As a mom, finding clever ways to save money can help secure your family’s financial future.
Yes, I know, there are many other, more impactful ways to build wealth, and in the grand scheme of things, saving a buck here and there might not seem like the recipe for propelling yourself (with your entire brood in tow) to millionaire status, but hear me out.
Unless you stop the bleeding (in this case, frivolous spending), it will take you a lot longer to get there.
In my mind, building generational wealth is a combination of developing marketable skills, earning from those skills, investing wisely, and frugal spending.
…And putting your foot down when any member of your brood wants to splash $1,000 on a pair of, in my view, hideous sneakers.
That’s why I rave about How to Create a Budget and Everything You Need to Know to Start Using Coupons.
A Mom’s Guide to Saving Money the Smart Way
Of course, as with everything worth doing, it’s much easier said than done. Believe me; I’ve had moments of taking on unnecessary expenses at the grocery store despite having blown past our monthly budget.
It happens; you are going to slip up sometimes. The key is to have a solid hold on your spending habits and a savings system. That way, even if you go off the rails occasionally, you can recover and stay focused on your ultimate savings goals.
With that in mind, here are my top-secret (shhhhhh) creative ways to save money monthly.
1. Start Budgeting
It sounds obvious, doesn’t it?
Would it surprise you to learn that only 30% of American households actually have a detailed monthly budget prepared? Yes, according to a Gallup poll, two in every three Americans don’t have a monthly budget, nor do they have a long-term financial plan or investment goals.
I kid you not; budgeting is one of those things that everyone knows they should do, yet up to two-thirds of us don’t!
Having a detailed monthly budget will open your eyes to the reckless spending on everyday purchases you are currently engaging in.
From unnecessary online shopping sprees to pizza deliveries, even your grocery bill might have something you don’t need, or you can find cheaper alternatives if you just look.
You won’t know where all the money is going until you have an actual, written-down budget. THEN you will see just how badly you’ve been throwing cash around.
Here’s a quick guide on budgeting categories for the family if you want to get started right away.
2. Use Money Saving Apps
If you are anything like me, you put most of your grocery shopping, utility bills, and monthly bills on your credit or debit cards. While most of these offer rewards when you use them, you can go further and use savings apps.
Here’s why. Many of these apps highlight saving opportunities and fetch rewards such as cash back on many purchases you would make anyway.
Neat, huh?!!
Here are a few that I like using. You can check them out and see what you think:
Ibotta: I get cash back for most purchases.
Acorns: This one helps me save and invest.
Rakuten: These guys give you cash back on online purchases you make in over 3,500 stores.
3. Try Out Capital One Shopping
Now this is a tool I simply love! Capital One Shopping is not only free, but it also works in the background. So you don’t need to remember to use it every time.
If you want to find the best deals online and gift cards and coupons, you must install Capital One Shopping on your browser.
You will save a ton of money. Trust me on this one! It is by far one of my favorite and most clever ways to save money.
4. Create a Meal Plan
Have you ever found yourself at the grocery store buying things that weren’t on your list because they looked “interesting to try out?” I know I have!
I’m not saying you shouldn’t try new things and new recipes (what would life be without these little adventures?). I’m saying that meal planning will help you cut back on a lot of unnecessary expenditures when it comes to groceries.
Here’s why I meal plan:
It helps us avoid food wastage (leftovers are planned for)
Encourages a better diet
Saves money on impulse purchases at the grocery store
But most importantly, meal planning helps me save money and curb my spending habits on those nights I don’t know what my family will eat. I will already have a plan in place to help cut down on ordering in and eating out.
Check out my free printable meal plan!
5. Conduct a Personal Finance Audit
I know! I know! That sounds like what the IRS is for, but hear me out.
There are things you are paying for now that you either don’t need or don’t even remember that you are paying for unless you run a complete audit of your finances.
When was the last time you actually saw your husband reading that “Monster Trucks Forever” magazine that keeps coming in the mail?
How about you? Are you really going to visit all those vineyards someday? Then why are you paying for that subscription?
We often put so many little $1-a-month subscriptions on our cards because they seem important at the time, or a dollar a month doesn’t seem like that much. But they add up.
Run a quick audit on your bank statements to find out what you are paying for that you no longer use or don’t actually need, and cut it out.
These are just some creative ways I use to reduce our spending and save money. Saving money doesn’t have to be painful. You just need to find ways to reduce your living expenses (not necessarily lifestyle) and channel all that extra cash into your savings account.
Also see: How to get out of debt fast when you don’t have much money
How about you? What are some of your clever ways to save money?
How often do you go to the supermarket? Could you get by making only one trip per month? What if it saved you money?
My wife and I are both reading America’s Cheapest Family by Steve and Annette Economides. During his time as an ad salesman, Steve was “shocked to read in a food industry publication that grocers expect six of ten items consumers pick up in the store to be unplanned purchases.”
Steve and Annette discovered that scientific research backs up what grocers already knew. In their book, the Economides cite a study analyzing the decisions of 4,200 customers who made 30,000 purchases in fourteen different cities. Researchers found:
“Shoppers making a ‘quick trip’ to the store to pick up a few specific items usually purchase 54 percent more than they planned.”
“Forty-seven percent of shoppers go to the store three or four times each week.”
“Consumers graze at the grocery store, with impulse buys making up between 50.8 and 67.7 percent of total purchase.”
When people shop more often, they buy more stuff.
What’s the solution? For the past 25 years, Steve and Annette, America’s cheapest family, have practiced once-a-month shopping. They only go grocery shopping 12 times a year. This boggles my mind; Kris and I shop every week. (Lately I’ve been making many supplementary grocery trips, and my food budget reflects that.)
Once-a-Month Shopping
How does shopping once a month work? First of all, it takes time. It also takes organization. Here’s how the Economides do it:
They make a list of the things they need, which they update continually. They also use meal plans (click here for a $14 day trial to $5 Meal Plan).
They accumulate coupon and ads for the things they use and the stores they frequent. During the days before their monthly shopping trip, they match sales and discounts to the items on their list.
They divide and conquer. Steve tackles the perimeter of the stores (meat, produce, dairy, and baked goods) while Annette scours the center (processed food, household goods, baking supplies).
They leave younger children with a babysitter. The Economides have found that they save time and money by leaving younger children at home instead of letting them distract them from the task at hand. Older children, however, can actually help.
They hit multiple stores. Different stores have different strengths. If you shop every week, it may not make sense to drive all over town to save a few pennies. By shopping just once a month, however, travel costs are diminished.
When they have the food home, they prioritize perishables. Certain produce (grapes, bananas) need to be consumed earlier in the month. Other foods (milk, bread) may need to be frozen.
The Economides admit that each monthly shopping trip takes longer than a weekly shopping trip. But overall the process saves time and money. For one thing, it cuts down on the number of opportunities for impulse purchases.
Once-a-month shopping has worked so well for them that they’ve been doing it since 1984!
Putting the Plan Into Practice
“This would never work for you,” Kris said when she and I discussed this concept. “You shop all the time.”
She’s right. Since I started working from home, I find myself at the grocery store several times each week. For example, I might crave a rotisserie chicken for dinner, so I head to the store to indulge my whim. While this sounds nice, it’s actually costing me more money.
I’m indulging my whims, which tend toward more expensive foods.
