So you all know Sunday Suppers, right? The beyond beautiful Brooklyn based company that is known for throwing the most epic dinner parties. E-P-I-C. You may also know them for their seriously cool cookbook. And if you own it like us, you’re likely lusting after the styling and food ideas that fill the pages while wishing you had a kitchen full of beautiful props to make meals prettier. Well wish no further! With the continued goal of inspiring people to celebrate gatherings with friends and family, Sunday Suppers is on their way to making the most beautiful kitchen goods you’ve EVER ever seen with their new line, Ila. From gorgeously designed olive oil bottles to the best and most unique pantry items like black sea salt from Hawaii, we die over this line of pantry essentials.
For their debut collection, Ila has chosen five varieties of sea salt because you can never have enough – especially as a stylist!, spices, wildflower honey, olive oil, and maple syrup – all essentials every cook should have on hand! And right now, you can get your hands on these beautiful kitchen must-haves through Ila’s Kickstarter campaign, so run! We’ve already pledged, obvi – that olive oil is the olive oil of our dreams.
So go on and treat yo pantry to these goodies while supporting their Kickstarter here! Please? Because we don’t know about you, but we want to continue to see more of the absolute dreaminess Ila is throwing down!
A well-placed, meditation space can help offset the stresses of everyday life.
A person’s home should be a refuge from the stresses of the outside world, but too often it’s reduced to a messy, stressful space where both the bills and the chores seem endless. Instead of letting the frenzy take over, cut through the chaos and carve out a special space dedicated to meditation and encouraging positive energy.
Benefits of meditation practice
Some people see meditation as a bunch of New Age hooey, but those who’ve experienced the benefits of this time-honored practice believe otherwise. Meditation can help you cope with stress, as it promotes peace, calmness and relaxation. Meditation actually offers tangible results, like better sleep quality, reduced resting blood pressure and heart rate, and fewer negative feelings.
Meditation can even help to alleviate symptoms in people who deal with health issues like chronic pain, depression, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome and cancer. Best of all, it’s an easy and affordable energy cleanser and a great way to seek much-needed spiritual relaxation!
First, it’s important to have at least a basic working knowledge of how to meditate.
How to meditate and generate positive energy
There are a number of ways to meditate, including yoga, tai chi, guided meditation and mindfulness meditation. However, many people start simply, often using an app or podcast to show them the way. One simple way to meditate is by following these expert guidelines:
Sit down
The best place to meditate is somewhere that’s nice and quiet. Depending on how chaotic your home gets (rowdy neighbors, barking dogs and crying children have a way of disrupting meditation), noise-canceling headphones could be helpful.
Where and how you sit doesn’t really matter. It’s perfectly fine to sit in a chair, cross-legged on the floor or wherever, as long as you can do it for the duration of the meditation.
Commit to a certain time
Meditation is not meant to be a time-consuming experience. Even just a few minutes per day are effective at re-centering oneself. People new to meditation might want to start off at five minutes to see how it goes, then work up from there, if needed.
Listen to your breathing
Once you’re in position, close your eyes (or leave them open, whatever works best for you) and concentrate on how your breath feels as you inhale and exhale. Focus on this as much as possible, without making it stressful.
If your mind starts to go to other places, redirect and refocus on the breath in the present moment. Don’t be hard on yourself when this happens, it’s human nature. Simply reconfigure.
Come out of it slowly
Don’t just pop right up to standing when the session is over. When you feel calm and complete, lessen your focus on breathing and reorient yourself to the sounds, sights and smells around you. Consider the state of your overall body and mind. Remain sitting until you’re ready to transition back to normal life.
How to create a meditation space in an apartment
Now that you know what’s involved, it’s time to learn how to create a meditation space that will help you effectively combat negative energy, find peace and improve mental health.
1. Find an area to set up shop
Meditation only requires a small space to get the job done. Walk through your apartment and find a spot that is quiet and out of the way. This could be in the corner of a bedroom or in an office/craft space. Unless you live alone, the beating heart of the unit (aka the living room) is not the best choice.
A dedicated room is ideal for serious meditation practice, but not everyone has the square footage to pull that off, especially in small apartments. Some people even use small spaces like a closet or bathroom! Of course, people who plan to practice a type of more physical meditation, like tai chi or yoga, might need more room than those who are sitting still the whole time.
It’s also not necessary to commit to one meditation area. If you discover that you need more space after a session or two, simply reevaluate and relocate!
2. Find a nice view
People who like to meditate eyes open are often encouraged to face a window to take in the nature and happenings of the outside world. If that’s not possible, sit facing something else that calms you and brings joy, like a piece of art or a couple of plants. Even people who meditate with their eyes closed might want to be near an open window, as natural light, fresh air and a gentle breeze can help with the relaxation process. Natural elements are known to have a very calming effect on most people. No matter where you end up, try to make sure that the space is limited to neutral colors, to encourage feeling calm.
3. Clear out clutter
Dedicate yourself to keeping clutter-free the meditation room or space, even if the rest of the apartment is a mess! An effective meditative space must be minimalist in nature, outfitted with only the bare essentials to help you feel zen. Clutter causes stress, and that’s the exact opposite thing that you want out of a meditation space.
