Opportunities for Cheap Travel Are Everywhere Right Now

 I've always been one to seize an opportunity.  During the housing crisis I bought foreclosures.  When the pandemic caused a temporary but hefty drops in stocks, I bought shares of Vereit for $4 (currently in the $6.50ish range, but I'm holding onto them).

The "current" opportunity seems to be in travel.  We've taken several mini-getaways recently.  This week we visited Fort Myers, FL.  Here's the details:

• I looked on Expedia to get an idea of hotel prices and noticed several nice hotels with rates under $100.  I found a Hilton Garden Inn for $73.  I normally book directly with the hotel website because I want to earn loyalty points for my stay, but the same room there was $89.  "Hmmm..." I thought, "I wonder if they do a price match guarantee."  A quick Google search confirmed:  Hilton not only matches the price, but offers 25% off the lowest competitor's price.   There were two routes I could take to get the match:  fill out a form within 24 hours of booking, or call Hilton to get the price match at the time of booking.  Not wanting any drama, I opted to call to lock in the price right away.  The call was a bit painful:  I was on hold for 28 minutes, then the first agent said Expedia listed the room as "Deluxe" while the hotel website did not include "Deluxe" in the room description.  Frustrated, I asked to be transferred to someone else.  This strategy worked, as the second agent was able to honor the guarantee.  Bottom line:  we reserved a room at the Hilton Garden Inn, including a free cooked-to-order hot breakfast, for $54.
• We wanted to visit the beach and the Edison-Ford Winter Estates.  I found beach parking online for $2/hour.  That sure beats the typical $25 price of parking on Clearwater Beach!  Our membership to the Sunken Gardens in St. Pete includes reciprocal privileges at other places, and Edison-Ford was on the list.
• For food, Doordash has a summer promotion for Dashpass members.  My Chase Sapphire Reserve card includes a free subscription to Dashpass.  This week's promotion is BOGO free entree at Chipotle.  There happened to be a Chipotle across the street from our hotel, so we picked up our dinner there and enjoyed it in our room.

This quick 2 day getaway ended up costing us less than $100.

Our Strategy for Travel Deals

We plan to do more short getaways in the coming months.

• I predict that fall hotel rates will remain low (or will go even lower than now).  As PPP funds run out, hotels are going to be competing for a smaller number of travelers.  Business travel is virtually non-existent, and leisure travel is always light after Labor Day.  Our strategy is to search for business-class hotels in areas that typically rely on business travel.  For example, hotels near airports are still a short drive to the activities we want to do, but will be the properties most affected by lighter business travel.  
• Mid-week travel should be the most affordable, as evidenced by the bookings we are receiving at the Airbnb.  Lately, weekends at our rental have been booking at higher rates than last year.  Mid-week I have had to drop rates to keep the house occupied.
• Right now it usually makes more sense to pay cash rather than redeem points.  Rates are so low now that there's more value in saving my loyalty points when they will be worth more.  Besides, our cash helps hotels more than our points.
• We are favoring outdoor activities since they "feel" safer during a pandemic.  Many of these excursions are super affordable.  Hiking, swimming at the beach, and visiting botanical gardens are great ways to get exercise while breathing in fresh air and distancing from others.

Have you found deals for frugal travel?

How Can I Cut My Spending in 2020?

In 2019 I spent over $146,000:  $84K on our various business ventures and $62K on what I consider personal spending.

Expenses	-$146,371
AirBnB Expenses	-$54,311
Rental Expense	-$29,020
App Expenses	-$86
Interest Expense	-$199
Reimbursed Job Expense	$811
Unreimbursed Job Expense	-$2,144
Auto Expenses	-$7,211
Bank Fees	-$1,792
Clothes/Personal Care	-$1,193
Fun	-$10,104
Food	-$6,140
House Expense	-$17,204
Utilities	-$3,116
Health & Dental	-$8,677
Taxes	$2,103
Miscellaneous	-$8,088

My goal (or more strongly, my mandate!) is to drastically reduce expenses in 2020.  Here's the plan:

Airbnb Expenses

Last year our single Airbnb took in just south of $30,000.  But I spent $54,000.  It's easy to conclude expenses will be much lower this year:  in 2019 I replaced the siding and windows.  And I didn't go cheap - I selected the nicest windows and siding I could find.  I'm learning firsthand a business principle I've struggled to adopt:  simply, you invest in your best opportunities, not the cigar butts.

Once we realized its potential, I knew how important it was to upgrade some things to keep guests coming back.  A side benefit:  it's still early, but it looks like the power bill will be lower this year thanks to the better insulating properties of the windows and siding.

With that project checked off, the biggest change in 2020 will be that our Airbnb expenses will be significantly less than the income.

Rental Expenses

Four of our five long-term rentals are in the Birmingham, AL area.  Last year I sold 5 townhouses there.  Naturally, spending will be lower (rental income will be as well!).  Lately I've been dissatisfied with the performance of my Birmingham properties.  One of the most frustrating things is an empty property.  It simply takes longer to rent a house in Birmingham versus Tampa Bay.  It's been 60 days already for the one vacant property I currently have, and there haven't been any qualified applications.  I'm thinking about selling it.  Bottom line, rental expenses will be lower in 2020.

Fun

This is the discretionary category.  Technically, I don't have to spend anything here, but it gives us balance:  I live (and love) to travel!  In 2019 I spent over $10,000 on vacations, gambling, alcohol and movies.  In 2020, I will significantly reduce spending on fun, but not because we're going to have less of it!

How?  I joined a Facebook group called 10x Travel last year.  The group is all about opening new credit cards for the bonus points being offered.  Currently I'm working on earning a Companion Pass on Southwest Airlines.  In the process of earning the pass (which gets my partner a free seat on any flight I am on), I will earn 125,000 miles.  So, our spending on flights this year will be drastically reduced.  I've also accumulated thousands (in some cases, hundreds of thousands) of hotel points which we can use for free rooms.  By redeeming free flights and hotel stays, I expect this to significantly lower our spending in the "fun" category.