Each time I go to the store, I tend to buy extras. That rotisserie chicken turns into chicken and a bottle of wine and a loaf of bread, for example.
We’re wasting more food. I’m not eating leftovers, and sometimes (I’m ashamed to admit), I let other food expire.
Could Kris and I get by shopping just once a month? We’re willing to give it a try. She and I have agreed to start by cutting our trips to twice a month (with a supplemental weekly run for milk and eggs). If this works, we’ll make them even less often. The most difficult part, however, will be restraining myself from those quick trips for impulse meals.
Update: Many readers are concerned about how once-a-month shopping would affect their supply of fresh fruits and vegetables. Here’s what Steve and Annette say in their book:
Limiting our trips to the store means that certain fruits and vegetables must be eaten earlier in the month because they are more perishable. Grapes and bananas usually last a week. Once they’re gone, we move on to other fruits. Pears, lettuce, cucumbers, and peppers can last two weeks. Apples, cabbage, radishes, oranges, and celery can last a month.
We are often asked about storing bread, cheese, and milk. How could we possibly make those last a month? Well, we carefully freeze all three.
You should do what works for you. Kris and I are going to try twice-a-month shopping; the key idea is to reduce the number of trips to the supermarket.
Related note: At AskMetafilter recently, nitsuj asked, What’s your secret tip for saving money at the grocery store?”
Editor’s note: This post has been updated with the latest information.
Studying abroad is one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences. For many, it might be their first time traveling out of the country and truly immersing themselves in another culture. This opportunity is invaluable and can truly set college students up for great success in years to come.
When borders finally reopened after the pandemic, applications to study abroad programs skyrocketed; the number of U.S. students studying overseas in 2022-23 increased by 83% compared to the previous academic year, according to data from Opendoors.
During college, it was important for me to study abroad. I chose a program at the University of New South Wales in Australia (near the beaches in Sydney), and I look back fondly at that experience quite often.
Unfortunately, though, the study abroad experience comes with a hefty price tag. According to a recent Study.com survey, the average cost to study aboard for a semester costs $16,368 in 2023.
These costs are generally above and beyond what parents think college students spend. Of course, this number can be higher or lower depending on your specific program, the country where you are studying and other external factors, but this is a good number to start with.
For me, the cost of studying abroad was actually similar to the semester cost at my university in the U.S. Finding a program that partners with your university is important as it will make the process more seamless and potentially more financially feasible.
Related: How to travel on a budget: Here are our 22 top tips
With such an expensive cost, it is a good idea to start budgeting early. You’ll also want to remember studying abroad is more than just tuition, housing and a plane ticket to that country. You truly want it to be an experience. You’ll want to eat at local restaurants, travel around the country and spend nights out in the town.
Here are some tips on how to budget for your upcoming study abroad experience:
Plan out your expenses
Aside from your program costs, there are many additional expenses that you might not have thought about. Since you are in another country, you might have to get a different cellphone and sign up for a separate plan. You also might be on the hook to pay for Wi-Fi and electricity in your accommodation.
Related: Every student studying abroad needs one of these credit cards
Transportation to your school is another cost to think about. Are you within walking distance, or will you be relying on local transportation? Also, consider how you’ll get to the grocery store and around town. The costs will be minimal for some, while others might have a decent line item in their budgeting tracker.
This is something that I did not consider initially. My school was about a 20-minute walk, but for late-night classes, I didn’t love walking on my own in the dark. The grocery store was also close to the school, so walking with bags in hand (with many hills) was not a great option. Every time I took the bus, I was out another $2. While this might not seem like a lot, it can add up, especially if you pay this on a daily basis.
Your housing situation will also play a big part in your additional expenses. Are you living on a campus with an included meal plan, or are you on your own for food? Do you have a kitchen where you can cook your own food, or will you primarily be eating out?
I lived in a house with seven other students and was fortunate enough that we would all take turns cooking for one another. Cooking in bulk and splitting trips to the grocery store helped keep us on track with our budget.
Using an excel spreadsheet or creating a monthly budget can help you fully keep track of your potential expenses and help you spend accordingly.
Pick a budget-friendly country
When you are budgeting out all of your expenses, make sure to take your country of choice into account. For example, studying in Western Europe will likely cost more than in Southeast Asia. This is not only due to potentially lower program costs but also your everyday living expenses, entertainment and travel costs. Finding street food for a dollar is quite easy in Thailand, but it’s nowhere close to realistic in Switzerland.
Understanding personal finance and ways to manage money early on is important when preparing to study abroad. Using a general study abroad cost calculator might over or underestimate your actual costs, so make sure to fully understand the overall climate of your country of choice.
You’ll also want to consider exchange rate changes. If you are budgeting a year or more out, remember that the exchange rate might be slightly different after you actually arrive in the country. This may or may not be to your advantage. Hint: You could use a no foreign transaction fee card to pay for your expenses.
Know what’s included in your program costs
Figure out what’s included in your program costs, as you might be surprised to see the additional costs add up. Is the flight to the country included? (If not, you can always consider using points and miles to get you there.) Will you have to furnish your apartment or housing option, or will it already be furnished?
When I studied abroad, although our apartment was furnished, we were on the hook for nonessentials, like televisions. We went to a secondhand store to buy a television for the semester, and then we sold it at the end of our six-month stay. We also had to rent a washing machine from a local store and opted to hang dry our clothes to save on the dryer expense. These were not expenses I had originally budgeted, but they can add up.
Determine the cost of living
Do some research about the country you are planning to visit to figure out the cost of living. Talk to students who have studied at that particular school or join a local online group and speak to individuals currently living there.
This will help you determine essential costs, such as housing, cell phones, transportation, restaurants and groceries. Of course, you’ll also want to budget for experiences as well, such as restaurants, excursions and nightly entertainment.
You will want to travel
Travel is a huge part of studying abroad too. While getting to know your new university and the city where you are living is great, seeing other parts of the country is part of the experience.
The place you’re studying will determine your travel expenses. You’ll want to determine if there are inexpensive train options or if you are bound to more expensive airplane tickets.
During my study abroad experience, we were pretty much on our own for sightseeing. One weekend trip, a visit to the Blue Mountains of Australia, was included in the program fee. My other travel and sightseeing expenses during the study abroad experience made up a hefty part of my budget.
Fortunately, I knew other students who went to my university of choice the year prior, and they were able to help me figure out my travel schedule in advance. My research ahead of time helped me understand to budget for a spring break trip and a week-long study period trip at the end of the semester.
I also planned a few weekend trips to see other sites within the country. Staying with friends while traveling is also a great way to reduce travel costs and help you stay on budget.
Bottom line
Studying abroad is an amazing experience and should be an opportunity to consider. The cost can add up, but some students might actually find it to be a similar price as their semester cost at home.
Ultimately, you’ll want to ensure you budget properly to fully enjoy the entire experience out of the country. Make sure to live like a local, see everything you can and make the most memories to look back on.
Last Updated: May 26, 2023 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner – 13 Comments
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.
Mystery shopping. Many of you have emailed me and asked me the question “what is mystery shopping” and have been wondering how I am making money through mystery shopping.
I usually make around $150 to $200 a month from mystery shopping.
Side note: If you are interested in the many other ways I earn extra money, check out my Extra Income page on my blog.
I use mainly Bestmark for my mystery secret shops. I’m not sure what other companies are good and reputable mystery shopping websites, but I know for a FACT that Bestmark is a legitimate mystery shopping website, so you can trust me when I say that.
