s a newer Hampton Inn, it could be pretty nice, and if it’s older it could be a little tired, but there is a basic level and quality that can be expected. Also, you know what the breakfast is, and how to plan accordingly.

So despite it being more conventional than the typical European traveler, who might like to stay in interesting little pension, I really want comfortable, inexpensive, and no-surprises accommodations.

You may or may not be that way. If you are not, that’s fine. But if you are, you may find my experience & strategy helpful.

Staying in Paris

In Paris, we stayed at an Ibis Hotel. This is part of the Accor chain, which also includes Sofitel and Novotel. Ibis is Accor’s moderately-priced properties.

After some research on where to stay, I ended up reserving a room at the Hotel Ibis Eiffel Tower. There are quite a few Ibis hotels in and around Paris, but this seemed the best situated for our travels.

We did not add breakfast onto our room rate, since we knew we could have a delicious breakfast out and about. And it turned out our neighborhood cafe ended up having the most delicious croissants and other pastries at Merci Jerome. (There are several locations around Paris).

Would I stay there again? I think I would. It wasn’t the newest property, but it was clean and comfortable. We were very convenient to the Metro, and walking distance from a number of places. It was a safe neighborhood and we felt at home. There was a laundromat nearby for when I needed to do laundry.

Staying in the UK

In the U.K., I knew exactly where I wanted to stay, if not necessarily the exact location: Premier Inn.

As I often tell people when I mention where we stayed, Premier Inn is like the UK version of a Hampton Inn or an Embassy Suites hotel. It’s consistent, reliable, and everywhere. I’ve stayed at about half a dozen Premier Inns, and they’ve all been great

Premier Inn has many locations all around London, which is where we wanted to base, and throughout the UK, Scotland, and Ireland. The last time we stayed in London, we stayed at the Premier Inn London Holborn. It was very convenient and a newer property, which always helps.

This most recent time, we stayed at the Premier Inn Earls Court, and we will definitely stay there next time we go. That’s because it had a lot of everything we needed within a few blocks: the Tube, a very nice laudromat, a lovely Marks & Spencer Food Hall (more on that in a post on eating). We could also walk a lot of places, including the V&A Museum, one of our favorites.

Premier Inn does offer a breakfast, but it’s for an additional charge. We did because it’s such a hearty offering and I love full English breakfasts. Breakfast added on around $12/person/day to the room. More on that in the “eating” post.

Why I Heart Premier Inn

The cost for Premier Inns varies a lot, due to when you’re traveling, but it offers a great benefit in that if you book far ahead, you can save tons of money.

So, for instance, I put in several dates a number of months out. I chose three times that US families might travel to the UK: Thanksgiving week, Christmas week, and a typical spring break.

The prices for a 2-person room started at low as 40 GBP per night for the room—that’s just a little over $50 at current rates. That is astounding to me (and makes me want to advocate for a trip to London soon for our family!)

I don’t know how you could do that in a US city of the same size. Imagine getting a nice hotel room in a very nice location in NYC or Chicago for $50/night, as long as you booked several months in advance.

Downsides to hotel stays

Nothing is perfect, of course. The chief downsides of staying at a hotel or hotel chain (instead of an apartment) in Europe are:

*no kitchen to store or prepare food. This is a downside. When our entire family traveled to London in 2010, AirbnB did not exist, and we used an apartment rental service called The Apartment Service. (http://www.apartmentservice.com/).

I loved our London apartment so much! We had a washer/dryer, two bathrooms, heated towel racks in the bathrooms, and more. Our kids were a lot younger and it made a lot of sense to be all in one place. And we enjoyed getting to prepare and store perishable food. I might consider using the service again if we were there for an extended time, but for a short visit the Premier Inn makes the most sense.

*in Europe, rooms are smaller, and usually only fit a maximum of three people. (So, for instance, when our family of five traveled, we got two rooms at a Premier Inn).

*there’s usually not a whole lot of “character.” But when traveling abroad, you’re already experiencing the culture and the character of this different country. Having a reliable, expected place to stay is 100 percent worth it for me.

Other options for staying:

Religious Guest Houses

When our family traveled to Italy last year, we stayed in a chain hotel in Rome (long story/no breakfast/lovely accomodations).

But when we traveled to Assisi, we stayed in a convent guest house. It was lovely, for a lot of reasons, and I would do that again.