Other Observations

There are other categories that need to go down, but I'm not sure how much I can reduce.  The most obvious is spending on food.  It's a simple equation:  eat out less, save money.  I'm working on this.  Then there's auto expenses.  My car has over 200,000 miles on it, so keeping it will mean ongoing repair expenses.  Probably time to start looking at a new car.  With health and dental, the only thing that might go down is what I spend on dental work.  If my teeth stay healthy this year, I can save a bit.  Finally, spending on housing.  That's a big one:  I spent over $17,000 last year to keep a roof over our heads.  I would really like to move back to the area where our Airbnb is located.  Not only will this save time (two hours of commuting each time we clean - we made over 80 trips last year!), it will also save some on gas for the car.  A final benefit would be buying a house we can rent out on Airbnb when we aren't going to be there.  My partner has been reluctant to do this, but I think if I pick out the right house with the right layout, it could be a minimal inconvenience.  House hacking could significantly cut down our home costs.

So there it is.  These are the areas I'd like to reduce spending on in 2020.  What are your goals?

Our $299 Chinese Vacation

Inside the T12 Mall in Wuxi

Earlier this month we returned from a 10 day trip to mainland China.  The experience is one I will never forget, and the price was unreal:  $299/person, plus a mandatory $180/person gratuity and the cost of a Chinese Visa. 

The tour price included airfare from New York to Beijing, Beijing to Shanghai, and Shanghai back to New York.  All of our hotels were included as well as breakfast.  Admission to several sites, including the Great Wall, plus the tour bus and guide, were all included.

The catch?  Considering the cost of our plane tickets alone would be more than $299, it's hard to believe we got such a bargain.  However, there was a "catch":  we were required to make several shopping stops on the tour, but even those were interesting (more about that below).

Beijing

Entrance to the Forbidden City

We arrived in Beijing in the middle of the night after a delayed flight.  By the time we arrived at the hotel it was after 4 in the morning, and our tour was heading to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City in just a few hours.  This made for a difficult first couple of days as everyone in our group was recovering from the long flight and lack of sleep.  

We stayed at the first hotel, the Chun Hui Yuan Resort, for three nights.  The Beijing part of our tour was very physically active, and my body was sore from the long flight and all the walking.  Fortunately, our resort had natural hot springs-fed hot tubs in each of the rooms.  After a long day of sightseeing, what a relief to soak in the oversized hot tub!  

On our second full day we visited the Great Wall.  What an experience!  It was cool and wet that day, which ended up being a blessing because of all the stairs we climbed.  While our tour guide was with us the entire time we visited the Forbidden City, she let us explore the Great Wall on our own.  That was a real treat because everyone had different physical abilities.  My partner and I chose the "steep" side to climb because there were far fewer tourists to compete with.  What a workout!  

Our tour cost was subsidized by the Chinese government.  It seems like this is a standard way of doing things if you take a group tour in China.  In exchange for an unbelievable price, you have a few mandatory "shopping" trips.  Our first was to a Chinese Herbal Institute, where we learned about traditional Chinese medicine through herbs.   I enjoyed this stop.  We were in a classroom setting and a doctor taught us about ancient Chinese medicine.  While he did this, students at the institute gave each of us a free foot massage and soak in some sort of herb water.  This was exhilarating after all the walking we did in Beijing.  After the doctor spoke, more doctors entered the room to check our palms to identify ailments we had.  This was pretty hokey.  A doctor felt my hands and, through a translator, said I needed to lose weight and take something for my liver.  Everyone in our group had some ailment that an expensive prescription of herbal supplements would treat.  I took a pass on that but tipped the student 20 Yuan (less than $3) for the massage.

Shanghai

Shanghai's Skyline

After three nights in Beijing, our group flew to Shanghai.  We started this leg of the tour in Suzhou, where we visited the Garden of Master of the Nets.  We also visited a silk factory, another one of the mandatory stops.  Again, it was an interesting stop, as we were educated about silk and then allowed to roam the massive silk store.  I caved here and ended up buying a couple of silk shirts.  I figured it would be nice to take something home I could actually use.  We took a boat ride along a canal and saw some unique architecture.  We stayed the night at the Pan Pacific Suzhou.  As with all our hotels, it was beautiful!  There were extensive gardens in the courtyard of the hotel.  Several from our group walked down the street for dinner.  My partner tried chicken feet, but I couldn't do it!

The next day we visited Wuxi.  Interestingly, the city of Wuxi requires tour groups to use a local guide, so we met up with a second guide who traveled with us that day.  I felt like this was one of the ways China stimulates its economy.  Our second guide was great, but it seemed unnecessary to use two guides just for this one stop.  We visited a huge park on a lake.  Also had another shopping stop at a pearl factory.  This was my least favorite stop as I care very little about pearls, but it was neat to see a shell opened up and the pearls that were inside.  We spent the night at the Grand Park Wuxi, which was in the heart of the city center.  Whereas most of our hotels were fairly isolated, this one was walkable.  We went with a couple of people from our group to the T12 mall, which was across the street from our hotel.  It was really cool to see what a Chinese mall looked like.  This one was vertical - 12 stories - but was fairly similar to an American mall, just with different stores.

Tea Trees!

Following Wuxi, we headed to Hangzhou.  The mandatory stop here was my favorite:  we visited a tea plantation.  The bus meandered down narrow roads along a valley surrounded by tea trees.  It was one of the most beautiful drives of our trip.  We arrived at an educational tea plantation which had several classrooms along with ornate landscaping.  The presenter told us how the Chinese consume tea (literally, they "eat" tea, since the traditional method includes the actual tea leaves, which you can chew up and swallow).  Once again, we succumbed to the experience and I ended up buying some tea.  We bought a big bag and some small tin containers to divide the tea to give as gifts.  Later that day we visited West Lake, a huge park with gardens and water and a view of the Hangzhou skyline. That night, we stayed at my favorite hotel, the Grand New Century Hotel Radio & TV Zhejiang.  This was by far everyone's favorite, luxurious even by American standards.  

