Latest / Life. Money. You.® Podcast / S3|E28: Investing in Experiences: The Reality of International Travel

Transcript

S3|E28: Investing in Experiences: The Reality of International Travel · Life. Money. You.® Podcast

• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Life Money You Podcast.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Danny, program manager and certified financial coach.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: And today we have a really cool topic in guest for y'all.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: When it comes to travel, it's easy to assume that the best trips require the biggest budgets.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: But what if the secret to unforgettable adventures isn't spending more money?
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's spending smarter.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: In today's episode, we're joined by special guest Tamsin Gillick, who brings a unique perspective shaped by both her professional and personal experiences.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Having worked in the financial services industry for more than five years and traveled internationally since 2007, Tamsin has visited more than 30 countries and learned firsthand how to make the most of a travel budget without sacrificing meaningful experiences.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: From creative planning strategies to smart spending decisions, Tamsin shares valuable insights and real life stories that show how intentional choices can lead to richer, more memorable journeys.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Together, we'll explore practical tips, lessons learned, and inspiring travel stories that prove travel isn't about spending the most money.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's about investing in the moments, connections, and experiences you'll remember for the rest of your life.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: So whether you're planning for your dream vacation, a weekend getaway, or simply looking for ways to travel more intentionally, this conversation is packed with ideas you can put into practice right away.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: So let's get straight into it.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Tamsin, you've traveled to places all over the world, but you've never been someone who believes travel has to be expensive.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Where did that mindset come from?
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: From necessity to start out.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: That definitely is how it started.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because I was living on a shoestring budget for sure, making not very much at all.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, when the opportunity came up, I was invited by a friend to join her to visit her family in Morocco and to put together some different deals, figured it out.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_01: And that was 2018.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: And since then, I've been personally traveling overseas as much as I can, as much as I can.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I think really when it comes to making international travel work or just travel in general work, um, what's in what really makes it possible is is taking time to think about what is important to you on the trip.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: So, with that, for example, last year I had the joy of going to London.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: And London is an enchanting city.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: It was everything I hoped for and more.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um but that is a place where you can spend a lot of money very easily.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: Very easily.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so during that time, in order to make it fit in my budget, I really thought about, you know, some of the things that you can spend money on when you're over there, um, like lodging, food, transportation.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so what we did is we went very cheap on lodging.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we stayed in a hostel.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: There was no air conditioning.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: It was July.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: It was warm, very hot.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we shared a bathroom with 50 other women, and it was it was the real, it was a real deal.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it we also went cheap on a lot of different meals.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: So Tesco has this beautiful thing out there called a meal deal.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: And you go in and you choose a sandwich, you get a you get a chips or a uh crisps, as they call it, and a drink, and normally you can get that for about seven pounds.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: So those were some of the ways that we went cheap on the thing, but because what was important to me is I'm someone who loves theater.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like theater is something that means so much to me.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I got to go to a Midsummer Night's Dream that I'm gonna be talking about for ages to come.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um went to the Globe Theater, saw something there, and um, there were we were right in the action in this world-class theater that people were pushing past, like the actual actors were like pushing past me to get to the stage, and it was so cool, an amazing immersive experience.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we we went all out on that, and then also on a very posh high tea.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: So we were spending what, seven pounds tops on dinner, but we it was like 80 or 90 pounds that we spent on this high tea, and we had we had the works, the clotted cream, the and sitting in this beautiful posh, posh, gorgeous hotel, and then left to go to our hostel.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: And it was fantastic.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: So, so many trade-offs I'm hearing.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: You really kind of considered what it was you wanted to experience and you planned accordingly.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: And speaking of planning, let's talk about how you plan your trips.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: So, flights are often the most expensive part of any trip, especially right internationally.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: So, what are some simple ways people here listening can save money before they even leave their home?
