Welcome to 2019

Well, 2018 has come and gone and now we're ringing in the new year and hoping for new and better things to come our way. A lot of cool things happened this past year, while also not being extremely eventful and somewhat disappointing. But, I try not to dwell on the crappy stuff and instead remember the good and hope for more of the same. 

Some of those things are below:

I brought home a ton of goodies from the Travel Goods Show and made a lot of great connections. This was the first year my mom came with me, so we did things for her birthday when I wasn't at the show. 

In late July we had our annual Harry Potter party and had a big turnout and awesome food and I got many compliments on my mermaid costume, since we were doing a Triwizard theme. You can see more pictures here. We did our normal trivia and then added in some new activities, which will be a normal occurrence to keep things fresh and exciting. 2019 will be themed Weasley Wizard Wheezes, so you know there will be some shenanigans happening.

I didn't get to go to Vegas in July as per usual, because of family issues I needed to be home for, so Eric went without me and I instead planned a trip to Disneyland in August. I originally planned to go alone, but then found out my one friend had never been and asked if she wanted to come with and she did and we made it a proper girls' trip. My friend Melisa and I spent two days at Disney, one at Universal and then two half days in Los Angeles. 

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We're wizards! Loving the double glasses on @ebott351 😂 We made it to the slightly disappointing Brews and Broomsticks Pub Crawl, but heading back tomorrow for Witches & Wizards Weekend. ⚡⚡⚡ #HarryPotter #wizardingworld #potterheads #jetsetter #jetset #ilovetravel #tourist #tourism #tblogger #tbloggers #travelblog #travel #travelblogger #travelgirl #travelgram #instatravel #traveler #traveller #budgettravel #budgettraveler #budgettraveller

A post shared by Shereen Travels Cheap (@srayle) on Oct 19, 2018 at 9:45pm PDT

Around this same time I found out that Chestnut Hill was cancelling, and then renaming, their annual Harry Potter festival, so we were bummed and then excited again. With so many ups and downs concerning it, I think a lot of people didn't end up going, so it was less crowded, but also less Harry Potter-y. It was still fun, though the rest of our Philadelphia trip was moreso and I'm still covering that in blog posts. 

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Rented out a theater for #crimesofgrindelwald to geek out with all our awesome friends. ⚡⚡⚡ #worthit #wizardsareawesome #witchesandwizards #wizardingworld #fantasticbeasts #roaring20s #newtscamander #iwantazouwu #keepthesecrets

A post shared by Shereen Travels Cheap (@srayle) on Nov 17, 2018 at 12:06am PST

I have a ton of great new friends that I met this past year who are into all the fun stuff I'm into and more. We try to get together at least once a month for a nerdy brunch (this is in addition to my Geek Girl Brunch officer duties) and also do other things when we can. This year Eric and I rented out a theater and we had a private premier party for the new Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald. People dressed up in 20s outfits or their Harry Potter gear and we played trivia and bingo before the movie started and I handed out prizes and then we all geeked out over the end.

Everyone was asking for a winter Harry Potter party, which is right when my birthday is, so I planned a mini Yule Ball. We dressed up, made magic wands that light up, had a feast and played Harry Potter Codewords (one that a new friend made me last Christmas before the official HP version actually came out this year). 

The next week we dressed up, picked up our best friends, and headed to the official Yule Ball put on by the Harry Potter Alliance. This was their second annual ball and a lot of things improved this year, including opening up the balcony to feast-goers, passed hors d'oeuvres, more bartenders, an extra bar and all the feast tables were "vanishing", leaving more room for dancing and making it seem less crowded, even though there were more people in attendance. All the proceeds from tickets and raffle sales went to charity. This year it benefited the Immigration Counseling Service and Eric and I won two tickets to A Night of Magic in Vancouver this coming August. 

I finished out 2018 strong. I took my bestie out for breakfast for her birthday on the 31st to an awesome British-American restaurant in downtown Portland. It was nice having a date with just the two of us, since normally we go out with our husbands or have all the kids. We've been friends for 30 years, so it's nice to have special moments. We wore hats for the occasion. Then I went home, and worked on things that needed to get done while watching Twilight Zone and snuggling the dog.

This year I'll be headed to Vegas twice (once in March for the Travel Goods Show and to meet up with old friends with my mom and once in July for our annual trip to NBA Summer League - and my usual solo days) and in the fall we'll be visiting Edinburgh and London, which I'm super excited about and already mentally packing for. It'll be my first time packing for a special occasion (Eric's cousin is getting married) and also for general sightseeing, in a fairly rainy, and possibly cold, time of year. 

