Visiting the Amazon is a life bucket list goal. Yet people get overwhelmed as they are not sure how to achieve that goal. I am pleased to say we had an incredible time and wrote this post to share with you how to visit the Amazon in Ecuador at Cuyabeno Wildlife Center.

If you have wanted to make this dream come true, here is the breakdown of everything you need to know. Someone in our group literally flew down from the USA to Quito, Ubered to a gas station, got picked up on the shuttle, taken out to the Amazon, dropped off near the airport again and flew home. You can make this happen!

Saying you want to plan a trip to the Amazon can feel overwhelming. The where, when, and how can stop people from making the final commitments. This trip was truly so easy. Here are all the steps we followed and some of what we saw.

Where is Ecuador?

Where is the Amazon?

Map credit to WWF

Where is Cuyabeno Wildlife Center?

Map credit to Happy Gringo

How do I get to Cuyabeno Wildlife Center?

This process is straightforward and outlined here on the website. We opted to take the shuttle bus there. We also opted to take it back. It was nice to know bathroom breaks would happen routinely.

TIP: Have toilet paper on hand for the gas station rest stops.

After the long night bus, it was lovely to stop at a place where breakfast was all prepared and set for us. We also had a lovely lunch ready soon after leaving the boat point.

We did talk to travelers who took the public bus to the meeting point. They said their experience was fine, just the bus was very crowded.

If you are going all the way back to Quito, the shuttle bus is worth the convenience to get from point A to B in one go. Otherwise, you take the public bus and switch in Lake Agrio to then take another bus back to Quito. After arriving at the terminal you still need to make it to lodging somewhere. It makes for quite a long day and you get into the terminal in the middle of the night. Or I would stay in Lake Agrio for the night, personally, and break it up.

TIP:

If you are at all prone to motion sickness – just take the medicine. It’s no secret – the road is very windy. Take pills ahead of time.

Also, the distance is long and road conditions unpredictable – do NOT risk delays and plan to exit the forest and take a 1 am flight. If there were any issues, you could be cutting it close. A 6 am flight, you should be fine.

How long should I stay?

We stayed a week and loved it. We could have easily stayed another week. That said we met some people who were at their max at three nights.

What I will say is the people we met who were doing the 2N/3D option regretted not staying longer. It’s a haul and an investment of time to get out there. If all you can do is swing the two nights – go for it. But for all the time and energy to get out there, stay at least the 3N if you can.

Most people on either the 3N/4D or 4N/5D were happy with their decision.

What is the accommodation like?

All the rooms (whether private or shared) have a bathroom, and we thought that was such a luxury! You are in the forest and completely off-grid. The hot shower also felt like a luxury.

For being off-grid in the forest reachable downstream 2 hours by boat – a bed, mosquito net, hot shower, flushing toilet, delicious meals prepared, all the tea and water and coffee you can want to drink – plus – to see pink dolphins right off the dock – this place felt so comfortable and charming.

All the food was so good!

Fruit in the shape of a parrot – so cute!

Tea, coffee, and water station.

Charging Station

Gotta say – this is an impressive charging station! It seemed to be no trouble to keep phones, laptops, and batteries charged up. The best practice was to charge in the morning and throughout the afternoon until the sun went away.

What will I see?

Oh my gosh – we saw so much! The sightings were better than we could have hoped for. We consider this a great destination for wildlife photographers.

Some highlights:

• 9 of 10 monkey species in the Cuyabeno area
• 4 different snakes
• 10+ frog species
• 16+ mammal species
• insects – so many
• flora & fauna – so many

This IS a wildlife destination. If you want to know where to see wildlife in the Amazon go to Cuyabeno Wildlife Center.

Days and activities vary according to what program you booked. There will be some sort of boat safari for wildlife watching, land trekking (which might as well be called mud trekking – haha), early morning birding, and the iconic Laguna Grande. If you book the 2N only option, there is no time to go to the community.

Wildlife, Birds, Fauna

I am going to keep the descriptions somewhat short for the animals we saw – otherwise this post could go on for many more pages.  This is a sampling of some of the animals we saw.

Saki Monkey

This was one of the species we were the most excited and hopeful to see. A shy monkey, often at the top of the canopy, they can be a difficult monkey to see and photograph. They look so big and bulky, but largely, these monkey’s are just very hairy! Endemic to Peru and Ecuador, the Cuyabeno Wildlife Center is one of their homes and a great place to see them.

Golden-headed Manakin

A striking bird, the golden-headed manakin is always a fan favorite.

Pygmy Marmoset or The Pocket Monkey

This tiny thing was another species we were so excited and hopeful to see. Known as the Pocket Monkey, this vulnerable species is the world’s smallest monkey. Weighing approximately 120 grams or 4 ounces – that weighs about the same as a deck of cards. Getting such a good sighting felt like a true bonus.

Stinky Turkey or Hoatzin

This is a common bird to see around the Cuyabeno Wildlife Center. Terrible at flying and smelly, they make all sorts of noise as they try to navigate through the forest.

Tiger Heron

This is one of my all time favorite bird species. Every time I see a tiger heron I stop in my tracks and think what a stunning bird. They have a wide range throughout Central and South America. It’s always a delight to see them.

River Otters

Our guide Victor became visibly excited when we saw river otters. Around the Cuyabeno Wildlife Center they are hard to see. We saw them over five times (lucky us) so we were known as the otter group. They move quickly and often dart in and out of the vegetation around the shoreline. River otters are very sensitive to pollution, so seeing them around is a great sign.

They were still so hard to get good photos of. We have other photos, but I liked this one so you can see how bulky and buff the body is here. Look at how strong that back leg is!!! Wow!

White throated Toucan

What a stunningly beautiful bird! Just love the blue around the eye.

Red Howler Monkey

With a glistening red coat, this red howler monkey has a baby! Famous for their “dawn chorus” we frequently heard the roar of the howler monkey upon awakening at the lodge in the mornings.

Three toed Sloth

Who doesn’t love a sloth! This was such a big one. Thought this was a great sighting to see the markings on the back.

Pink Dolphins

This was the species we had really hoped to see at Cuyabeno Wildlife Center. We were not disappointed! We saw the pink dolphins almost every day. They are certainly hard to photograph as they usually do not emerge much from the water. However, we had overall great sightings of them. An endangered species, seeing this animal felt very special.

Aracari

It’s an aracari party!

Cordyceps

Now this is something from the movies. Cordyceps fungus takes over the body of its host to control its behavior. The fungus manipulates the moth to climb to a specific height where it will die. This allows the fungus to grow out of its body to release spores that will infect new insects. This “zombie” effect aids the fungus’s reproduction and is a natural process. 

Woolly Monkey

A strong and powerful monkey, the woolly monkey uses its tail frequently while feeding in the tree tops. One of the larger monkey species, it is a sight to behold.

Whip Scorpion

Despite the name, whip scorpions are not actually dangerous. (I have even had one put on my face in Costa Rica!)

Plus.So.Much.More!

Ah. The wildlife, nature, plant, and landscapes were just incredible at Cuyabeno Wildlife Center. We have so many more photos to continue sharing – I just couldn’t put them all into one post. So keep an on socials for more coming.

Community Oriented

An aspect that had it feel like Cuyabeno Wildlife Center was so well set up for long-term success was the strong connection with the local Indigenous Siona communities. Upon arrival, we were greeted by staff from the community. Boat drivers were also from the local community. It seemed a system was in place with rotational work schedules for many local people to have the opportunity to sustain part of their income with tourism work.

We had a full day outing to the local Sionna community. We got to meet locals, make bread, have lunch, and visit a shaman. Our lunch was delicious. Our whole group marveled at how we made bread together.

It’s optional – we also got blessed by the Shaman.

When one looks at the conservation of large tracks of land, there are so many factors that go into that. That this program and lodge operation seemed so legit in supporting the local communities and the conservation of land felt like such a big win for this portion of the Amazon.

Tips of what else to bring:

We found the food to always be ample and we try to not to over snack. One day I think we ate a little nibble of some of the food we brought, but otherwise, we found the meals provided to be completely satisfying.

Side note: We saw them cater well to vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free eaters.

First Aid Kit; Insect spray; Sunscreen; Sun hat > Those are the must-haves. They made a great what to bring list – so be sure to check that out. This is a list of some of our favorite travel gear. Exofficio quick-dry clothes would also be very good to have out there.

EAR PLUGS – I will say some travelers mentioned the noise of preparing the lodge for the morning and cleaning things up in the evening could be heard by them. Bring ear plugs just in case if you are a light sleeper.

Payments

Payment was made ahead of time via a secure link with credit card. All super easy. Everything from the booking to the shuttle was included in writing. If you do purchase sodas or beer at the lodge – you pay cash for that.

Tipping & other Money

You need to bring cash (get SMALL CHANGE AHEAD OF TIME) to bring to the community.

There is a tip box for the lodge staff on the counter.

You should have something to give directly to your boat driver.

You should have something to give directly to your guide.

There is an option to buy beer or sodas at the lodge if you wish.

Conservation Issues

We asked several people and got similar responses that, at this moment, this section of the Amazon does not seem to be a target for deforestation. That said, oil companies are entering other areas of the Amazon and what’s to say they won’t push to come here as other areas dry up.