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: 100%.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: Flights are really what can get you.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: Number one is timing.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: If you have flexibility on when you go someplace, that is a game changer.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, summer, spring break, those are the really expensive times.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: If you have kids in school, obviously it's hard to avoid that.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: But if you have any flexibility to go out of peak times, you can save a luck there.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: But going back to Morocco, as I said, during that time when I got invited, I was making nothing.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: But I heard about this offer for a credit card that if you spent a certain amount in the first 90 days, then you get points to use.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: So that was my first travel credit card uh back in 2018.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: I did the Chase Chase Sapphire, probably it was.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: And so I got what$700 to$800 worth of travel money to be able to use.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that got me started.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: Since then, I have done the RBCU travel credit card, I've done two times.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: I've um one thing with Chase and in Capital One, um, you can do that several times if you if you want.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: So if you do the Chase Sapphire sign-on bonus, um, normally about three years later, you can redo it.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if you you know close your card out.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um and since then I've done the American Airlines, the United, all of these for ones with the sign-on bonuses, you can get thousands of dollars of just miles that stack up.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: This is the big caveat.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: Hear me when I say this.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: If you carry a balance on there, if you spend that required 4,000 or whatever amount it is that they want in that first 90 days, and then you go on to pay interest, you are losing all of your money.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: That is not savings, that is not, that is not setting you up for success, that is putting you behind.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it is extremely necessary to pay off 100%.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: So if it's like, oh, I'm finally getting that TV that I always wanted, that's not gonna set you up.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: So what I did is just put all of my bills that I knew I was going to be spending anyway, um, or like pre-paid ahead and like car insurance or something like that, something I needed to get anyway, um, to be on track to get those free miles.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, that's really cool.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm thinking about my own travel experiences lately, right now, Tamsin.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm curious for folks listening now that might be experiencing some of the travel delays our country is experiencing right now.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: How do you go about saving both time and money preparing for right just the unexpected with a trip, which might be a travel delay?
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, those well, first of all, one of my biggest tips is make sure that you always keep what you need for one to even maybe two or three days in your carry-on.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's you never know when you're getting stuck someplace.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, another thing that I like, just a practical tip, is I am I have some really good over-ear headphones.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: I have some earplugs, and I have downloaded on my Audible um 12 hours of brown noise.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then I have an eye cover with me.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: That gives me a way to remove myself from the intensity of whatever's around me.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, or if I'm in a hostel or wherever I am, that is a way to shut out, yeah, shut out, disconnect for a second, because things can be very overstimulating.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: Especially in airports.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: I definitely feel that.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm someone, I'm an introverted traveler.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: So I find the corners and the places away from the traffic to kind of gain a little bit more peace.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: More so too with apps, like the sourcing flights apps versus the direct, right?
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, airlines themselves that hold apps.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Are there any benefits to booking through either of those platforms when it comes to delays?
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: To be honest, I strongly recommend what I always do is I start a Google map, a Google Flights, and on there see what has the best price to the best location to where I'm trying to get to.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: And then I book directly through the airline.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: Got it.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: If I get stuck someplace and I walk up to the Delta counter and say, Hey, I want to figure this out, they say go call Expedia, then I'm on hold for however long.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: It is so nice to be able to walk up to the counter, have them be, oh, here's your booking, change it right there.
• 10:07
  unknown: Yeah.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: Flexibility is probably the most valuable traveler skill.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I hear that from you now.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: Can you tell us a little bit about your experience in China and just how really expecting the unexpected is so important when it comes to making plans as a traveler?
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, there is that.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: I cannot even get started.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: That I cannot emphasize exactly what you said, even enough.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be ready for things to be much more complicated, um, perhaps more expensive than what you thought.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: I um landed in Hong Kong.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that's a whole story and of itself.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: Taking the bus because they don't care that you don't speak Chinese.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: They, you know, they're just like pushing you onto whatever bus it is.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: Very, very beautiful people, very wonderful people.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: But then you get on um the bus, you've landed downtown, and I'm carrying this heavy backpack, roller suitcase.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: I just want to take some time to be downtown, an hour and a half of looking for like storage for to put my luggage, because that's a very important hack.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Like, take the time to store your luggage someplace, go explore, explore the city.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: And normally in Europe and a lot of different places, it can be very easy to find.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but just be ready for maybe it to take a little bit longer than what you think to find what you're looking for.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um when you're hot and sweaty and discombobulated, that's that's hard.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: That can be really difficult.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: What about on the reverse side?