There are plenty of things I'd like to accomplish this year as well, both personally and travel-related. A friend may be moving to England outside of London, so I've told her we need to meet up and do the Harry Potter Studio Tour together. I also want to visit Elephant House in Edinburgh, purchase a tweed jacket, drink a bunch of whisky/whiskey and genuinely enjoy family in between and during. At home I want to purge and become more organized (I have a trip to IKEA planned for next weekend) and just generally be happier in my house. 

Are you making any resolutions? If one is to travel more, I got you covered.

Resolve to Travel More

The New Year is upon us and who doesn't want their 2019 to be awesome? I know I do. If you aren't already traveling the way you want, maybe you should resolve to travel more. Travel makes people happy, and being happy makes you healthier, so it just makes sense. You have all those vacation days. Try to use more of them this year. In fact, that can be your New Year's resolution.

So, how do you actually travel more? It's easier than you think. I'll give you some steps to ensure that you follow through. You just need to be dedicated to living a happier, healthier life where you go places.

Make a plan

White a list. Where do you want to go? Which seem reasonable? Anything nearby that you've already visited can be crossed off, unless you really want to go there again. Don't go just because you think it'll fit into your budget. Chances are, you can go further or for longer for the same money. Figure out your top three places and do a little research to see how much they will realistically cost. Maybe just take a week instead of two, or go on two one-week trips, instead of one long trip, because it gets you out more and gives you more to look forward to.

Start saving

Even budget travelers need to save. You may think it's too hard or you can't do it, but you can! 

• Open a checking or savings account specifically for travel. Leave your debit card at home, so you can't spend these funds on a whim. 
• Set up automatic deposits into this account with each paycheck, so you don't miss the money. They can be any amount. Even $50 will make a difference.
• Stop doing things that make you unhappy or that you aren't using. Do you subscribe to multiple streaming services? Do you use them all? If not, unsubscribe from those you don't and put the money you save into your vacation fund. 
• Use easy ways to save. there are tons of apps and extensions out there to help you save money, including Ebates, Swagbucks and Honey. These all are completely free and offer cash back and promo codes. I am also a fan of the app Qapital. It lets you set up rules for yourself and moves money from your bank account into a separate account to help you save for any goals. My favorite rule is the Round Up rule, where every purchase you make is then rounded up to the nearest $2 and that difference is moved to your Qapital account. You can easily move your money back to your bank or use the Qapital debit card to use those funds. 

Invest in yourself

While we're eliminating things that make us unhappy, let's talk about doing more that makes us happy. If you need to get out of the house more, try using Groupon and Living Social to save on your outings and dining. Get half-price manicures, go to escape rooms with friends, go have a lovely brunch, and then pocket that money you saved on it.

Look for ways to save

Set your realistic money goal for your vacation at what you would pay full price and then look for ways to bring that cost down. Sometimes you can save just by booking things online (like you can with Universal Studios' tickets), sometimes you can find coupons online, some cities offer passes that give you a decent discount off their most popular attractions. Check out CityPASS and Smart Destinations. 

You might look into traveling in the off season, because hotels and airfare can be reduced by half compared to the high season. Even shoulder season can save you money and can save you time, since you won't have to deal with long lines and crowds of tourists. 

Look at bundling your vacation. Many times purchasing a package that includes airfare and hotel together can offer you deep discounts, so it's like you're only paying for one.

Don't sabotage yourself

Stop saying "someday" or thinking you don't have time to plan a vacation or that you'll never save enough to go. You do and you can. You just need to make travel a priority in your life like you do other things you accomplish. My best friend has a family of 8 and they just went to Hong Kong and Thailand with everyone and were shocked at how little they spent, even though they had a driver and went to Hong Kong Disneyland. They'll be doing more than just driving to California in the coming years, because now they know they can. 

Resolve to travel more and travel better and be happier and do the things you keep putting off because you think it's too hard or will cost too much. Make a plan, stay on course, set a budget and do it!

What's on the top of your travel list?

The World's New Year's Plan

I've taken a little time off from blogging to celebrate the holiday and be with family, but that doesn't mean everyone doesn't have the next holiday and celebration time on the brain. I'm talking, of course, about New Year's Eve. Some people get really excited to ring in the new year in style. I, on the other hand, like to chill at home and go to bed the second the ball drops. I'm saving my vacation funds for my bigger trip of the year, and this year it needs to be as large as possible, as we will be going to Edinburgh and London.

What will you be doing for NYE? Are you traveling?