Here’s
the part where you think I’m going to tell you I got a master’s in Travel
Planning, I traveled around the world on 17 cents a day or I fly twice a week
to rack up frequent flyer miles. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I’m just a
normal traveler like you. I’ve put in tons of hours of research and personal
trip planning to learn everything I know about how to save money on my trips –
and I actually use those tips when I
travel to be able to do everything I want. I can’t afford to fly to Australia
or South Africa without saving money and I don’t have the luxury of being able
to drop everything and travel just because I find a good deal.
I
love, love, love to do research on destinations and find deals. I have been
budget traveling since I started
traveling, so I am constantly adding ideas to my repertoire. Friends and family
were always jealous of the trips I was taking, and then totally surprised when
I would tell them how much I saved. Soon, they were asking me for tips on how
they could save money to go where they had always dreamed of going. When they
started asking for their own family and friends, I knew I could help everyone at once (including all of you!) by starting this blog and growing a social media following. In my circle, I
was considered an expert. Now my circle is much bigger, and growing, and I’m
still giving expert advice.
I
travel much like everyone else. I take a big vacation once a year and several
smaller trips to break up the long months in between. I feel like if I was
lucky enough to win the lottery, I wouldn’t change much of my travel style –
though I would love to fly first-class or on a private jet just once – except I
would travel more. I’d still want to get a great deal, because there’s no sense
in wasting money if you don’t have to.
My goal is to show that you can travel and you can go further and do
more, while spending less than you probably thought possible. Because I don’t
save money by staying in hostels, sleeping on couches of strangers, going
camping or sleeping on buses (planned, anyway), I don’t expect you to either. I
eat out, sleep in comfy beds and see all the sights. I compromise by packing
less, doing laundry, making a few meals, using coupons/promo codes, among many other things.
When
I’m not traveling, blogging, freelance writing*, or searching the internet for
deals, you can find me hanging out at home with my husband and senior pup in
Portland watching great (and sometimes
really bad) movies, getting groups together for monthly brunches, and working to plan Harry Potter-themed fandom events for charity through the non-profit I help head. My idea of hiking is climbing the steps to the top of a monument and my idea of being outdoorsy is making my way from one museum to another or going to a botanical garden. I believe every destination has cool stuff, even if you feel like a place is boring. You just need to look for things and be open-minded.
Thanks so much for visiting my
blog and learning more about me. Don’t forget that you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and Pinterest and can get my posts sent
directly to your inbox by email or sign up for my newsletter.
*need a guest poster,
ghostwriter, or blogger? Email me at srayle (at) comcast (dot) net
to find out how to hire or collaborate with me.