Last month I didn’t make too much because not a lot of “good” shops were offered in my area. Lately, I’ve been a little more picky with the shops that I sign up for also.
What I consider a worthwhile shop for ME:
Either an online shop or phone call shop
If I have to drive, it’s close to somewhere I’ll be
Something I’ll use. I love doing Estee Lauder shops because I always love free makeup.
Restaurant shops, because I have to eat, of course.
Of course, what’s worthwhile to you and me might be different. When I first signed up for mystery shopping (sometime last summer I think), I literally signed up for everything. I made decent money, but it wore me out. The amount of surveys that you have to do is so repetitive that it makes you want to throw your computer at the wall.
Sometimes surveys take just a minute, but sometimes they literally take an hour. Restaurant shops usually take a little longer than others because usually you are grading every little detail.
Some examples of mystery shops I’ve done include:
Restaurants. This ranges from cheaper restaurants where I’m reimbursed for around $30 worth of food, all the way up to nice steakhouses where I get $100.
Dealerships. Bestmark has a ton of dealership shops available, but I only have done the phone call and scheduling services online secret shops.
I usually do about 4-5 of these a week and these are the easiest shops. You don’t have to drive anywhere and the surveys literally take one minute. And you get paid around $5 for them. Although recently they’ve lowered the payment to only $3, and there’s a ton more work involved. I had to cancel around 3 or 4 shops because they didn’t make it clear enough about the amount of work that I signed up for. And for $3, I’m not really willing to do too much.
They also have dealership secret shops where you go in and pretend you want a car. These usually pay around $20. This is something I’ve never done, and they have plenty of these available for everyone to do. I’ve never done this because car salesmen scare me. I’m not ready for thousands of annoying phone calls and I’m afraid that I’d be stuck in a dealership for an hour while trying to run away from the salesperson.
Retail. I mainly do Estee Lauder. I’ve done a lot of these. I’ve gotten foundation, lotion, toner, face wash, concealer, lip gloss and so on, all for FREE! And these aren’t sample sizes, I’ve probably gotten over $200 in stuff, plus gotten paid around $10 on top for each shop as well.
I’ve also done a couple of Best Buy shops. These are easy too. You just survey a certain department (takes like a minute), and then you can just buy something small like a candy bar so that they have your receipt for proof that you were actually there and performed it. Best Buy shops usually pay around $13. Not a ton, but the Best Buy is along the way home from my work so I just pop in.
This is a mystery shopping check from one week’s of mystery shopping.
The highest paid shops I do are usually for restaurants. I’ve done a couple of nice restaurants where I had to eat over $100 worth of food. Crazy! I’ve also seen Hotel mystery shops, but they’ve never been on a good day for me, so I’ve never been able to sign up.
Also, if you find that you cannot do a shop that you sign up for, all you do usually is contact your scheduler and say you need to reschedule or cancel. Try not to do this too often though. These schedulers will remember you, and if you’re good to them, they will give you good shops, so remember that!
Mystery shopping money will NOT make you rich. I want to make that clear. It’s just a nice form of side income, where I can get things I want for free! What I make from mystery shopping, I add to my vacation fund. So it’s a nice little addition every month.
If I want to eat at a nice restaurant that I would usually go to, then YES I would love to do a secret shop there. Those are always the greatest shops because you are paid to have fun.
Do you secret shop such as through Bestmark? Any tips?
Also, if you join Bestmark, please say I referred you! My ID is MO4999. You can join Bestmark by clicking here.
If you are new to my blog, I am all about finding ways to make and save more money. Here are some of my favorite sites and products that may help you out:
Cut your TV bill. Cut your cable, satellite, etc. Even go as far to go without Netflix or Hulu as well. Buy a digital antenna (this is the one we have) and enjoy free TV for life.
Start a blog. Blogging is how I make a living and just a few years ago I never thought it would be possible. I earn over $30,000 a month online through my blog and you can read more about this in my monthly online income reports. You can create your own blog here with my easy-to-use tutorial. You can start your blog for as low as $3.49 per month plus you get a free domain if you sign-up through my tutorial.
Lower your cell phone bill. Instead of paying the $150 or more that you spend on your cell phone bill, there are companies out there like Republic Wireless that offer cell phone service starting at $5. YES, I SAID $5! If you use my Republic Wireless affiliate link, you can change your life and start saving thousands of dollars a year on your cell phone service. I created a full review on Republic Wireless as well if you are interested in hearing more. I’ve been using them for over a year and they are great.
Sign up for a website like Ebates where you can earn CASH BACK for just spending like how you normally would online. The service is free too! Plus, when you sign up through my link, you also receive a free $10 gift card bonus to Macys, Walmart, Target, or Kohls!
Save money on food. I recently joined $5 Meal Plan in order to help me eat at home more and cut my food spending. It’s only $5 a month (the first two weeks are free too) and you get meal plans sent straight to you along with the exact shopping list you need in order to create the meals. Each meal costs around $2 per person or less. This allows you to save time because you won’t have to meal plan anymore, and it will save you money as well!
Answer surveys. Survey companies I recommend include American Consumer Opinion, ProOpinion, Pinecone Research, Opinion Outpost, Survey Spot, and Harris Poll Online. They’re free to join and free to use! You get paid to answer surveys and to test products. It’s best to sign up for as many as you can as that way you can receive the most surveys and make the most money.
Use Swagbucks for your online searches. Swagbucks is something I don’t use as much, but I do occasionally earn Amazon gift cards with very little work. Swagbucks is just like using Google to do your online searches, except you get rewarded “points called SB” for the things you do through their website. Then, when you have enough Swagbucks, you can redeem them for cash, gift cards, and more. You’ll receive a free $5 bonus just for signing up today!
Try Digital Voice. Another one you may be interested in related to Swagbucks is Nielsen Digital Voice. Digital Voice is a part of Nielsen, which I’m sure you’ve heard of. All you have to do is surf the web and you may be able to start earning money.
Try InboxDollars. InboxDollars is an online rewards website I recommend. You can earn cash by taking surveys, playing games, shopping online, searching the web, redeeming grocery coupons, and more. Also, by signing up through my link, you will receive $5.00 for free just for signing up!
Find a part-time job. There are many part-time jobs that you may be able to find. You can find a job on sites such as Snagajob, Craigslist (yes, I’ve found a legitimate job through there before), Monster, and so on.
Let’s talk about traditional dining versus “my time” dining (also known as flexible, anytime or freestyle dining). Even if you’ve cruised a few times, do you really understand your mealtime options and what to choose?
An acquaintance, who is not a new cruiser, confessed to me that she only recently learned that meals in the luxurious-looking main dining rooms on cruise ships are included in the cruise fare. She had previously thought the phrase “anytime dining” referred only to eating in the buffet area whenever she wanted.
While it’s true you can eat in the buffet anytime it’s open, flexible dining (by whatever name your cruise line calls it) specifically refers to the main dining room. It’s one of the standard complimentary dining options on every cruise ship. Whether you select to eat at the same table at the same time each night or opt to take your chances on any available table during the dining room’s open hours, you never have to pay to eat in your ship’s grand dining hall.
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Don’t let the complexities of cruise ship dining plans keep you from enjoying all the great food your ship has to offer. Here, I’ll walk you through the ins and outs of “my time” versus traditional dining, as well as how these dining concepts came to be and how to choose the best meal plan for your trip.