Poaching, particularly for the pet trade, is an issue.

Overall Feeling and Take Away

After spending a week visiting the Amazon in Ecuador at Cuyabeno Wildlife Center, I can truly say it felt like such a well-run establishment. They cared about their guests, the environment, the local community, and the vibe felt great.

It felt like wildlife appreciation and conservation was happening. We were so happy to have the opportunity to go here and I hope others can too. If you have any further questions on how to visit the Amazon in Ecuador at Cuyabeno Wildlife Center, do not hesitate to reach out. What an incredible journey!

More info:

Cuyabeno Wildlife Center

We stayed the night before pick up at The Secret Garden. The shuttle bus will pick you right up at the door. There were a lot of hangout spaces and luggage storage, so you could come and go throughout the day for convenience.

Personally, I would highly recommend staying at any of the Quito lodging options the shuttle drops you off at, especially for the return. You arrive late and it’s dark. You will be tired. How nice to walk in a door and have a room ready for you. You can find all the lodging options on booking.com.

For years, we have been using IMG for all our insurance needs. We like their plan options, coverage, and prices.

Don’t forget we post a lot of videos on YouTube, including a maned wolf video with over 8.7 million views! You can subscribe!

Check out the recap video of Cuyabeno Wildlife Center: 

*Some links may be affiliate links. At no additional cost, we may earn a small commission. Thank you so much for the support of the site. 

The post How to visit the Amazon in Ecuador at Cuyabeno Wildlife Center appeared first on Vagabond Way .

Bolivia was a country we had been talking about visiting for the last five-plus year. Finally the timing was right and we booked tickets flying into Santa Cruz, Bolivia. We had some days in the city and these are 10 must see spots in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

We were so excited to have a month to spend in Bolivia. One of our main objectives as wildlife photographers was to see jaguars in Bolivia. Santa Cruz is a great jumping off point for jaguars, Kaa Iya and Madi Madi National Parks. In a combination of wanting to ensure no travel delays disrupted our tour booking and also snagging the best flight deal, we ended up having a couple days in Santa Cruz to unwind before the big trip.

During that time we hit the streets and saw a lot of the city. We also enjoyed “bench sitting” at the local city plaza like the locals do, and watched the world go by.

Santa Cruz is a great entry destination city into Bolivia because it is not at high elevation. The city is also flat, which makes acclimating to the heat much easier if you are coming from colder climates. There are plenty of money exchanges, good food, and the opportunity to stock up on any forgotten items.

If you find yourself a visitor, here are 10 Must See Spots in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

1- Plaza 24 de Septiembre (September 24 Square)

This was one of our favorite parks to wander around multiple times a day. It seemed every evening there was something always going on. It’s common that locals sit and relax on the benches. Our evening routine became to see if we could even find an open bench to sit on. One evening a grandma and her adult grown son were sitting across from us with two little dogs. The son’s dog was happy as could be. The grandma had a poodle dog that lounged, barked, and startled quite a few people as they walked by. Finally, after the tiny, voracious poodle lounged at a girl carrying a tray of drinks, the grandma had enough.

She had to wedge the fierce little dog under her arm and kept bobbing its head when he barked. She continued to look around, clearly dismayed and embarrassed by her little dog’s actions. Other evenings had live performances, markets, or events at the church. A lot always seemed to be going on. Oh, and serious chess games happened every evening as well.

2 – Enjoy Menu of the Day at Club Social 24 de Septiembre

We lucked out on being able to go here just before the church rush on a Sunday. There was live music, good food, and the place was packed. But the most interesting thing to us was, if you didn’t like the location of your table, you could just ask the staff to move it.

The sun beamed down through the ceiling and moved around the room – so did the tables! Wait staff would wipe the silverware off a table and reposition tables all over the space. Once guests were not sitting directly in the sun, the food service would begin.

An interesting experience and great food – as the video shows above, if you don’t like the locations of your table – you just ask to move it!

3 – Manzana Uno Art Space

WoW  – this place had some incredible art pieces! This is free and a pleasant way to round out a walk around the city. The space is a non-profit run by a volunteer painter and sculptor.

4 – Mercado General Los Pozos

What do you need? What do you not know that you need, this market has it. Huge and spanning several floors, Mercada General Los Pozos has just about everything including, the kitchen sink. A great place to wander around for a while. This is the market at: Calle Quijarro entre Suarez Arana, 6 de Agosto y, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

5 – Santa Cruz Museum of Contemporary Art

A small and delightful space, this is a must for visitors. At the time of writing, all you had to do was sign the guest book. Lovely architecture with an open courtyard and ability to casually stroll through rooms looking at art.

6 – El Aljibe

This is a great restaurant to try typical food. Go for both the menu of the day for lunch and then dinner and order off the regular menu. Visit enough times to try all the local drinks of Chicha Camba, Mocochinchi, Bitters, and Grosella. This place will not disappoint.

7 – Noel Kempff Mercado Natural History Museum

A charming place with some distinct and some funny displays and taxidermy of wildlife from Bolivia. The lady turned the lights on for us when we went. Not sure if we were the only guests of the day – a great place to support.

8 – Museo Altillo Beni – MAB

Neat museum with nice displays. Another museum where at the time of writing they ask you to sign a guest book. Just watch out for the door way entrances if you are tall!

9 – Arenal Park

A good place to get some steps in during the day time and see what the locals are up. Grab an ice cream and take in the sights.

10 – Walk to the Pirate Airplane

If you happen to have some down time in the city (especially on a Sunday,) take a walk along G. Velasco 226 Street or Route 7. In the middle of the two lanes of traffic is a decent walking and biking path. On Sunday there will be way less vehicles on the road making it much more pleasant to walk around with less exhaust. We got some steps in and walked down to Pirate Airplane. The airplane has become an urban legend among Bolivians.

Bolivia was such a mysterious country to us. In our mind the landscapes always seem to be a token piece of the country. In our 30 days traveling around the country by taxi, uber, yango, flight, bus, and walking, we had the most marvelous time. People were so hospitable and friendly. Getting around was easy. I will leave the links to some of the accommodations that we stayed at, we were very happy we ended up basing around the September 24 Plaza.

Enjoy your time viewing these 10 must see spots in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. It is a country waiting to amaze you with its landscapes.

It is common that international flights into Bolivia arrive at 2am. Gah. Ours did! Without hesitation, I would recommend booking at Ibis Hotel if that is the case for your first night. They were ready to welcome us at 3am, we’re well organized, had quiet rooms, excellent breakfast, and just overall extremely well run. Any taxi driver will know how to drop you off there. We had no hassle walking out of the terminal to get a taxi to Ibis.

We booked this cool Tradicion apartment just two blocks from the September 24 Plaza. It was so spacious and functional. We got to feel like we living like a local in Santa Cruz for our days there. The owner was very nice and quick to respond if we had any questions or needed anything.

Or browse other options and read reviews on booking.com.

For our health insurance, we personally have been using IMG all these years. We have had positive experiences with them and like their offerings.

Want to do this trip but are unsure if it’s for you? Or do you want to do any trip but are unsure of how to get started? I do offer travel consultations if you are needing encouragement to take the leap! Or check out this post and see exactly how much six weeks of travel cost us in Tasmania, Australia.

The post 10 Must See Spots in Santa Cruz, Bolivia appeared first on Vagabond Way .

How Much it Cost for Six Weeks of Travel in Tasmania, Australia

Curious how much it cost for six weeks of travel in Tasmania, Australia? So were we! We tracked every penny to find out exactly how much it cost.

When we travel, our goal and focus are usually on nature and wildlife. We often travel to places with unique wildlife we have been waiting to see our whole life or learn of a unique species we hardly knew even existed and share that with you!

This trip, we had two main species we hoped to see:

The Tasmanian Devil

The Quoll

Tasmanian Devils are native only to Australia. Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD) is a cancer that wiped out a significant portion of the population. As of this writing, Tasmanian Devils are noted as endangered on the International Union for Conservation (IUCN) list. However, we were pleased to learn a great deal of progress has been made on reducing the facial tumor disease and it is hopeful that populations are rebounding.

Not sure what a Tasmanian Devil looks like? Look no further…here is a video of Tasmania’s most voracious land mammal:

Quolls are a beautiful, spotted little mammal. Worldwide, there are six species of quolls found in Australia and New Guinea. Eastern quolls went extinct on mainland Australia around 1960. In recent times organized efforts to reintroduce the eastern quoll back to the mainland have been implemented. Eastern quolls are also on the IUCN endangered list.

Not sure what an Eastern Spotted Quoll looks like. Look no further…here is a video of what we called Quolls Gone Wild as they raced around a free campground we stayed at:

With that, this trip consisted of a lot of camping! 37 nights straight to be exact!

This is what we love to do. That said, camping for that long might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Having a car to drive all around made camping feel like a luxury so we had no issues. At this point we have good gear (which this post outlines most of the items we use that makes travel like this so much easier)

When writing these types of posts, I like to remind everyone that travel is super personal. All of us save our hard-earned money to go to places and do the things that each individual enjoys. I still enjoy how Nomadic Matt describes that in his book, How to Travel the World on $50 a Day à which has been revised to say How to Travel the World on $75 a Day.

