I’m just going to go ahead and admit something you probably already know about me: I suck at budgeting. I’m not great at math, I’m terrible at organization and worst of all I just have no willpower to stay in some sort of arbitrary daily constraint on how much I can spend.
I still travel very far for very little, but I’ll never be the sleep on the beach, eat canned tuna for a week kind of traveler. There are just some things I am never able to resist spending money on when traveling. This doesn’t mean that I’m the private jet charter, penthouse suite kind of traveler either, but there are some small splurges that just make all the difference to me when traveling.
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Private Rooms
Look man, I love hostels, but I am just getting too old and cranky for dorm rooms. I’ll do it still, if I don’t have a choice, but given the chance I’d much rather shell out a few extra bucks and have my own door.
This is where traveling with Mike comes in handy as a justifiable excuse. We’re engaged! We need our privacy! We also travel with an irresponsible amount of expensive electronics and we always feel safer with our own room to lock them up in.
I still like hostels (although as time goes on I also really love a good hotel room or apartment rental). I like being able to meet people, but the truth is that for a traveling introvert like me, it’s really great to socialize a whole bunch then go back to my own room and shut the door.
A Good Camera
One of the worst travel mistakes I’ve ever made was buying a sub-par camera in Vietnam, simply because it was cheaper. When I look back at my pictures from South East Asia (and particularly those from Angkor Wat), I can’t ignore the crappy quality. It’s distracting and it messes with the way I remember these vibrant and truly beautiful places.
Now I know the importance of investing in a quality camera. In fact I just picked up a new Canon S110 for my upcoming trip so that I can take pictures actually worthy of the places I go.
Diet Coke
An addiction is an addiction guys. I’ve been cutting down my coke consumption here at home for health reasons, but once I’m back on the road with the constant fatigue and need to a pep-me-up, all bets are off.
Whether I’m paying 10 cents for a glass bottle Coke in China or 4 Euros for a can of Coca-cola Light in France, nothing can stop me from turning the entire world into my very own Diet Coke commercial.
Food.. especially Dessert
My biggest downfall. I just have to try the local cuisine. This is not so much a problem in places like Vietnam, where a street food snack is literally pennies, but it becomes more of an issue in Europe, where my desire to eat well and my desire not to spend all my money are sometimes hugely at odds.
I almost made ice cream it’s own separate category because local dessert is important too! I can not resist ice cream while traveling, or any other new snack that will satisfy my sweet tooth.
What do you splurge on when traveling?
This article was written by me, brought to you by Eljet.
