If you're sticking to a budget this summer but want to have the usual fun in the sun, you don't necessarily have to skimp on what you want to enjoy. In fact, you wouldn't be alone with the smart move of saving those coins since, according to a recent survey, a large percentage of your peers are doing the same.
And if we want to talk specific numbers, almost 21% of respondents surveyed plan to spend $500 to $999 for their next summer vacation, while almost 27% plan to spend upwards of $2,000. Whether your budget is close to, more, or less, try these simple tips to create the perfect budget for your travel adventure in the coming months:
1. Keep it real with yourself about what you can actually afford and maximize that sum, no matter how small or large the amount.
Oftentimes, we might be influenced via social media to invest in grand luxurious vacations (as 50% of people under 40 "use social media as a source" for travel inspiration), but if you can't afford a 20-day jaunt around Europe, there are still many other good options to consider based on your budget. Once you've set a number, figure out how you can stretch your dollars or save on some aspect of your trip.
For example, if you're going to be exploring a city (or two) for most of the daytime hours during your trip, why splurge on a luxury hotel? Find vacation rentals that offer luxury touches (via the decor or extras offered during your stay) or use perks offered via credit cards, memberships, sites like LivingSocial, or hotel loyalty programs.
If a luxury stay is your thing, join a Facebook or other online group on their trip or link up with your girls or favorite family members, instead of going solo. You can split the costs, take advantage of payment plans, and really maximize how you're spending money on your vacation.
When settling on a number based on what you can afford in consideration of your income, living expenses, and debt, be sure to include a limit on how much you'll spend on each aspect of the trip---including boundaries on actual cash you'll spend while there---and stick to it.
2. Do your research on your dream destination and watch how and where the locals eat, enjoy their leisure time, or spend their money.
One thing I've learned after practically moving to a place where I was once just a tourist is that watching how the locals live can save you time and money when planning a vacation. Follow a few travel creatives and professionals in that locality and take note of the areas, attractions, and other aspects of your trip that might align with the content they share. Typically locals not only know the spots that are off the beaten path, but they also know where and how to save a few coins while having fun in their communities.
It's great to follow and be inspired by U.S.-based travelers, but some are simply following trends that are, to be frank, quite expensive to keep up with, or they're sharing content via all-expenses-paid opportunities to market a place or experience in exchange for their influence or audience.
Travel enthusiasts, tour companies, and other professionals actually based where you want to vacation can offer clues as to how to have a good time without breaking the bank, and even if their content doesn't specifically force-feed you cookie-cutter itineraries, you can still take note of the places they visit on a regular day (or the nearby destinations where they vacation) and do a little online digging for yourself to create an affordable itinerary that works for you.
I've found off-the-beaten-path beaches, rivers, and entertainment options that are not swamped with tourists (and thus, are less pricey but just as spectacular, if not more) by doing this---simply vacationing as the locals do.
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3. Skip the DIY approach, and book via a travel agent or consultant.
This is one of the best ways to stay on budget when planning a vacation, since, at the onset, it's something you establish with the professional in order for them to be able to do their job. Once you've locked in how much you're willing to spend, they can use their savvy to fill in the blanks with amazing experiences that you might not be aware exists and use their contacts, experience, and industry know-how to get you deals to make your dream trip a reality.
If you can find an agent who works from commissions, you've hit the jackpot, but sometimes, even if you have to pay a service or planning fee, it can be worth it depending on the scope and length of your vacation. The best way to find a reputable travel agent is through referrals from family, friends, or online travel groups or by ensuring they have the proper certifications and asking lots of questions before agreeing to work with them. If they work for a reputable, well-known agency, that's even better.
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4. Ignore the negative hype and simply book your trip for the off-season.
Just because it's so-called "low season" in a destination doesn't mean it's not a great opportunity for the best summer vacation of your life. With global warming and so many other factors shifting what affects a good time during vacation, be open to visiting a destination that might not have made the list of top summer spots but suits your needs just as well.
For example, you can travel to places like Cabo San Lucas during "low season" and still have a lot of fun while the tourist rush has slowed, hotels offer lower room rates, and more options are activities and excursions available to book at competitive prices. While it might be a bit chilly at night, you can still enjoy poolside cocktails, beach club day parties, and cultural experiences during the day and wear light layers at night for phenomenal sunsets and other evening activities. Flights are typically cheaper as well during some low seasons depending on where you're flying to and from.
Staycations are also a great idea when it's not peak season since you can enjoy the paradise that's just a city or state away without others crowding the roads, beaches, and other attractions because they've traveled out of town to do so.
You don't have to give up your desire to enjoy the summer vacation you deserve just because you're sticking to a budget. With these tips, there are so many options to make the most of your hard-earned dollars without compromising on quality and experience.