Here is our exact breakdown of how much it cost for six weeks of travel in Tasmania, Australia:

– taking note we spent AUD dollars and USD dollars – which are all clearly noted – and then the grand total converted to USD at the end.

But first….a little geography to orient us: 

Tasmania is an island at the southern end of Australia. We didn’t have time to explore Tasmania when we lived in Australia for two years because we had to get across the Nullarbor Plain to catch the whale shark migration north of Perth!

It felt like a great time to utilize our Australian funds we worked hard to acquire years ago, ensuring we could hit our target investing of maxing out ROTH and other funds at the time.

The red line is our approximate route for Tasmania.

On the west coast, there was a large chunk of the Western Explorer Road that got washed out and we could not pass it. So we had to drive all the way back to Burnie and then south to get to Port Arthur. So it goes in Tassie! 

Food: >>> $1583 AUD >>> $37.69 AUD per day >>> $18.84 AUD per person per day

A very exciting food hual!

Gifts: >>> $109 UAUD >>> $2.59 AUD per day >>> $1.29 AUD per person per day

Tasmania had lots of unicorns! I didn’t actually get this as a gift for anyone – but had to put a unicorn photo in the post!!! 

Beer: >>> $171 AUD >>> $4.07 AUD per day >>> $2.03 AUD per person per day

Beer is quite expensive in Australia. Much of the taxes from these sales helps fund the health care system. There were some great craft brews we wanted to try, so we did. We kept track of this category separately because we were curious. Beer also gets sold from the beer store, ie not sold in grocery stores or other locations, which also made it easy to track this category separately.

We loved the penguin logo on this beer. 

Camping: >>> $604 AUD >>> $16.32 AUD per day of the 37 nights camping (hotel nights separate below) >>> $8.16 AUD per person per day

This was a free camp spot. Notice we were the only small car!

We thought of an average of ~$16 AUD a night was really good! We had 11 nights of free camping in Tasmania. Many towns offer free spots (especially if you are self-contained.) Without even trying we racked up 11 nights of free camping with our longest stretch being 5 nights in a row! Another reason it’s so easy to stay on the road like this is because we make sure we always have great camping snacks on hand too!

Not a bad spot for a free campsite!

This was the composting toilet at the free campground. Australia has a BIG emphasis on having toilets all around. Disclaimer – it was so pretty and I might have left the door open on purpose when I went in there!

Hotel: >>> $233 AUD >>> $77.66 AUD average per night for the 3 nights >>> $38.83 AUD per person per each 3 hotel nights

We stayed 2 nights in Hobart upon arrival to get over jet lag and 1 night in Hobart to fly out. We crunched the numbers, and as a pair of travelers, it was most advantageous to take an uber from the airport to this hostal. Then we could walk to our rental car place and same thing when we dropped the car off, walk back to the hostal at the end. We did the math and the money saving difference of not picking the car up at the airport was worth it. Plus, we didn’t need a car to walk around Hobart anyway! So a win!

Coffee on our final full day in Hobart. The lady gave us a free treat! It was such a nice send off gesture. 

Transportation for Ferries: >>> $174 AUD >>> $4.14 AUD per day >>> $2.07 AUD per person per day

This included ferries to beautiful places like Bruny Island and Maria Island.

Ferry to Bruny Island. Can you see tiny Chris next to our car in this photo?

Personal: $60 AUD >>> $1.42 AUD per day >>> $0.71 AUD per day per person

Seems like every trip we go on, especially Tiff gets there and goes, oh man, I wish I had X. I went to op-shops (thrift stores) and scored a couple more hiking clothes. Australians LOVE their thrift stores!

Snapped this pic from the car on our way to the airport. A bit blurry but thought the building still looked so pretty! There were at least THREE op shops within walking distance in downtown Hobart. Amazing!

Utilities: $50 AUD >>> $1.19 AUD per day >>> $0.59 AUD per day per person

This is mostly laundry! It was quite luxurious traveling in Australia to be able to do our own laundry at campgrounds! The average price was $4 a load for wash and $4 for dry. We also bought clothespins for $4 saving us some dryer loads.

A nice laundry room was pretty typical service at most campgrounds!

Visa: $40 AUD 

This was $20 AUD per person. We were surprised, saddened, and also delighted that there was no more stamping and standing in line for immigration.

Per Australian Immigration, we downloaded an app, paid for our visa, and had our information in the app. When we arrived at the airport, we scanned the app at one station, got a little printout, scanned that at the next station, and we were in! So quick. Almost no line. Incredible.

Entertainment: $776 AUD >>> $18.47 AUD per day >>> $9.23 AUD per person per day

This included activities like Arthur River Cruise, MONA museum, Robotic Dairy farm tour, steam train ride, and our parks pass.

No big deal – went to Tasmania to sail boats with Captain Andy. I was born for this stuff.  

Uber: $86 AUD

The skybus fare from the airport to Hobart was $38 AUD return per person while an uber was around $43 AUD per ride. So we took the uber both ways and saved money.

Petrol (Aka gas in American lingo): $461 AUD >>> $10.97 AUD per day >>> $5.48 AUD per person per day

We had a small car so getting good gas mileage was a big plus! At time of writing a liter of petrol was $1.74 AUD. So $1.74 AUD x 3.8 (liters to a gallon) = $6.12 AUD = $3.89 USD per gallon.

This general store had the best fish and chips!!!

Camping Gear: $93 AUD >>> $2.21 AUD per day >>> $1.10 AUD per person per day

I mentioned in a facebook post how of course we wanted a van…but at $120 AUD per day vs $35 AUD per day for our car…we didn’t need a van.

Chris had the brilliant idea that we would buy some basic items of comfort for our time in Tasmania. We spent under $100 AUD for creature comfort items, including camp chairs, a cooler, a frying pan, and an easy camp stove. On our last night in a campground, we had a yard sale. We sold the lot to a fella for $20 bucks and he got it all as a gift for his grandson. Talk about win-win!

That was our yard sale with a sign. It worked because we sold the lot!

Showers: $29 AUD >>> $0.69 AUD per day >>> $0.34 AUD per day per person

We decided to keep this category separate because at a lot of the national park camp grounds the fee was usually $13 AUD per night and then you could buy a shower for $2 AUD per person. We didn’t always take a shower every time because of timing, other factors, and some national parks didn’t have showers – so kept this category on its own.

Nice shower facilities were typical at caravan parks. 

Nice shower facilities were typical at national parks. In general – camping facilities were nice everywhere. That’s why it was so easy to camp for so long!

Car Rental: $1438 AUD >>> $34.23 AUD per day >>> $17.11 AUD per person per day

Oh you know we loved our car and all the beautiful places it got us! 

Stopping here to do a calculation because the above amounts were AUD dollars spent from our Australian bank account for this trip:

Total How much it cost for six weeks of travel in Tasmania, Australia on the ground: $5907 AUD >>> $140.64 AUD per day >>> $70.32 AUD per person per day

Converted $ AUD to USD at exchange rate of November 2024 of $1 AUD = $0.65 USD.

$5907 AUD = $3862.80 USD >>> $91.97 USD per day >>> $44.98 USD per person per day total spend on the ground in Tasmania (excluding flights and insurance)

Flights are a cost that varies so much depending on your geographic location.

For us in North America, a flight to Australia is what can make this trip so expensive. Other locations, visiting Australia is not that big an undertaking or expense. Flight cost can affect the overall budget for a trip so much – that’s why I like to do a budget breakdown of a trip cost with and without the flight cost included. We also paid about $600 USD more than we needed to for our flights because last summer our work got so busy, we failed to buy tickets when they were a better deal.

Flights: $3192.80 USD for 2 people return >>> $1596.40 USD per person

IMG insurance: $248.10 USD for 2 people >>> $5.90 USD per day >>> $2.95 USD per person per day

Total Spend $USD: >>> $3440.90 USD

Grand Total Spend of $5907 AUD converted to USD is $3862.88 USD + $3440.90 (USD flights and insurance) = $7303.78 USD total spend for six weeks in Tasmania.

Complete total of how much it cost for six weeks of travel in Tasmania, Australia: $7303.08 USD  >>> $173.88 USD per day >>> $86.94 USD per person per day

Keeping in mind our actual USD spent for this trip was:

$3440.90 USD >>> $81.92 USD per day >>> $40.96 USD per person per day for this trip is technically what this trip cost us.

Whew.

Ok, that is a lot of info and budget options to consider. However, given the drastic difference of what flight prices cost depending on your location, your own trip to Australia could cost a lot less or a lot more.

So much of a travel budget is relative as it reflects the interests of the people going on the trip. We felt like this was such a smooth and delightful trip. We absolutely loved all the amazing places we got to sleep.

Going to Tasmania in off season was one of the best trips we could have imagined for that time of our life. We didn’t have to plan anything ahead, get booked out of anything we wanted to do, and often had no neighbors. Talk about a recharge.

We love Australia so much. We still have strong connections to so many wonderful friends we met there. Being there brought up all the feelings once again how much we love Australia.

Thank you Tasmania for letting us recharge our lives and have such a wonderful time. I hope this post is helpful for anyone trying to plan their own travel to Tasmania, looking for travel inspiration, or is just curious how much a trip like this cost. Until next time, happy budgeting and traveling!

