Hunt For Happiness Week

Hunt For Happiness Week is almost here. January 21-27th is your time to find and do the things that make you happy. For most of us, a big contributor to that is travel. Whether you travel alone or with friends, you can really up your happiness quotient. Even just the act of planning or booking a trip is helpful to your mental health.

Traveling rewires our brains. It's a great way to gain knowledge through action instead of books. Not that reading isn't awesome, it is, and I encourage you to read anything you can get your hands on that sounds interesting, but travel is immersive education. Here are just some of the ways it gives us a mental boost:

It makes you more creative and accepting of new ideas - This includes food, culture, traditions, and history.

It challenges us - By having to deal with new circumstances and adapt to new situations, we expand our skills and mind.

It creates better bonds - If you travel with others, experiencing new things together can build better relationships, even if things don't always go as planned.

It pushes you meet new people - Meeting and connecting with new people allows you to realize that we're all people just making it in the world and we aren't all that different from each other and can promote empathy and compassion, which brings us to the next on the list:

It promotes tolerance - When we see how other people live, and we have to experience it, too, we become more tolerant and accepting of differences and other ways of living. Diversity is a great thing and people who travel learn that better than those that don't.

It creates new memories - Having wonderful memories to look back on gives us a happy. Sometimes, when I'm feeling meh, and I remember something cool that happened or look back on a particular vacation, I feel myself perk up a bit, knowing I'll have more of those moments.

It expands your palette - There are endless opportunities to try new foods and drinks when you travel. You may find some new favorites, and if you don't, at least you were adventurous enough to try it.

It releases stress - You have your day-to-day routine of work, sleep, eat, repeat. When you worry about any of those things, you hold stress in your body. Travel allows you to release that and makes you calmer by thrusting you into a new routine. Less stress means you reduce your risk of heart attack and anxiety. 

It helps you appreciate different things - If you feel like you don't love where you live, or even if you do, traveling to a different landscape can help you appreciate your home city more, but also enjoy new weather and scenery.

It prioritizes experiences over things - As we age, we find that experiences are much more important than the things we've bought along the way. The more I travel, the less I care about souvenirs, though I buy an ornament for my tree everywhere I go, so my holidays are a lot more exciting with vacation memories every time I decorate and look at my tree.

It builds self-confidence - The more you travel, the easier it gets dealing with situations that are foreign to us. We learn to navigate public transportation, we learn new words, we learn to order off different menus. I'm always proud when I find myself in a new situation and am able to handle it and persevere, especially if I am traveling solo. 

In Ecuador, Eric and I bought matching wedding bands (which we didn't have for the first 3 years we were married) with minimal Spanish from a lovely little family-owned jewelry shop. Now, I can remember that achievement every time I look at my finger.

It helps you learn more about yourself - Find out where your strengths and weaknesses are and work on them. My strengths are planning out a great day and making the most of things if something goes wrong. Eric's strengths are navigation and having fun no matter what we end up doing. I plan the things and make a schedule and he figures out how to get to those places. It helps me know that I need to focus on getting around better when I travel on my own.

It gives you something to talk about - When you travel, other people who like to travel want to hear about it and swap stories. You get ideas from them and they get ideas from you, helping you both plan better trips in the future. It also makes you a better conversationalist, I think.

Well, there you have it, a long list of why travel is important for your happiness. I hope you have some travel planned for the year or you are at least planning a future trip which you may or may not have dates for, because your mental health benefits from having something to look forward to. Go to new places, eat all the foods, do cool things, take a ton of pictures, and meet awesome people. Now, go forth and hunt for happiness this week.

What things make you happy? Tell us below. It doesn't have to be travel, though I'd love to hear your favorite destinations. Coffee and dogs make me happy.

Where To Travel Alone in 2024

Solo traveling can be very fun and beneficial. Maybe your partner doesn't want to go on a trip. Maybe your friend dipped out on you. Maybe you just do most things alone and this is no different. Whatever the case, sometimes it's either go alone or stay home. I don't know about you, but I hate the stay home option. We usually travel as a couple, once a year I go somewhere with my mom, and other times I get a friend to go with me, but sometimes I am happy to explore on my own.

One of my favorite places to go on my own is Las Vegas. There are always people out, people always want to chat with you, there's always something happening, and if you aren't into people, there are plenty of things to do on your own where people usually don't bother you. It's like you're part of a crowd, but also not if you don't want to be. If you're looking to travel on your own, you can do it anywhere, but there are some places that are better than others to do it. Here's where to go if you are determined to go abroad.

1. Argentina - The second most popular solo destination (see Japan for the first). Argentina is a haven for any type of traveler, whether you like to be outside and hike to waterfalls or explore the city and eat great food or drink wine at any number of vineyards. 

2. Bali (and the Gili Islands) - Are you looking for water activities? If so, Bali has it all: surfing, scuba, snorkeling, white water rafting. Looking for something on land? Visit a monkey sanctuary, trek up a volcano, or visit a plethora of temples.

3. Colombia - Pirate history, fine dining, graffiti art, beautiful lakes, and nightlife. Colombia has all that and more, with a budget-friendly price tag.