4. Ask others to help
Meditation is a solo experience, but it can take a team effort to pull it off. If you live with other people, let them know that you’re about to meditate and for how long. This will limit any unwelcome interruptions.
Gather some meditation tools
When creating a meditation room or space, the idea is to build a pleasing, comfortable area free of clutter and the stresses of daily life. Accomplish this by incorporating some or all of the following into the sacred space.
5. Light a scented candle
Scented candles (make sure they are thoroughly extinguished at the end) in calming scents can have a tremendous effect on medication quality. Lavender, sandalwood and lemongrass scents are go-to meditation scents, but make sure to choose one that works for you.
Incidentally, candlelight is also helpful for people who meditate with their eyes open, as the flickering has a relaxing effect.
6. Use essential oils
Along the same lines, essential oils are often used for aromatherapy purposes because they are believed to have healing and relaxing capabilities. To use this centuries-old tool, apply it sparingly and directly to the body (make sure it’s approved for skin use). One drop to the middle of the forehead, or a drop in your hand (then rub both hands together) is plenty. Or put a few drops in a diffuser and let it permeate the air in your mediative space.
7. Cushion yourself
For people who want to meditate while sitting on the floor, a meditation cushion is a great idea to keep the experience comfy. It doesn’t have to be a specific meditation pillow — a throw pillow will do in a pinch. Just choose one that’s covered in soothing, soft textures and is easy to sit on.
8. Improve the energy with crystals
A lot of people turn to energy tools to help the meditative space achieve its fullest potential. Healing crystals, either placed in your hand or around you while meditating, are said to encourage positive energy. Black tourmaline, in particular, is believed to absorb negative energy and encourage inner peace in a given space. Clear quartz is also thought to clear out the mind and promote inner calm.
9. Pick up a Tibetan singing bowl
Tibetan singing bowls are another common tool used in meditation. These small metal bowls are believed to improve the space’s energy and encourage total relaxation with their pleasing tones. Mallets are used to strike the bowls, which then release a ringing sound.
Don’t have a Tibetan singing bowl? Check Spotify or another music streamer for recorded versions.
10. Play meditation music
Along the same lines, explore different types of soothing music to see what helps you achieve the best meditation possible. Some people like quiet classical music, while others opt for Gregorian chants. There are even plenty of meditation-specific playlists out there to choose from. Some even say that such tunes are good at removing toxins! Try out a few and discover which types of music help you reach that zen state to the fullest.
11. Turn to technology, with limits
Too much technology is detrimental to the meditation space, but one can’t argue with the many options that meditation-focused podcasts and apps present. Many such podcasts are available to access for free via streaming services, and usually, the apps come with a nominal fee.
That said, any other type of tech used during meditation is detrimental to the experience. The meditation space should be cleared out of any televisions, tablets or other tech items. If using a phone for music or podcast purposes, make sure notifications are silenced, so that texts or email dings don’t yank you out of the zone prematurely!
A meditative space can calm any mind and fit in any apartment
No matter the size of your apartment, all you really need for a meditative space is a comfortable spot where it’s easy to hang out and relax to reduce day-to-day stress. A small amount of effort is equal to a huge payback when meditation is involved.
We can do two things with our money: spend it or save it. (Actually, there are other possibilities — eating it! smoking it! — but we’ll limit our discussion to what sane people do.) For most people, spending is in the driver’s seat, getting the largest chunk of monthly cash flow and — let’s be honest — a lot more fun. Yet we all know that we should be saving money, and that a good deal of our spending is the financial equivalent of eating a Twinkie: It provides a short burst of pleasure, but no lasting value. In fact, it can undermine future well-being (and possibly make us fat).
Many financial planners suggest that the first step toward reaching a spending-saving détente is analyzing your spending and creating a budget. But there are few problems with traditional budgeting:
It’s difficult to monitor every specific category — e.g., utilities, food, clothing, entertainment — and make sure you’re spending just so much and no more.
It can be time-consuming and tiresome.
It focuses more on spending — and often the restraint of spending, which can feel like a straitjacket — while saving can seem like an afterthought.
I myself have found budgeting more difficult as my family has grown and my life and finances have become more complicated. So after a good deal of thought and research, the Brokamp family is flipping the process around. Rather than seeing how much we spend and then saving the rest, we’re determining how much we need to save, and then spending the rest — what I’m calling “goals-based budgeting.”
The benefits:
It doesn’t require that you track every penny (though it does require regular monitoring and calculating).
It doesn’t require that you remember how much you’re allowed to spend on each category. Rather, you just keep tabs on one important number — how much you have in the bank — and adjust spending accordingly.
Money is kept in separate accounts and labeled with specific purposes.
For those who find spending difficult (yes, such people exist), this provides peace of mind that important goals are being funded, so it’s okay to enjoy something now.
Sound good? Here’s how to do it.
Step One: Figure Out How Much to Save Goals-based budgeting begins with — surprise! — your goals. Once you’ve identified them, you have to figure out how much they’ll cost, and how much you need to save on a regular basis to achieve them. Those topics require some soul-searching and number-crunching that deserve more than a passing mention. But in this article, mention them passingly I will, and point you to other articles, such as The Best Ways to Boost Your Retirement and How Much Should You Save for Retirement?, as well as some Foolish online calculators.