Loved this post – try another budget post!

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Credit Cards!!!

Oh my gosh. This can be a tricky and opinionated topic! Everyone expressed interest they would like to talk about credit cards so let’s do this.

Credit cards can be a tool. Like any tool – if you use it properly – this can serve you exceptionally well. If you use them improperly they can truly shatter your life. (Not to be too dramatic, but.)

I hope our previous discussions have given a resounding message about building a foundation and the encouragement of building blocks.

If you are struggling to keep your finances organized still (don’t be discouraged – just keep going – it can take a while to get habits in place!) then I DO NOT recommend getting and using a credit card.

How do I know if I am ready for a credit card if you:

Have your finances organized
Are not missing payments or overdrawing any of your accounts
Emergency money is saved
There is some buffer money
Overall you know how much $ you need to cover your monthly expenses
Generally know much $ you can spend and not feel the pinch

Then maybe –
You are ready to consider a credit card.

Remember!

As we talked about before, there are so many people and businesses out there that are willing and ready to take your money if you are not conscious of it. If you are not ready or don’t have the habits of discipline yet – then hold off on getting a credit card.

Be wise and informed with your money.

Steps When First Getting a Credit Card:

> Ensure no annual fee – when you are just getting your feet wet with this, avoid “advanced tactics” if it’s your first card. Just get a simple cc with no hassles.
> Set up automatic payment!!! Oh my gosh. We were traveling once and got to a place with poor wifi. I couldn’t log in to finish submitting the payment. It was such a pain. All money matters that can be automated should be automated. Set up automatic payment in full of the statement balance.
> Pay the statement balance in full every month!!! If you cannot do this, then do not get a credit card. The way you will pay interest is if you don’t pay off your balance every month. This is completely in your control and you should never pay even a penny to a credit card company (unless later down the way you know with absolute certainty that you will get value out of an annual fee card.)
> If you at all feel a rush when you swipe or don’t feel like you have an awareness of how much you are spending – STOP.
> Remember – a credit card can cause so much havoc to your life if not used as a tool to benefit you.

Here are the cards we use:

Amazon credit card

United Chase Card – we are going to Spain for $45.20 each because of this card!

Barclays

Venmo

Others off and on over the years.

The biggest thing is as long as you are paying off your balance every month then you will never be paying anything extra on your card.

Tips:

If you ever miss a payment by accident and get charged a late fee – call!
You are usually excused one late payment a year.

What you say is, “Hello, I am so sorry, I had my payment due date slip by. Is there anything we can do about this?”

The person will likely go look and then reply, “Ok, I see you haven’t missed any payments this year. We can waive that late fee for you.”

Then go and immediately set up automatic payment!!!

Rewards & Hacking

Some people write books on this and are much more into rewards than we are.

In general, I would say, have a card you get something back on. Start there. The Amazon card is very easy for rewards if you ever buy anything on Amazon.

I find the Venmo credit card to be quite convenient too because it has no foreign transaction fees. So many people use Venmo now so having a Venmo credit card with decent rewards is also nice and easy.

If you see a sign-up bonus offer that looks good to you – go for it!

Tips to Make Sure You Get Bonus Offers:

* Use your calendar!
* I put it right on my calendar, “Spend $3,000 by this date.”
* Read the details – most sign-up bonuses have a minimum spend amount within a certain time. Spending $1000 or $3000 within 90 days is common. So look for that clause because it’s sad to sign up, get the card, use the card, and then still miss the bonus.
* If the sign-up bonus waives the annual fee for the first year, make sure you put it on your calendar to call and downgrade the card!

Small Business Etiquette

When I am shopping at a small business I try to use cash.

Businesses pay a percentage to the credit card company every time someone swipes. So I try to save that small business the fee and pay cash.

Redeeming Rewards:

Read the details and crunch the numbers on the highest value for the reward options.
It is common for reward options to be cashback, gift cards, or statement credit.
It is almost always the least value to get cash back!
Gift cards are usually the next least value.
Statement credit is usually the highest value.
(Not always, and it will depend on the card and reward type, but often, this is the case, so read the details.)

For instance, here are the reward option values for my Barclays card:

2500 points = $12.50 cash back
2500 points = $25 statement credit
5000 points = $25 Subway gift card

The value difference between those reward options is significant! So take a careful eye over your options and look for the best value.

Other

Because this might be the last meeting for now, I want to brush the surface on investment brokerages. There is so much that could be said and I know people have questions. (We can keep talking about this more, and in a month or so when we all settle back into our next round of seasonal jobs, maybe we can try to pick this up again!)

If you have already opened a brokerage account with someone other than the two I am going to list – good job! You took action and that is the first biggest step. Out of fear, I hesitated for YEARS (years!? Like why? Why did I lack so much confidence in myself and my abilities to figure things out?)
So if you have opened one that is just fantastic.

Open a Brokerage Account with:
Vanguard
Fidelity

We have the majority of our investments with these two firms.

What sets them apart:

Vanguard

Owned by its shareholders. This is the biggest advantage Vanguard has. It makes them different than any other brokerage firm.
They are not beholden to shareholders. It’s owned by the people who invest in it.
Jack Boogle founded the index fund. This and many other reasons is why Vanguard can charge some of the lowest fees.

Fidelity

A very close competitor to Vanguard. Originally when we were looking for a fee-free international debit card, only Fidelity and Charles Swabb offered them at the time.
Fidelity has worked hard to remain neck and neck with Vanguard on offering low fees. They also have an international fee-free debit card and HSA (Health Savings Account) options which is why we also use Fidelity.

We use both of these firms and each has a strong brand reputation. Vanguard has the highest percentage of any of money because to me you can not top that they are owned by its investors (which is me!)

Again, so much more could say. That will be another day. But if you find yourself ready for this step before we can meet again, Vanguard and Fidelity are the ones I would focus my time on.

With that, our delightful in person seasonal worker money talk sessions come to an end in the woods. I am so impressed and inspired by how committed and interested each of you are in bettering yourself and having a say in the trajectory of your lives.

It has been an absolute pleasure to accompany you on this journey. And, onwards we will continue.

When I reflect on how much my financial literacy has grown in ten years, five years, and even within this last year, I am so excited to see where we all go together in the next one, five, and ten years to come.

Always remember, we are what we think. And you are worth it.

If you are just joining feel free to browse through:

Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 1 

Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 2

Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 3

Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 4

Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 5

The post Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 6 appeared first on Vagabond Way .

I just read a quote on twitter, “If you can’t manage $10 you can’t manage $10,000.”

Part of what I hope people are getting from these discussions is we want to be intentional with our money.

Despite any romantic visions, the grind of living “paycheck to paycheck” can be extremely detrimental to our physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

We work hard for our money and it would be nice to use it to our advantage!

The other day it came up how Ramit commented that when he has gotten “surprise” bonus money he will often allow himself to spend half of it and save the other half.

We’re all on our own paths. If you have a mountain of debt with years to go before you know realistically you will pay it off – spending half of the surprise money might be a great reward.

If you have less than a year before you pay off all your debt – then maybe putting that surprise money towards that goal of being debt-free feels more energizing.

The point is – with either scenario – you are being intentional with your money.

To the quote above about managing $10 vs $10,000. I have seen this attitude of, “Well, it’s only $10. If I had more money then I would learn how to manage it better.”

It’s the opposite! The less you have the more you want to learn the skills to be able to manage your finances.

And even more so, the lesson I have seen over and over again – act as the future self you want to be.

Question in our Seasonal Worker Money Talk:

What have you heard or gotten from these classes so far?

I thought this would be a good time to check-in.

The technique of asking people to repeat what they have heard is a tool I learned from working in wilderness therapy.

We would often state something or share our thoughts and then ask those listening to repeat back what they heard.

I might think I’ve done a great job leading these discussions. I might think I have been effective in communicating and providing tools and techniques to achieve financial independence.

However, what if I ask this question and you repeat back to me, “Well Tiff the thing I have heard from this class is I have to count every penny the rest of my life or I will fail at financial independence.” Then I know somewhere I’ve missed the mark.

The tool/technique to ask people to repeat back to you what they have heard is a life skill. There can be so much value in doing this. Put this in your tool belt and use it when applicable. 

So…what are the takeaways you have gotten from these sessions so far?

CD’s – What they are and Why they might be a good idea for you!

Last week in a quick ask, several of us were not familiar with CD’s. One of us was quoted saying, “Oh yeah, I kinda heard of that. I’m not really that familiar, I just know my mom wants me to get one.”

Ironically (or perhaps not) I simultaneously got this email from Fidelity about opening a CD as well. This is a great article to peruse, however, my recommendation is not to get caught up in the CD ladder stuff they are talking about. (At least for now – just get the idea of a CD might be a very good thing for you to start with!)

So what is a CD?

CD is a Certificate of Deposit.

You are giving your $ to a bank or institution for an agreed-upon amount of time.

In return, you generally get a higher return.

At the end of the term, you get your money back + interest.

The biggest pro is this is YOUR money and there is essentially no chance of losing it!

The only way you can actively lose money on your CD is if you break your term and withdraw your $ early.

(Think of it similar to if you signed a lease, but then broke that lease to leave early. You would at least be losing out on your deposit.)