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In a way, it makes me think of a quote by one of my favorite poets, Rumi: “Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone's soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.” Lamps shed light. Lifeboats save lives (and/or transition people from one spot to another). Ladders help to lift people up. And y’all, if it’s not our life’s mission to want to do one or more of these things for at least one individual on a daily basis — what the heck are we doing out here? Truly.
And yet, spend just one hour on social media and you will see more folks yapping about how to get something out of someone than to “be a shepherd” to someone else — and when all a person wants to do is take…how absolutely draining is that?
So yeah, let’s take a moment to more thoroughly explore the concept of what a human “charger” vs. a “drainer” is — not just as a gut check to make sure that you are where you should be when it comes to how you prioritize your interactions with others but also to confirm whether or not you are surrounding yourself with — pardon the pun — positive charges or…negative ones.
Energy Is a Very Real Thing
GiphyIt really is purely fascinating, the things that you can discover, if you choose to intentionally look for information. Take something that I recently learned: Did you know there are certain types of transmitters that, when they are placed on top of human skin, they send a frequency of 40 MHz into a person’s system? As a result, their body becomes conductors of energy that can actually be transferred to other devices (so long as they have the kind of receiver that can process human energy in this way).
My greatest takeaway from this? Human energy is a very real thing. Not only does it provide us with the ability and power to do various things, it’s also what can be exchanged between two individuals. In fact, many mental health experts believe that it is more than possible for people to exchange energy via things like their attraction to one either, sharing thoughts and emotions and even through one another’s body language.
And since that is indeed the case, this is just one more reason why I will forever stand 10 toes down that sex shouldn’t be handled flippantly or dismissively — because if someone has a body part of theirs inside of yours…how much energy is being exchanged from that? Geeze. And so, since you need energy in order to literally function (and to be mentally and emotionally functional) — let’s look at how a human battery charger moves and then how a human battery drainer does as well.
Ready?
5 Signs That You “Fuel” People
GiphyFuel your fueler. It’s something that I am known for saying to some of my clients whenever someone in the relationship feels like the other isn’t meeting their needs. Basically, what it means is, if an individual is giving you some of what you need in order to function and even thrive, why wouldn’t you want that same type of energy to be reciprocated to them in return? Fueling your fueler helps to equip them to keep providing what you need from them. Simple math.
And here are five ways you can do it:
1. Bring positive insights and/or wisdom. One of my favorite quotes is always going to be by the writer Jorge Luis Borges. He once said, “Don’t speak unless you can improve upon the silence” — and that is a solid gold resolve to have. In a world that is filled with so much…noise, a fueler/battery charger is someone who radiates positivity and/or offers up insights that help you to see things from another perspective and/or gives you the kind of wisdom that challenges you to grow. How often do people say that you do at least one of these things for them?
2. Create more calm than chaos. Confusion is chaos — by definition. You know some of the things that cause confusion? Unclear communication. Passive aggressiveness. Inconsistency. Gossip. Being unnecessarily dramatic. And all of this is just for starters. Meanwhile, a calm individual? They bring peace and tranquility with their words and even simply their presence — and a big cause of this is that they are at peace within themselves. This is why I think it’s a red flag whenever someone is triggered by hearing “Be my peace.”
It is actually HIGH PRAISE when someone can say that when you come around, they feel relaxed instead of…stressed out. Not wanting peace to be associated with your name? Problematic, my dear.
3. You allow “Shalom” to define you. I say often that Hebrew culture is totally my thing — and this includes the Hebrew language. And although most people know that shalom means peace, the word is far more vast than that. Shalom also means to be whole and complete. It’s also a word that speaks to things like health and prosperity. Keeping this in mind, if you are someone who “charges instead of drains,” this means that when you come to mind to other individuals, they think of how much of a blessing that you are in their lives — and you know this because they tell you so. You have a spirit of “shalom” on you and it doesn’t get much better than that.
4. You choose to be a spiritual light. Oh, please believe that when it comes to this one, I am not speaking of church folks — some of them can be the most draining (and I wrote an entire book about it!). At the end of the day, being spiritual is about knowing that there is something out here that is bigger than you (which means you act like you know that life isn’t all about you).
Being spiritual is about fulfilling purpose. Being spiritual is about focusing on the immaterial rather than the material. And when you are a fueler and charger, you do this by motivating others to become more spiritual too.
For me, I have a friend who calls me her “idea doula” and I adore everything about that. She is saying that I help her to come up with ways to grow her business and brand and that ultimately helps her to manifest her own purpose. When it comes to what people can say about what you bring into their world…how do you spiritually benefit them?
5. You are also a muse or inspiration. Pretty much, a muse is a source of inspiration for a creative (check out “10 Habits Of Successful Creatives”) and when you inspire someone, it means that you produce or arouse something within them. It could be to try something new. It could be to finish something they started. It could be to look at a person, place, thing or idea from a different perspective. Or it could be that you inspire them to be a better version of themselves — and it might just be simply by them watching how you move. Remember that a battery charge provides power. When you are around others, what do your words and actions empower them to do — and are those things for the better?