Onward to Shanghai, where things took a turn, for me at least.  The bus ride from Hangzhou to Shanghai was long, over 3 hours.  We stopped for lunch at a rest area, which is where I think I got food poisoning.  When we arrived in Shanghai, we visited the Bund, a river walk along the Huangpu River with amazing views of the city skyline.   Then as the sun set, we headed to a dock to take a boat ride on the river.  This is a must-do activity (it was an optional add on at $45/each).  The Shanghai skyline lights up after dark like no other city.  It was mesmerizing.  But by this point, I was beginning to feel sick to my stomach.  I figured I just needed to use the bathroom.  Most public restrooms in China are disgusting, so we never even considered using them.  The have squatters for toilets - basically holes in the floor.  There is no soap or hot water, so not very hygienic.  I made it to our hotel, the Rezen Hotel Shanghai Zhiwei Century, where we would spend the final two nights.  Our plan for the last full day was to do our own thing.  I had downloaded the Didi app, which is the Chinese version of Uber.  But our plans changed.  That first night, I was awake most of the night, sick.  I've never had a stomach ache like I had.  It had to be food poisoning.  The next morning I skipped the free breakfast.  Unfortunately, I couldn't step away from the bathroom for more than 10-15 minutes, so we ended up stuck in the hotel room the entire day.  We made the most of it though.  I had downloaded a VPN prior to our trip which enabled us to use Netflix just like we were back home.  We watched a couple of movies, I drank a lot of Sprite, and we made the best of a bad situation.  The second night I was still in a pretty bad place, but things were beginning to improve.  I made it to breakfast the next morning, but barely ate a thing.  We had several hours before we needed to head to the airport, but I was just too queasy to venture away from the hotel.

Despite the food poisoning, we had an amazing trip overall.  While in China we spent just under $1,000 over 8 days.  This included optional tours, lunch and dinner, the tea and silk purchases, and a few small souvenirs to give as gifts.  Together with the tour package, gratuities and visa (which is valid for 10 years in case we decide to go again), the all-in trip for two cost about $2,500.  

 

Small Savings, Big Impact

Yesterday we wrapped up a two night, three day getaway to New Orleans.  I planned the trip around the Queen concert we attended Tuesday night.  Because of the irrational exuberance in Tampa, we were able to get better seats for significantly less cost in New Orleans.  Blame that on Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing algorithm.

For me, it's an exciting game to find and exploit deals and cost savings.  The reason we are able to afford to splurge once in a while on things like concert tickets is because small savings have a big impact.  You've heard about the "latte factor."  Here's a real example of the latte factor in practice:

I booked our flight during a sale on Southwest Airlines, and I redeemed points, so our only out of pocket cost on the flight was the Terrorist Fee ($5 and change per ticket).  Because we visited during August, a typically slow time for New Orleans, hotels were less expensive.  I found a nice hotel in a great location for $83/night.  When rates are that low, it usually doesn't make sense to redeem points for a free room.  I prefer to save our points to use on more expensive hotels or during peak periods when they are worth more.

One trick that I always use for hotel and car reservations is to keep checking rates even after I make the reservation.  A couple weeks before our trip, hotel rates had dropped even more.  We switched to the Residence Inn New Orleans Downtown, for $67/night, saving $34 + tax.  Plus, the Residence Inn offered free breakfast and an evening reception, which we were not going to have at the other hotel.

Heading to the airport, there were a couple choices I made to save money.  Since this was a short trip, using Lyft wasn't practical.  There's a toll road (the Selmon Expressway) that the GPS suggested, but since it was 5:30 in the morning, there was no traffic.  I took Adamo Drive, which runs parallel to the Selmon.  The distance was comparable and it may have added 3 minutes to our travel time at that early hour.  Saved about $3 by not taking the toll road.  At the airport, we parked across the street at A-1 Express.  It's not the cheapest off-airport lot, but it's the best.  It's $4/day less than parking at the airport, plus I get 15% of what I spend there back as a AAA rebate to offset the cost of our AAA membership.  Total savings including the rebate:  $15.60.

I booked the earliest flight into New Orleans on a Tuesday, and the latest flight out on a Thursday.  Those tend to be the least expensive times to fly (Saturday is also cheap, but it didn't fit into our plans).  Because most people don't like to save money, we had to share our flight from Tampa to New Orleans with 52 other travelers, meaning the plane was less than 1/3 full.  This meant we didn't have to share our row with other travelers.  The way I see things, booking the early flight meant we had an extra day to play in New Orleans.

We arrived in New Orleans before 8 AM.  Now, only fools rent cars if they are staying in New Orleans.  Parking is difficult and expensive.  At our hotel, parking a car would cost $39/night.  Taking a Lyft to the hotel was $40.  But even that was stupid.  The better choice:  we bought a day pass for the local bus for $3 each ($34 saved).  It's important to note that there are two buses that will take you from the airport into the city.  Only one of those, the 202, accepts the day pass.  The E2 is operated by a different company, so our pass would not be eligible for that trip.  Still, either option was a fraction of the cost of rideshare or renting a car, and the additional time it took to get to our destination was negligible.

Because of my Marriott status, I'm often able to snag an early check-in as long as a room is available.  Since as I mentioned, this is the slow season, there were of course rooms available.  We were able to check into our room at 8 AM.  This absolutely changed the quality of our day.   We were traveling only with backpacks, but who wants to tote that on your back in the muggy heat all day?  One unexpected benefit:  the front desk agent who checked us in invited us to enjoy the complimentary breakfast.

The three days we spent in New Orleans were amazing.  The joy of saving money here and there made it even more fun.  During our trip, I was able to show our AAA card to save on admission to a plantation we visited.  I purchased a Lyft ride pass for $5 to get $5 off each trip, which we used a couple times when public transit wasn't practical.  I really wanted to bring home some pralines, so I lucked out when I found a deal on Groupon to buy a dozen for $15 (plus 9% cash back on Rakuten/Ebates).  When we looked in stores, pralines were $2-$3 each.  And we used our Sunken Gardens membership to get free admission to the Longue Vue House and Gardens.

Amplify this example into our daily life, and the cost savings are tremendous.  As I said, it's a game that I enjoy playing.  I'm sure for some people it might be stressful to think about saving a couple dollars here and there, but the opposite is true for me:  the regret when I don't save ruins the experience, so I have to seek out the best deal to feel good about my choices.

Recipe for a Frugal Getaway

Burnt out from all work and no play?  Don't want to bust the budget?  Yes, and yes.  We'll have to delve into why I don't find fulfillment in my line of work later.  For now, let's talk medicine.

Travel is my elixir.  It's the escape I need to come back refreshed and ready for more.  But I hate spending tons of money unnecessarily.  We needed a quick, CHEAP getaway.  We decided on Philadelphia.