Why CD’s are Great:

It gets you comfortable and in the practice of putting your money somewhere and not touching it so it can grow!!!

This is one of the biggest reasons I am a proponent of CD’s.

I will repeat, this is one of the biggest reasons I am a proponent of CD’s. If you seek long-term financial gain and growth, having the discipline to put your money somewhere and leave it alone is key to that success.

There is almost no risk with CD’s other than your own lack of discipline and planning.

(Not to sound too harsh – but that is true. When you get a lot of money things rolling in your favor, we could factor in inflation and the rate of the CD you are getting. But for starters, a CD is an excellent building block.)

I literally googled: “Best CD rates 2024” and this article lists a bunch of institutions offering great rates. I usually look to see if any banks I am using currently offer great rates and go with them.

Remember: the easier you make it on yourself the more likely you are to take action!

Action Steps:

Step 1:

If you have not found a money-tracking system that has stuck for you yet, keep searching! Although you may not need to track every penny for the rest of your life, IF you are trying to get a handle on your finances and know how much you can afford to spend on fun, living, other, then knowing how much $ you have coming in and out is an important first step.

Step 2:

If you are paying any fees whatsoever on your regular banking or checking accounts – fix that immediately! With so many institutions offering competitive services, there is no reason to pay a monthly fee.

Step 3:

If you don’t have at least one account earning you interest of ~4% or more – take action to put some of your $ into an account that is earning interest. Learning how to make your $ work for you is one of the key components to financial independence.

If you are just joining feel free to browse through:

Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 1 

Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 2

Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 3

Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 4

If you are curious for another post to browse here is how much it cost us to go see polar bears in Churchill, Canada. So many people were curious about that post!

HOW TO SEE POLAR BEARS ON A BUDGET IN CHURCHILL, CANADA

How to See Polar Bears on a budget in Churchill, Canada

The post Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 5 appeared first on Vagabond Way .

We’re all doing so great! The conversations and ways people have been talking about money are so inspiring.

Someone said something last week that got me and Chris to pause. It was something to the effect of ‘Well how much do I budget for toothpaste?’

I wanted to take a moment to differentiate two things:

Needs and Wants

It is so wonderful how much people are thinking more deeply about the money choices. Life takes money. Mark Twain famously quoted the only sure things in life are death and taxes.

Some of are reading the book by Ramit I Will Teach You to Be Rich. I wasn’t sure how I would react to that book (for a long time titles like that were almost a turn off or I felt uncomfortable by such a title in the early in the days. I thought who am I to think I could ever be financially stable?)

What I like about the book is his use of the term conscious spending. Ramit is all about living fiscally responsibly. We know it will cost money to live – so take care of that and then set money aside for guilt-free spending. Live a life that is full for you.

Living on a strict budget can be a short-term thing.

When I first started I used to think budgets, living, or being a conscious spender meant saving every penny.
Instead, I learned the message from many (like JL Collins or Ramit) was:
Create a life where you spend money on the things that matter to you.

Money is a tool.

Just like an ax is a tool – if we learn how to sharpen it – we can use it well and get through the tasks of life much easier than if we hack away at life tasks with a dull ax.

Chris and I have been debt free for around 15 years. Rooted deep in American culture is normalizing having debt…which is why so many people have a hard time conceptualizing how it’s even possible we can live the way we do.

If you can keep expenses low and rid yourself of debt (in many instances) – the world is your oyster.

When we first graduated college we had around $20,000 debt. We knew we wanted to get rid of that as soon as possible. Our goal was to move to New Zealand on the working holiday visa.

This was the time in our life when we slept on a blow-up mattress on the floor. We ate a lot of pasta. Cardboard boxes turned upside down with pretty tapestries were our end tables. Our monthly loan payments we always sent in more money than the minimum.
We still did some trips and fun things. The things we did (like walk to the grocery store instead of drive) did not feel like sacrifices to us.

Our eyes saw this as short-term control for long-term gain.

It paid off. We became completely debt-free and bought one-way tickets to New Zealand.

From there we were able to start our long-term wealth accumulation.

We did not really know what we were doing. At first this just looked like save lots of money in our savings account with ~1% interest. Our thresholds got bigger every year growing from $5,000 to $10,000 and then upwards from there. We just knew we always wanted enough money to cover our living expenses for a year or more.

At a certain point we realized we could go for years and not work if we didn’t want to. This was when we thought, hmm, we might be able to learn more about how to handle our money. We had become very good at saving. There was a slow switch from being good saving to learning how to make that hard earned savings work for us.

I could say more, but for the moment where we are at in these classes, the words I feel inclined to say are:

If you are starting out on creating long-term financial stability for yourself, the idea isn’t to suffer and have to count every penny the rest of your life.

The idea is to get these beneficial habits down as early as you can in life.

If you don’t have a large savings built up – do that. The skills you will master if you can save a year’s worth of your expenses will carry you the remaining decades of your life.

I sometimes wonder if one of the best things we did early on was our Americorps job where we earned a stipend of $4.25/hr. At that low of a wage, learning how to live frugally was the only option. The habits that were instilled in us set us on a trajectory that has now given us so much freedom.

As you figure out and decide the fun things – it’s more a matter of deciding: these are the areas in my life that I find value in. That is where you can put your first most precious resource (time) and one of your other resources (money) towards.

Ok.

Rapid Fire Questions:

How do I know when I can buy myself something nice just because?

When you have allotted or saved money to do this without impacting the general wellness of your life.

If you are going to make a larger purchase – but then – you stay awake at night because you are stressed out about how much less money you have in your savings account or you can’t pay the balance on your credit card – then you probably are NOT in a position to buy yourself something nice.

If you can make this purchase and you don’t notice a hit to your week-to-week monetary expenditures and you can still pay your bills and not winch – then you probably are IN a position to buy yourself something nice.

IMPORTANT: It does not mean to not ever buy yourself something nice!!! However, if you have, for whatever reason, a whole mess of debt or high-interest payments, take care of business first. Because if you can be disciplined enough to do that…then you can afford to buy yourself many nice things “just because” in the upcoming stage of life.

What about when I’m traveling or someplace where there is a once-in-a-lifetime experience?

Remember how we spent most of the first two sessions talking about emotions? And budgets? Marketing will prey upon your emotions any place, any time, any situation if you are not ready to be aware of that.

When we were in Queensland, New Zealand I remember we both felt like there were so many unique adventure experiences we could do. We could have spent $3000+ in days. At that time we were still younger and had not yet built up the savings we have now.

Our emotions can run wild when we get to places – even if that is downtown where we live.
It’s the only time best friend will get married or I might never be at Mardi Gras again.

We usually deal with these emotions by:

Having a rough idea what we want to do (ie, go on a hot air balloon ride say maybe bar hope for wedding party.)
It’s nice to have some buffer money to the amount that makes sense in case something else comes up that you really want to do. Often $1,000-$1,500 is enough “extra” for surprise things we feel strongly about wanting to experience.
That was when we were younger.
Now if there is something we want to do – we can just do it. We built the financial discipline and mental discipline to decide on the value we think we will get from the experience and then act accordingly.
Know wherever you are someone, even if it’s a TV advertisement or a billboard, will try to take control of your emotions, your mind, and your money. So – you are better off handling that yourself!

How to Plan for the Long Term – it feels so far away. There are so many things I want to do now that require money.

As I was typing that line I thought it was kind of ironic because when I started these habits I wasn’t planning for the long term – I was planning for next week!

But I totally felt that (and can still feel that.) When you are in your 20s “retirement” is decades away.

A term I learned about later in life, that would have helped me younger in life was to be aware of:

All or Nothing Thinking

I used to think I’d just have to save a lot to make a difference. If I wasn’t maxing out the whole ROTH for a year as a young 20 year old what was the point. Oh what a fixed mindset I had.

Do what you can when you can and never underestimate yourself or the value of $5.

I grew up where money was always such a struggle and a continuous source of stress, anxiety, and fighting. We were poor, although now I also understand we were poor with our habits. We had lots of stuff too. Shopping was something we used to do for fun! What do you want to do this Saturday? Go to the mall! I barf now thinking this is how so many of us get raised as young kids thinking this is an activity. And then we sit here and wonder why as adults we have so much trouble managing our money.

Coming from a family that didn’t have a lot of money put in me the fear that I better be able to take care of myself. So I had a lot of motivation to be a saver. Kristy Shen talks about the scarcity mindset in her book Quit Like A Millionaire which is also a great book to read!

It also breaks my heart to see people who are 70 or 80 years old and stress about money. To have gone that long through life, worked that much, and yet still, to worry about money.

I think it’s possible to set ourselves up for financial success, both now and later. It might be to our benefit to make some sacrifices in the early stages, but my gosh, that will pay off.

Every healthy habit you have is an investment in yourself. Life is going to throw curve balls. You just know you can expect that. So having some control over money (and eliminating or at least greatly reducing that stress) is within our control.

To answer the question:

Cover your basics now and put at least $5 a week towards long-term saving or investing.

Have a growth mindset and continuously evolving goals for yourself. 

Put something towards long-term investing. It can be $15!!! DO NOT underestimate the compounding effect of small choices done over and over again.
Could go on and on about this. Read James Clear’s book Atomic Habits.