A brief history of cruise ship dining concepts
For a bit of history of the dining concepts used by most mainstream cruise lines, you have to go back a couple of decades. In the past, all cruise ships served dinner at two fixed times, dubbed early and late seatings. Everyone was assigned to one of the seatings, and they’d sit at the same table, with the same dinner companions and waiters, for the duration of their cruise.
That concept began to evolve in the early 2000s when Norwegian Cruise Line introduced Freestyle Dining. Rather than have everyone assigned to arrive at specific times, cruisers were allowed to show up to eat whenever they wanted during the dining room’s hours of operation. NCL’s Freestyle Dining also heralded the modern version of specialty restaurants, so not only could passengers eat at the time of their choosing, but at whichever eatery suited their fancy each evening. It was a stunning change to the long-running system previously used.
The idea took hold. After considerable fine-tuning of the dining concept over the years and plenty of variation among cruise lines, the industry standard now is that most ships allow you to choose either the traditional early or late dining options or a flexible option with open seating and no set dining time.
Traditional dining
Traditional dining includes an assigned table and your choice of an early or late dinner time. Though what constitutes “early” and “late” varies by cruise destination, on most cruise lines, the early seating is usually set to a specific time between 5 and 6 p.m., while the late seating might be as early as 7:45 (Carnival Cruise Line) or as late as 9 p.m. (MSC Cruises, which has three traditional seatings on some ships).
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You can opt into this traditional plan when you book your cruise, and the decision-making ends there. When you arrive for your cruise, you’ll be handed a cruise card marked with your dining room name and deck number, dining time and possibly even your table number.
From that point, each evening you will show up at your table at the appropriate time. If your travel group spans several cabins and you want to dine together, you should coordinate your choices before booking, then ensure that the reservations are linked. It’s wise to have someone in the group stop by the restaurant on boarding day to make sure the group will be seated together.
Related: The ultimate guide to cruise ship food and dining
If you’re just a couple or a small travel party, the dining team may assign you to a table by yourself or place you at a large table with cruisers you don’t know. You can ask for dining time and table changes once on board, but the restaurant staff may or may not be able to accommodate requests.
Cruisers who prefer traditional dining say they prefer it over flexible options partly because they feel it allows them to get to know their waitstaff, which is not always a guarantee with “my time” dining. Others feel it’s better simply because once you know where your table is on the first evening, there’s no standing in line to be seated unless you arrive before the doors open.
There are reasons to think twice about set seating. An early dinner often leaves you with no time to wind down and dress for dinner, especially when the ship has a late departure from port and you want to make the most of your time ashore.
Also, if you’re cruising in a time zone just a few hours different from your norm, you might find you’re hungry at the wrong times for traditional fixed dining. Alaska is the worst for me. I’m not hungry enough for the early seating but hangry by the time the late seating rolls around. Flexible options work best for me on those itineraries.
‘My time’ dining
On cruise lines that offer both traditional and flexible dining, you generally opt into the flexible dining program at the time of booking. Your stateroom keycard will list you as a flexible dining passenger and note your assigned dining room.
Lines that offer both a traditional and anytime dining program will usually separate the two groups into different dining rooms or different areas of a large dining room. Menus are identical for both groups, so don’t worry about missing out.
Here’s where it gets a little confusing. On most lines, prior to sailing, those who opt into flexible dining can make main dining room reservations for each night of the cruise. Do you have to make reservations? The answer is a resounding no, unless you have a large group wanting to dine together.
Think of it like dining out at a restaurant on land. You can show up at your leisure and wait in line for a table, or you can make a reservation and possibly be seated more quickly. On a cruise ship, those with reservations may be offered a priority line, sometimes even a separate section of the dining room. Those without reservations will still be seated, but during a rush you may have to wait a few minutes (or even an hour) for a table to open up.
One big plus for flexible dining is that you can make specific table requests each night. You might have to wait a bit longer for that window table for two, but if it’s important to you, it might be worth the wait.
Some cruise lines only offer flexible dining options. Norwegian’s modern version of Freestyle Dining has no fixed dining times; you can dine anytime you wish during a venue’s hours of operation. Reservations are not required but are “highly suggested.” These can be made pre-cruise online in your MyNCL planner or on board, subject to availability.
Princess Cruises recently changed its dual system to a single system called Dine My Way. You can dine at the same time, same table every night, or change it up on a daily basis, but you need to make advance reservations for your preferred mealtimes. Changes are made in the Princess MedallionClass app.
People who rave over flexible dining options often have a serious aversion to sitting with strangers or prefer to dine with different people each night. Let the maitre d’ know your preferred table size. Families with small children love the ability to eat around the schedule that works for their family on any given day.
One last advantage of flexible dining (and it might be the deciding factor for some) is the ability to book spa appointments during the traditional dining times. Especially on big ships where the spas stay open late, flexible dining allows you to dine around your spa time, not the other way around.
On the other hand, you might think twice about selecting “my time” dining if the cruise line’s shows are a priority for you. On cruise lines that offer both traditional and flexible dining, the show schedule is likely to match the traditional time frames to allow as many people as possible to attend the shows. Dining between the two traditional times would cause you to miss the early show, if there are two performances, and the entire show on nights when there’s only one performance.
Also, if you feel like you are queuing in enough lines already, you might be happier with a traditional dining time. Flexible dining always involves lines, even when you make reservations. On a good night, at a late evening arrival time, your wait might be minor, but on a megaship with 3,000-plus people wanting to be seated at 6:45, you could find yourself waiting for an extended time.
Specialty dining
Making plans to skip the main dining room in favor of a specialty restaurant or dining rooms exclusive to your stateroom category does not alter your ability to choose either a traditional or “my time” style of dining in the main dining room. You don’t even need to let the wait staff know you plan to dine elsewhere. (In most cases, the maitre d’ will have access to your specialty reservations, so they will not be expecting you, but if you have tablemates, it’s a courtesy to let them know.)
Related: 5 reasons you should splurge on a cruise ship specialty restaurant
It’s perfectly OK to choose traditional dining as your main option but make a 7:30 reservation in a specialty restaurant one night, plus try out the suites-only dining room a few nights (if you have access). You can usually see the menus in advance, either in the app, on interactive screens in your stateroom or posted near the restaurants themselves.
Cruise line offerings
Several cruise lines offer both flexible and traditional dining in the main dining room.
Carnival offers a flexible plan called Your Time Dining that uses pagers to let you know when your table is ready. Carnival’s website states that “advance table reservations are not accepted,” but recent Carnival cruisers report being able to use the app to let the dining room know they are on their way to speed up their wait time most nights.
Royal Caribbean’s My Time Dining plan uses optional reservations with separate lines for those who reserve a seating time. Sister line Celebrity Cruises’ options are a bit confusing. Its traditional dining plan is named Celebrity Select Early or Late, and its flexible dining is dubbed Celebrity Select Anytime. This latter plan offers advance reservations and separate lines for those who walk up without reservations.
Holland America calls flexible dining As You Wish Dining, with reservations accepted but not required. MSC Cruises calls its nontraditional dining plan My Choice Dining. This option is only available to guests who book the Aurea or Yacht Club experience; passengers selecting the Bella or Fantastica packages can only access set-time dining.