Friends of ours gifted us this book before our Italy travels, and it had a lot of great information about staying in convents.

Now it’s your turn. If you’ve traveled internationally, where do you stay? You won’t convince me to use Airbnb again, but if you do, what are the benefits for you?

Planes, Trains & Shoe Leather: Traveling to and around Europe

May 29, 2019 by Nancy

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE SEE MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

This it titled “Planes, Trains, and Shoe Leather” because that is basically the three forms of transportation we used on our recent trip to Europe. To learn a little more of how I accumulated travel rewards that I used to “pay” for parts of this trip, read this post, “Credit Card Rewards: A Beginner’s Guide.”

Getting There (and Back)

Airlines

In recent years, we have flown on Norwegian Airlines. I have found their flights convenient and comfortable.

Unfortunately, coming home from this trip we had a less than ideal flying experience, as we were moved to a different airline without notice. I would still fly Norwegian again, so I’m not going to go into all the details about how it all happened. I will probably write up our experience in a future post. One takeaway for me is to double check all the details. Also I will make sure that we have downloaded things to read, listen to, and watch, a must-have on the to-from European flights. Most airlines have extensive free video and audio selections on a seat-back video screen, but if you end up on an airline without that and none of your own diversions, it could feel like a too-long journey.

Norwegian flies to a lot of destinations in Europe, especially if you start on the US East Coast, but from Chicago O’Hare, our closest international airport, the only nonstop destination is to London Gatwick. But it’s an easy train ride from Gatwick to central London, and Gatwick also offers many, many flights to other destinations in Europe. It’s a great starting point.

specific tips for booking on Norwegian Airlines

Some of my tips on booking Norwegian (many of these are also true on any international flight):

*book several months in advance for best rates & seats.

*book on the UK Norwegian website. It will still be in English, but saved me more than $50 per flight, one way, per person. I’m not sure why that is, but it has been true for every Norwegian trip I’ve taken.

*book LowFare+. This offers meals, seat reservation (vital—getting an aisle or window is alone worth the price), and 1 checked bag. The lowest price is only about $60 less than the LowFare+.

*if you book early enough, sometimes the premium seats can be surprisingly low, and they are nearly lie flat and very comfortable. I would splurge on that for going over to Europe, as you want to maximize your ability to sleep.

*book each way separately, so one transaction would be US-Europe, and a second . It doesn’t add to the price at all, and offers maximum flexibility in case you need to change your details either way. You wouldn’t have to cancel an entire trip, just the one leg.

Other ways that I have purchased inexpensive tickets to/from Europe include Aer Lingus (and it seems like a cliche, but it’s delightful how nice the Aer Lingus flight attendants are, being Irish and all). I’ve also purchased tickets after searching on Orbitz.com, and was able to book a last-minute trip very cheaply there.

To check bags or not to check bags?

I know Rick Steves and others (including many of my friends) try to travel without checking bags, but I really prefer to have the extra space.

For instance, when I went to France on this trip, I brought gifts (books and some special items) for my daughter’s host family, and then I had room in my checked bag for gifts or treats to bring home. My bag was pretty full on the way there, then by the time we went home it was also pretty full. That flexibility is worth it to me.

The bag I checked through is actually a carry-on that I got from Costco, but I don’t see that it is currently available.

The best purchase I’ve made in the last year related to travel is packing cubes , which are mesh zippered bags to organize, compress, and store your clothes gear. They helped us stay organized and fit more in than I thought possible. I’m sure everyone else already knows about them, but they are a revelation to me!

Getting Around in Europe

I was on this trip to meet one of my daughters. She had been spending several months living with a family in France. To get to her family, I used points travel to fly to NYC for free, then took Norwegian direct to Paris. I then took a flight on Air France to Bordeaux.

The Paris-Bordeaux flight was about the same price as taking the train. While I generally prefer the train, the flight saved a lot of time. AirFrance also is part of the SkyTeam alliance, which offers great value in using points for tickets.

The next day, we went back to Paris on SNCF, the French state-owned railway company. The French trains are well-run, comfortable, and relatively inexpensive. Our train was the TGV (which means “very fast train”). That took us directly to Paris Montparnasse, one of the major train stations.

grapeseed fields in France–easy to photograph from the train and so lovely

why not rent a car?