How do I not have yo-yo spending? I go for a while and spend almost nothing – so then I tell myself since I spent so little last month I can spend more this month!? Ah!? Help!

Mm-hmm. These are mind tricks and it’s so easy to put yourself through an emotional roller coaster.

Ways to help keep these types of emotions in check:

>Know your why (I want to go to grad school, I want to buy a car, I want to travel to another country)
>Envision your future self of being less stressed and doing things that bring you joy.
>Especially if you are a seasonal worker – times of “excess” money are the stash-building periods so you can go for two months in between jobs and not have to alter your standard of living.

The bigger question to ask here is:

Why if you have what one might consider “excess” money do you feel the need to just spend that?
To what end does that help serve you?
Money is our tool.
Use it. Save it. Invest it. Have it work for you. Don’t have it idly slip through your fingers.

Sometimes this can all feel so overwhelming. There are so many choices. Vanguard. Fidelity. Charles Swab. ROTH IRA. Regular IRA. Savings accounts. CD’s. How do I just decide what to do?

Overwhelm can lead to decision paralysis in any area of life. (Which health insurance do you go with, do you get a Subaru or a Toyota, etc.)

Steps I’ve done to help me cut threw the noise:

1) Focus on what pertains to you (if I am looking to open a ROTH – I don’t need to get sidetracked by learning about SEP IRA.)
2) I know at least part of my desired outcome (broker with some of the lowest fee options.)
3) Assess what can I do right now to get the task done and then do that.

When I filtered and focused my emotions that led me to open my account with Vanguard. When you are just starting, $50 is a totally reasonable way to get oneself to take action.

Just get the ball rolling. Then you can figure out more steps and learn more as you go.

One of my biggest life lessons has been:

Once I put my own money down on something, I suddenly paid a lot more attention and learned a lot more.

If you wait and wait and wait until you think you fully “understand” every aspect of opening a ROTH – you might lose out on months or years of time to your benefit.

How do I live off small wages?

Well, first, don’t sell yourself short “just” because you are a seasonal worker. There are ways to hack this and have the seasonal lifestyle work in your favor. (Ie, many of these jobs living on site is mandatory, and that alone can be unspent money worth about $6,000 per year! And that $6k can help max out a ROTH!)

The biggest way to help yourself is to not go into DEBT.
(In most instances.)

One of the biggest debt/interest sucks I see people get into is car loans.
It pains me to watch my friends do this.
Especially if anyone is paying above 4% interest – although I cringe most times when paying interest…I much prefer to accrue interest than pay interest!

When you have almost no monthly expenses you can live off so little and still save and still invest.

Pay it Forward:

This whole journey of life so far I usually end up in places better than I could have ever imagined.
I didn’t know this would happen…I just knew I would get out of bed every day, be kind to others, and try my best.

I knew certain things I didn’t want (stress about money or inability to pay for a year’s worth of expenses.)

By going about life to always enable those goals to be achieved kept me within the parameters of the type of forward movement I sought.

I have endeavored to help others when I can and that has come back to me many times over.

Thank you for your interest in the Seasonal Worker Money Talk Series. “Just because you are a seasonal worker” doesn’t mean you cannot achieve financial independence. I am so impressed with everyone’s interest, action steps taken, willingness to learn and positive attitudes they have brought to the group discussions.

You all have lifted my spirits so much and onwards we go together!

If you are just joining feel free to browse through:

Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 1 

Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 2

Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 3

If you are curious for another post to browse:

Here is an overview of our year in Southeast Asia.

Round Up of a Year of Questions from Southeast Asia

The post Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 4 appeared first on Vagabond Way .

Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 3

Welcome to the third session of looking at making strides towards achieving better financial control of our lives in our:

Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 3

This week we have 2 very exciting topics:

• Health Insurance
• High Yield Savings Accounts

Burning Question #1:

Health Insurance

Health insurance is on almost everyone’s mind – especially seasonal workers!

The short answer is:

Look at the marketplace in the state you are registered to vote in.

Part of the reason we talked so much in the first two sessions about budgets and mindset is building a base for our habits is the way we are going to get results that are different than what we have now.

For a moment in time Chris and I feel subject to a fixed mindset when thinking about health insurance. We thought and assumed:

• Oh there will be no plan for us.
• It’s all about the politics.
• You need a medical degree to even understand the plan options and terms.
• They just want your money.
• This is all a scam.

Stop.

I had this mindset my developing years. This is narrow-minded thinking that in the end served me none.

I thought like this and assumed there could be nothing good out there and at one point didn’t even apply because it was, “too complicated, a waste of time and surely to yield no results.” Well, that’s what I manifested and that’s what I got.

When I took a step back from my assumptions, actually just applied step by step (hello, that’s why there is a save button – don’t have to do everything all at once!), wrote down term by term I didn’t understand, looked it up, called and asked questions, low and behold, I found plans for us.

Where they good?

Depends.

But did we at least have basic coverage?

Yes.

The result is we have plans that cover our preemptive medical.

ObamaCare did, for many, provide basic medical coverage at more affordable prices for many people.

(And if you don’t know I ended up getting a total hip replacement at age 38. Wild! Health is wealth. I could barely walk. I knew even if I had to pay the $8,000 it was worth the chance I could walk better again. It was because I had the mindset to check my mail and read what documents I was sent. I realized I was eligible to switch my health insurance mid-season. Before I would have just assumed this was a crock of shit or too good to be true.

But I have been practicing the art of believing I was worthy enough and that good things can happen to me.

When the documents came, I read them, digested them, and then took action. Because of that, I was able to switch plans part way to a way better plan. The result was my total health bills for the fiscal year I got my total hip replacement was about $2,200!!! Had I known the future opportunity coming to me I could have saved the $1,000 I paid for x-rays out of pocket. But I am still doing cartwheels (literally because I can!) over the opportunity presented to me. I didn’t know how any of this was going to work out at the time…I just knew I was worth investing in myself for the chance to be able to walk again. For anyone reading or looking to embark on a journey of self-awareness and improvement – you.are.worth.it.) 

Speaking for ourselves we have a plan from MVP. If we ever have a big emergency, we will each pay $8000.

Our basic preemptive needs are met.

We get:

• Annual wellness visit
• Blood work
• Women’s Health
• Men’s Health
• Procedures recommended by health provider such as mammogram, colonoscopy, and other procedures.
• I even had to have some blood work redone – and that was covered.

The big take away – assuming in life does you no good.

Break down complicated jargon. You are smart enough to navigate this and break it down piece by piece.

If you have nothing – apply.

If you end your seasonal employment – that should count as a life-changing event and you can try and apply then. Otherwise open enrollment is typically Nov 1 – Jan 15.

Other Options:

For a couple years Chris and I also lived more than 6 months of the year out of the USA. We had an excellent worldwide health insurance plan through IMG.

Most of the time we travel we use IMG insurance.

We had medical care in Australia, Singapore, and Thailand. With their plans, we have filed claims before and had a smooth and positive experience.

If you are looking to take advantage of any of the working holiday visas or study abroad or find ways to spend longer periods of time outside the USA – take a look at their global medical coverage.

We had great coverage for our worldwide travels and cost us less than living in the USA.

Topic #2:

Finding & Opening Bank Accounts (with High Yield Savings Accounts in mind)

Congratulations on looking to have the best accounts you can and/or look for higher interest on your savings accounts!

Watching our money grow and work for us is one of the fun parts of creating all these systems and habits!

Remember:

• Keep organized
• Ensure you have a way to remember your passwords

Things to look for before opening an account:

Monthly minimum – this is a big one! For some accounts you need $1500 min every month or they charge you a monthly service fee. For some accounts you only need $5. Big difference.

Overdraft policy – if you are opening a savings and checking account (sometimes this is done simultaneously and sometimes you opt for just one or the other) make sure you know which account your direct deposit is going into and which account say a credit card or ATM withdrawl is coming from. My credit union gives me free overdraft protection from savings to checking. So I keep all my money in savings (where it earns interest) and then when my automatic cc payments gets pulled from my checking (which has $0 in it) they will automatically pull it from my savings for no fee. Excellent!

Interest Rate – free money! Yeah. Be aware of the interest rate they give you. Sometimes I get a higher interest rate when I have direct deposit set up. Then when I’m not working it goes down to about 1%. I have been working on my practices and habits for years – so I will open accounts for bonuses. Last year we made $495 in bank bonus money. WoW!

Remember:

(Building blocks! Don’t go wild if you are at the start of this journey. Get the basics first. I feel like a broken record and I sense the energy gets antsy – master the basics and then you can master life!)

Account Closing Fees – be aware this is a thing. It’s not uncommon if you close an account within 90 days of opening they will charge you a fee. If you do ever want to close an account and want to check, super simple, just call the institution and ask, “Hello, I am going to be closing this account. Can you look at my account and let me know if there is any reason I will incur a fee? Thank you.” Easy peasy!

The Fun Stuff!

Open an Account and Earn Interest!