Step Two: Square Up What’s Left Over Now you need to make sure your savings calculation is compatible with your expenditures. This is where having a record of past spending comes in handy (nay, necessary). If you figure you’ll have to save 40% of your income to meet your goals, yet you spend 80% of your paycheck, you’ll have to adjust spending, goals, or both.
Step Three: Put It All on Autopilot One article I came across while searching for a better budget was “To ‘B’ or Not to ‘B’” on the website of Certified Financial Planner Sherrill St. Germain, a fee-only advisor in Nashua, N.H., and a member of the Garrett Planning Network. She calls her method “reverse budgeting,” and it starts with automatic transfers of money to several accounts. This includes her Roth 401(k) and health savings account, but also separate savings accounts with specific names, such as:
“Emergency Fund”
“Taxes” (which, as a self-employed person, she must pay quarterly)
“Maui” (her vacation)
And, possibly coming soon, “Mountain Bike”
Her online bank, ING Direct, allows her to maintain and label separate accounts (as do several other banks).
That takes care of the goals. For the spending part, St. Germain recommends an annual analysis of expenditures. Based on that analysis, have a certain amount transferred to your checking account each month to cover living expenses. This is the one number you have to keep an eye on as the month progresses, and will help you decide if you should purchase that pair of shoes or spiffy gadget. On the other hand, if it looks like you’re on track, you can spend guilt-free. Also, if you tend to have big-ticket items that show up annually rather than monthly — such as life insurance premiums or holiday gift giving — consider having a separate savings account for those.
Step Four: Monitor Regularly, Tweak as Necessary This system requires that you check your monthly expenses account once or twice a week to make sure you’re not running out of money before you’ve run out of month. As St. Germain wrote:
If that account dips below its predefined acceptable level, that’s a red flag that something’s not going according to plan. Could be overspending, could be under budgeting. Either way, it’s time to dig into the details, figure out what’s going on…
The monitoring of your goals doesn’t have to happen as often — maybe once a year — but it too is a crucial step in making sure you’ll have enough money when you need it.
In the End, Do What Works for You Having a plan for every dollar is probably the ideal from a financial perspective. But we know that system doesn’t always work for most people. A goals-based budget is another way to approach the process, and at this point it’s a work in progress (feel free to suggest your own budgeting tips in the comments below). But the best budget is the one that is adjusted for your situation, habits, and tolerance for looking at little numbers.
Funko toy executive Brian Mariotti has once again listed his spectacular Coronado, CA, mansion—at a lower price this time around.
In March 2022, the sprawling spread made its market debut at $39 million but was reduced to $32 million earlier this year. After a brief hiatus, the property was relisted at $29,995,000 for what will hopefully be a charmed third time.
Mariotti purchased the Spanish-style estate in the beach town off the coast of San Diego in 2017 for $12.2 million. Over the next four years, the toy maker carefully and thoughtfully transformed the 1925-era home into a luxury playground.
The majestic 15,067-square-foot “Coronado Castle” now boasts such lavish delights as a full-service spa, putting green, and a “secret garden.”
So considering the millions poured into the pretty palace, the price cut could be considered a real deal.
“After buying the original house, they purchased the land next door for $6 million and adjoined the properties,” says listing agent Jason Oppenheim, of The Oppenheim Group and Netflix’s “Selling Sunset.”
Another $12 million was spent during the remodel, he adds.
Aerial view
Just 100 feet from the beach, the historical landmark boasts one of the largest lots in Coronado.
“It’s very much like an oasis to have that much land and just be steps from the ocean,” Oppenheim says. “You really don’t get this amount of land in Coronado.”
The home was designed for a luxurious lifestyle, offering abundant state-of-the-art amenities.
A dramatic foyer features a spiral staircase and hand-hewn beams, a nod to the home’s history. The palatial interior boasts everything from opulent tile and ornate ironwork to custom light fixtures.
The home was originally designed in the Mission Revival style by Richard Requa for Michigan furniture manufacturer W.A. Gunn, who is said to have had an affinity for timeless beauty.
Mariotti’s renovation painstakingly preserved the property’s heritage.
“I have walked through a lot of remodels over the years, but I can’t say that I have ever seen a more authentic remodel than this,” Oppenheim notes. “They imported items from Europe that are 200 to 300 years old. The tile around the pool is over 300 years old. There are a couple of beams that are original that they matched by handcarving the beams. The details are just extraordinary.”
An elegant dining room has a hand-painted, coffered ceiling. Just beyond, arched steel glass doors open to the pool deck.
The massive kitchen is designed with a marble island, La Cornue range and rotisserie, double Sub-Zero fridge, Miele steam oven, coffee station, and wet bar.
A lavish lower level is thoughtfully arranged for entertaining, with its golf simulator, media room, and bar. But the area’s crown jewel is its 25-seat, “Star Wars”-themed movie theater.
“The movie theater is one of the largest theaters I have ever seen in a home,” Oppenheim notes.
There’s also a fitness center, spa and dry sauna, massage table, and ice bath.
And the magnificent grounds really wow with a fire-pit lounge, full outdoor kitchen, and pool.
Oppenheim believes the property could be a vacation home for a buyer who lives in Los Angeles or Orange County.