I have never rented a car in Europe. I know people who have, particularly in Ireland and other destinations. But we have just found it easy enough to get around by train.

This is one of the great benefits of traveling there, and also a lot of fun. What I love best about it is that once you’re on the train, no one in your travel group needs to do any more work. All of you can just enjoy the ride, relax, nap, etc.

Getting around Paris

Next, we took the Metro—Paris’s subway system—to our hotel near the Eiffel Tower.

I did a lot of research on the most economical way to get around on the Metro. For our three days there, it made the most sense to get a packet of 10 tickets when we needed them.

We didn’t use Uber or cabs at all. I just prefer to walk when we can, because you get a feel for the city, as well as steps on your Fitbit! Our first day in Paris we had more than 30,000 steps.

French Metro/Public transport tickets, taken next to an iPhone 6 so you can see the scale. These were purchased in groups of 10.

A packet of 10 tickets was 10 Euro, a savings from the 1.80 Euro price per ticket. We needed three sets (total of around $35) of those between the two of us, and I had a few left over. I’ll give them a friend for her mother-daughter trip to Paris this summer. We used them chiefly on the Metro, but did use them on a bus once. These tickets worked in the center of Paris, the vast majority of places that we were going to go. For more of the other options, like a daily pass, here’s more information about traveling on public transport in Paris.

We also took the SNCF train from Paris-Lisieux, and stayed in Lisieux two nights. In retrospect we could have easily done this trip as a day trip from Paris. However, I wanted to make sure that we got to see all the sights we wanted to there. If I were doing it again, I would have definitely organized Lisieux as a day trip. I would have also probably booked a one-day bus trip to the Normandy D-Day beaches or somewhere similar.

Taking the Eurostar from Paris-London

Aboard the Eurostar train–messages flash in both Frence & English. This one shows us the route of the “chunnel” train.

After our time in France, we took the Eurostar from Paris (Gare du Nord) to London (St. Pancras). I know and I’ve heard from loads of people, that it is far cheaper to fly from Paris-London. However, it is much easier and more comfortable to take a train than a plane, and the Chunnel is just as fast.

Also, the Eurostar puts you right in the middle of London, at St. Pancras station. It’s super easy from there to get wherever you want, and you don’t have to take the train or other transport (costing both time and money) . Plus , St. Pancras is adjacent to King’s Cross station, where you can go visit Platform 9 3/4 while you’re nearby.

Taking a photo at Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross Station is free,
and includes borrowing your choice of house scarf.
(This is a photo from several years ago).

Getting around London

When we arrived at St. Pancras, we immediately went to get our Oyster Cards.

I was sort of annoyed that I hadn’t found our Oyster cards, until I realized that we had borrowed ours from a local friend last time. Ha! Now, we have our own.

An Oyster card costs 5 GBP (about $6.50), and then you have to load money onto it for “Tube” or bus trips on London public transport. The Oyster card is stiff, like a heavy credit card, so it won’t get worn out, and you can re-use it on future trips, or let others use yours. (If you know me locally, I’d be happy to let you borrow ours). I put ours away with our travel items (for instance, our adaptor plugs) so that we would be able to easily find them next trip.

My records show that we used about $90 of Oyster credit (including the 5 GPB fee for both), so $45 each, for the four days that we were in London. That includes travel the last day to Gatwick Airport (which by itself is about $15).

Again, we didn’t use Uber or cabs at all, and we walked as much as possible. For any future trips, we won’t have to pay for the actual Oyster card, or the value–maybe $5 or so per ticket– that’s currently on there.

We also took a Southern Railway train part of one day to visit Chawton and the house museum of Jane Austen. This was probably in my top five of favorite memories from the trip.

Our tickets to the Jane Austen museum are good for one year. If any readers feels inspired by this account to make a trip before May 2020, I would be happy to go along, or lead a trip. Anyone care to join in?

Shoe Leather for the Win

Apart from these modes of travel, the way we got around was walked, and walked, and walked.

Not surprisingly, one of my must-haves for travel is comfortable walking shoes.

On this trip, I took three pair of shoes with me. They all worked well for days of serious walking. I rotated between them depending on what I was wearing or the weather.