In addition to Princess and Norwegian, which have dropped set-seating dining options, upscale lines like Windstar Cruises, Viking and Oceania Cruises do not utilize set dining times, tables or dining companions, nor do luxury cruise lines. Most of these accept main dining room reservations made by calling the maitre d’ or have dining rooms so spacious they can accommodate all walk-ups with no wait. Advance reservations on these lines are especially useful for group dining.
All cruise lines expect reservations for sit-down specialty restaurants.
Related: 12 dining mistakes you must fix on your next cruise
Bottom line: ‘My Time’ dining vs. traditional dining
Traditional dining, when it’s offered, is a great option for large groups traveling together. There’s no last-minute quibbling over dinner reservations and whether the group can get a table together. Everyone knows ahead of time when they’ll be eating and which dining room and table to go to for dinner.
Flexible dining — whether called My Time, Anytime, Freestyle or something else — works for those for whom the early or late traditional times aren’t ideal or those who want to eat at different times each night depending on the day’s schedule. Cruising with children is one reason some people prefer to keep all dining options flexible. The same holds true for travelers who pack their cruise days with every available activity.
The bottom line when it comes to traditional versus “my time” dining is to choose what works best for you and your travel companions on any given cruise. Some people choose traditional dining when they travel with groups of friends and family and the flexible plan when they travel with only one partner or with children. Others stick with one or the other on every cruise.
Either way, cruise lines want happy cruisers. Giving you choices of how and when your main dining room experience is scheduled is one way to keep everyone satisfied.
Last Updated: May 27, 2023 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner – 58 Comments
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.
Recently, I published the article Reasons You’re Still in Debt. Like I said in that article, I think the first step in eliminating debt is to realize why you are in debt in the first place.
I believe that if you don’t know what your problem with debt to begin with is, then it would be hard to make a positive change.
Yes, it is great to just start attacking your debt, but you also don’t want to fall into the same cycle of going into debt over and over again.
After you realize why you are in debt (or why you keep going back into debt), the next step is to figure out how you will eliminate your debt. There are many different ways for you to attack your debt, and I prefer a mixture of everything.
Below are different ways to get rid of your debt.
1. Stop adding to your debt.
This sounds obvious, right? Like I said earlier, if you don’t know why you are in debt, then it would be hard to stop adding to your debt.
Also, if you’re eliminating debt but also adding to it at the same time then you won’t get anywhere fast.
Different ways that you could prevent yourself to stop adding more debt include:
Canceling your credit card.
Freezing your credit card.
Asking for your credit card limit to be lowered.
Don’t take out extra student loans that you don’t need.
Think it over before you buy something.
Avoid places like the mall altogether.
2. Create a budget.
Of course this is on my list. Why wouldn’t it be? If you don’t believe in a budget but you have a lot of debt, then you better start believing.
You should create a realistic budget so that you truly know how much you are spending. Then total how much you actually bring in each month. If you are bringing in less than you are spending then a change definitely needs to be made.
A budget can also help you see where your money is going so that you know what areas you need to work on. Maybe you never realized how much you spend on food each month, how much you spend on clothing or something else.
A budget really puts that in front of you so that you know what you can cut out of your spending (or at least lower your spending in that area).
3. Cut your expenses.
To continue with what I was saying above, you may have to cut your expenses in order to have a realistic budget so that you can pay off your debt.
If you have $100,000 in credit card debt, should you really still be spending $500 a month on clothing?
Probably not.
Depending on how quickly you want to get rid of your debt, there are different things that you may want to cut out. You could cut out Starbucks (I know, I know), lower your restaurant spending, find a cheaper way to workout, sell your car for something cheaper/more affordable, cook from scratch and so on.
There are many ways to cut down your spending. Below is a quick list for you to start with:
Lower your cell phone bill. Instead of paying the $150 or more that you spend on your cell phone bill each month, there are companies out there like Republic Wireless that offer cell phone service starting at $5. YES, I SAID $5! If you use my Republic Wireless affiliate link, you can change your life and start saving thousands of dollars a year on your cell phone service. I created a full review on Republic Wireless if you are interested in hearing more. I’ve been using them for over a year and they are great.
Sign up for a website like Ebates where you can earn FREE cash back for spending like how you normally would online. When you sign up through my link, you also receive a free $10 gift card bonus to Macys, Walmart, Target, or Kohls!
Save money on food. I recently joined $5 Meal Plan in order to help me eat at home more and cut my food spending. It’s only $5 a month (the first four weeks are free too) and you get meal plans sent straight to you along with the exact shopping list you need in order to create the meals. Each meal costs around $2 per person or less. This allows you to save time because you won’t have to meal plan anymore, and it will save you money as well!
Check out my recommendations page for a full list on money-saving websites.
4. Find a way to make extra money.
Making extra income is the main thing that helped me pay off my student loans so quickly. I worked like crazy in my spare time because I knew that I could make more money than I could cut out of my budget(don’t worry, I did do both).
There is a limit to how much you can cut, but you can always find different ways to make more money.
You could find a part-time job at a restaurant, retail store, and so on. You could freelance on the side. You could babysit, dog walk, sell your crafts and so on. The list is really endless for what you could possibly do.
Miscellaneous other things you should do:
Pay more than the minimum.
Put little amounts toward your debt. For example, whenever you get an extra $25 (such as by selling something), then you should just throw that extra money that you won’t miss towards debt.
Automate your payments if you can’t force yourself to make payments.
Put money towards debt right when you get paid so that you are “paying yourself” first.
How are you eliminating your debt? When do you think you will be debt free?
Last Updated: May 26, 2023 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner – 60 Comments
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.
Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend.
We didn’t do a whole lot, but it was a nice relaxing weekend.
Our good friends (W has been good friends with the guy since first grade) are getting married this Friday and decided to plan a quick wedding so we have a lot to do this week to get ready for that and it’ll be a lot of fun!
I booked our engagement photography last week. She takes great photos and I’ve been stalking her wedding website and Facebook for years now so I’m glad I was able to book with her! We are of course taking our engagement photos with our dogs too and I’m really looking forward to it. W is really not looking forward to taking photos. Anyone else had this problem? I feel like I can’t convince him to do this at all haha. I’ve already paid though and it’s $400 for the engagement photos so he will for sure be coming.
Lately I’ve been talking a lot about how we want a new house. We figured that until we actually find the house and are 100% about to buy, then we really need to be doing little things around our house until then to prepare and not be overwhelmed at one time. Also, why not make our house perfect for while we’re leaving here? So we have a long list of things that we need to do. This past weekend I cleaned out my closet and had 2 large trash bags full of garbage to throw away. And this was pure trash: receipts, plastic bags, tags, paper, etc.
This upcoming weekend I plan on de-cluttering everything and getting rid of clothes in my closet. Hopefully I can actually get rid of some clothes and possibly make some extra money too!
So, quick question for all of you:What thing around your house did you improve before you tried selling it? I’m looking for all tips as we want to sell our house for as much as we can and also as quickly as we can. I have a long post dedicated to this in the future but am wondering if there’s anything that I’m leaving out!
I paid off one of my student loans, and it was my only private student loan! Back in 2007 I took out the loan and it totaled $6,000. I paid off the rest the other day and it looks like I accidentally overpaid by $0.01! It’s a nice feeling and I never honestly thought that eliminating student loans would be this exhilarating haha.
