#and maybe using the app again bc i liked the interface tbh

[blackcoffeeandblankpagess]

Hi!! Are you cross-country road tripping?? Bc if so that is amazing. Also, this is maybe a bit intrusive but... how are you getting the money to pay for all your travels? Did you work/save a lot in college? I also want to travel post-grad so tryna figure out the best way to do it :)

(CTD: Oh on a similar vein (if you're willing to answer) how do you manage to eat out? I've had a meal in a restaurant like twice in the past 3 years ugh)

Hey there! This question is totally valid no worries

tbh this past year has been full of a lot of travel under unique circumstances aka being able to travel without actually paying TOO much

For example this past month we have basically lived out of our duffle bags but only paid for a place to stay for 3 nights- for one week we were with jared’s fam, one with mine, when we were in wisconsin we were there for jared’s fam reunion so his family was paying, we stayed with a friend in columbus, and we stayed with relatives of mine in boulder so really we only paid for 1 night in omaha, 1 in zion, and 1 in morro bay

Also, when we were with family our parents were generally paying for us to go out to eat (of course, when we are traveling on our own that’s our own expense but a lot of this past month we have been with family)

I went to Europe twice this spring under unique circumstances too- Jared was studying in London so any time we spent there was essentially a “free” place to stay and when we went to Paris it was with his family so they were paying for things

Also also, we went to St. John because my mom got remarried aka she was paying for those expenses (and bringing Jared along was my graduation gift)

Also^ I paid for my trip when I went to visit Jared over spring break but when I went back after graduation his family paid for me to fly out since my family paid for Jared to come to the wedding

I don’t want it to seem like our families pay for everything because they definitely don’t, there have just been a lot of unique circumstances these past few months ALSO I recognize that we are extremely privileged to have parents who can afford to support us in that way, not something everyone can say.

That being said- I also worked 2 jobs in highschool so I managed to save up quite a bit because I didn’t have any real expenses then. In college I’ve done a bunch of different things (waitressing, paid research, RA, etc.) Also I went to undergrad on a full scholarship so that makes a huge difference in having disposable income. 

I also prefer to spend money on experiences like food and travel rather than new clothes or makeup or whatever. 

But anyway- generally speaking some tips for cheaper travel

-I use the app hopper for booking flights because it provides a good interactive interface to find cheaper flights and can send you alerts and stuff

-Stay with friends! Like I said half the reason we were able to spend the past month on the road was because we were staying with family and friends. This is especially easy if you literally just need a place to sleep for a night because it isn’t like you’re moving in for a week 

-Airbnb offers gift cards so maybe ask for those (and gas gift cards!) for birthdays or holidays or w/e

-If you’re traveling cook some of your own food...I think going out to eat is a huge part of travel but you don’t need to do it for every meal, there were a lot of days this month where I was eating oats in the car or a protein bar and fruit for breakfast 

-Don’t buy alcohol if you’re trying to save $$$ traveling (or just buy stuff at the store and make your own drinks), again, we have been buying drinks because it is fun and part of the experience but it def adds up

-Also every since like...the seventh grade (not kidding) I’ve put a tiny bit of money every once in awhile in a glass jar in my room (like if I got money for my birthday I’d put a small portion in there) in the hopes of using it for travel at some point and I haven’t broken into it yet (I have plans...) but I find that if I put money aside with the explicit purpose of using it for travel it eliminates any guilt about spending it on that (I realize not everyone can afford to save but you can literally put like...a dollar at a time)

-When you’re traveling do free things! Just walking around a city looking at stuff can be a great way to know a place and there’s usually cool free stuff happening

-Oh also, a lot of the travel I’ve done recently (aside from this month...) has been just one or two nights somewhere which a lot of times is all you need to experience a bit of a place but doesn’t cost a zillion dollars

-Okay one last thing also I had a few giftcards to restaurants in Chapel Hill that we used before we left so again, not “my money” per se

Okay there’s prob like 5000 more things I could think of but that is all for now hope it helps a little!

[doopafoop]

so we all know what dsmptwt, the dsmp insta community, and dsmptok are like-- but how is it faring for those in the bigger dsmp amino communities? y’all doin ok in there?

#chirp and buzz #dream smp #as someone who was in a bunch of large amino communites when they were younger #if its anything like how it was back then lol #bc those were some super toxic places #also they prob aren't really keen on older fans if its like how it used to be rip #which is funny bc im considering checking out all the old communities i was in again #and maybe using the app again bc i liked the interface tbh