I’m a big fan of financial efficiency. If it is possible to get a discount on something I’m going to buy anyway, I’m all for it.
So it isn’t a big surprise when people inquire about call me out for paying annual fees in comments and email.
“Why would you pay a credit card company just for the privilege of making them money?”
“Isn’t it a waste to pay an annual fee when there are so many free credit cards out there?”
“Why would you pay a credit card annual fee? That is just dumb.”
I can certainly relate to the sentiment behind these questions. But if we strip away the emotion and just use the cold hard reason of accounting, it all becomes clear. We pay a fee now with the expectation that we will get something of equal or greater value.
Causeway Coast in N. Ireland (Over yonder way be Scotland)
For the 4 months from mid-April to mid-August 2016, we explored a healthy portion of Western Europe.
We started our journey in spring in the South and worked our way North as summer arrived. Our plans were very loose… we had only booked flights from Asia to Portugal (via Amsterdam) and from Iceland to the US. Everything in between we made up as we went along.
Our main goal for the trip was simply to enjoy some fine European cuisine. If we happened to discover a place that we could later happily spend months or even years, that would be a nice bonus. We definitely accomplished the former, and perhaps even the latter.
Roughly speaking, we spent a month each in Spain, Italy, and the UK / Ireland, and a week or less in the Netherlands, Portugal, Czech, Germany, Denmark, and Iceland; 10 countries in total.
Flights, Trains, & Rental Cars – Our European Trip
Not surprisingly, this cost a bit more than our excursions through Latin America and SE Asia. Here is the full cost breakdown:
For a long time, I wasn’t a great fan of Airbnb. Whenever I looked for short or medium term housing, their prices were high and their fees numerous and excessive. We were always finding better deals elsewhere.
That changed on our ~4 month European tour. We stayed 77 nights in 20 different private apartments across 19 cities in 7 countries, with an average price inclusive of fees of ~$106/night. (We also spent 8 nights with friends, 16 nights in free hotels, and another 14 nights in paid hotels (average $104/night.) Average price for the whole trip was ~$84/night.
The private apartments found on Airbnb were incredible value compared to hotel options across Europe, with full use of a kitchen, a living space for lounging and computer time, and a bedroom for Jr’s naps, all in an ideal central location for easy walking and access to public transit.
We had a wide range of amazing experiences and a few that were lessons learned (more details below), but we would definitely choose Airbnb for future travel in Europe.
“Hey, You!” (Top of Old Town Hall Tower, Prague, Czech)
GCCjr recently achieved the ripe old age of 16 months. By coincidence, he also recently visited his 16th country. (Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Vatican City, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, UK, Ireland, Iceland, US… Taiwan apparently is not a country.)
At current pace, he should be able to visit all 195 countries of the world by the time he is old enough to drive, making him the youngest person ever to achieve that milestone. But accumulating passport stamps just for the sake of passport stamps isn’t a goal, so our pace is likely to slow. Still, he’ll probably be a full member of the Traveler’s Century Club.
When we first started traveling with the little guy we didn’t really know what to expect. Based on the numerous questions we’ve received during the past year, it seems many others are in the same boat. So here are some thoughts on traveling with kids based on 16 countries worth of experience.
Traveling Mailbox – You’ve Got Mail (photo credit)
Nearly 45 years ago the first email was sent. Around the same time, banks began transferring money electronically.
So it makes perfect sense that in the year Two Thousand and Sixteen we still chop down trees, process them into paper, print words on them, load them on to trucks and airplanes, move them around the world, and then pay people to carry them to our door through rain, sleet, & snow… where we drop them into the trash.
I’ve done my best to avoid this whole mess by opting out of all paper mail, and exclusively using email and online tools. Still, the USPS only cares about their main revenue source (bulk mailers), the IRS and other government agencies like licking stamps, and credit cards are physical (for now.) And some companies (even pure online businesses) are in love with paper checks, even though they cost more than ACH transfers.
So for the last few months we’ve been processing all of our mail with Traveling Mailbox.
It turns out some people actually read those posts, and the blog grew by leaps and bounds. I was even invited to speak at the 2015 Chautauqua in Ecuador, an incredible experience! As a bonus, I was able to meet several of my favorite financial bloggers.
When our little guy was ready to don his own tiny backpack, we did a trial run to Japan (Kyoto, Osaka, Nara.) It was a great success! Being outside and exploring new places made for a happier kid and happier parents.
So we hit the road again. We spent the last 2 months of the year in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where we swam, did yoga and Crossfit, and ate excessive amounts of Thai food, and reduced our average cost of living through the grace of geographic arbitrage.