The Process

For the most part I was location-agnostic.  My needs were straightforward:  fly non-stop on the cheap for a quick, inexpensive trip.  I looked over my emails for deals on the discount airlines, including Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant.  I compared a few cities, including Richmond, Chattanooga and Philadelphia.  For whatever reason, flights to Philly were super-cheap and abundant.  Then I checked the weather to be sure nothing crazy was going on.  Then, before booking, I pulled up Expedia and played around with dates and airports to be sure I got the best deal.  Good thing I did:  flying out of Orlando, 90 miles away, saved us even more.  I settled on Spirit because I've fallen in love with their Big Front Seat.  Sure, it costs extra.  For $47 extra, we will travel in a first-class seat (just on the way there,  on the way back we will sit at the back of the plane).  Total roundtrip for two, including upgrading our seats:  $218.  Can you believe that?  The roundtrip ticket was $50 each (not a typo!).  Upgrading our seats cost more than the flight, but still well worth it.

Free Hotel

I use hotel-branded credit cards, and never intended to pay for our room.  That was part of the game:  sleep for free.  Hotels in Philadelphia tend to be expensive, even on weekends.  I compared Hilton, IHG and Choice Hotels websites and found an incredible deal:  10,000 points/night for a newer Cambria Suites in the heart of Philadelphia.  

Next Steps

Now that we have a flight and hotel, the real fun of planning our trip begins.  Philadelphia is a walk-able city, no need to rent a car.  I'll look into public transportation and rideshare to get around.  Then I'll research activities.  Most of the sites are super inexpensive.  Booking them online in advance saves even more money.  For example, I booked a guided tour of the Eastern State Penitentiary.  Booking online saves $2, plus I googled for a promo code and received another $5 off, which nearly halved the cost of admission.  The only other expense will be our food.  Might look online for deals on that, too.

Good morning from Caye Caulker, Belize

Another Frugal Vegas Vacation

After grinding for two months I decided to get away for a few days last week.  Frontier had a great sale on flights and I was able to book a round-trip to Las Vegas for under $200.  I am also visiting Denver for a day for less than $40.  Originally I was not going to rent a car, but the rates make it logical to do so.  Since the hotels I am staying at are not on the strip, public transportation would take forever, and Uber rides would actually cost more than renting a car.

My hotels were free.  This is interesting, because the last time I was in Vegas was six months ago in September.  I didn't do much gambling then, but I did win on that trip because I hit my first and only Royal Flush.  I would love to know how a casino decides what to offer in comps to get players to visit.  I received  4 free nights and $35 in free bets.  Basically all my meals were free by using points accumulated on my player's card.

I never expect to win, but once again I came home with more money than I started.  Virtually all my gambling was on video poker, where I won $300.  My blackjack sessions were break-even.

For the frugal traveler, both Frontier and Spirit have aggressive sales from time to time.  I've signed up to receive email alerts from both companies.

Back from Europe

Pompeii

We've been on a 12 day Mediterranean Cruise.  It's the cruise I paid $125/person for, but it ended up costing much more than that.  I decided we should make the most of the opportunity, since I don't know when I'll ever go back.  We purchased several excursions through a third-party, not Carnival.  This included trips to Pisa, Florence, the Vatican, Pompeii, the Colosseum, Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, and Nora.  We also paid for local transportation, museum entry fees, alcohol, a few meals in-port, and a couple small gifts to bring back home.  Plus I gambled, too much on one day  in particular but in moderation the rest of the cruise.

I mistakenly called this a frugal cruise.  True, the price I paid for the cruise was quite cheap.  But the lesson I learned is that Europe is not a cheap place.  Was it worth it?  Absolutely.  One of the biggest surprises was the Value Added Tax (VAT) within the European Union.  It's like the sales tax we have in the U.S., except it's already included in the price of things.  The VAT was over 20% (as high as 26%) in each of the places we visited.  A small bottle of Coke, for example, cost as much as 3 Euros.

One of our favorite places was the island of Corfu, Greece.  For some reason, prices there were very reasonable.  We toured the island, visited some historical buildings, and shopped local markets.  I bought Olive Oil soap bars for 80 cents and a bottle of Kumquat liquor for 7 Euros.  We were also impressed with Dubrovnik, Croatia.  It, too, was reasonably priced.  I took an Uber there from the port to Old Town for the equivalent of $6.  It would have been double that in the U.S.

Our bodies are still adjusting to the 6 hour time difference.  It's a little after 2 AM and I am wide awake.  I went to bed around 7 PM though.

Is This the Most Frugal Vegas Trip Yet?

A week from today we are leaving for six days in Vegas.  One of the best parts of being self-employed is enjoying a flexible schedule.  When Spirit Airlines had a 99% off fare sale last month, I started looking at flights.  This is the second 99% off sale we have been able to snag.  The first time I saw this offer we went to Panama.  You still have to pay taxes on the flights, but this time we grabbed two tickets to Las Vegas for $92 each round-trip.  I also redeemed my Hertz Free Week certificate that I received when I bought my car.  I still pay taxes on that, too.  Taxes should be around $184 for the premium vehicle I rented.  This isn't a "great deal", but rates were really high the week we are visiting.  The coupon does save me $700 off the cost of a premium vehicle rental.  Last, as always I found free hotel rooms.  The only downside is that we have to move to different hotels throughout our stay:  we are at the Fremont one night, the Suncoast two nights, and the Downtown Grand two nights.  While in the area, we will drive to Phoenix for the weekend.  I am paying for one night in a hotel there.  This room ($90+tax) helps me to meet the requirements for a 30,000 point bonus at IHG (worth about $300).

While in Vegas there are a few ways I plan to stay frugal.  We pay attention to pay tables for one thing.  Since 90% of my gambling is on video poker, I use vpfree2.com to find the casinos with the highest pay tables.  Boyd casinos are usually generous, and Main Street Station gives you a scratch-off card usually worth $2 cash every time you hit a 4-of-a-kind.  The casinos offer us comps even though we usually stick to full-pay video poker machines.  All our rooms in Vegas are comped, and the points we earn from playing usually cover our meals.  I also look for point-based promotions to earn free stuff.   Casinos often give free buffets, t-shirts and other prizes if you earn a certain amount of points, usually on slower days like Tuesdays.  We also redeemed MyVegas rewards for 4 free buffets and two free margaritas.

