How To Save Money to Travel

           

As the owner of my own Tour Companies, TourDCwithUs and VaFeltre Tours, it is my job to sell and lead tours.  When I talk about my tours with others, the most common responses are, “Oh how I wish I could”, or, “Someday”, or, “Oh, but it’s so expensive”, or variations on these themes.  You know what?  They are right.  Travel outside of your early twenties IS expensive, especially considering that things don’t cost what they did in our early twenties.  When you purchase a tour package, you are not always saving a ton of money over booking each component separately yourself.  You are paying someone to save you time and aggravation, and ideally, you are paying to have memorable and stress-free experiences, often at special locations that only local experts know about.  I can’t tell you how many people over the years have commented about how much easier their vacation was when they decided to take a guided tour whether for a few hours or a few days.  The planning is all done for you, so you get to sit back and enjoy whatever it is you’re trying to see.  It costs money.

I know that this isn’t easy for everyone, and I’m not trying to say that it is.  For many people, the largest purchases they’ve used their credit or debit cards for range in the hundreds of dollars, not thousands, so telling somebody that they need to fork over several thousand dollars is daunting.

            With cost in mind, the question becomes, “How am I going to afford this trip”?  The answer lies in how important the trip is to you.  What are you doing in your daily life that can be changed just a little bit to make this dream come true?  There are 52 weeks in a year.  For easier math, let’s say that you saved $50 per week.  You would have $2,500 put aside to be able to pay for next year’s vacation.  Can you afford $100 per week? Bam! You have a $5,000 vacation bought and paid for.  If you could do that for an entire year, then this becomes extra money that you didn’t need for your bills, and annual or semi-annual travel goes from being a pipe dream to becoming a reality.

            What are some of the changes you could make?  Financial experts always start with looking at how much you eat out, coffee shops, going to the movies, etc.  Of course this is sound advice, and it doesn’t have to mean drastic changes to your lifestyle.  Do you use Groupon for all it’s worth?  Have you checked out Restaurant.com?  What about buying discount gift cards at Costco or online?  Nobody says you can’t gift yourself!  Could you eat at home or pack a meal once a week more than you do?  Are you eating those leftovers you brought home, or just throwing them away?  Without going crazy and brewing all of your coffee at home or reusing your teabags, does your favorite retailer have a rewards program?  Do you actually finish (or need) a beverage the size of a small pitcher? Pay for what you’re actually consuming instead of paying to throw it away.  If you’re into makeup or jewelry or clothes or accessories, how much and how often are you purchasing?  If you’re going to make this vacation a reality, you need to be honest here.  Again, we are talking $50 a week.  If you’re spending that much in these areas, maybe you could invest some time in searching for better deals, or find those tricks to stretch your makeup, or take a serious look at your closet and reuse instead of always replacing.  Look for a surplus merchandise store near you for groceries, home goods, and more.  Compare the savings to your regular grocery store, and put that cash you just saved aside for your trip.  Look at subscription services for movie theaters.  Some now offer unlimited visits to the theater for the price of 1-2 movies per month.  As long as you don’t blow it all on the concession stand, this can add up quickly.  The same is true for cable TV.  Some phone companies are now linked with Direct TV, so you can stream from your phone to your TV and cancel your cable bill.

            One of the biggest costs for most vacations is airfare.  Have you looked into a mileage credit card?  Sure, it seems a little counterproductive to tell you to open a line of credit while asking you to save money, but stay with me here for a bit.  Several programs offer a hefty mileage bonus for signing up, and another if you spend a certain amount within a set timeframe.  Find out if any of your home utilities can be paid for with the card, and only use it for that, and maybe gas and groceries.  Don’t use it for any purchases you don’t already make on a regular basis; your extra money is supposed to be going for the vacation, remember?  Once you have a mileage account, you can usually buy miles that you may be missing, which can come out cheaper than purchasing your ticket in cash.  This is a great way to save a significant amount of money on your vacation, but it does require discipline.