Spending
I don’t think we bought anything in the past week, at least nothing that I can think of. We have been doing really good with this and I’m proud. I guess you could of course count for engagement photography that I paid for, but I did budget for that awhile ago.
Also, we have some major expenses coming up. We are paying for W’s parents to go on a vacation. It’s going to be a present to them for being such great people and we’re really hoping that they enjoy it. We’ve saved up for quite some time and are covering the airfare and all-inclusive hotel. I don’t think they’ve ever been to the Caribbean so I’m super excited for them!
Extra Income (does not include salary from our jobs)
I received $823 in payments in the past week. Still waiting on some more payments so I hope they come through soon.
Affiliate income is still my number 1 goal right now. I’m really working on that and hopefully it’ll be around 50% or more of my total extra income each month. Eventually though, my new side hustle will completely take over and hopefully become a larger part of my income. This side hustle will eventually take up a ton of time.
I wish I could tell you guys more! A couple of you asked me if it’s related to blogging, and it’s not at all. It is not related to writing, blogging, advertising, etc. Something completely new! If anyone wants to guess, I’ll take all guesses and confess if someone actually does come up with the right answer. And, if you already know what the new plan is, please don’t tell! I already told a couple of you. 🙂
Food
We haven’t had a meal plan in forever, but we have been doing great with eating at home. We made dinner 5 days last week. The two days that we did eat out were super cheap. Thankfully our 2 favorite restaurants are right next door to each other and just right down the street. They are both super cheap and we spent a total of $35 on going out to restaurants to eat. That’s pretty cheap to me, less than $20 for each night!
We want to continue to eat in as much as we can. We have really enjoyed it. We have more time to relax and hang out since we aren’t in a busy restaurant.
Wedding
As I said above, we booked our engagement photography to be done. We’re not taking them until May because we want everything to be blooming and colorful. Our photos will be a start park with lots of great hiking and pretty cliffs. Sounds like a disaster once you mix heels, dresses and 2 dogs but oh well 🙂
Being healthy
Having the treadmill in our basement has been great so far. I’ve run on it three times in the past week and it’s been great. I’m going to try and at least fit in a couple of miles here and there whenever I have 10 or 20 minutes to spare also.
How’s your spending, working out and extra income going?
Now that I’m no longer semi-anonymous with my finance blogging, I tend to have a lot of friends and random people asking me finance questions.
I have people pouring what seems like their heart and soul to me because they really want to change and improve their situation.
This is something that I love about being a personal finance blogger – the fact that I can (hopefully) help someone change their life and teach them how to manage their money better.
Many of the questions I receive involve debt and what they can do to change their situation.
Someone told me they had over $200,000 in student loan debt, another person recently told me they had over $100,000 in credit card debt, some are hiding their finance problems from their families, some have told me that they are beyond house poor and they don’t know what to do.
The list goes on and on about the stories that I have heard.
I think the first thing a person needs to do when it comes to eliminating their debt is to realize WHY they are in debt in the first place (the next step is to actively reduce your debt – read How To Eliminate Your Debt). If you don’t know what your problem is, then it would be hard to make a positive change.
Yes, it is great to just start attacking your debt, but you also don’t want to fall into a vicious cycle of going into debt over and over again.
Here are some of the many reasons for why you may be in debt.
You think you have plenty of time to pay off your debt.
When I was in the middle of paying off my $40,000 worth of student loan debt, I remember being asked why I wanted to get rid of my student loan debt so quickly.
You know the saying about how there is no such thing as a stupid question?
Well, I thought that question was extremely stupid. I thought (and still think) it was probably the most stupid question I have ever been asked or heard.
I can’t remember the conversation exactly, but I remember them saying something about how I’m young and I should enjoy my money more and that I can worry about my student loans later.
UMM WHAT?!
Why not just pay off your debt more? Would you really rather have than 100th pair of jeans instead of putting more towards your debt? I know for a fact that I will probably completely forget about an article of clothing (even though I love clothes!) and I will appreciate my debt being paid off more.
I still enjoyed my life while I was paying off my debt, and I definitely do not think I was suffering at all.
It’s been around seven months since I completely paid off my student loans, and I couldn’t be happier!
You also never know what may happen. If you wait to pay off your debt and instead spend your money on things that you don’t need, you may fall into a bad situation. What would happen if you lost your job, came across high medical bills, or something else?
Wouldn’t you have wanted your debt to be gone?
You treat your credit card as income.
Your credit card is not a new income source. If you treat your credit card this way, then you should cancel your credit card.
Oh well if closing your account means that you will be lowering your credit score, you are probably doing worse damage anyways by racking up large credit card bills that you can’t pay.
If you are using a credit card, then you should be working to pay off your balance completely each month.
So-and-so has debt, so it’s fine if you do too.
Many people compare their debt amounts to others in hopes that they will feel more “normal” about their debt and not feel as bad. An example would be if you are 30 and the average 30-year-old has $10,000 worth of credit card debt (I completely just made that number up). You then use this number as a “guide” to yourself so that you can feel more comfortable about your debt.
However, WHO CARES about how much debt another person has? How exactly does knowing what the average amount of debt a random 30-year-old has affect you?
Is that person you?
NO!
So, why would another person’s amount of debt even matter to you? That makes no sense!
Just because someone else has $10,000 worth of credit card debt from buying too much clothing does not mean that you should too. You never know, this amount may be breaking them on the inside even if they aren’t showing it.
You believe you deserve the items you buy.
Yes, you may be awesome and think you deserve it, but should you really be buying it? Just because someone else just bought a 100 inch 3D TV (or a mansion, nice car, gadgets, a crazy-expensive wedding, etc.) doesn’t mean that you should as well.
You might think “oh well they have a comparable job to mine, so, if they can afford, then I can too.”
However, you have no idea how this person is paying for it. Maybe they saved for years, or maybe they are just putting everything on their credit card.
I recently talked to someone who has over $100,000 in credit card debt and I could tell they were in panic mode. They bought way too much house, way too much car, way too much everything. They thought they deserved it all since others were buying something similar.
You don’t need to keep up with the Joneses!
There are many ways to cut down your spending. Below is a quick list:
Lower your cell phone bill. Instead of paying the $150 or more that you spend on your cell phone bill, there are companies out there like Republic Wireless that offer cell phone service starting at $10. YES, I SAID $10! If you use my Republic Wireless affiliate link, you can change your life and start saving thousands of dollars a year on your cell phone service. I created a full review on Republic Wireless as well if you are interested in hearing more. I’ve been using them for over a year and they are great.
ATM fees. Why do people do this to themselves?
TV. Cut your cable, satellite, etc. Even go as far to go without Netflix or Hulu. Buy a digital antenna (this is the one we have) and enjoy free TV.
Sign up for a website like Ebates where you can earn CASH BACK for just spending like how you normally would online. The service is free too! Plus, when you sign up through my link, you also receive a free $10 gift card bonus to Macys, Walmart, Target, or Kohls!
Pay bills on time. This way you can avoid late fees.
Shop around for insurance. This includes health insurance, car insurance, life insurance, home insurance and so on. Insurance pricing can vary significantly from one company to the next. When we were shopping for car insurance last, we found that our old company wanted something like $205 to insure one car for one month, whereas the new company we have now charges $50 a month for the same exact coverage. INSANE!