Getting away for a week is good therapy.  Spending too much time at home right now is stressful because there are so many repair projects I need to do.  Driving for Uber was occupying my time but now they've done away with hourly guarantees and it is hard to find profitable times to drive.  As long as I limit my gambling, this trip will be a very inexpensive getaway.

Our $250 European Cruise

Talk about hitting the jackpot:  On our cruise in December, I thought I was lucky when I hit the "Lucky Ladies" while playing blackjack.  The $1 bet paid out $1,000.  I ended up coming home with enough money to completely pay for our cruise.

My luck didn't stop there, apparently.  This week I received a phone call from my Carnival personal vacation planner, Michael.  Michael called to review the details of my new casino offer.  I could choose from over 300 cruises and pay just $125 per person, plus taxes.  Even better, I could select as many cruises from the list as I desired.  We don't gamble much, so I'm very surprised by this offer.  Besides a few hours of video poker, I played maybe 8 hours of low limit blackjack during our last 7 day cruise.  And ZERO slots.

12 Day European Cruise from Barcelona for $250

With taxes, I paid $420 for a 12 Day European Cruise, which sails in August, prime season..  Look at that screenshot up top:  The regular price, before taxes, starts at $1,549 per person for an interior room.  We are saving almost $3,000 on this cruise. We have booked an exterior room with a 4*3 window.  It's on the Carnival Vista, a brand new ship that sets sail in April.  The Vista will tour Europe for a few months before sailing to the United States.  In addition to the great rate, I receive a $100 onboard credit with the offer and a second $100 onboard credit for being a shareholder.

An added bonus, Delta Airlines honored what it says was a mistake-fare.  When I first looked at airfares, I found a round-trip flight from Atlanta to Barcelona for $769/each.  But when I went to book the flight, the fare increased to $1,774 each.  I called Delta to complain, and after escalating my concerns to a supervisor, the airline honored the original fare.

We also booked a second cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.  It is an 8 Day Eastern Caribbean.  Two of the four ports it will visit are new to us.  I bought tickets on Megabus leaving the morning of the cruise and departing the day we return, so no hotel or other travel expenses will be required.  This will be a super cheap cruise all things considered.

A Frugal Miser's Guide to Panama City, Panama

Panama Skyline from the boardwalk near Casco Viejo

This week my partner and I have explored Panama.  It has turned out to be a great place to visit.  In comparison to Ecuador, the country is more modern, English is widely spoken, and American-style amenities are readily available.  But while doing my research I was surprised that some information that would have been helpful was missing.

Metro de Panamá

Panama's new rapid transit system is a single-line subway that runs from the Albrook Mall to San Isidro.  At each station there is an electronic kiosk where you must pay $2 to purchase a permanent fare card (called Sistema Integrado de Transporte Publico Urbano).  You also have to load funds at this kiosk.  Each fare on the Panama Metro is 35 cents ($.35) as of January, 2016.  My advice, if you plan to use public transportation, is to buy your card using a $5 bill and select the option to have the $3 balance loaded to your card.  To pay, you hold your card over a QR reader at the turnstile, which turns green to let you know you swiped the card properly.  You do the same thing when you exit the rail, so keep your card handy (it only charges on the way in though).  Our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express in the financial district, was about a five minute walk to the Iglesia Del Carmen stop on Via Espana.

Using Uber

Originally we were going to rent a car, but the Payless counter was closed when we arrived at 3 AM (the website said it was open 24 hours).  I have heard that taxi drivers will overcharge tourists, so using Uber was an easy choice.  The same app I use in the United States works in Panama.  To get from the Tocumen Airport, I paid a $25 base fare and $2.65 in tolls on the Corredor Sur.  That's a little high, but slightly less than a taxi.  Once at our hotel, Uber was super cheap.  Minimum fares in the city are just $2.  As of January, 2016, there is an $.80 base charge, $.10 per minute and $.20 per kilometer ($.32 per mile).  This is ridiculously cheap.  The added convenience of pre-entering your destination reduces any communication problems (our driver spoke some English).  Plus you don't have to worry about being charged gringo prices.

Stocking Up on Essentials

Close to our hotel, on Via Espana, we found the Rey Supermarket.  It is an American-style supermarket, with a bakery, coffee shop and pre-packaged deli sandwiches.  Grocery prices were clearly marked, and there was no tax on food.  We did pay a 10% tax on beer.  Balboa Beer, one of the national brands, was $.64 per 12 ounce can.

Lodging

Just about every American-brand hotel has a presence in Panama.  You can find lower prices if you shop other hotels and hostels, but we like the comfort of an American brand when we spend the entire day in unfamiliar settings.  Our hotel was somewhat less expensive than it would have been in the United States.  The Holiday Inn Express was a newer property with modern amenities.  The weekday rate was $78 and weekends were $73.  I paid in advance for a lower rate.  I was particularly impressed with the breakfast buffet, which was included in the rate.  There were several hot items, including scrambled eggs with pork, two types of potstickers (weird for breakfast, but tasty!), yucca patties, pancakes, and a couple of marinated meats.  There were also several fruits, cereals and juices.  This was far superior to the breakfast you would get in the U.S.

Eating Out

$8 lunch from a vendor at the Fish Market

There were a variety of options.  I saw several American brands, including Subway, KFC, McDonald's, Domino's, Taco Bell and Wendy's.  Local chains included Pio Pio (just like KFC) and Niko's Cafe. If your English is limited, Niko's is easy because you select what you want from a cafeteria line.  Overall I didn't think food prices were drastically different in Panama than they were back home.  I was disappointed by how bland some of the food was.  Back home I am a heavy hot sauce user, but none of the restaurants offered it, not even KFC.

