Travel Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

One Year Later: My Extraordinary Interview Series Roundup

April 4, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 17 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

One Year Later: My Extraordinary Interview Series Roundup One year ago, I launched a new series here on Making Sense of Cents where I interview people who are doing extraordinary things with their lives.

I started this new series because I wanted to show you all real stories about financial successes, and I wanted you to get to know the people leading these extraordinary lives.

I figured this would not only be great motivation, but it would also show everyone the different things that are possible. Plus, interviewing these amazing people is a great way to learn from them as they share their secrets to success with us.

Here's a quick snapshot of the people I interviewed this year:

How This 28 Year Old Retired With $2.25 Million
This Successful Entrepreneur Went From Welfare To Earning Millions – Interview With Kimra Luna
From Rags To Riches- How Tina Immigrated To America With Nothing And Now Has A Net Worth Of $2,000,000
How This Couple Does Van Life With A Baby (and a dog!)
How This Successful Family Of Four Makes Travel Blogging Work For Them
How This Family Moved To The “Hood” And Paid Off $120,000 In Debt
How This Couple Bought An $11,500 RV, Traveled To All 50 States, And Built A Thriving Business
How This Couple Paid Off $204,971.31 In Debt
How We Paid Off $195,000 In Debt In 18 Months!
How This 29 Year Old Is Building A Real Estate Empire
How Elizabeth Reached Financial Independence By 32 And Moved To A Homestead

[Read more…]

Here’s How To Save Thousands For Your Next Vacation

March 26, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 32 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

How To Save For A Vacation - Create Your Vacation Savings Plan Now! #howtosaveforavacation #travelfundjar #vacationsavingsplan Do you want to go on a vacation? Do you know how to save for a vacation?

The two go hand in hand!

Because vacations can be expensive, many people try to “afford” them by taking on more debt, and this is something I never recommend doing. Vacations are supposed to be relaxing, and coming back home to a pile of debt is the opposite of relaxing.

So, today, I want to help you learn how to save for a vacation. These are actual things you can do to save money for your trip and have money to spend without taking on any debt.

There are many ways to save money ON your vacation, and you can read those here – How To Travel On A Budget And Still Have The Time Of Your Life. Today's article is a little different from that, though.

With the tips in today's blog post, you'll learn how to save for a vacation by creating a savings plan that allows you to actually save all of the money you need before you leave for your trip.

I hear a lot of people say that they don't have any extra money for a vacation, and I hope that with today's advice, you can start setting aside money to finally go on that long awaited trip. [Read more…]

Would You Consider Living In A Camper To Pay Off Debt Quicker?

March 19, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 45 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

What would you do to save more money and pay off your debt quicker?

One thing that I've noticed more people doing is living in a camper in order to save money.

Before we begin, I will say that RVing is funny. Some people who don't RV think that all RVers are trust fund babies, and others think the complete opposite, like that we are all truly homeless and have no money.

In reality, living in a camper has a wide range of costs, just like houses that don't have wheels do. You could live in a $1,000 travel trailer, or there are $2,000,000+ motorhome mansions. Similarly, the budget you keep while living in a camper can vary widely too.

Some people manage to spend just hundreds of dollars a month, whereas others can easily spend several thousands of dollars a month RVing.

While we don't live in an RV to save money (the house we used to own was actually much less expensive than our motorhome), there are many who have been able to pay off debt, save for early retirement, and more, all by living in a camper. [Read more…]

Is It Possible To Save $200 On A Car Rental?

March 18, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 6 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

The following is a sponsored post provided by AutoSlash. I personally heard of AutoSlash before they contacted me and have seen for myself that they save money! Whenever you book a car rental, I recommend going to AutoSlash as well.

What if I told you that you could save 30% off every car rental? Would it sound too good to be true?

Well it’s not!

Have you heard of this awesome website called AutoSlash? It’s a site where you can book a car rental except it’s way cheaper than booking on the rental company websites or through other online travel sites.

The reason it’s cheaper is that AutoSlash has special algorithms quickly figure out the best publicly available coupons and discount codes that apply to any rental. Their proprietary system then test each one to figure out which combinations yield the lowest price possible They also take into consideration memberships that you may be a part of like Costco, AAA, AARP and many others, saving you time from having to find and apply their codes or book through their portals. [Read more…]

What Traveling Full-Time For 3 Years Has Taught Me

February 10, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 53 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

What Traveling Full-Time For 3 Years Has Taught Me Three years ago, we completely emptied our house, put it on the market, and drove to Colorado. We had been location independent for a couple of years at that point, and we had the travel itch. We were ready to explore, and little did we know that would be the start of our life traveling full-time.

It wasn't easy. I remember going out to eat with my close friends right before we moved. It was, literally, moments after we packed everything into a car, that I went out to eat with friends to say goodbye before continuing the drive to Colorado. I cried about selling our house and leaving my friends and family.

We found a “homebase” in Fruita, Colorado, and we used that as our jumping off point as we explored Colorado and nearby Utah.

We knew absolutely no one in the Fruita, Colorado area (or anywhere near it). We just picked it after a recent trip and liked the location, the small town feel, and all of the mountain biking, rock climbing, and hiking that it had to offer. [Read more…]

My Year In Travels – Where I Went in 2017 – Hiking, Biking, RVing, Sailing, and More

January 5, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 51 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

2017 was an amazing year. We traveled to many new areas in the RV, went on a 10-day sailing trip, climbed several mountains, went on many bike rides, saw killer whales in their natural habitat, rode the third longest tram in the world, went on a brewery trail (yep, it exists!), and more.

We traveled to 18 states, too many cities to even keep track of, stayed in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and sailed in the British Virgin Islands. We saw beautiful mountains, oceans, beaches, deserts, and everything in between.

We visited several new places, and we revisited many of our favorites as well. Some people think we're crazy for visiting the same place more than once, but we are always doing new things, and I think it's impossible to see and do everything if you only visit a place once. Plus, if you enjoyed your visit once, why not enjoy it some more?

2017 was an amazing year, full of great travel, building friendships and relationships, and more. I couldn't have asked for a better year.

Here's where we RVed in 2017. Credit: https://visitedstatesmap.com

Quick list of my favorite things from 2017: [Read more…]

How I’ve Paid Off $29,000 In Debt By Living In a Van

December 20, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 34 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Michelle's quick note: Today, I have a great article from Sarah of Tiny Van Big Living about how living in a van is saving her money. She has paid off $29,000 in debt so far by living in a van and is working on paying off the rest. I heard her story and I asked her to share it with all of you. Enjoy this #vanlife article!

Hello there, my name is Sarah, and I currently live in a tiny van full-time! I am a traveling Occupational Therapist who has taken on the minimalist lifestyle, in order to pay off student loans and gain more experiences while doing so.

May 2016, I decided to make a leap from a spacious two bedroom apartment in Los Angeles to full-time living in a van in Alaska. This decision was not made overnight. It evolved over time when I became more knowledgeable about minimal lifestyle and personal finance. I have been living full-time in a 2010 Ford Transit Connect for over a year now and have no plans to return to standard housing anytime soon!

Van life and RV-related content:

[Read more…]

Subscribe Via Email