            Do you need help with discipline once you’ve committed to saving?  Talk to your bank or credit union about a “Christmas account”, which won’t let you access the account until November each year.  The amount you choose can be automatically deducted from your checking account according to your schedule.  There are tons of online savings accounts, as well, which can also be set up to withdraw from your checking account at regularly selected intervals, or you can make a payment if you happen to find some money lying around.  Both of these are good options, because you won’t see the money every time you check your everyday account balances, so you shouldn’t be tempted to try to spend them. 

            How do these thoughts sound to you?  Please feel free to comment.  If you’re looking for inspiration for your next vacation, please visit our websites: www.TourDCwithUs.com and www.VaFeltre.com .

            

coord. N.46°00.267'  E.11°56.270'

Saints Victor and Corona are two Christian martyrs. Most sources state that they were killed in Syria during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (170s AD). However, various hagiographical texts disagree about the site of their martyrdom, with some stating that it was Damascus, while Coptic sources state that it was Antioch. Some Western sources state that Alexandria or Sicily was their place of martyrdom. They also disagree about the date of their martyrdom. They may have been martyred during the reign of Antoninus, Diocletian, while the Roman Martyrology states that it was in the third century when they met their death.

 

Legend

Their legend states that Victor was a Roman soldier of Italian ancestry, serving in the city of Damascus in Syria during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius. He was tortured -including having his eyes gouged out- by a commander named Sebastian.

While he was suffering from these tortures, the sixteen-year old spouse of one of his brothers-in-arms, named Corona,^[2] comforted and encouraged him. For this, she was arrested and interrogated. According to the passio of Corona, which is considered largely fictional, Corona was bound to two bent palm trees and torn apart as the trunks were released.

Victor was beheaded in Damascus in 160 AD.

Other sources state that they were husband and wife.

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MALGA GARDA

Malga Garda. A Malga is a mountain pasture/ Alpine building. Ususally located over 1000 m. Malga Garda (1.300m) is open from late April to mid September. Serving only local dishes produced in their farm. Great hike (circa 250m) but you can drive there as well. Beautiful views! Restaurant open only Weekends. Call for reservations.

The owner is a character, your first impression might be that he is just rude, but just the opposite, he's as nice as loud. No menus, he'll come out and scream the options, you don't answer fast and he'll decide for you, which will be a mixt of their dishes. (there're only about 5 dishes anyhow)

Everything is from their farm, from cheeses to salami, chicken, goat, duck, rabbit, whatever they cooked that day, that is your menu. As we said, you can drive there but the walk is a bit hard, but very rewarding.

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at info@vafeltre.com 

 

 

 

 

 

ZINGE Sentieri in Pedavena

Simple walk near Casa Fifty in Pedavena, BL

This "Sentieri" is called ZINGE and it's in the small Town of Norcen next to Pedavena.

Running time 45min and very easy walk.

>>>> VIEW Map of this trail

Casera Dei Boschi / Hike to Monte Avena

Very Nice day for a walk nearby our house. (Casa Fifty)

Drive up the mountain towards Croce D'aune and go stop at the

Agriturismo Casera dei Boschi and you'll have plenty of parking.

The local recent restructuring and located inside the National Park of the Belluno Dolomites at 1250 m a.s.l. , in an ideal position to undertake various excursions on foot or by mountain-bike in the heart of the Park itself or on the top of the Mountain Oats; Welcoming environment, surrounded by green forests and the traditional cuisine that uses the products arising from the farm itself.

The walk is short and not very hard, will take you depending how your pace is around 30 min to get to Monte Avena where you can view all the paragliding taking off from that point.

Bring some water, comfortable shoes. You can drive there as well, the road is not all paved but easy for any type of vehicle. Once there you have a couple of Malgas open and ready to serve you local meat & cheeses.

Below are some photos of our walk..... and a map as well, 

Enjoy and as always, if you have any questions, feel free to email us at info@vafeltre.com

>>>>>>   View Map of this trail