Frugal Things to Do in Panama

Tours appeared to be very expensive relative to the value offered.  Using my smartphone, I could easily look up places of interest wherever we went.  In Casco Viejo, we could have simply joined one of the guided tours we passed, as each guide spoke to throngs of people at once.  Here are a few of the things we did:

View from the Metropolitan National Park

• We bought a combo ticket for the Frank Gehry Biomuseum and Panal Canal tour ($25 each).  Tickets just to the Biomuseum were $22, so this was a great value.  It isn't advertised, so you have to ask for the combo ticket at either location.  The Uber between the two was $5, and our driver had a newer car with leather seats.  He told us, in English, so much about Panama's history.  We Ubered from the canal to the Albrook mall (less than $4) and took the subway back to the city ($.35) after a quick, late lunch in the mall food court.  
• We spent several hours walking Casco Viejo.  It is a world heritage site and many of the buildings have been restored to their original splendor.  We took the subway to the Cinco de Mayo stop; it was a short walk from there to Casco Viejo.  We toured a religious artifact museum (free) and took photos of the cool buildings and the boardwalk.  Then we had a late lunch at the fish market.
• We visited the Metropolitan National Park, which is within walking distance of Albrook Mall.  We hiked two of the trails and caught an amazing view of the Panama skyline.  
• I peaked my head into the Continental Casino on Avenida Central Espana.  The casino was small, with just a handful of table games, electronic roulette and slots (no video poker).  You have to obtain a card to play any games, and there is a 5.5% tax on anything you cash out from the card.  Fortunately I won a few dollars.  The casino was mostly empty.

Panama is a great place to visit if you are looking for easy international travel.  We flew Spirit from Tampa, connecting in Fort Lauderdale.  The round-trip tickets were $182 each.  I highly recommend using Uber to get into the city (assuming you arrive in the middle of the night like we did, as the buses weren't running then) and the subway whenever possible.  Many people speak English and a lot of the signs are bilingual.  The only part that disappointed me was the bland food.

Our Free Carnival Cruise

It worked!  I took advantage of a couple hacks to save some serious money on our cruise.  Winn-Dixie always offers Fuel Rewards for purchasing gift cards, but for Black Friday they were offering 5X the normal reward, which is the equivalent of a 10% rebate.  In addition to paying for the cruise with gift cards, I applied the remaining gift cards to my Sail and Sign Account, which I then cashed out in the casino.

Total Savings:  About $250 in free gas, plus 12,500 Hilton Honors points for using my credit card to buy the gift cards.

In addition to redeeming the gift cards, I charged my credit card in the casino to earn even more cash back.  Since Carnival does not charge a transaction fee when you charge your Sail and Sign card at a slot machine, I charged about $1,700 to my card to earn just over 5,000 Hilton Honors points.

My luck didn't stop there.  I also played some blackjack while onboard.  There is a sucker bet called "Lucky Ladies", where for as little as $1 you can place a side bet that your first two cards equal "20".  If your "20" is in the form of 2 Queen of Hearts, you win $125.  However, if you have 2 Queen of Hearts, and the dealer has a blackjack, you win $1,000.  My jaw dropped when I hit on the Lucky Ladies.  My $1 side bet won me $1,000.  The pit boss and my dealer said this was the first time they had ever witnessed this particular win.  Of course, I gave much of that back during the week.

Total Winnings from Casino:  About $700

We had a great, frugal trip.  There was plenty of alcohol - we brought two bottles of wine onboard, received a voucher for one free drink each based on our loyalty, attended an art auction for free champagne, and bought two small bottles of rum in Grand Cayman that we carried back in our pockets.  I was randomly selected to receive a $50 spa gift card, so I splurged a bit on a facial and neck and arm massage.  We also had a $100 onboard credit for being a shareholder, which was applied towards gratuities.  And, the casino gave me $50 in free chips for booking the casino rate for the cruise.  We took advantage of one excursion, which we booked privately.  We did cave tubing in Belize.  The all-day tour, with lunch, was $35/each plus tip.

If not for my luck in the casino, I wouldn't be able to call this a free cruise.  But discovering this new trick using gift cards and then cashing them out turned out to be a very lucrative way to lower our costs.

How We Spent Under $500 for a 7 Night Vacation

We love to travel, but our budget is limited.  Some deal with a limited budget by splurging on one nice vacation each year.  That's how Mom did when we were little.  Mom would receive credits from her court-reporting service that she would redeem for Disney tickets or lodging at a beach condo.  She had a savings account just for our annual vacation and put a little away each paycheck to cover travel, meals and entertainment.

I've found creative ways to keep our vacation costs down, but we like to travel more than once a year.   Last week we spent 7 nights away from home, and it cost less than $500.  Here's how:

Getting There

One of the biggest expenses of any vacation is travel.  With gas prices lower this year, we almost drove to Williamsburg, VA.  However, the 700+ mile drive was a deterrent.  Fortunately we have a discount carrier, Allegiant, available to us from the St. Pete/Clearwater airport.  For 2 round-trip tickets I paid $290.  I redeemed MyVegas points for assigned seating.  We picked an exit row that gave us a huge amount of legroom.  Allegiant charges for luggage, but we didn't pay anything because our CabinMax bags fit under the seat in front of us.

Our Splurge

One downside to flying Allegiant is that they don't fly every day.  We would have to arrive a day before I would check-in to the timeshare.  I made the best of the situation by booking a nice hotel outside of Washington, D.C.  I could have redeemed Hilton Honors points for a free room, but the weekend rate for the Hilton Tyson's Corner was just $89, so I opted to bank my points for another trip.  Parking was free and we used the MetroRail to visit D.C.  

Lodging and Local Transportation

Besides the great deal I got for buying a car from Hertz, another benefit I received was a free weekly rental from their fleet.  Our Toyota Camry cost us nothing but gas and airport facility charges.  Our hotel in Williamsburg was a timeshare we mystery shopped.  The hotel was a deluxe condo, with a full kitchen, living and dining room, bedroom, balcony and bathroom with both a shower and an oversized tub.  The room was completely free, and I was paid $163 for attending and recording the three hour timeshare presentation.

Entertainment

Washington, D.C. is a great value for visitors:  virtually every site has free admission.  While only there one night, we spent two full days there.  We visited two Smithsonian buildings, the National Botanical Gardens,  the grounds of the Capitol and the National Archives.  In Williamsburg, I received two tickets to Colonial Williamsburg for $10 each (this was the gift I chose for attending the timeshare presentation).  Our Sea World passes got us into Busch Gardens at no charge, including free parking.  We enjoyed Busch Gardens so much that we visited four times.  We also used our reciprocal garden benefits to visit the Norfolk Botanical Gardens.  It was one of the nicest gardens we've visited.