Here are my shoes (or similar, as noted):

one pair of very comfortable (for me) running shoes. These are my current running shoes.
Naot Mary Janes that I purchased pre-owned on eBay to test out if they were a comfortable brand for me. (these are similar). I really liked these Naots, and the next time I need a new pair, I may splurge and get them brand new.
Skechers ballet flats that I had purchased several years ago at TJ Maxx. (these ones are very similar). Skechers are very durable, comfortable shoes to wear all day long.

After this account of all our modes of travel, tell me about yours. If you’ve traveled in Europe, what’s your favorite airline to get there? What’s your favorite way to get around?

Next, I’ll cover where we stayed on our trip, honest reviews on the places we stayed, and why I don’t use AirBnB.

How to Credit Card Rewards: A Very Basic Guide for Beginners

May 22, 2019 by Nancy

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. PLEASE SEE MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.

This is the third in a series about credit cards. For those new to credit cards or want to learn about getting your first one (or your first one for your teen), read this post. For those in credit card debt, please start with this post about paying off credit card debt.

Let’s say you follow the number one rule of credit cards: you pay them in full and on time every month. You might be a good candidate for optimizing your credit card use to take advantage of the perks and rewards offered.

First of all, I am in no way a travel rewards or travel hacking expert. There is a whole community of serious travel hackers, from travel bloggers like “Travel Rewards 101” “The Points Guy” and “Million Mile Secrets.” These websites and resources offer tons of information about all the ways that travel rewards can be accumulated, used, and optimized.

But frankly, it’s overwhelming. It was for me when I started on this journey. I still consider myself a relative novice. So I thought readers would find it helpful to have a basic primer on credit card rewards. I would have liked this when I was first learning about credit card rewards, so I created it!

My Credit Card Rewards Journey

First of all, for years and years I have loved my Discover card cash back bonuses. (this link is a referral for a $100 statement credit if you sign up).

The Discover I have offers a 1 percent cashback for all purchases, and every quarter, a 5% cash back bonuses for rotating categories. So, for instance, right now (from April through June) the Cashback bonus is for gas stations and Uber/Lyft. We are all using the Discover card to put gas in the car during this period.

I loved the Cashback bonuses because you can convert them into gift cards to dozens of restaurants, hotels, stores, & services. I usually redeem ours for Panera or other restaurant gift cards, and then we eat out “free.” Its just always been a nice little perk.

Several years ago, in a “finances” overview at our oldest’s college orientation, the mom next to me asked if she could pay for tuition on credit cards. (Turns out that wasn’t allowed at that college, though there is a way around that—for a future post). We started chatting and she mentioned that the reason she wanted to put tuition (not a small amount!) on credit cards was to get travel rewards.

As we walked out of the session, the woman told me how her husband was really into points. He had accumulated (literally) one million miles, which was going to allow their family to travel and stay in Hawaii for free.

At the same time, I heard about travel hacking on several podcasts, so I began doing a little research.

Total overwhelm quickly ensued!

First of all, there was too much information about all the different cards.

Second, many of the “travel rewards”gurus (usually single people) were using their points for things like super luxurious first-class tickets to exotic destinations.

I just wanted to find out how I, a normal mom who loves traveling with her family, could find a way to do it less expensively.

Maybe not Hawaii, but definitely Europe, and other destinations, were among my goals.

One card that came up again and again is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. (this link takes you to a page for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card). Once you obtain the bonus “Ultimate Rewards” points, you have a lot of great options for free travel.

How does a travel rewards credit card work?

The basic process is this: You sign up for a new credit card. If you meet the “minimum spend” in the time specified by the card, you are rewarded with a huge bonus of points. You can then use these travel rewards points for flights, hotels, and other free travel.

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are considered highly valuable. That’s because you can convert them into points from so many different programs, including airlines and hotels.

How we have used credit card rewards:

*many, many restaurant gift cards ($45 in Cahsback bonus = $50 in gift cards). This is my fun “eating out at Panera” or other places, without having to record it in YNAB. (You Need a Budget app–the way we keep track of our monthly spending and on target).

*free flights (on Southwest Airlines, one of our favorites) for our family to travel to a summer reunion last year. I have also booked this year’s flights with points.

*free hotels for various trips (Marriott, Hilton Honors, and IHG, chiefly).

*the Southwest Airlines companion pass. This is a pass that allows one person to fly free whenever I fly, through the end of 2020.