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe the positive, unexpected experiences you could um encounter.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: I think we talked about maybe Michelin Star Restaurant at one point in China.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I just cheated and and um used Chat GBT to ask, like, hey, what's a really cool neighborhood and and uh restaurant to go to?
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: And it directed me through the gorgeous, like uh, it's like skyways that you can walk through in Hong Kong and got a Michelin recommended dinner, dinner, mind you, for under seven dollars.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um, sat across from this gorgeous lady from from Hong Kong and heard about her experience and all of that.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: Then, you know, it was because it was you're crammed in there, and all of a sudden there's, you know, this cute couple from uh the Philippines that we talked about their travel experiences.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so it's that was a surprise that I didn't expect to come.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: And it was a beautiful time of making connections with people and having that.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: That was some good noodle soup.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna tell you.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: I was gonna ask, what did you eat?
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: It was a it was a wonton and um beef, like a huge beef meatball soup with noodles in it.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: And it was just, I would pay much more than seven dollars to eat it again right now.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_01: I'll tell you that.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: The point, the point.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's so cool.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: You you mentioned chat GPT, and that has me thinking about just access to resources and technology and how that might change depending on where you travel.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Can you talk to us more about that?
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely, definitely.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, there is no excuse these days that you can go so many different places, like navigating with Google Maps.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it that works like a charm in Tokyo.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: It tells you exactly where to stand, exactly where to be.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: Seoul, Korea, nope, you got to get Navar or another one like that.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: So take the time beforehand to check Reddit and to make sure to have the apps installed already that are gonna be useful.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: Because there, you know, Google Maps is useful across many different countries.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but but there are certain ones that are different.
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: Going on to that, also having Google Translate or you know, whatever it is ready.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: And remember that you can download the language, actually, before being there so that is on your phone.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: So you can use it when it's in flight mode.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: And if you don't want to be using data right then, you can actually access all of Google like translate on your phone without using data.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, one thing I will mention, if you're in a place that uses a different alphabet than um like the alphabet that we use, um, take some time to download that alphabet onto your phone so that you can just hand it right back to them and they can write you write back your their reply in Arabic or Chinese or in uh Korean or whatever it is.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: Going back to Google Maps, downloading the area that you're gonna be in ahead of time is key.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: That is a huge, huge part.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: So there is a feature that you're able to download um the map of the area that you're going to be in.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, make sure to take the time to do that.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: Whether you're wherever you're going internationally, locally, that it just can be really, really useful.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: And also, especially if you're going internationally, think about what sort of coverage that you're gonna use.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um I currently I'm on T-Mobile just because it has really easy I show up in the country and just can use it easily like that.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um also for making friends, because you know you want to be able to connect with people in coffee shops and get their recommendations and all of that.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh WhatsApp is normally pretty common for WhatsApp people to use across the world, but it's not, it's not in every country.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: So find out what it is in in you know, the country so you can easily go and um have that, like WeChat in China.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody, it's WeChat.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so you can make friends there.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: So what I'm hearing is having the right resources will save you both time and money.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: So everyone listening, make note of these resources.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: And something I actually thought of here that's really important when traveling and knowing geographically where you are in a city is safety.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: So, um, especially as an independent woman traveling outside of her country.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: I have uh my own experience where I went on a cruise and we were down, um, gosh, where were we?