Meals

The last big expense is food.  Since we had a full kitchen, we opted to stock up on groceries, alcohol and treats.  We spent $75 at Walmart, which was more than we'd spend at home because we treated ourselves to cake, ice cream, beer and wine.  We ate at Chili's one night ($26 for two), Longhorn ($16 w/ coupon), fast food twice ($10) and had beer at a bar in D.C. ($30).  I earned $25 for performing one McDonald's mystery shop.

Bottom Line

While I am listing everything, we used gift cards for much of this, which reduced our cash outlay.  As a further bonus, I didn't pay full price for the gift cards.  For example, I bought a $100 gift card to Walmart using my American Express, which gave me a $30 credit.  For our visit to Chili's I received free gas and a 5% credit card benefit for purchasing the gift card.  The Longhorn gift card was free from a points redemption at MyPoints.

Flight:  $290

Car and Rail:  $83

Hotel:  $99

Food:  $157

Entertainment:  $20
Less Compensation for Recording Timeshare Presentation and $25 for McDonald's shop:  ($188)

Total for 7 nights vacation:  $649 - $188 = $461

Free Premium Passes to Sea World and Busch Gardens Parks

A couple years ago, shares of Carnival Cruise Lines were pounded after the deadly sinking of the Costa Concordia and a major fire on the Carnival Triumph.  While other investors sold their shares and ran in the other direction, I sniffed opportunity.

We are always looking at ways to save money on vacations and entertainment.  Who pays full price, anyway?  Recently I discovered a low-risk method to "pay" for two premium passes to all 10 Sea World/Busch Gardens parks - for two full years.

These premium passes weren't cheap:  I paid $1,085 all-in for two passes valid for 24 months.  As an investment in our entertainment, this has the potential to be a great value.  If we visit once a month (we live near Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, so this is not unrealistic), admission will cost us about $23 per ticket.  The premium passes also include parking, which saves us at least $15 each time we visit.

However, $23 per ticket to visit a premiere theme park isn't good enough for a Frugal Miser.  Before pulling the trigger on this purchase, I found an attractive investment in Sea World (NYSE:  SEAS).  Truth be told, I was first attracted to the company's stock, which then lead me to investigate the most cost-effective way to get tickets for the parks.  What made the stock appealing was the healthy dividend and the fact the company's shares have been negatively affected by what I think is a temporary problem (similar to Carnival two years ago).  At today's price, each share of SEAS yields 4.8%.  Compare that to a bank CD:  a 24 month CD pays less than 1% interest.  Assuming the dividend is safe, buying 645 shares of Sea World (an $11,000 investment) earns enough in cash dividends to pay for our passes.  At the end of two years, I still own the 645 shares, which I could sell, likely at the same price or better than the stock trades today.

As a value investor, I never pay "full price" for stock in a company.  Two years ago, Carnival stock fell following a series of misfortunes.  Just as I suspected, that company has completely rebounded.  I think Sea World is experiencing a similar situation.  A documentary (Blackfish) hurt attendance, which is down by the low single digits.  However, shares of the company have fallen 52% in the last two years.  Risks are primarily that attendance figures continue to decline, either due to internal problems or another economic recession.  The company has a lot of debt and the dividend is currently higher than earnings.  Both of these issues need to be addressed.  My thesis is that the debt is easily serviceable and the dividend can be covered by improved attendance at the parks. This Frugal Miser smells opportunity.  On Monday I purchased 650 shares of SEAS at $17.67/share.

Looking Back at my Free Cruises for Life Idea

In May of 2013, I posted my plan  to receive free cruises for the rest of our lives.  More than two years have passed and I thought I would evaluate whether this plan was successful.

The idea was to purchase enough shares in Carnival Cruise Lines (NYSE:  CCL) so that the dividend paid for a free cruise every time we take one.  At the time I posted the article, shares were trading in the $34 range and paid a $.25 quarterly dividend.

How have I done?  In a word:  Outstanding.  Stock in Carnival is now at $53/share, and the quarterly dividend was recently increased to $.30.  I have a paper gain of $19 per share, and have collected $2/share in dividends.  I ended up buying just 200 shares, not the 1,000 that I originally intended.  The $3,800 paper gain, along with $400 in dividends, could pay for seven 7-day cruises for two at the price I paid for the cruise we are taking in December.

Did you get that?  In exchange for investing $6,800, over two years I have received the equivalent of 7 week-long cruises.  I could cash out today, receiving 100% of my money back, plus my gains.

Making Money and Getting Free Stuff by Opening Accounts (an Update)

Back in February I decided to play the bonus game by opening up new bank accounts and credit cards just to obtain the rewards offered to new members.  I've been fairly active with this goal:

• Last week I opened the Chase Marriott Rewards Premier Card.  Just for opening the account I will receive a free night in a Marriott-branded hotel.  After I spend $2,000 in 3 months, I will receive 70,000 Marriott rewards points (up to 9 free nights).
• In June I opened a Chase IHG rewards card.  After spending $1,000 on the card I received 70,000 IHG points (valued at up to 14 free nights).
• Earlier this year I opened a Chase Ink Business Rewards account.  The reward here was huge:  50,000 rewards points (worth $500 cash or $625 in travel) after meeting the spending threshold.  I used my SSN, so actually owning a small business is not necessary.
• I opened an account with TD Bank and received a Fitbit Flex.  Normally that wouldn't be quite enough to get me to open an account, but it also enabled me to sign up for TD Bank mystery shops.
• In January I was paid $125 to open a business savings account at Bank of America.  Last week I earned $65 for opening a checking account there.  These were both mystery shops and I don't plan to keep the accounts.

I'm still looking for opportunities to do this.  Normally Chase has an offer to open a checking account - I've seen it as high as $200 cash.  The offer isn't valid right now so I'm sitting on the sidelines ready to pounce when it is available again.

Gearing up for Travel

One day we will finish the new kitchen!  The last few days we've been wrapping up the demolition.  This included tearing out everything, down to the studs and including the old insulation.  We ripped out the ceramic tile, scraped clean the old mortar, and tore down the soffit that hung above the old cabinets.  We are finally ready to build the new kitchen.  Hopefully in a couple months it will be done.

Alas, these hospitality jobs keep calling.  Next week we are leaving for Birmingham.  A quick two-day stopover is planned there to check in with my handyman and install some vinyl plank flooring.  The onto Nashville, where we are working a 6 day conference.  The company is providing us a hotel, meals, and travel pay, but the hourly rate is low (only $12).

