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“You guys are going to Europe for 4 months?! That sounds wonderful, but… isn’t Europe expensive?”
“How are you going to work the higher cost of European travel into your budget?”
“Will you have to miss out on some amazing European restaurants and eat more peanut butter and jelly?”
Since sharing our big 2016 travel plans a few months ago, various forms of these questions have been sent our way.
I prefer strategic lifestyle design to tactical spending plans like a budget. We aren’t going to limit our European gastronomic experiences with an artificial spending ceiling. (Thank you United States Congress for the inspiration!)
Certainly Europe will cost more than budget destinations like Thailand or Guatemala. So how will we pay for it?
I woke up around sunrise to find myself lying in the doorway, the door of my apartment wide open and my legs half way outside. My neck was stiff and my back hurt
Some time later I glanced at my watch and jerked wide awake. It was Friday and my last final exam was in less than an hour! I shuffled into the bathroom for a quick shower, threw on some dirty clothes and tossed my suit over my shoulder as I rushed out the door
Big clumps of dirt and grass were sticking out of the grill and wheel wells of my car… and it all came rushing back. I had finally finished my Senior Design project in the wee hours of the morning, but no amount of Mountain Dew and chocolate covered espresso beans could compete with 72 sleepless hours. I had passed out driving home and gone in the ditch at 50+ MPH. Apparently the adrenalin surge carried me only as far as my front door. Fortunately nobody else was on the road at 4 am
I was young and fit, but working 20-30 hours a week, taking 18 Credits in an Engineering program, and spending another 20+ hours working in the lab would kill nearly anybody.
Over the next 72 hours I somehow got an A on my last final, presented my Senior Design project to the review board, attended the Graduation ceremony, loaded up the moving truck, drove it 100 miles to my new apartment, unloaded it, and made it to Day 1 of my first real job at 8 am on Monday morning.
There is an abundance of (seemingly) free crap in the world. Free latte! (just fill out this survey!) Free phone! (with two year contract.) Free whatchamacallit junk (just pay shipping and handling.) Free puppies! (take two!)
But sometimes, there are some real gems to be had. In our old apartment, most of our high end furniture was free. We’ve had several free nights in hotels and numerous free meals. And most recently, we will fly to Mexico for free
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Every sovereign nation has a different name for the bills they print and coins they mint. Pesos. Dollars. Yuan. Yen. Euros. Baht. Shekels. Rubles. Rupees. There are numerous denominations, different faces and images, and various sizes and colors. Outside of their esthetic differences, they are all the same, just a means to trade for things that we need.
