TravelAddict.org Blog

Today was a very long day. I got up at 4AM to fly to LGA and head off to the first job site. I took a cab, in New York fashion, of course. I did the work there and headed for a quick lunch at Wendy’s ($7!). Took the Subway over to Brooklyn for the second stop.

I got the job done there and came back outside to snow. Keeping in mind it was 60F when I left Atlanta! I do not have the proper clothes for this type of weather. Fortunately it was my last stop of the day and all I had to do was head over to JFK to fly home.

Travel Tip: Turns out this takes over 1 hour on the Subway. It only cost $7 which is not bad. I had to go back into Manhattan and over to Queens. This cost $2. I then took the Air Train to JFK for $5. I was in time to change to the 4:40PM flight home.

I ended up running through JFK to be the last one on the plane. One saving grace was that I was handed my first class upgrade when I reached the gate. Free drinks and food! It was also an international configured plane and was a nice flight. I got home early enough to go get a beer first.

It was an exhausting day but a nice change of pace. I got some miles out of the deal and New York is always a cool city to wander around. Maybe next time I can stay and see more.

I was sent a list of countries by my uncle sorted by the cost of accomodation + 3 meals in a day. They are listed from most expensive to cheapest. I was surprised to see where some of them were placed, namely the most expensive (North Korea!).

The list is here.

My cheapest one that I have been to is Cambodia followed closely by Egypt. This will be helpful in chosing where I want to go next!

Their is a lot of debate about which is best and there are pros and cons to both. I use credit myself to get the points/miles/rebates, better control my cash flow, shield from fraud, and to earn more money through interest, rebates, free flights, etc.

Cash is good because it is easier to manage. What you have is what you have. Some people need this because of lack of self control. Others prefer it based on principal and simply not liking to borrow money. I value the benefit of credit too much personally to fall into this category.

When I am traveling I use cash to stay on budget and it is much more widely accepted than credit. In the USA and somewhat in Europe it is easy to use credit cards. The places I like to go rarely if ever accept them so I am forced to the ATM.

Another problem with cash is that if you lose it then it is gone. You lose a credit card and you a phone call away from fraud reversal and a replacement card. They are bad tools for borrowing except for the few good offers the come up now and then. I currently have a 0% for 16 months then 4.99% after. That is worth it in my opinion.

In the end it is a personal choice. I choose to maximize my money as best as I can in order to reach my goals quicker. Everyone has their own perfect mix and it is up to them to find it.

I have used this for years and wonder why a lot of others have not figured this out yet. It makes things much easier but my guess is that most people are simply ignorant, lazy, or both. That said the strategy is simple.

I have 1 email address that I give only to humans. Meaning friends, family, other travelers, etc.

I have another that I use for signing up for things such as websites, online accounts, contests, etc.

This makes things much easier since 95% of your important mail goes to the “human-only” account and all the junk goes to the other. I check my main account at least daily and my junk account at least weekly. Using gmail is also helpful since you can search the junk account for exactly what you need.

In the end its all about saving time–and money!

I recently rememebered doing this by accident a few times and realized there is a strategy to it. It does not always work but can save money if done correctly. Don’t forget to check the free food shelf daily in the morning when all the “good stuff” is still there.

You take note of the checkout time of your hostel. You get up in the morning before then and wait on those checking out. I have found that Fridays and Sundays and Mondays are best for this. I have noticed that when people leave they do not want to take the rest of their food with them. I have been offered all sorts of nice things for free.

I also got a lot of free green stuff in Amsterdam this way (hehe). A lot of people going to the airport and obviously cannot take it with them. I also get offers of free food from dorm mates that are leaving the next day.

Give this a try next time you are in a hostel. You may be suprised!

One problem I ran into on the road was all of the small things that had no real “place” in my backpack. I have found a solution. I have a couple hard plastic containers with snap on lids that are also spill proof. They hold about 1 liter each.

I will use 1 for liquids that tend to get smashed or come open during transit. This is even more important now that they cannot be carried on in large quantities any more. The other I will use for extra cables and small items such as electronics, cooking utensils when not in use, and leftover coins. They also make a good base for a backpack which makes it easier to stand up.

They will be placed at the very bottom of the bag. The stability and shape holding make it easier to pack the rest of the bag. By only having 2 of these I reduce the extra weight they add. The only thing left to test is durability.

I just got an email from Delta. My birthday is next Monday and they are offereing Double Miles or Double MQMs if I book and fly by Sep 30. I am strongly considering this so I can get to Gold Medallion for added benefits and maybe I can find a cheap flight to somewhere nice for a couple days and get some travel in.

I am trying to ramp up my miles as much as I can so I can cut the major costs of my future travels: airfare. The more miles I get the more I can fly for a lot cheaper later. I am also considering a mileage run if I can get a cheap enough fare to Seattle to really rake in the miles. Only time will tell.

I am looking at the possibility of more work travel for the rest of the year so I would like to get to Gold if at all possible as the increases my chances at an upgrade, gets me the elite security line at ATL, and gets me 100% mileage bonus instead of 25% for Silver.

I will be airfare digging some today to see if I can snag a good deal!

I am tossing the idea around in my head and I am still not sure. I like the idea of camping and see the outdoors a bit. I dislike all the extra weight in equipment that I have to bring along. I also like the cheapness that comes with it.

I have decided that if I did camp it would most likely be in the western countries where things are pricey to being with. I would also have to do it with at least one other person because it is just too much weight to carry around. The other option is to have a VW camper bus. But then you have to consider fuel costs.

I have also been thinking of a motorcycle trip with camping which seems to be the happy medium between the two. The bike carries the weight and you have a vehicle to get around in. I still have not decided but I do enjoy camping and may integrate it into my travels at some point. Only time will tell.

I found this blog post on Travelvice and I was so impressed I feel the need to share it here. Most of the stuff he has on there I was already doing but I learned some things as well. This will be helpful for me when I begin packing for my one way ticket.

http://travelogue.travelvice.com/united-states/whats-inside-my-backpack-for-europe-and-beyond/

I have never personally met Craig but intend to do so at one point. I am sure we would have a lot of interesting stories, ideas, and tips to share.

Everyone hates getting spam mail, unwanted “newsletters”, and advertisements cluttering their inbox when they just want to read emails from friends. I have formed a solution for this. You need 2 email addresses.

I have one email address that I use every time I have to “sign up” for a website, online banking, etc. I have a second email address that I only give to humans. This keeps it very organized. I check both emails and make sure all is well. I can easily delete junk make on the “sign up” account and hear from my friends on the other.

I also know that my “human” address will have new messages and most likely it is from someone I know. My other address gets over 100 emails a day and I delete most of them. I check it for credit card payment due dates and the like since I signed up for those sites using that address.

Between the 2 emails I stay much more organized (and sane).