“I think it will be someone who appreciates the real craftsmanship of the design,” he predicts, of the future owners. “I hope they are able to recognize just how timeless and authentic it is. It’s a rare person who will actually understand the thousands of decisions and thousands of hours spent creating the design of the home. It’s a home that will still look good in 100 years, that you will never need to remodel.”
Ultimately, retirement planning is like a math equation — you input several variables and estimate whether what you’ll have will pay for what you will need in retirement. The challenge is that many of the variables are future values that are unknowable today.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t make some educated guesses. So let’s examine the “what you’ll need” part of the equation — that is, how much the retired life will cost you each year — to see if we make the murky crystal ball any clearer.
How much do retirees need?
The standard rule of thumb is that retirees need 70 to 80 percent of their pre-retirement income. Fortunately, we can examine how spending changes as we age by looking at the Consumer Expenditure Survey that is produced every year by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That can help us figure out if this 70-to-80-percent estimate has any basis in reality.
The following table highlights average income and expenditures of households led by people in different age groups. (I selected particular categories from the much larger Consumer Expenditure Survey.)
EXPENSE ITEMS
AGE 25-34
AGE 35-44
AGE 45-54
AGE 55-64
AGE 65-74
AGE 75+
Income before taxes
$59,613
$76,128
$79,589
$68,906
$49,711
$31,782
Avg. number of persons per household
2.9
3.3
2.8
2.2
1.9
1.6
Average annual expenditures
$46,617
$55,946
$57,788
$50,900
$41,434
$31,529
Food at home
$3,338
$4,255
$4,369
$3,681
$3,213
$2,643
Food away from home
$2,753
$3,227
$2,861
$2,387
$1,935
$1,230
Housing
$16,845
$20,041
$18,900
$16,673
$14,420
$11,421
Apparel and services
$2,087
$2,040
$1,966
$1,571
$1,186
$708
Transportation
$8,231
$8,763
$9,255
$8,111
$6,086
$4,288
Health care
$1,800
$2,583
$3,261
$3,859
$4,922
$4,754
Entertainment
$2,251
$3,058
$3,088
$2,683
$2,341
$1,374
Reading
$61
$80
$104
$126
$147
$135
Education
$839
$963
$2,094
$917
$240
$140
Pensions and Social Security
$5,151
$6,664
$7,227
$5,932
$2,261
$763
Personal taxes
$1,055
$1,992
$3,323
$2,295
$1,116
$144
Factors that reduce living expenses among retirees
As you study the table, you notice that expenditures peak somewhere between age 45 and 54 — then they gradually decline. Here are some of the reasons that drive the trend:
Fewer people under the roof. Eventually, kids leave the house and you wind up spending less money on food, utilities, education, and Febreze. Also — and this is the sad part — a spouse will pass away. When a two-person household goes down to a one-person household, expenses drop by approximately 30 percent.
We eat less as we age. As our metabolisms slow down, so does our need for calories. Another unfortunate reason some older people eat less is that they find it more difficult to go shopping and to cook meals.
The mortgage eventually gets paid off. Roughly 55 percent of households in the 45-to-54 age group have a mortgage, whereas just 13% of the 75-and-older group still have that monthly payment.
We just slow down. As we age, we spend less on entertainment, clothes, travel, and other semi-discretionary expenses. As a writer and former English teacher who is married to a writer, I was heartened to see that expenditures on reading generally increase as we age, with just a slight dip after age 75.
We don’t save for retirement forever. Once you retire, you’ll stop paying the 7.65 percent FICA tax that pays for Social Security and Medicare (15.3 percent if you’re self-employed) and you’ll stop contributing to your 401(k)s, IRAs, and other savings vehicles. This alone could shave 15 percent to 25 percent off your pre-retirement expenses.
Uncle Sam likes older people. Senior citizens pay much less in taxes, for several reasons: They receive a higher standard deduction, most Social Security is not taxed, and other sources of income — such as qualified dividends, municipal bond interest, and long-term capital gains — are taxed at lower rates than ordinary income. Plus, as you can see from the first row in the table above, income declines as we age, which puts most older people in the bottom two tax brackets.
Not every expense decreases as we age — notably, health care costs increase. Also, there’s a legitimate question about whether senior spending declines out of choice or necessity — i.e., retirees would spend more if they had more. However, for many of the categories, the spending declines are the logical result of getting older and not working anymore. Thus, on the whole, the evidence indicates that the old rule of thumb that you’ll need 70 percent to 80 percent of your pre-retirement income in retirement has its foundation in reality.
How to translate statistics to your retirement plans
However, while the average retiree spends less than the average 50-year-old, this is not the case for every retiree. Many spend quite a bit more, especially in the first few years of retirement, as they fill their newfound free time with travel, hobbies, classes, and other forms of recreation. Others see their income needs drop to half of their pre-retirement income. So when it comes to your own financial planning, especially once you’re within a decade of retirement, it’s important to look at and refine your budget, estimating how much you’ll actually need after you kiss the working world good-bye.
Simple living is great. Avoiding shopping malls in favor of clothing swaps, cooking meals at home with your spouse, holding a music jam with friends instead of shelling out big bucks for a concert — all these activities not only save you money, but they also connect you more deeply with what you love.