4. Ecuador - Whether you're looking to indulge in history in Quito or head out to surrounding areas to enjoy outdoor adventures, Ecuador is a cheap and gorgeous destination, perfect for groups and solo travelers. 

5. Egypt - For all the sketchy things I've heard about Egypt, it is apparently a great destination for solo traveling, especially if you love archaeology. I would still be extra vigilant when going outside of larger areas that are pretty populated. 

6. Japan - Japan is becoming a hugely popular travel destination and 2023 saw their tourism numbers explode. 2024 is not looking to slow down at all. The country is full of lovely, kind people who are happy to meet you and help you get where you're trying to go. Japan is also promoting their tourism with unique and fun experiences, many that are great for solo travelers.  

7. Jordan - If you want to indulge in some desert activities, or visit the Dead Sea, Jordan is full of things for the solo traveler to do, including glamping, shopping and exploring ruins.

8. Philippines - Almost as popular as Thailand (see below) is the Philippines. With more than 7,000 islands, you are spoiled for choices, which is especially appealing if you love hiking, exploring waters and beaches, enjoying the rainforest and all it has to offer, and boating, but you can always do walking tours in cities like Intramuros. 

9. Sri Lanka - If you love a train, Sri Lanka has big appeal. Their upcountry train routes are great for slow immersive travel. You'll find quite a few US and UK travelers alongside you. 

10. Thailand - There's more to Thailand than what you see in The Hangover II, and the affordability can't be beat. There's street food, beaches, shopping, wild elephants, temples, and even kayaking.

Why travel alone? 

There are lots of reasons to travel solo, many of which don't include the fact that you have no one to go with you. I travel alone, because I like the time for myself. It's very beneficial though. These are just some of the reasons:

• You don't have to compromise your travel style with anyone else
• You can do only the things YOU want to do
• You can do as much or as little each day as you want
• You only have to worry about your own budget
• If you're an introvert, this allows you to get the much needed alone time you require to recharge
• You can try new things that nobody else wanted to do
• You can really learn how you deal with problems on your own
• Learn to be more independent and better at figuring out things like transportation and cancellations by yourself

If you think you might like to travel alone, but that you'll get lonely, make sure to call family or friends to chat, as you normally would, meet up with social media friends or an extension of a club or organization you're already a part of, take a tour, or volunteer. You don't have to spend 100% of your time by yourself. I'll often take pics and send them to a friend. This allows me to check in with them and have short chats via text. 

Where have you traveled either alone or with others that you think is a great solo travel destination?

Using Rakuten to Travel Cheaper

Did you know that you can basically get paid to travel and shop [for your travel gear and clothing] for things you buy everyday? You can and Rakuten will pay you for it. I never buy or book anything without first checking Rakuten. So, what IS Rakuten? It's a fantastic - and free! - site that offers you cash back for purchasing from online merchants. If you plan to make a purchase anyway, you might as well get something for being a loyal (or even a new) customer. 

Here's how it works: Sign up is quick and easy, then you're ready to shop! When you have a hankering to buy something, say, at Sephora, go to Rakuten, sign in, click on Sephora and it takes you straight to the main website. You must go through Rakuten, so they can track your purchase. At checkout, make sure you use the same email address you used to sign up on Rakuten and within a few days, your purchase will show up in your account. 

Here you can see my current pending and my all-time cash back

You can track your cash back total to see how much you saved and then every quarter, Rakuten sends you a Big Fat Check (if you choose that method) or a Big Fat Payment via Paypal. Normally, you get $5 for signing up, but right now get $30 once you make your first qualifying purchase! Who else does that? If there are coupon codes available or special sales, Rakuten will show them to you, helping you save even MORE!

I like to use my cash back as a travel savings supplement. Each time I make a purchase, I rack up cash and then it gets deposited right to my Paypal account. I use that money to purchase travel stuffs, like Groupons, clothing, tours, and more! If I can get more cash back with it, even better! Of course, you can use it for whatever you want. 

Stores you can shop at: Rakuten has, literally, hundreds of online merchants you can choose from, including a long list of travel merchants. Just a sampling of those include: TravelSmith, Holiday Inn, Avis, Alaska Airlines, Camping World, Orbitz, Air France, Delta Airlines, HomeAway and even AAA! Keep your eyes out for the Daily Double. Each day a list of awesome merchants offer double cash back on your purchases for the day. 

It's Travel Week on Rakuten right now and you can earn 2x cash back on a bunch of merchants. There are also a ton of travel deals now that the holidays are over, so you can get an even better deal when you book.

And now, you can easily get cash back through Rakuten by downloading the Chrome extension on your computer. When you go to a website that accepts Rakuten, the app will add a banner to the top of your screen letting you know, then you can can click on the banner and it will automatically put you through your Rakuten account and straight back to the site. That's it. One click and you're on your way to getting money back. I always like to check out the Rakuten site anyway, because they include any active coupon codes, so you can save even more. 

If you spend a lot of time on your phone, download Rakuten there, too. It's a bit of extra work, since you have to open the app and then find the store you want to shop at from there, but it's always worth it. It's easy to get around, see your account, find your favorites, and see all the places you can get cashback on one screen.

Haven't signed up for Rakuten yet? Do it now.