Here are the accounts I use, have used, or were recommended by a person I know:

Alliant Credit Union

• 3.10% apy on savings
• You can easily open supplemsental savings accounts (ie, name one emergency, gifts, travel, car, etc)
• Close acct within 90 days – $10 fee
• Paper statement – $1
• Debit card international fee – 1%
• Dormant fee/Inactivity fee – no activity within 3-5 years or no action within 12 months with an account balance less than $200 – $10 fee

SOFI

• No minimum in checking or savings
• No account maintenance fee
• If you have direct deposit, interest rate on savings is 4.6%
• No ATM fees at certain locations

M1

• I can’t recommend M1 as the best one to start out with. They really try to get to upgrade to the M1Plus account. There’s a lot of pushes to get you to use their other products.
• They encourage you to borrow on margin (DON’T) and have a lot of upsells.
• If you get to a point where you can open this for the bonus, go for it. I don’t recommend this if you are just starting out.
• Currently for savings it’s 5% interest rate.
• But if you might be tempted by the bells and whistles – don’t.
  Go with a regular bank or SOFI or Axos.

Paypal

• I have not quite used the savings account, but I have signed up for various Paypal bonuses. Others in the group have used them – so this might not be a bad option.
• 4.30% apy
• No min and no fees
• Through Synchrony Bank

Vanguard

• They have a cash plus account – 4.7%
• Vanguard is my primary investment choice. Unlike every other large investment firm, Jack Boogle set Vanguard up to be owned by it’s holders.
• If you just want to get an account with a higher savings percentage going and you are just getting started, I fear someone maybe get a bit overwhelmed and lost with all the other Vangaurd ‘things.’
• If you look at the page with the cash plus account and think, I can navigate this – go for it! The sooner you get yourself established with a broker like Vanguard the better!

Fidelity

• The option here is a bloom account which is an app version.
• This is great with a current interest rate of 4.98%
• Fidelity is a great brokerage with a fee-free international debit card. This is our other major investment firm. So if you think you might use Fidelity for your investments (which we recommend) – then go for it.
• I just don’t recommend specifically Bloom if it’s the very first thing you are doing. Or maybe only the second account you’ve ever opened in your life. I think it might get a bit overwhelming and confusing.
• But if you’ve got a good handle on things – Fidelity sent me an invite link with a bonus and I made $150 just for opening this app account!

Axos

• 3.30% apy
• No fees, no mait fee, no overdraft fee, no min balance
• ATM reimbursement in USA
• We both have used this bank – easy to transfer money around. Good.

Capital One

• 4.35% apy
• No monthly fees or min
• I have not personally used this account (yet) but I have heard good things from others I know

Ally

• You can easily set up bucket saving (like we talked about in Session 2!)
• No monthly maintenance fees or min balance
• There is a limit to withdrawls per month
• 4.35% apy
• I haven’t personally used Ally (yet – although I plan to in the future). I have heard from many positive reviews.

My Top Recommendations for higher yields at this point:

ALWAYS CHECK FOR UPDATES AND CHANGES. THESE RATES AND TERMS CAN CHANGE AT ANY TIME!!!

• SOFI (if you have direct deposit)
• Axos
• Alliant Credit Union (not bad rate and it’s a credit union)
• Captial One
• Ally (although I have not personally used Ally (yet) – I have heard plenty of good things
• A credit union local to you

In short:

Almost no reason you should pay any monthly banking fee. If you are, switch.

If you are paying any sort of fees on debit cards, switch. (We’ll get into debit card options soon too.)

The fun stuff!

Last year we made $495 by opening up accounts for the bonuses!

We can do that most years.

Which again, is why I keep reiterating to get the basics down first. If you can stay organized, stay on top of all your accounts, keep track of your passwords, you can have a lot of fun and rewards for money hacking like this!

This is another example to not let the mentality of, ‘Oh it’s just a $10 reward’ or ‘Oh well $300 isn’t going to pay off my loans any time soon!’

Well.

Let’s say you have $500 a year.

You invest that and do nothing else, in 10 years that will be about $900.

Next year you get “just” another $500 of bonus money.

You invest that each year.

In 10 years that will probably be about $7500.

<Or>

I just got $495 for being organized.

And that was just my bank bonuses.

I’m not even talking about credit card bonuses or other ways I get cash back by using things like Rakuten, GetUpside, or Fetch rewards.

When you do lots of seemingly small things in various areas over and over again, all of a sudden they really add up!

So it looks like:

• You ensure you have most of your cash on hand in a higher apy savings account. Check.
• You sign up for a bank bonus about once per year. Check.
• You might look for a cash back app like Rauken for literally purchases you were going to make anyway. Check.
• You get rewards on your credit card. Check.
• You never pay ATM fees. Check.

I could keep going on.

All of a sudden “just” $10 here and there, when looked at throughout an annual budget can add up to hundreds of dollars which over time can add up to thousands.

These habits are the building blocks that have allowed Chris and I to accelerate our savings rate and you can to!

Also – you can google for other banks and look for sign-up bonuses.

This is what I google:

• Best Banks 2024
• Best Bank Sign Up Bonuses 2024
• Credit Unions near me
• Best Credit Unions
• Best Credit Unions 2024

So onwards to a path where we can each create a life that excites us. Keep telling yourself you can do it. In our group of people, there are a lot of varied interests. Remember you are doing this for yourself and your future self, and whoever continues to be involved in your life.

If you fall into the temptation to compare yourself, compare yourself to where you were 1 year ago, 6 months ago or even at the start of these classes. These changes take time so if you even started thinking about money differently than before and with a more positive self-esteem to yourself – that is a big win!

You are worthy and you are worthy of good things happening to you and sharing that joy with others. Onwards to 1% better day by day. 

Thank you for joining this Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 3.

*Please note, some of these links are referral links and we always disclose that for transparency! 

Action steps of this week:

1. If needed, research the marketplace health coverage in the state you are registered to vote it. Even if you work in a different state, you may very well qualify for a plan that might cost pennies and at least cover you to some degree for an emergency.
2. If you are paying any bank fees – switch banks.
3. If you are not getting an interest rate of around 3% or higher on your savings account at the time of this writing – switch. Right now there are so many options that are very easy to get 3% or higher.

Just for funsies – this post breaks down exactly what it cost us to go and see polar bears if you are interested:

The post Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 3 appeared first on Vagabond Way .

Yeah! Here we are for:

Seasonal Worker Money Talk Session 2

Review:

How did last week go?
Did you start budget documentation in some form?
Did you notice anything about your internal thoughts with money?
Could you sign into all your money related accounts?
Did you do anything to tidy up organization?

Topic #1 – Budgets

Why.
Why are we doing the budget?
Why is this such a big deal?
There are many opinions. Some will say to count every penny. Some will say to buy the coffee because that will not stop you from attaining wealth.
Everyone is right to some degree.

When your “young” (age doesn’t matter – you can be 20 and thinking about this or you can be 40 and thinking about this) in starting to take your finances seriously and want to help dictate the trajectory of them –
Knowing how much money you have coming in and going out is a key part of having results.

Someone who once spoke those words, I barely have $100 until my next paycheck might be saying in two years time, wow, I can’t believe it, I’m just about to surpass $5,000 in savings!
Remember all this starts with one small habit and then stacking that habit with another habit with another habit.

Topic #2 – Budgets Continued

Budgets are a tool you can use to your advantage to control your emotions.

To the questions from last week:
When can I buy myself something nice just because?
How much do I spend on a gift?
When it is ok to make a big purchase?
Should I take out a loan?
Can I afford a loan?

These are all great questions for our seasonal worker money talk sessions.

Knowing your expenses, what you are budgeting, gives you statistical evidence to inform you of wise decisions. You can use that information to tell your brain to stop freaking out.

Those feelings of guilt after a purchase can be eliminated when you have an idea if what you are doing is reasonable or unreasonable.

You have a plan and are learning what to do.

Action is one of the only sure ways to address stress and anxiety.

Money and having money is almost completely within our control.

That might seem like such a wild and crazy statement. But by and large, we know we need money. We can take that knowledge and use it to our advantage.

Key distinction – budget vs tracking

Most I know along the financial independence journey go through reaching different thresh holds.
There’s a time in life where saving $500 is a huge accomplishment.
Then $1,000. Then $5,000. Then $10,000. Then if you can save $20,000, why not try for $50,000?
See the how the jumps getting bigger?

Once you start/accelerate positive habits they have a chance to grow and gain momentum. As we reach certain thresholds our mindsets can start expanding. “All of a sudden” we are some where that perhaps five years ago we could have never imagined ourselves being.

You are not the same person you were at the beginning of this year. Think of how much knowledge you have the chance to accumulate and let compound over the next five years. And then on and on. If you become a life long student and learner.

Remember, knowledge is compoundable too.

Tangible Action Step for this week:

(If you are still working on getting your budget going – that’s ok! Keep doing that. Don’t feel discouraged for whatever stage you’re at. Internal judgment often silently suffocate our dreams. Just keep going!)

Put time into thinking about a budget/allocation system that is going to appeal to you.

How to start figuring out how much you can spend in different categories that are important to you.

Analogy for those who do well with visualizations. 

Many of us in these seasonal worker money talks are a bunch of outdoorsy people. We all might want to hike a mountain. Many mountain summits have multiple routes to the peak.
And likely, if we all looked at our boots once we got to the top we’d find a variety of pairs. There are a variety of tools you can use to achieve your goals. Don’t allow decision overwhelm to stop you from moving forward. 

(Remember – the method that you use is the method that will actually get you results!)