Save money on food. I recently joined $5 Meal Plan in order to help me eat at home more and cut my food spending. It’s only $5 a month (the first four weeks are free too) and you get meal plans sent straight to you along with the exact shopping list you need in order to create the meals. Each meal costs around $2 per person or less. This allows you to save time because you won’t have to meal plan anymore, and it will save you money as well!
Fuel savings. Combine your car trips, drive more efficiently, get a fuel efficient car, etc.
Trade in your car for a cheaper one. For us, we are car people. Cars are one of our splurges. However, if you only have a nice car to keep up with the Joneses, then you might want to get rid of it and get something that makes more sense.
Live in a cheaper home. I’m not saying you need to go live in a box, but if you live in a McMansion then you may want to think about a smaller home. This way you can save money on utility bills and your mortgage payment.
Use a programmable thermostat so that you can heat and cool your home efficiently and more affordably.
Learn to have more frugal fun. We don’t spend anywhere near the same amount of money on entertainment as we used to. There are plenty of ways to have frugal fun.
Check out my recommendations page for a full list on money-saving websites.
Some ways to make extra money are below, but check out the related articles below to see many, many more:
Start a blog. Blogging is how I make a living and just a few years ago I never thought it would be possible. I made over $320,000 last year by blogging and I’m hoping to double that in 2016. You can create your own blog here with my easy-to-use tutorial. You can start your blog for as low as $3.49 per month plus you get a free domain if you sign-up through my tutorial.
Sell your stuff. There are many things you can do to make money by selling items. We all have extra things laying around that can be sold, or you can even search for items that can be bought and resold for a profit.
Rent an extra room in your home. If you have extra space in your home, then you may want to rent it out. Read A Complete Guide To Renting A Room For Extra Money.
Answer surveys. Survey companies I recommend include VIP Voice, Earning Station, American Consumer Opinion, ProOpinion, YouGov, Pinecone Research, Opinion Outpost, Survey Spot, and Harris Poll Online. They’re free to join and free to use! You get paid to answer surveys and to test products. It’s best to sign up for as many as you can as that way you can receive the most surveys and make the most money.
Use Swagbucks for your online searches. Swagbucks is something I don’t use as much, but I do occasionally earn Amazon gift cards with very little work. Swagbucks is just like using Google to do your online searches, except you get rewarded “Swagbucks” for the things you do through their website. Then, when you have enough Swagbucks, you can redeem them for cash, gift cards, and more. You’ll receive a free $5 bonus just for signing up today!
Try InboxDollars. InboxDollars is an online rewards website I recommend. You can earn cash by taking surveys, playing games, shopping online, searching the web, redeeming grocery coupons, and more. Also, by signing up through my link, you will receive $5.00 for free just for signing up!
Find a part-time job. There are many part-time jobs that you may be able to find. You can find a job on sites such as Snagajob, Craigslist (yes, I’ve found a legitimate job through there before), Monster, and so on.
Related articles:
Why are you in debt? What reasons have you caught yourself using?
If you’re feeling extra brave, please share how much debt you have (house, car, student loans, credit cards, etc.).
I love budget travel. Maybe it’s from watching too many episodes of Europe Through the Backdoor and drinking the Rick Steves Kool-Aid, but I wonder if you’ll believe me when I tell you that I wouldn’t travel any other way.
Last year I was considering taking a trip with friends — an all-inclusive spa vacation at a fancy resort. Ultimately I declined because all of the selling points — meals included, C ondé Nast Traveler seal of approval, fancy spa treatments — were actually drawbacks for me. There’s nothing wrong with all-inclusive trips, mind you. They’re easy to plan, and you don’t have to worry about where you’ll eat or how you’ll get from point A to point B. They’re a good option for a lot of people, and even culinary adventurer Anthony Bourdain has sung the praises of staying put and vegging out.
But our vacation dollars are limited, and my husband and I like to explore. The trip would have cost double what we paid for our honeymoon to the same destination (literally right down the beach), and the honeymoon included scuba diving, cooking classes, and renting a car — things we’d have to pay extra for if we took the spa trip. I also thought about how we enjoy checking out local restaurants, but with an all-inclusive meal plan, we’d be paying for meals that were essentially covered in the trip package.
That’s when I realized that even if we could live the five-star travel life, we wouldn’t. We’re budget travelers at heart, and here’s why:
Budget-friendly accommodations are a great way to make new friends. Even within the “budget” category, there are different levels of frugality. Couch surfing is free, and you’ll likely get to know your hosts very well, since you’re staying in their home. In hostels you might be sharing a room, and you’ll definitely share communal living spaces. In locally owned hotels and bed-and-breakfasts (my preference), there’s the opportunity to get to know the family who owns and runs the joint. I particularly enjoyed speaking Italian with the owner of our hotel in Rome last year, who graciously (very, very graciously) told me I spoke Italian well. Italians are a kind people.
Travel by train or bus gives you a glimpse into the everyday lives of locals. I really enjoy subways and buses. I mean, taxis have their place, as do airplanes. But I like trains and buses best. The first time we went to Rome, we were on a bus so crowded we were packed like sardines — literally right against our fellow passengers. Just when I thought that surely the bus driver wouldn’t stop to pick up more people, he did. A petite nun stepped onto the bus, and everyone crammed in that much harder. After that, a few members of our group decided to take taxis for the rest of the trip. But I — the gal who gets nervous in large crowds — found the situation hilarious. If I had been in a taxi, I wouldn’t have learned that overcrowded buses still stop for nuns!
Pounding the pavement often results in the best “magic” moments. The cheapest mode of transportation isn’t train or bus, it’s your own two feet. I’ve happened upon some of the coolest stuff because I was wandering around on foot, most recently Caffe Roma Pastry on Mulberry Street in New York City. My husband and I walked in to what turned out to be a Little Italy institution, established in 1891. The pressed-tin ceiling and long wooden counters gave the place an old New York feel, like we’d stepped back in time, and the giant cannoli brought us right back into the moment. Some of my favorite travel moments are the ones I’ve literally walked into. Walking is also cheap exercise, or in my case, an excuse for a cannoli to go.
Budgets make you creative. Tourist sights are popular for a reason, and there are usually several on my list of things to do. But I try to balance those with some off-the-beaten path activities, which are usually cheap (or free). For example, one day I went to the Natural History Museum and paid $25 for my ticket, and the next day I tracked down a secret bookstore (free admission, $10 spent on a used book). Make a list of the top attractions that are important to see or do, then use a budget travel book like Frommer’s or Let’s Go to find interesting, inexpensive activities to fill in the rest of your time.
Street food, mom-and-pop restaurants, and picnics are fun and delicious. On that same trip to New York, we ate lunch at The Grand Sichuan. The orange beef and rice were easily the best I’ve ever had, and we had wonton soup, hot tea, and a huge plate of soup dumplings (a first for me, and a new favorite). The entire meal for two came to $14. On another day, we went to East Village Cheese Shop and bought picnic food, like 16 ounces of top-notch Brie for $3. We took our groceries to Central Park, where we met up with friends for a 3-hour leisurely lunch. Again, I consult a guidebook for ideas about which street carts to try and where to shop for picnic foods.
As Rick Steves writes, “A tight budget forces you to travel close to the ground, meeting and communicating with the people.” In my experience, that’s been true.