In a sense, they make you more alive. Which is what getting rich is ultimately about: not simply achieving material wealth, but living a rich life.
Pay now, save later Some things just shouldn’t be scrimped on, though. There are expenses that save you money down the line. Some also save you time and improve your quality of life. It might be tempting to cut corners on this stuff, but the truly frugal person knows that laying out cash up front will pay off in savings later.
Consider these expenses an investment in your life. You’ll reap material as well as personal rewards when you keep up with these areas of your life:
Your health. Preventative health care saves thousands on major medical costs every year. In addition to keeping up with your annual physical, be sure to get your teeth cleaned regularly. Dental insurance typically offers only partial coverage of major dental work, and those crowns can add up to huge dollar amounts in a hurry. Taking care of your health also means eating well and getting enough exercise. These things can be done relatively cheaply: You don’t have to spend a fortune at Whole Foods or join a trendy gym to keep fit. It’s worth putting some money into eating well and keeping your body moving, though. Look for bargains at your grocery store, but don’t eat Fruit Roll-Ups instead of fresh fruit just because you have a coupon. Over time, you’ll save money by staying healthy.
Your home. You don’t need to live in a mansion. A smaller, cheaper home can often bring you more joy because it comes with fewer financial headaches and less labor to keep it clean. Whatever roof you choose to lay your head under, you’ll need to maintain it. Unless you rent, or have a condo association managing it for you, it’s important to stay on top of upkeep on your property. Like your health, preventative maintenance can go a long way towards saving you money and guarding against real harm in the future. Fixing your leaky roof promptly, replacing your water heater as needed, and cleaning your heating system each year will cost you in maintenance fees. But it’s a small fraction of the cost you’ll pay if you let those things slide until they become emergencies.
Your marriage. Divorce isn’t just painful, it’s expensive. A divorce typically lowers each former spouse’s net worth by 70%. (But it sure boosts the net worth of the lawyers!) Putting some resources into keeping things strong between you and your partner is a great investment, in financial terms as well as emotional. Set money aside for time together, for small thoughtful gifts to let your beloved know you’re thinking of her. If you have kids, spring for a babysitter to create some much-needed time alone. If your marriage is in trouble, consider therapy. The therapist’s fee may seem steep, but it’s a fraction of the hourly rate a divorce attorney will charge, and the end result will likely be happier.
Your career. Typically, your career is your greatest source of money. But it also creates expenses. These range from having the right clothes for your office environment to taking graduate courses. There’s an art to knowing which expenses will pay off. Do you really need $200 shoes to fit in at work? Is that new laptop an essential business expense or a neat toy? While it’s easy to overspend on your career, especially if you’re self-employed, work is an area where some investment up front can bring you huge returns over time. If a graduate degree will help you step into a higher paying position, or even switch careers entirely, it’s probably worth the cost of tuition bills in the here and now.
Your happiness. You can’t live entirely in the future. While you save for your long-term goals, be sure to put some energy into being happy in the present. That doesn’t mean splurging on expensive whims to buy yourself a moment of happiness in a bleary day. Spending money you don’t have won’t make you happy. Debt is a major cause of stress and sadness in people’s lives. But as you take control of your finances, be sure to also tend to the joy in your life. That’s best done by fostering close relationships and engaging in activities you love. Unlike the other “life investments” I’ve talked about here, this one comes with a small price tag or none at all. A talk with a close friend, a trip to the library, or a free movie at your local university can all bring big doses of happiness for free.
Investing in these core areas pays off in a better quality of life and saves you money on emergencies. A healthier, happier life is also a cheaper one.
Budgeting for now and later To get the long-term financial and personal gains of this approach, you’ll need to do some careful budgeting. Make sure you leave room for “unexpected” expenses like home repairs and dental work. A review of your last few years’ spending records should give you a pretty clear idea of what your family typically spends on these periodic maintenance items. By budgeting for them, you’ll have the cash on hand when you need it.
You can also make your life easier by funding a three- to six-month emergency fund to tap into when life throws you a big curveball like a suddenly failed appliance You shouldn’t rely on your emergency fund to cover your new running shoes or evening computer classes, though. Budget for these “life investments” and they’ll fit more easily into your life.
As with any expense, it’s important to make these choices with care. Yes, you’re investing in your life. Keeping your health, your home, your marriage, and your career strong will bring you more happiness every day. But like any investment, take care not to overextend yourself. Sometimes last year’s running shoe is just as good as this year’s — and for half the price. Getting the most out of your money without shortchanging your quality of life is the truly frugal approach.
Do you need to move to a new apartment, but find you have more stuff than will fit into the new space?
A storage unit could provide a way for you to fit into less floor space — without getting rid of your belongings.
When is a storage unit worth the extra cost, however? Read on to weigh your options and consider whether a storage unit — or a larger apartment — might be more suitable for you in the long run.
Storage unit pros
There are several scenarios where storing your extra stuff makes sense.
What if you have to make a temporary move for your job to a city where apartment rental prices are at a premium? A storage unit can allow you to rent a smaller, cheaper apartment and keep your non-essential belongings nearby, waiting for you.