Once you get half a clue how much life costs you, you can then figure out how much you can spend on presents, books, clothes, travel and all the other things of life.

Options to set up categories/buckets/allocations of your funds.

1) Call you bank and most places you can set up sub-accounts:

So you have your savings account. Then you can have:
Club Rent:
Club Gifts:
Club Fun Things:
Club Donation:
Club Emergency: 

You can then easily transfer this money around. It also keeps you active in thinking about how much you have and keeping an eye on it.

2) Envelope Stuffing:

Physically put money in envelopes labeled: Gifts, Rent, Food, etc.
I don’t actually think this is a good suggestion for us seasonal workers. We move around too much and chances of losing things, having an envelope get misplaced seem to great for me to recommend.
However, maybe your situation changes and you find this method effective for you. People do use it.

3) Establish a separate Bank Account for all the variable costs:

It’s usually pretty easy to transfer money online now adays. You could consider having direct deposit into your main savings account. Then if say you are paid bi-weekly, you could go in and physically click ‘transfer $50 to emergency’ & ‘transfer $10 to gifts’ etc.
Once you do the initial set up, this is either a bi-weekly task or you set this up with automatic transfers. Easy peasy.

4) Have a number in your account that you reach as your minimum threshold:

Maybe this is $5000 in between jobs.
Say your emergency fund is to never dip below $2000.
You have then have $3000 buffer.
Then say it costs you $1000 a month to buy food & rent.
You now have $2000 buffer.
Then say you want buy $50 of gifts.
You now have $1500 buffer.
Then say you want to do fun things with friends @$500.
You now have $1000 buffer.
At this point you get picky about if you do or don’t something or what you think your chances of other unexpected expenses are.
The most important thing is that $2000 never.ever.ever.ever gets touched.
An emergency is not car tires. That is an anticipated expense. You know it’s coming. It’s part of being a responsible car owner.
An emergency is not a new back pack. You know you will have to replace gear – this is a planned purchases account.
An emergency is not extra dinner because it’s your cousin’s special only ever going to graduate once. That is a planned occurrence and can come out of the buffer money.
Then –
At the end of the following season that emergency fund is $2500 and your total threshold is $5500. You keep adding to it every season. It grows. You see this grow and that feels good.

People often ask if there is a secret to life.
Sorta. Yes.
Spend less than you earn.

Topic #3 – Be Aware of Emotions

We’re going back to talk about emotions…again.

Our upbringings play such a huge role in how we view this and what we think about money saving goals.

Achieving (and also even just defining our) financial goals starts with so much of what we are thinking in our heads.
Those subtle thoughts that we have from childhood (money doesn’t grow on trees, you need a “good” degree to ever make money – what even is a “good” degree? There is no major that you graduate with that is titled “Good Degree.”)

We’re talking about this again because being aware of our minds wanderings and beliefs is what will carry each of us to our chosen lifestyle.

I got so many nuggets of inspiration from just this one Jim Rohn talk – here are a few (paraphrased a little bit):

Lifestyle is learning how to live your life. Some people have money but they don’t know how to spend it. Some people have time but they don’t know how to spend it.

There is a high cost to excuses for the regrets they bring.

Gardeners nurture seeds. Plant seeds in our thoughts. Nurture them with discipline and action.

To have more – you become more.

Don’t wish it were easier – wish you were better.

Don’t wish for less problems – wish for more skills.

This Weeks Action Step Review:

1) Continue working on the habit of tracking all your $ in and $ out.
2) Make sure you are able to easily sign into any and all money related accounts.
3) Find one positive source of inspiration and bring that into your life at least once per week.
4) Put time into figuring out an allocation system that works for you.
5) Continue to observe yourself and if you are kind or cruel to your internal thoughts. Continue believing you are worthy of good things to happen to you.

If you are interested in this seasonal worker money talk, this is one of our travel budgets in action. Here is exactly what it cost us for a month of travel in Yucatan, Mexico.

The post Seasonal Worker Money Talks Session 2 appeared first on Vagabond Way .

This is the document to go along with our first discussion. 

Seasonal Worker Money Talks – Session #1

Step 1

Watch Your Mind Thoughts

• You are worthy of good things happening to you.
• Are you saying “I can’t afford this” or are you saying “How can I afford this?”
• Start being aware of what you tell yourself you can’t do.
• The Law of Attraction dictates the things you believe inwardly and project outwardly will be the things that you attract into your life.
• Visualize your wealth as if you already achieved it. 
• Tell yourself you are creating wealth while you brush your teeth. Money is attainable and you can achieve things with it in your life. 
• Do you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.
• There is an old post that talks about some of our early day money saving hacks. 

Step 2

Use Google Budget Doc

• Free! You can customize categories to whatever you want them to be.
  • https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FrtiuXJ_S0zjcJGwv0kmg02BmE7aUbnxqCv9i2SSG58/edit?usp=sharing (This is example – not sure if this is my personal example – but this is what we use and it’s very simple!)
• Start tracking how much $ you spend and how much $ you bring in. The more you start to designate some of your energy to thinking about this, the more this has the chance to manifest and grow.

Step 3

Organize

• All these great ideas and aspirations will fall through the cracks if you are unorganized and then you will probably feel bad about yourself for not achieving steps towards your goal.
• Take one action towards creating better organization with finances (if needed.)
• LastPass is a free password organizer we use. Don’t waste time getting locked out of accounts.
  • https://www.lastpass.com/
• Another group member uses: https://bitwarden.com/

Step 4

Sign into any money related account you have.

• Update your google budget doc.
• Exciting! This is a great time to do this because it’s Jan and you can get a fresh start for the whole year!

If extra time:

Step 5

Find one new money-ish type to listen to/read/follow. There are many. Here’s one person I love to listen to:

• Jim Rohn
• Atomic Habits book is great

Step 6

Patience!!! Some will be more along their path and others might be like I can’t even sign into my bank account.

• To begin forming long-lasting habits and a trajectory toward the life we want, we start with building foundations and systems.
• Think years – these years to come start with 5 min of small decision-making creating a habit today. Write down your money this week. Notice your thoughts. If your internal thinking needs redirecting, give yourself gentle redirecting. Do that over. And over. And over again. And over again.
• Grow an internal mantra that you are worthy of good things to happen to you, to create a life you are excited to get out of bed for every day, and to attain financial stability.

Notice:

Step 1 has the most amount of bullet points and is listed first. We each are worthy of good things happening to us. Believe that. Even if right now you don’t feel like that or believe it – tell yourself that and keep telling yourself until you do believe it. 

Onwards to the path of financial independence.

The post Seasonal Worker Money Talks – Session #1 appeared first on Vagabond Way .

A very merry greeting to you all this time of year.

Holy cow. What’s been going on? So much!

We just returned from an incredible 1 month trip to Madagascar! The biodiversity was incredible and we saw at least 35 new mammal species. That is just mammals – not even counting amphibians, birds, and all the rest! The food, the people, the wildlife were all incredible. Madagascar is one of the world’s poorest countries, and in that sense it was difficult to see so much poverty.

If you are scratching your head wondering: Where actually is Madagascar? We made this SLIDE SHOW that gives a brief overview of the country and what it was like.

If you have not been following our socials, we’ve been posting tons of content there. (YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.)

Then – it was a huge honor – we were included in JL Collin’s new book Pathfinders. Pathfinders is all about ordinary people on the path to financial freedom. JL wrote the international best selling book: The Simple Path to Wealth.

He’s helped so many people improve their finances and increase life stability and happiness. We’ve waited over a year to share this news as the book was getting finalized. With the gift giving season upon us, the gift of knowledge, ie books, can be such a wonderful item to give people.

Don’t forget with your own finances the power of a quick chat to someone in customer service. With all the whirlwind of the Madagascar trip I forgot to use my grocery reward points. I was talking with the Shaws customer service via the chat box feature and agreed to restore my points. I had $5 reclaimed!

Then we have updated our Etsy listings. You can check out Really Awesome Gifts for prints. All prints are done via a local, family run business in Vermont. Thank you so much for taking a browse and let us know if there might be any other photos requested – we can upload them licky-split!

Thank you to all who now reach out and tell me that every time you see a cow you think of me! Haha! I continue to love being an Organic Valley Ambassador. I know I have felt a lot of skepticism about consumer purchases and does one brand really matter over another brand. After my trip to Wisconsin and seeing so much behind the scenes about farming, cows, Organic Valley and their mission to support small family farms – I can say this brand does make a difference.

If you are looking for any gifts still, I LOVE their new tshirt line! You can check that out here if you are interested.

Then what else? How are you all doing out there? Are you doing any year end reviews? Do you have any trips coming up in 2024? Chris is determined we must now figure out our next trip. So when we know, I will let you know.

We send our best to each of you for this upcoming year. I am so grateful for all the wonderful experiences we were able to enjoy this year. I am also still so grateful for my new hip! My two year hip replacement surgery just went by. Without that none of these adventures would have probably happened or been so enjoyable. Health is still one of the greatest assets we have. To that I try to be stronger every day mentally, physically, habit wise and other.

To all of us, let’s keep cheering each other on and here’s to welcoming the new year.

The post Happy Holidays and We’re Back from Madagascar! appeared first on Vagabond Way .