We do make the occasional splurge while on vacation, usually picking one restaurant per trip where we’ll have a really nice meal. During our New York trip, it was Il Buco. While it was expensive compared to The Grand Sichuan, it was worth every dollar (and actually not so pricey compared to what I imagine one could spend on a meal in NYC). Plus, the waiter was incredible. We don’t particularly care if waiters are overly friendly or helpful, we’re more interested in the food! But when you’re in the hands of someone who’s great at his job, the entire meal feels a little more special.
This isn’t to say I’ll never go on an all-inclusive trip. I’d never say never. If you have three kids and both parents work full-time, trying to plan a vacation can be another job and source of stress. (There are great all-inclusive deals out there, depending on what you like to eat and do.) And if you’re the most comfortable in a five-star hotel and you can afford it, go for it! By all means, do what works for you.
But no matter how my situation might change, I think I’ll always be a budget traveler at heart, seeking out the cheap, fantastic Chinese food and secret bookstores. Besides the obvious benefit of saving money, most of my favorite travel moments have been cheap or free.
What’s your travel style? Where do you save and where do you happily spend more?
As a personal finance blogger, I come across many great websites and apps. I always try to stay updated on the latest and greatest apps, money-saving companies, and more, as I believe they can help a person improve their financial situation.
Whether they make managing your money easier, allow you to make or save more money, simplify financial tasks, or something else, there are many benefits to all of the companies that I have listed below.
Every little bit counts and taking part in many of the websites or apps below may be things that you may not have tried yet. You never know how much money they may allow you to save or make, which may completely change how you think about your finances.
There are affiliate links in this blog post, but these are all products and services that I recommend. I wouldn’t put anything in a blog post that I haven’t verified and/or personally used.
Enjoy!
Have Digit trick you into saving more money.
I recommend looking into Digit if you want to trick yourself into saving more money. I have an account and it’s already helped me save a little more as well.
Digit is a free service that looks at your spending and transfers money to a savings account for you. Digit makes everything easy so that you can start saving money with very little effort.
Read Digit Review – A New Way To Save Money.
Related: Yotta Savings App Review – Win up to $10 million weekly by saving in an FDIC insured account
Use Bluehost to start a blog.
There are many ways a blog may be able to help you make and save money.
I know many people who have started a blog and are making thousands of dollars a month. Plus, it’s a lot of fun!
I now earn around $50,000 a month from my blog, and I expect that to double in 2016. I also travel full-time and am happier than ever!
If you are interested in starting a blog of your own, I created a tutorial that will help you start a blog of your own for cheap, starting at only $3.49 per month (this low price is only through my link and for a limited time) for blog hosting. In addition to the low pricing, you will receive a free blog domain (a $15 value) through my Bluehost link if you purchase at least 12 months of blog hosting.
Switch to Republic Wireless and save money on your cell phone.
If you have a cell phone, I recommend checking out Republic Wireless for a more affordable plan.
Republic Wireless is a service I’ve been using for over one year now and I’m still very pleased with the service. They have monthly cell phone plans as low as $10 per month. Yes, TEN DOLLARS!
Read Save Over $2,000 A Year With Republic Wireless Review.
Shop with Ebates and get cash back.
I had to include Ebates today in this blog post since the holidays are quickly approaching. Ebates is a great site to be using when you are shopping for the holidays.
Ebates allows you to earn free cash money for spending like how you normally would online. All you do is click on a store that you want to shop through (they have tons of stores such as Kohls, REI, Toys R Us, etc.), and shop just like how you normally would. Ebates makes a commission for referring you to the store you just shopped at, and they give you some of that money back as a thank you.
Plus, when you sign up through my link, you receive a free $10 gift card to Macys, Walmart, Target, or Kohls!
Read my Ebates review Use Ebates For Free Cash Back.
Plan your meals with $5 Meal Plan.
I joined $5 Meal Plan earlier this year in order to help me eat at home more and cut my food spending. It’s only $5 a month (the first four weeks are free too) and you get meal plans sent straight to you along with the exact shopping list you need in order to create the meals. The meals are easy to make, affordable, and delicious!
You can sign up for $5 Meal Plan here.
Take surveys for extra money.
Survey sites are great because they allow you to have the ability to make extra money while doing it all from the comfort of your home.
Some survey sites I recommend include:
It’s best to sign up for as many as you can as that way you can receive the most surveys and make the most money. These are all legitimate survey sites and occasionally you may receive free items to test out too.
Related: 12 Paid Survey Sites To Make $50+ Per Month
Get rewarded for being online.
These three sites are fairly similar so I’m grouping them all together.
Swagbucks is an easy way to earn Amazon gift cards with very little work. Swagbucks is just like using Google to do your online searches, except you get rewarded points called SB for the things you do through their website. You can also receive points for taking surveys, watching videos, and more. Then, when you have enough points, you can redeem them for cash, gift cards, and more. You’ll receive a free $5 bonus just for signing up through my link!
Another one you may be interested in related to this one is Nielsen Digital Voice. Digital Voice is a part of Nielsen, which I’m sure you’ve heard of. All you have to do is surf the web and you may be able to start earning money.
InboxDollars is the last of the online rewards websites that I recommend. You can earn cash by taking surveys, playing games, shopping online, searching the web, redeeming grocery coupons, and more. By signing up through my link, you will receive $5 for free just for signing up!
Related: 30 Best Money Making Apps
Improve your credit score with Credit Sesame.
With Credit Sesame, you can get your credit score for free, with no catch. Your credit score can impact whether or not you are approved for a loan, whether you are hired at certain jobs, your interest rate, and more. It’s relatively easy to raise your credit score, so you should start doing so today.
Read How Your Credit Score Affects Your Life + Credit Sesame Review.
Use Personal Capital to manage your finances better.
Personal Capital provides free financial software somewhat similar to Mint. Personal Capital is much more detailed, though, and due to that between the two I would definitely choose Personal Capital.
You can track your net worth, your cash flow, your portfolio, your investments, and more. Personal Capital pretty much picks up in the main area that Mint is not the greatest in, which is investment planning.
Read Personal Capital Review – An Easier Way To Manage Your Finances.
Save money by shopping with Flipp.
Flipp is a new app that I recently heard about. In case you’re not familiar with the app, Flipp is a free shopping app that brings the weekly shopping circular to your mobile device. With Flipp, shoppers can have seamless access to their favorite circulars and all the savings without lugging around paper or missing a good deal!
The app is also extremely easy to use. With Flipp’s shopping list feature, you can quickly find the best deals for your weekly essentials. Once you’re in the store, you can easily check off items from your list, which is built right into the app. This way you can pick up everything you need and also stick to your list.
You can download Flipp for Apple or Android.
Cancel cable and get a digital antenna.
We got rid of cable earlier this year and we even got rid of Netflix last month. Now, we just have a digital antenna and it’s all we need.
Digital antennas are very affordable and there is no recurring cost with them. You just buy the antenna once and you can get great quality TV and many channels for free.
You can buy a digital antenna here. That is the same exact one I have.
Read more at Cut Cable, Use A Digital Antenna, and Save Thousands.
Refinance your student loans with Credible.
If you have student loans, you may want to look into Credible.
I highly recommend Credible for student loan refinancing. You can lower the interest rate on your student loans significantly by using Credible which may help you shave thousands off your student loan bill over time.
Related: 20 Best Money Saving Apps
What other sites do you recommend so that a person can save or make more money?