2019 Travel Adventures! Where I'm Going & How I'm Making it Happen

I’m not one for resolutions, but I am one for planning. The start of a new year is usually the kickoff to figuring out what travels and adventures I’m taking in the next year. It’s always really exciting and I love getting to share my travel plans with those around me, in hopes that is sparks interest for them to plan a trip (or two or three) in the year as well.

Since we are now a few weeks into 2019, I’ve mapped out my travel plans for the year and am ecstatic to share those plans with you guys!

• A one-week trip to Colombia in May (UPDATE: We will for sure be visiting the Cartagena-area and have set our all-in budget for the two of us at $2,500. PLEASE know that we could have made this trip much cheaper but we are opting to do some special excursions, book private transportation, and are staying in a fairly nice hotel. This trip could easily be under $1k!)

• A 16 day (maybe a little longer) trip to Thailand in November, likely over Thanksgiving

• An extended weekend trip to Seattle, Washington in summer

• Possibly an extended weekend trip to Park City, Utah

• A weekend getaway to Vegas

I’m also hoping to go on a week or less trip someplace else internationally this year – it’ll really depend on budget and timing. Right now, I’m waiting to find the best airfare deal (see my post HERE for what tools I use to scope out flight sales) so the location and timing is completely TBD!

I’ll keep you all updated on the planning process and will definitely share trip highlights and stories. I find travel blogs to be the best resources for figuring out what to do, where to go, and all the little travel details that often go overlooked (like tipping etiquette? What’s the best way to get around? Any must-visit restaurants?).

To many, this seems like a LOT of travel. You’re right in some regards – I’ll never have to go too long in between trips and will have plenty of planning in the meantime to keep me busy. But I’m not a typical travel blogger and don't travel full-time. I’m not working remotely, either. I’m a normal working girl with a fixed salary and only so much vacation time. So how am I making this travel work?

If you check out my post HERE, I outline a lot of ways I’m able to stretch my PTO. I will admit I have an amazing employer and do get more than the average vacation days in the US (most articles I’ve come across say the average is two weeks of paid time off; I have three weeks for 2019. My workplace does not have a separate sick leave, so this is all I have for any work absences). My employer is also flexible in some regards with my work schedule – I can front-load hours in a week or pay period to get a day off (ex. I can work 8.5 hours for nine days and get the tenth day off without using a PTO day).

I’m planning to use this flexibility for both my set international trips. For Colombia, I’ll need to only take 3 days off for a week-long vacation. I am also traveling to Thailand over Thanksgiving, so I’ll be able to maximize my time off (my linked post above about maximizing PTO breaks down how I'm only using 5 days of PTO). I’ll also take advantage of my flexibility to take extended weekend trips (flying out Thursday night and flying back on Monday), so I won’t need to use ANY vacation days for those. This leaves me with plenty of wiggle room for another trip during the year, or I can bank the time off and put it towards a long getaway in 2020 - hello African safari?

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How am I swinging this trip financially? Many people chalk up the cost of traveling as the biggest reason why they don't see the world. I divulge a lot of my money-saving measures in all my blog posts, but it really comes down to making travel a priority. My husband and I have decided that at this point, traveling is what we want to do. We do not own a home and while we plan to buy one in the next few years, we’ve decided to not save aggressively for a down payment in order to travel as much as we do. I do think it’s entirely possible to travel while being a homeowner – many people think international trips take thousands when, in reality, you can swing many trips for around $1k (search “Save for this Trip Now” in my blogs to see some real examples).

Wedding Day - Check. Time for more trips!

After saving for a wedding for most of 2017 and 2018, my husband and I were able to cut down on everyday expenses in order to pay for our big day. Now that the wedding has passed, we’ve been able to keep saving that same amount (roughly 10% of each paycheck) but put it towards traveling. In addition, we’re working on doing the following to save even more:

• We re-evaluated our insurance policies and found we were overpaying – we were able to cut our monthly insurance costs by over 50%

• Buying bulk – we found some things that we use often that offer discounts if you pay up-front for a large amount. It may initially set us back, but we are able to take advantage of the cost savings in the long run. For example, we started pre-paying for multiple doggy daycare passes for our puppy, which is pricey but ends up giving us a “free” day with the cost savings. I’m an avid baker and whenever I see my go-to staples are on sale (like my favorite organic flour being 60% off), I'll stockpile as much as I can since I know I'll use it eventually anyways.

• We switched our credit cards to ones that gave us rewards that worked better for us. Our old cards were great, but they didn’t reward us as much as they used to due to life changes. For example, my old job required flying several times a year on the same airline. Now that I don’t work there, I don’t fly that airline often. It didn’t make sense to keep using that airline’s credit card since the huge bonus points weren’t happening often for me anymore.

• Being more green. We've been working towards being more sustainable in general and have found it to provide money-saving benefits as well. For example, making our own cleaning supplies has been significantly cheaper than harsh chemical spray bottle brands you buy. Not eating meat often reduces our grocery bill and opting for rags while cleaning reduces the need for pricey paper towel.

Personally, here are the things I've been doing in 2019 to make my wallet happier:

• BUYING LESS STUFF – I’ve realized that I have so much stuff but always seem to be buying more things. I’ve made it a goal in 2019 to really STOP buying things unless it’s really, truly needed. I’m avoiding trips to the store “just because” and have unsubscribed to marketing emails and unfollowed my favorite stores on social media. I also cancelled my really tempting Stitch Fix subscription. I have a closet filled with clothing and I’m looking forward to maximizing the thing I already have. SAVINGS: literally hundreds. I never really tracked my annual spending on clothing, but I’m fairly certain it was hundreds.

• SKIPPING STARBUCKS – People, I have a love affair with Starbucks. It really stems from working there once upon a time. It’s become my me-time ritual to stop at Starbies every morning – which adds up quick. I already have a really fancy espresso machine at home, so I’m making an effort to skip the coffee shop and make my own triple shot coconut milk lattes at home. SAVINGS: $5/day, 7x a week, 52 weeks in a year = $1.8k (!!!!)

• NOT BUYING LUNCH – I love to cook and do a really great job about making dinner most nights of the week. But for whatever reason, lunch has always been a struggle meal for me. I tend to snack throughout the day, so I rarely pack a "real" lunch and just pack snacks in my purse. When the hunger hits and the snacks are gone, my workplace’s cafeteria just calls my name. I also have an addiction to Chipotle (the plant-based eater in me loves their sofritas), which is close to work. I’m making an effort to meal prep more so I don’t buy a meal every day. SAVINGS: $9/lunch, 2x a week, 52 weeks in a year = $936

With those three steps, I’m looking at maximizing my savings by at least $3k this year. Imagine what kind of trip YOU could take with $3k! Little expenses add up fast, so little cost-saving measures will build up your ability to see the world. Think you could steal these three saving ideas? If not, can you set three of your own? Maybe you don’t have a coffeehouse habit – think about cutting back on date nights out or happy hours. Already a lunch packer? Maybe you can go vegetarian one week a month to save money on groceries.

I love my daily coffee stops, but touring the coffee fields of Colombia sounds cooler

What do you want to see most from my 2019 travel adventures? Are you most interested in seeing my saving progress during the year? Want to see the ins and outs of my planning process? Or are you just waiting to see all the pictures and stories I’ll have to share afterwards?

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