If you have to move to a smaller apartment in a hurry, renting a storage unit is an easy way to stow your excess belongings. You can go through the storage unit later and decide what you want to get rid of.
If you are clearing space in your apartment, but aren’t quite ready to get rid of what you’re moving, a storage unit can be the place for the things you displace. You may want that stuff around again, someday.
More tips and advice on renting a storage unit:
Store-er, beware!
However, there are also many reasons to ditch the storage unit in favor of more space – or less clutter! Keep these points in mind.
Make sure that the belongings you are storing are things you actually want or need to keep, and are not just clutter. If you put something in storage for years and never use it, there is a possibility you just don’t need it.
When you rent a storage unit, you are taking on an additional bill every month. Make sure you can handle this new financial responsibility. If you miss too many payments, the storage company becomes the owner of your belongings.
Having things in storage can give you a false sense of organization. If keeping a storage unit gives you an excuse to acquire new things, you might ultimately need a larger apartment space.
To store or not to store?
In the end, it’s a strategic call. Carefully analyze your belongings and see if you really have stuff to store, or clutter you can get rid of. Ask yourself “do I really need to pay rent on these items?” before you place them into storage.
How carefully do you budget? Do you account for every dime, or is there some wiggle room in your spending plan?
Since I got on the wagon with tracking my spending, there’s no miscellaneous category in my budget anymore. Every dime of my income is accounted for. I know how much I spent on parking meters last month ($2.75), as well as bigger ticket items like what my household utilities cost ($328).
That’s great for budgeting. I base my spending plans for the coming month on my actual spending from previous months. In theory, my household finances should be a well-oiled, debt-slaying machine.
In theory. In theory, there’s no difference between practice and theory. But in practice…
Too good to be true In practice, I end every month feeling pinched, wondering where all my money went and why my grocery envelope is so thin this week. Yes, I can check my spending records to get answers to those questions. But I would have thought that by now I’d have solved the problem.
I haven’t for two reasons. One is that I’ve deliberately cut our daily operating budget very close to the edge. We lived for a long time on less than half our current household income. Our income has gone up, but we still have debts to pay off. As uncomfortable as it can be to shake the last cup of black beans out of the cupboard because I ran out of grocery money, I’d rather spend a few more years living on a tight budget in order to get out of debt faster.
In other words, I make myself feel broke on purpose.
Back in the day, I used to come up against the end-of-month bills in a panic, staring at a dwindling bank balance and no back-up plan. Now I have the same immediate problem of squeezing money for the electric bill out of the grocery budget. But instead of a wad of maxed-out credit cards, I have zero credit debt and a nice start on an emergency fund building in my online savings account. That’s a huge improvement.
I’d still like to think, though, that after two years of tracking every penny I spend, I could accurately predict how much money I’ll need each week.
I fail because every month there are some irregular expenses. Sometimes they’re big, like a surprise $600 vet bill for our cats. Sometimes they’re small, like spending $30 at the charity book fair at my kids’ school or buying a $100 part for my oven.
The point is just that every month it’s something — something I neglected to account for. The more I plan ahead, the fewer these things take me by surprise. Our annual homeowner’s insurance bill no longer catches me off guard, and I’ve budgeted months in advance to pay the excise tax on our car.
But I’ll probably never be 100% accurate with my spending plans. I’ve learned the basic skills of tracking my income and expenses, and plotting out what I’ll need to spend in the coming month. I’m pretty good. I get it right to within a few hundred dollars every month.
Living in the Real World Given the complexity of our financial life and the reality of my ADHD brain, this is probably as good as it gets for me as a household financial manager.
If I can’t get better at predicting what I’ll spend, I need another strategy to solve my end-of-month budget crunch. While I love how our household income has gone up over the past two years, I know that more money is rarely the answer to a financial problem. I just need to manage what we have better.
Puzzling over this at the end of October, I realized the answer had been staring at me for months.
I need to budget for my mistakes.
When I wrote about travel budgeting in July, I quoted Ramit Sethi‘s rule of thumb: figure out what you think you’ll spend on housing, food and travel costs, and then add 20% for the unexpected stuff that comes up on any vacation.
That rule served me well during all my summer travel. I came in under budget, feeling great, and put the extra money back in savings for my next trip.
Clearly, I need to do something similar with my household budget. Given the scale of the numbers, 20% is probably excessive. But I need to rewrite my spending plan with a margin of error. Maybe 10% or even 5% will be enough.
This will be money I can safely spend on anything that comes up during the month:
Dinner out with a college friend
A trip to the emergency room
A car repair
And so on
This money is for all of the small costs that don’t merit dipping into our emergency fund, but weren’t accounted for in my spending projections at the beginning of the month.
If I use it up, fine. That’s what it was there for. If I don’t, I get a bonus prize: the chance to knock that much more money off my debt this month.
Nobody’s perfect Not only does that ease the pressure to be perfect with my spending a bit, but it gives me a short-term incentive to be extra careful. I wrote last week about my flagging interest in my own finances. Having to protect a pool of bonus money that might or might not go towards an extra debt payment at the end of the month is the kind of money hack that will keep me more engaged day-to-day.
Since I’m just starting this, I’m curious to hear from GRS readers: Do you have room in your budget for mistakes? How much do you allow? Does it help you stay focused, or give you an excuse to get sloppy with your spending? What advice can you give me?