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: We were close to Cancun and I forgot the name of the town, but I remember getting off the cruise and we were walking around the local area, and we had gone a bit a ways away because we're explorers and we like seeing as much as possible.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember a gal actually veering off the road and stopping her car to say, Hey, this isn't a good area for you guys to be walking around in.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: You do not look local.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: You should probably start heading back toward where you were walking from.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: And shortly after she stopped, another car stopped behind her to tell us the same thing.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so, hearing that advice, we both scooted right back to where we started walking from and took, you know, their advice and we're really grateful that they were the ones to stop us and tell us that.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm curious, just being someone who travels internationally and knows that there are places that are safer than others, just like any big city, just like any big country, how do you go about navigating those situations?
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yes, you can sometimes plan ahead as much as you want.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: So it planning is very important and having in mind what you're doing then is really important to be able to look up and see if that is uh a good part of the neighborhood to go into.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_01: I it is worth it, especially to the solo female traveler.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_01: That is something that this is something that's not just for solo travelers, but um, make sure that you can put together your itinerary of when your flights are, where it is that you're staying, and that that is with a loved one that knows me as a and that you're checking in so that they know, okay, she checked into the hotel.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: She's that she that's where she is, she's taking this flight at this time.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that's where they're going to be.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that for me, I like to stay with my friends overseas.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: I make sure that they have my family's contact information, my family has their contact information.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, take the time to put that itinerary together to share with your loved ones and the ones that you know are gonna want to know where you are.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that is key.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: The other thing is just the research ahead of time and to listen to yourself.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: I've learned to listen to myself of am I actually comfortable with this?
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: I am someone that when I travel, I push myself to the max.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: I can burn myself out really easily.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: And so I have taken the time to realize some evenings I need to stay back, go back in early, even if I have my body has more energy in it.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, maybe I just need to watch an episode of New Girl back in my hotel room.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: Redo, you know, just redo it, just watch a good old.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: So he does that for me too.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, something that you're just back um in something familiar.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um and not just overstimulating myself all the time because I can tend to, oh, this is the only time in Rome.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: I have to wake up early and make sure that I'm in line for the Vatican.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um yes, but I need to be able to walk also.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, be coherent, get the most out of the experience.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that was great.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: And you talked about people earlier, and I arguably saved the best country you visited for last, but my favorite story might be the one that started in Belgium and ended in Chile.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: So tell us about meeting someone on a bus in Belgium.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: Oh goodness.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: So if you know anything about Belgium, France, they are serious about their holidays.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: If it is a papier, it is a holiday, the transportation system changes completely.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so there's a bunch of us trying to get to the far away, like the outskirts airport with a very changed uh train schedule that they didn't tell us about.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: And so there was a little group of us, some of us from Spain, like from Spain and from Chile, and from um the first people that I ever uh met from you know, a little little place in Russia.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: And we figured it out together of how to get there.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I enjoyed having um, you know, some time chilling at the airport with a guy from Santiago.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so we connected and I told him, like, hey, just so you know, I think your country seems really cool.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_01: I've seen some screensavers of your mountains, it looks gorgeous.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_01: He's like, All right, come out and visit.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: So I said, be careful.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: And then I did one year later.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: And um, he was kind enough to show me and my friend uh for three days, gave us this beautiful tour of all the his favorite places in Santiago, of the, you know, the sandwich shop that his grandpa would always take him to, or his favorite view overlooking the city, uh, and made, you know, made us try his favorite uh local snacks and all of that, and made this, you know, beautiful connection to really just see like to me, the part that I enjoy most about travel is is to be able to connect with people that in some ways are so different than me.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: Like he, Javi has a life that is so different than mine that in some ways I can't understand.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know, my friend in Korea has a life that I cannot understand some of those things.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: But when we make a connection and when we have those moments together, and I just see, you know, just how much we have in common.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: And to me, that that means the world to me.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_01: And to see the things that they love about their home, to see the things that they have, you know, some fond memories of where they were as children and different things that uh to share.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: In the life that they've lived and they've experienced.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: And to me, I think that's what makes travel meaningful to me and has been some of the richest experiences of my life.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think locals know best.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: So that is awesome.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: And and clearly had created one of your most memorable travel experiences, which is so cool.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: And leads me to think you talked about traveling with a group versus by yourself.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: Talk to me a little bit about the trade-offs, right, with that and how someone might know, you know, is solo travel right for them?