We actually have many more miles and points just waiting to be used, on a number of credit cards. As many people put it, the points you accumulate do not grow in value. Therefore, it’s a good idea to use them as you accumulate them. But I’m a “saver.” Having those rewards on hand for any last-minute travel or needs makes me feel good.

Objections to seeking travel rewards:

**it will hurt my credit score.*

This is not necessarily true. There may be a temporary drop in your score when you apply, especially for a “hard inquiry.”

(A potential creditor, such as a credit card, bank, or mortgage company, requesting your credit information is considered a “hard inquiry” rather than a “soft inquiry). In general, however, that score but that will bounce right back after a few months.

Everyone’s credit is different but I have actually found my credit score improving. (I have a very long length of credit, so that may help as well.)

*I can’t meet the minimum spend.

The minimum spend on the cards can range from $500 to $5,000. That must be completed within the first three months of being approved for the card. Note that that the clock starts ticking right away, not just when you receive the card, so meeting that minimum spend ASAP is critical).

You may think that you don’t spend enough on credit cards to warrant that, and I understand. But you would be surprised at how much you can put on credit cards, from your cell phone bill to all of your groceries, your utility bills, tuition payments, and more.

For tuition payments, it’s usual for them to charge you a fee, say 2 or 3 percent of the total, to put it on a credit card. That’s not ideal, but if you only need a small charge to finish meeting the minimum spend, it could definitely be worth it.

For money you’re going to be spending anyway, such as utilities, cell phone, groceries, and gas, why not be rewarded?

If, despite all this, you don’t feel you could meet the minimum spend, or it would be “too close,” I would say that it’s probably best for you to wait to consider one of the travel rewards cards. Instead, consider getting the Discover Cashback card because there is no minimum spend to begin receiving the Cashback.

*I don’t want to pay the annual fee for the card.

Many of the travel rewards cards have an annual fee. Some, but not all, waive the fee during the first year, so you can see if the card is a good fit for you. I have kept my Chase Sapphire Preferred card, despite its $95 annual fee, because it offers other perks that I find useful, but others have downgraded their cards to a more basic one. (I would NOT recommend cancelling a credit card, because that can hurt your credit score).

*I might overspend.

If this is the case, you are definitely not a good candidate for credit card rewards. Spending money you weren’t otherwise going to spend, or money you don’t have (incurring credit card debt), completely negates any positive points or rewards you would receive. It’s good to know yourself, and if this is you, stay away. There are other ways to travel inexpensively.

Key Takeaways:

**NUMBER ONE RULE OF CREDIT CARD REWARDS: YOU MUST PAY YOUR BILL IN FULL AND ON TIME EVERY MONTH*

This is the only way that credit card rewards, whether cash back, travel rewards, make any sense.

*don’t rush into anything. Consider all your options.

*for starters, consider a Cashback type of reward card.

*for travel rewards, consider Chase Sapphire Preferred (Ultimate Rewards) card as a good first card.

*for hotels, consider the Marriott Bonvoy or Hilton Honors branded credit cards. The points bonuses are generous, and these cards offer other perks while staying in the hotels.

*keep it simple.

For travel rewards bonuses: start with one card and meet the minimum spend, then repeat once you have been successful. No need to get too creative or complicated about it. Also keep track of your credit cards.

*be scrupulous about following the rules.

related to cards and points accumulation and usage. You don’t want to lose out on the points bonus because you missed the deadline.

Resources:

Here are several of the websites that I have found helpful in learning about travel rewards:

Travel Miles 101 offers a free e-mail course that is pretty manageable in introducing the concepts. The course was put together by an entrepreneur (Brad Barrett, co-host of the super-popular ChooseFI podcast) and an MD, who both take advantage of rewards in different ways. It’s helpful to see both perspectives on it.

The Points Guy is a group of travel blogs and writers who offer sooo much information on credit card rewards and using points for travel. I have found them helpful when I was transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to Southwest for free flights to our family to our family reunion trip. But it can be overwhelming at times.

Million Miles Secrets is another travel rewards site. Tons of information. Both of these are good for searching “how to” do something once you have accumulated points and want to redeem them in the best way possible.

Choose FI is the increasingly popular podcast about all things related to FIRE (financial independence, retire early) and living in a countercultural way so as to have freedom. Travel rewards is one of the “pillars” of FI (financial independence), and they have numerous articles and other resources related to it on the website. There are several podcast episodes related to just travel rewards. Well worth a listen.