When you’re young and adventurous, international travel is the dream. You jump at any opportunity to go abroad without a second thought, start packing your suitcase, and promise yourself you’ll work out the details later.
But traveling — especially post-pandemic traveling — requires a bit of planning if you want a safe, inexpensive, and (relatively) stress-free trip. ️
Whether you’re traveling with friends or going solo, staying for one week or six months, traveling is much easier when you plan ahead with money-saving tips. Here are our best ideas to make your next international trip easy on your mind and your wallet.
What’s Ahead:
1. Be flexible with your dates and destinations
If you have flexibility in terms of where and when you travel, you have a major advantage: the ability to plan your trip around whatever amazing deal you can find. Without limitations on where and when you can travel, you can search within a specific timeframe or geographical area and shop around for low airfare and accommodations.
If you’re totally set on a particularly expensive destination, try to plan your trip for the off-season. You can often save big by traveling during less popular times, even in expensive areas. Conversely, if you have a specific window of time for travel, shop around for a destination that offers a good bang for your buck for that time of year.
A little flexibility goes a long way when you want to save on international travel.
Read more: Affordable international travel destinations that won’t empty your wallet
2. Decide what’s important to you and prioritize your spending
Before you hop on a plane with cash burning a hole in your pocket, take some time to think about your spending plan while you’re away.
I don’t necessarily mean you have to budget — although if that’s your style, stick with it. What I do suggest is you think about how you want to spend your money while traveling — starting with what’s most important to you.
Do you want a direct flight, or is a layover okay?
Do you love museums, or is seeing one enough?
Do you want to stay in a specific neighborhood, or wherever’s affordable?
Are you a big foodie, or is your dining experience an afterthought?
For example, if food is your thing, plan to spend big at restaurants. You’ll probably have to cut back in other categories — like lodging, cultural attractions, or transportation — but that’s okay. Giving this some thought before your trip will help you prioritize your favorite things.
Read more: How to travel for cheap: 7 ways to see the world for less
3. Get travel insurance
If you’ve traveled at all since COVID-19 upended the world, you know how different it is. After months — even years — of lockdown, many of us are jumping at the chance to travel abroad again. But after enduring such a lull in travel, it’s even more disappointing when things don’t work out.
That’s why travel insurance is a lifesaver.
The last thing you want is to plan an epic trip and miss half of it due to a flight cancellation. So even though you might bristle at the added expense of travel insurance, work it into your budget and enjoy the priceless feeling of security should something go wrong.
Like credit cards and bank accounts, there are lots of options when it comes to travel insurance. Several popular credit cards provide travel insurance, so you might already be covered. If not, shop around for a policy that fits your needs and budget. Sites like SquareMouth.com, TravelInsurance.com, and InsureMyTrip.com can help.
Read more: Best credit cards for travel insurance
4. Save digital copies of important documents
You know that feeling when you misplace your phone? Your stomach kind of drops, and panic sets in. (And approximately 12 seconds later you find it on the kitchen table.)
Imagine that feeling — x100 — when you misplace your passport while traveling internationally.
I know — you’ll do your best to keep all your stuff secure and organized. But things happen, you misplace this, you forget that. You’re human, and you should have a backup plan.
Make digital copies of all your important documents before you leave. Store them in multiple places, and make sure they’re accessible to you while abroad. I suggest making copies of the following documents:
Passport
Travel insurance paperwork
Vaccination information
Visa
Driver’s license
Travel itinerary
Store photos on your phone, in your email, in the cloud, and give copies to a trustworthy person at home.
5. Learn language basics
If you’re traveling to a country that speaks another language, take some time to learn key phrases and words.
Learning a new language opens all kinds of doors when you travel. The better you can communicate with locals, the more you’ll get out of your trip. Plus, having some basic language skills means you can better navigate outside of the main touristy areas — potentially saving you money by staying, eating, and shopping in under-the-radar locales.
Learning language basics can also give you a better cultural understanding of wherever you’re traveling. Not to mention locals will appreciate your interest in their language and culture.
If you’re thinking there’s no way you’ll ever learn to speak another language, start small. You don’t have to be fluent to reap the rewards of language skills. Instead, think about some simple words and phrases you know you’ll need often.
There are tons of accessible, free ways to learn a new language these days. You can download an app like Duolingo or Memrise, join a language exchange, or even take a community college class.
6. Have some local cash before you land
There are a million and one things to plan when traveling abroad, and it’s easy to neglect to get local cash before departing. You might just plan to use your card and withdraw money when you get there — but you can’t always count on this strategy.
You never know when you’ll have trouble with a card, and you’ll definitely need money when you land — to feed yourself and get to your lodging, at a minimum. So take the extra step of getting some local currency before you even step foot on the plane. And be sure you have enough to get situated when you get there.
Oh, and don’t wait until you get to the airport to exchange your cash. If you go to your bank or credit union, you’ll pay a lot less in fees and pay lower exchange rates than you will at an airport kiosk.
7. Get a local SIM card for your phone
Roaming data and temporary data passes are expensive, and there are better — and cheaper — ways to use your phone abroad.