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: Because right, it might not be right for everyone here listening right now.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: I there has been so much talk of like solo travel, discover yourself by all of that.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: When I am alone in a foreign city by myself, I have done that multiple times on multiple continents.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: It is overstimulating, it is overwhelming.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_01: You don't have to do that.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: I think as humans, we need to be challenging ourselves.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: So maybe go to the park, like go to the forest preserve, a new forest preserve you've never been to.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: Or maybe, you know, go to your local city that's an hour away by yourself and try that.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: Challenge yourself.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, there's a big push that you, if you're gonna be a real woman or a real man, you have to go and backpass across backprop across Europe by yourself.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's intensely lonely.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: I am very far in the extroverted scale, but that's that's an intensely lonely experience.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: It is, it's rich, and so that's why I like to meet up with people when I go.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and one thing I will say, there's there's no parallel to when you're traveling by yourself, you can meet people at a much different rate than you than you can when you're traveling with other people.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: So the guy that I mentioned and many of the other connections that I've made overseas, it was easier to make while traveling solo, but not exclusively.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I will counter that popular opinion that's going out of hey, do your solo travel.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: No, duh, to me, I argue that it's about memorable experiences.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: And for me, that I like doing that with people that I love and care about and can say, Hey, remember that one time, especially when it's something that is you're sweating and you're running across an airport and you're missing a flight and you're all of that.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's so nice to be able to look at someone and be like, oh, remember that one time.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so cliche, but it's it's not about where you are sometimes, it's about who you're with.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I definitely hear that.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: And as we start to wrap up today, I want to say, you know, Tamsin talked through London, right?
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: Spending intentionally.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: She talked through Morocco, saving before you travel, figuring out the best ways to plan your trips.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: China, being flexible, preparing for the unexpected.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: And we just closed out with Chile, right?
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: Why traveling is about people and places, but a lot about people.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so I want to ask right now, Tamsin, if someone's listening to this right now and still thinks travel is too expensive for them, what's one thing you would tell them that might completely change their mindset here as they start to look at that weekend getaway or look at that first international trip or just start coordinating some immersive experience for themselves?
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: You really can make it happen.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not even that's a cheesy way to say it, but you really can make it happen.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: Even something like looking at what your weekly spending habits are and cutting back on some of that, or even trying like a sign-on bonus for a credit card, again, paying off a complete balance, paying off the complete balance so that you're not losing money on interest there, very quickly, you can make something like that happen.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if you're wanting to stay in a five-star restaurant, like you know, stay in a five-star hotel, eat only at five-star restaurants, all of that, then yes, maybe that is has to be a five or 10 years in the future goal.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: But if you're up for cutting some costs in one place so that you can yes, eat at that one five-star restaurant that you've heard about and dreamt about, um, oh, then that can happen as soon much, much sooner.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: And there's no reason.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: And then when you check something like that off your bucket list, uh, it's it's it creates such a thing of like, I am that person that accomplished that.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it, it create, it's made me a lot more of who I am and how I believe in myself.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_01: And once one thing is checked off, then you get the joy of creating something else that can be a new dream.
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: And how what a joy that is.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: What a joy that is.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm ready for my next adventure after this.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you so much, Tamsin.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: I really, really enjoyed this conversation, and I'm sure our listeners did too.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: No, thanks for having me.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: This is a this is a great pleasure.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: As a reminder, Life Money You is a financial well-being program owned by BCU, a credit union fiercely committed to your financial well-being.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: Through Life MoneyU subscription, you get credit union membership eligibility and access to a boatload of money-saving products and tools, one of which is free financial coaching.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: So you can meet with a financial coach on your time to talk through boosting credit, crushing debt, or building an emergency savings fund.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: We hope to have you on the next one.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you all for joining.