We finish the Nashville conference at lunch on Thursday the 11th, drive home, and then leave for Las Vegas on Saturday evening, the 13th.  This will be my first job in Las Vegas.  It's five full days, but the pay is much higher.  I'll have nights and one full day when the conference ends to enjoy Vegas.

After these two trips, the summer looks bleak.  Most major events are scheduled outside of Florida due to the threat of hurricanes for the next few months.  On one hand, that's a good thing:  I can finally commit to wrapping up this home remodel.  On the other hand, income will be tight.  Hopefully I can find some lucrative mystery shopping to fill in the gaps.

Taking a Quick, Free Getaway (Courtesy of Mystery Shopping)

Lifestyle mystery shopping refers to the shops you take to enhance your way of living.  Being a frugal miser, I look for ways to save money on entertainment and travel.  Today is one of those days:  we're taking an overnight trip to Sarasota.

We'll start with a quick stop in Tampa's Ybor City for lunch.  There's a $10 bonus (total fee:  $15, plus reimbursement) on a simple chicken restaurant.  Then in Bradenton I am being paid $25 to see if an associate at an electronics store offers me a credit card.  That doesn't necessarily enhance my life, but the shop is on our way and will only take 5 minutes.

We'll start off with a visit to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.  Our membership at the Sunken Gardens (bought with a Groupon) includes reciprocal membership at other gardens, making admission free.  Then we will check into the hotel.  It is a business-class limited service property, which I like to shop because of the limited interactions (no valet, no bellman, no midnight-security interactions).  The hotel includes dinner with wine as well as complimentary breakfast, taking care of our food needs.  Finally, we'll spend a little time at the Ringling Museum (the circus family, of course, which is free on Mondays).  We can walk to it from the hotel.

On the way home tomorrow I am being paid $18 to cash a check and another $24 to make a deposit at a nearby bank.  Those two 5 minute shops were thrown in to supplement our budget.  I won't be getting rich doing this work:  the hotel includes a $45 fee, and the other 4 shops will pay $82, for a total of $127.  I have plenty of free gas for the car as well.

I've had a fair amount of success putting together cheap or free getaways.  Normally I start by finding a hotel, which determines our destination.  It's usually fairly easy to build the trip around the hotel.  We look for free places to explore and I'll find restaurant or other shops to justify our travel.

My Frugal Miser's Week in Review

My partner and I have been on vacation since Tuesday evening.  We started with four days in Las Vegas and are finishing with a couple days in Denver.  I keep an eye on airfares and have noticed the price to Las Vegas from Tampa has dropped just a bit.  We paid $144 each for our one-way tickets, which is about $50 less than what I paid last year.  We arrived home early this morning.

I chose Fox Car Rental, which has always been a hit-or-miss experience.  This time was definitely a miss.  I waited an hour and 20 minutes to reach the counter, and then my requested car was sold out.  They gave us a huge mini-van and asked us to come back in a few hours, and even offered a one-day credit if I would do a swap, as they needed the mini-van for someone else.  They applied the credit, but somehow goofed up the paperwork.  Later in the day, an employee called to ask why I had two cars rented.  Then when I returned the car, there was an error on the bill.  Rather than waiting to resolve the issue and miss our flight, I am to call Monday.

We spent four nights in Las Vegas, and three of them were free:  two nights at the Suncoast and a points redemption from Choice Hotels to BlueGreen Vacations Club.  That room was amazing:  for 12,000 points we received a unit larger than my house:  it had two large bedrooms, two bathrooms with three showers (including a walk-in shower that had dual faucets), two kitchens, two living rooms, and four flat-screen televisions.  I paid for one night at the El Cortez, which was around $30.  I'm hopeful that our paid stay there will result in free room offers moving ahead.

Besides the free rooms, all our food was free.  I'm not a heavy gambler; just a savvy one.  The South Point had an offer where, if you earned 600 points, you received a lunch and dinner buffet, plus got to keep your points.  You only have to run $600 through video poker to earn 600 points.  The expected loss on that gambling is less than $3, which is certainly worth two meals!  The Suncoast offered a free buffet with 300 points, and I had two free buffets at Palace Station courtesy of MyVegas.

MyVegas is a great tool to earn comps in Las Vegas.  We received two premium tickets to Zumanity as well as the buffet.

We didn't win in the casino; I lost a little more than $200 this trip.  That's a cheap price to pay for free drinks, food and hotel rooms.

Saturday we flew to Denver.  Our tickets were $49 each and I received a $75 voucher towards a future flight because Frontier canceled our early morning flight and moved us to a later one.  I redeemed Choice Privileges points for the two nights we are at the Sleep Inn.

Farewell, San Juan

Our flight leaves at 12:55 PM.  We spent yesterday once again walking through Old San Juan.  We walked along Paseo del Morro trail, which follows the masonry walls protecting San Juan, to the San Juan gate, which was the entrance used by Spanish dignitaries when they arrived at the island hundreds of years ago.

There were many statues along the water.  I took a liking to this one of Felisa Rincon de Gautier.  After I Google search I learned she was the first woman to be mayor of San Juan.  The statue was surrounded by beautiful gardens.

Afterwards, we ate at Raices.  It's in the tourist area of Old San Juan, but the food was authentic.  My partner had a beef mofongo; I had a chicken stuffed with cassava and a side of tostones, which are fried green plantains.

In search of a public restroom later, we dipped into the casino at the Sheraton, where I quickly lost the money I had won earlier in the week at the Wyndham.

We checked into the nicest Hampton Inn I have visited.  The hotel featured a sizable pool with swim-up bar.  We were upgraded to a large suite with two separate rooms (similar to an Embassy Suites).  What I liked was the complimentary Happy Hour and Crepes Bar.  Free massages were offered poolside, but we passed on that.  The hotel was a shop so the $243 will be completely reimbursed and I will earn HIlton Honors points, too.

We've spent five nights in Puerto Rico, but I only had to pay for one.  We splurged more than normal on food (under $200), which I justified since most everything else is going to be reimbursed.

Most importantly, this last week has given me the chance to reflect on my priorities.  Urged along by a timely post on Mr. Money Mustache, I've decided to push myself even harder to focus on the things that make me happy and less on earning money any way possible.  More to come...