Travel Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

My Year In Review – Where I Went And What Happened in 2019

January 8, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 20 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Looking back on the previous year is always a lot of fun, and it’s interesting to see everything laid out in a one year period. I get to see what I did and didn’t do, reflect on everything, etc. So, I am happy to publish my 2019 year in review.

I almost didn't put this together this year, but I realized that it's nice to write this each year so that I have a nice memory to look back at later.

You can read my 2018 year in review here. You can find 2017's here.

2019 was a super interesting year.

We sailed to the Bahamas, bought a van for hurricane season and explored the U.S., then sailed back to the Bahamas (which is where we are now).

We saw beautiful mountains, oceans, beaches, deserts, and everything in between.

2019 was a wonderful year full of travel and great memories. It had its ups and downs, just like for any person, but overall it was an amazing year and I'm grateful for the life that I get to live.

We're really loving how life is currently going too. We love having our sailboat as it's a very exciting way to travel, and we also love having our van so that we can still do all of the land travel that we love.

You can read more about our life on a sailboat here – Welcome To Paradise – We’re Living On A Sailboat!

You can find life updates in the last year here:

Also, if you're not following me on Instagram yet, I definitely recommend doing so. You can see even more photos and stories of the places we are visiting.

Here's what we did in 2019:

Anchored in the Florida Keys

January – The Florida Keys and Bahamas

2019 started by sailing the Florida Keys to the Bahamas. It was the first time we had left the U.S. with our sailboat.

It was a crazy month because we were doing something brand new to us – bringing our dogs by boat to another country. Bahamas is relatively easy to do this with, though, so it went smoothly!

There was quite a bad storm that arrived right after we sailed to Bimini, Bahamas, so we were “stuck” there for a while. It was a nice spot, though, so we definitely did not complain! [Read more…]

Sailing SV Delos – Living A Beautiful Life On The Sea

December 16, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 6 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Sailing SV Delos is what many people dream of – sailing around the world to exotic destinations in a beautiful boat with a super fun group of people, who all happen to be friendly and gorgeous. They go on amazing adventures, and they even brew moonshine on their boat. What more could you ask for?

In my Extraordinary Series here on Making Sense of Cents, I like to feature people who are doing things a little differently. So, I knew that interviewing SV Delos should be next!

As you may know, me and my husband (and our two dogs) also live on a sailboat. So, getting the opportunity to interview SV Delos was something I was really excited about doing!

Before our interview, let me give you a little backstory on the sailing vessel Delos and the crew.

It all started in May of 2008 when Brian Trautman bought SV Delos.

Brian had been sailing around the lakes of Seattle for several years, but had never really thought about living on a sailboat, much less sailing around the world. Until one day when he found a book in the library that explained how to cross the ocean on your own boat. It was an eye-opening moment for Brian.

He spent the next four years dreaming and planning for the first epic trip – sailing to New Zealand. He sold nearly everything, and bought SV Delos in May of 2008. [Read more…]

Why I Took A Year Long Blog + Social Media Semi-Sabbatical

December 11, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 49 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

This past year I decided to do something that I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time – I took a blog and social media break.

Taking a sabbatical from social media has changed my life. I feel like I am much more intentional with the actions I take, and I am able to focus on what I truly love.

Okay, so I've still been around working a little bit, but not nearly as much as usual.

But since I’ve taken a blog and social media break, I’ve received a lot of messages, comments, and emails asking me about what’s going on.

“Is everything all right?”

“Are you not having fun traveling anymore?”

“Is your business no longer making money?”

My social media break has really confused people, and it feels like nearly everything I've heard has assumed that something bad has happened. [Read more…]

Do you need travel medical insurance if you travel long-term?

December 2, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 2 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

The following is a sponsored partnership with SafetyWing travel medical insurance. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have been traveling full-time for several years now.

While before it was mainly in the US by RV, and due to laziness, I had never looked into travel medical insurance.

I just always thought that I was fine.

Almost invincible – like nothing bad would happen to me while traveling!

However, lately, I have been hearing horror stories from friends, of those who travel and have had accidents and/or medical emergencies while traveling. Due to that, I recently started looking into the best travel medical insurance.

We are about to leave the U.S. on our sailboat, and travel health insurance is something that we desperately need. [Read more…]

SiOnyx Aurora Night Vision Camera Review

November 27, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 1 Comment

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

The following is a sponsored partnership with SiOnyx. Please enjoy my SiOnyx Aurora review.

I'm often asked what my favorite tools are when it comes to traveling full-time. As you know, I travel full-time via sailboat, and have RVed in the past for several years.

When traveling with your home, you have to be pretty minimalist, so I am quite choosey when it comes to what I bring with me.

Recently, I had the opportunity to check out the new SiOnyx Aurora Night Vision Camera, and I can already say that it is amazing!

[Read more…]

How To Get Rid Of A Timeshare – Stop Wasting Your Money!

October 28, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 59 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Every once in a while I get a question from a reader about how to get rid of a timeshare. Sometimes the person is asking for themselves, but other times, they are trying to help a friend or family member.

The problem is that timeshares aren’t as amazing as the salesperson claims they are. They are expensive, you probably won’t use them as much as you think, timeshare resale values are incredibly low making them hard to sell, and more.

So, if you have been thinking about purchasing a timeshare or if you are wondering how to get rid of a timeshare, today's article is for you.

Many adults have attended a timeshare presentation, and even more have been asked to attend one. You are usually offered something if you stay the whole time, such as a free vacation, an iPad, a cruise, or something else that is quite enticing. And, that's how they get you interested.

All you have to do is listen to the presentation and get your free gift. Sounds simple enough, right? [Read more…]

Are Budget Airlines Worth It? Here Are 6 Of The Best Tips To Cut Your Costs

September 30, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 11 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Are you thinking about saving money on airfare by flying with budget airlines such as Allegiant, Frontier, or Spirit Airlines? Here are my tips to find cheap plane tickets and the best flight deals.

Recently, Wes (my husband) took a couple of last minute flights to visit family and we booked his flights on budget airlines. I had first started looking for flights like I normally do, with traditional airlines like American, Delta, and Southwest. But, everything was super expensive because we were booking last minute.

Then, I got the idea to look at some of the budget airlines, such as Allegiant, Frontier, and Spirit so that we could save some money.

I found a super affordable flight on Allegiant, AND it was direct. Whereas all of the expensive flights had multiple stops and would take all day.

My first thought was that something had to be wrong since the price was so low, so I asked around to see if these discount flights were the real deal.

I had numerous people tell me not to do it, but I had more people tell me that these cheap plane tickets were too good to pass up.

Well, I bought the Allegiant flights, and it went well. Then he flew again a few weeks later, and he used Allegiant again. [Read more…]

Here's what we did in 2019:

January – The Florida Keys and Bahamas

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