5 Signs That You Actually Wear People Out
GiphyOkay, so it would appear that singer-songwriter Peter Hammill once said that a violinist friend by the name of Graham Smith came up with the term “energy vampire” back in the 70s. Apparently it was in reference to some of Hammill’s over the top fans (the more you know). These days, energy vampires are quite simply individuals who are draining to be around because they require so much of your mental and emotional energy whenever they are in your space.
And what are five ways that these types of people can wear you all the way out?
1. They take more than they give. I’ve been known to say it often: “Where there is no reciprocity, someone is out here being a liability.” Listen, when you’re in a relationship with a person, because you both are individuals, you may not (always) need the same things (especially at the same time) and/or your requirements and expectations may be different. That’s fine. However, don’t find yourself out here being the only one who is proactive and intentional — because if you are important to someone, they should want to give and not just take. Drainers don’t care about this. Chargers absolutely do.
2. They speak in monologues more than dialogues. Something else that I have told clients before is that a lot of people don’t want a PARTNER; they want an AUDIENCE. What I mean by that is, they just want someone to give them attention, to be engrossed in what they have to say, to put them on some sort of pedestal. That’s why they don’t know how to clap for others, they suck at listening, and they may even seem more envious than excited when others win. Back in the day, I used to have relationships where I barely couldn’t get a word in edgewise; it’s because all they really wanted to do, consistently so, is wax poetic in the forms of endless streams of consciousness. LOL.
Sometimes folks need an ear to get things off of their chest; understood — yet if that is ALL that someone is doing…they aren’t wanting to connect with you…they just want some attention from you.
3. Their problems/issues are redundant and cyclic. One of my favorite people on the planet is the poster child for this point. She dates the same kinds of men, she never listens to the 50-11 folks who tell her that they are the same kind of men and then — surprise, surprise — things end up the same way…over and over…and over with these same kinds of men. We’re talking decades’ worth of this nonsense too. And as much as I love her, over the past couple of years, we’ve had to have some hard conversations about how it can be challenging dealing with her sometimes because she stays in the hamster wheel of bullshishery.
Listen, that “we listen and don’t judge” nonsense that was all over the internet several months back (or was that last year? Time is moving weird right through here)? That is some of the dumbest ish that I’ve ever heard! Discernment literally means “acute judgment” and, as my mom used to say, “Discernment prevents experience from being your teacher.” Use discernment when deciding how deeply you should get involved with people’s stuff. Also, use discernment to decide when it’s time to shift your energy. Before they drain it all.
4. They compete instead of congratulate. I don’t know about y’all but, over the course of my life, I’ve had some real doozies of narcissists in my world — and one way that they tend to show up is low-key competing with me whenever I accomplish certain things instead of rather than just sitting back and congratulating my efforts. I’ve had people look at me crazy about becoming a doula and life coach — only to become one later. When my first book came out, someone literally said, OUT LOUD, “If you can do it, I know I can then.” DRAIN.ING.
A part of the reason why science says that GOOD FRIENDSHIPS keep us healthy is because support and encouragement help to keep our stress and anxiety levels down. Competing is (typically) stressful. Being celebrated isn’t. ‘Nuf said.
5. They are full of negativity. Constantly complaining. Always looking at things through a dark/negative lens. Never seeming to be in a good mood (or expecting you to get them out of their moods). Acting apathetic instead of/more than empathetic. Being hypercritical. Playing the victim. These are just some examples of what it means to be a negative type of person. The reason why research says that these kinds of folks can drain us is, since we already are prone to act on our natural negativity bias, whenever we’re surrounded with someone who is already caught up in theirs…that energy can be quite contagious.
And since negativity is bad for your cognitive function, immune system, emotional stability and so much more — the less negativity, the better. Yep, spend as little time with this kind of “drainer” as you possibly can.
Giphy____
Like I said earlier, our batteries are basically our energy — and when it comes to wise words on energy:
“Energy is contagious: either you affect people or you infect people.” (T. Harv Eker)
“Energy speaks what you don’t.” (Drishti Bablani)
“When the energy in the room doesn't feel right, probably, it's not right. But sometimes it's also because of you.” (Mitta Xinindlu)
And when it comes to that last quote, specifically — umm, well, …see how I presented the chargers part of the article with a “you” and the drainers with a “they”? LOL. Yeah, that was so you would take the medicine down easier — oh, but definitely take in ALL of this piece, just to make sure that you don’t only have “wear me outs” in your world but that others aren’t actually thinking or saying this about you too.
Being a battery charger or a battery drainer. At least once a week, this is something that we should self-evaluate because energy is precious — and so is what we choose to do with it.
You can fuel or wear people out, y’all.
Please, for the sake of your energy levels as well as theirs…choose wisely.
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