Of course, you can always connect to Wi-Fi. But if you want to be able to use your phone without a Wi-Fi connection — say, to find the nearest pub while walking the rural English countryside — you can avoid exorbitant roaming fees by buying a local SIM card instead.
After you land at your destination, go to a local telecom store and buy a SIM card. Look for a pay-as-you-go or temporary SIM, which you might see being marketed to travelers. Choose a popular telecom store with lots of locations — that way, if you have issues later on, it’s easier to find help.
All you have to do is replace your regular SIM card with the temporary one (unless your phone allows dual SIM cards — then you can have both in at once) and make sure your roaming data is turned off. Voila! You’ve got yourself a working phone.
8. Stay in a local neighborhood
Rather than paying an arm and a leg for a bland hotel in the main tourist zone, look for a rental in a local neighborhood when planning your accommodations abroad. Aside from getting a unique experience, there are lots of benefits to doing this:
You can often save money by staying even a short walk from the hot spots
You’ll experience more of the local culture and cuisine
You can meet the locals — whether it’s an Airbnb host, a barista down the block, or a neighbor
If you’re traveling somewhere for an extended period of time (and depending on your risk tolerance), you can wait to find your long-term accommodations until you get there. Find a place to stay for a week or two while you get a feel for the area and chat with the locals. You’ll have a much better idea of where you want to be — plus some insider tips — by getting situated first.
9. Book a walking tour
If you ask me, there’s no better way to explore a new city than on foot. You see more, you start to orient yourself, and you can stop in whatever shops, cafes, and museums you see along the way.
To start your trip off on the right foot (literally), book a walking tour as soon as you arrive. They’re a great way to immediately learn about the city and scope out the places you want to revisit. Plus, walking tours allow you to meet other travelers. If you’re traveling solo, you’ll likely meet other people interested in exploring with you.
They don’t cost much — in fact, a quick Google search usually turns up lots of free walking tours.
10. Use local currency when paying with a credit card
When you’re traveling abroad and paying with a credit card, you may be prompted to choose between local currency or U.S. dollars when checking out. You may not realize it, but you’ll likely pay more by selecting your home currency.
Even if your card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, there’s usually a fee associated with paying in your home currency. The only real benefit is seeing what you’re paying in terms of the currency you’re familiar with. But this convenience comes at a price — usually around 3% of the charge — which can really add up over time. If prompted, always choose the local currency when paying with a credit card.
11. Use public transit
One of the best ways to save money when traveling abroad is to use public transit. And I promise it’s not as scary as it seems!
The reality is, Ubers, Lyfts, and cabs will quickly eat away at your budget. While convenient, they’re not cheap. If you can, rely on public transit to get where you need to go.
Depending on where you’re traveling, public transit may include:
Trains
Buses
Subways
Trams
Ferries
The ins and outs of navigating public transit vary widely, but it’s not as intimidating as it looks. Taking public transit will give you a chance to practice a foreign language and give you more of a local’s perspective on the city.
Plus — and I can tell you from experience — you’ll feel a huge sense of accomplishment (and relief) after navigating a foreign city’s public transit system.
One more note: it’s not a bad idea to set aside an emergency stash of money for a cab. If you’re out late or, for whatever reason, don’t feel safe taking the bus or train home, a cab is always worth the peace of mind.
12. Make use of grocery stores
No, you don’t have to go full Julia Child while abroad, but grocery shopping and cooking in a new country is a worthwhile adventure in itself. Plus, shopping for snacks, groceries, and ingredients — and cooking meals yourself — can save you a fortune while traveling.
When I went to Iceland, my flights and rental car were relatively inexpensive. Meals out, however, were pricey. I ended up saving a lot of money by shopping for groceries and cooking at home. There were some… interesting meals, but I saved money I wanted to spend on other things — like museums and awesome lodging.
If your hotel room, rental, or hostel has a kitchen, you can cook simple meals at home. Have fun browsing the shelves at grocery stores, specialty shops, and farmer’s markets for fresh and exotic ingredients, and see what culinary masterpiece you can cook up.
If your lodging doesn’t include a kitchen, you can still stock up on snacks. You can easily piece together a cheap and delicious picnic with grab-and-go-items.
Read more: 9 ways to save money on food and drinks while traveling
13. Check out local meet-ups
No matter how far from home you are, you can find community at a variety of local meet-ups. A quick online search can help you find free local meet-ups in whatever city you’re in — no need to spend on every experience while traveling. Plus, if you’re traveling solo, you’re almost guaranteed to meet other solo people with similar interests as you.
Not sure where to start? Check out these ideas for inspiration:
Creative Mornings — a live gathering of creatives who want to inspire, connect with, and learn from one another.
FuckUp Nights — a series of events showcasing stories of professional failure, vulnerability, and empathy.
MeetUp.com — a platform to help you find groups, events, and activities wherever you are.
If you meet locals during your stay, ask them about local events and meetups. It goes without saying, but stick to gatherings that feel safe.
Summary
International travel isn’t out of reach — especially if you take the time to plan wisely. There are lots of great ways to save on flights, food, transportation, and accommodations, as long as you’re willing to do your research.
Remember to take care of yourself and be a responsible traveler, too. The more effort you put into planning a safe, responsible, and wallet-friendly trip, the more enjoyable it will be.