1 – Ditch the fancy coffee in the morning! You can still have coffee in the morning just brew it at home. For what you pay in 2-3days for those fancy coffee drinks you can get a whole can of coffee that will last you weeks. Potential savings $15-$35/week or $780-$1820/year (That’s enough for a round-trip ticket to Europe!)

2 – Sell stuff! We all have a little bit of extreme hoarding in us. Do we really need that many pairs of shoes or all those knickknacks? NO! Sell your stuff to the under-stuffed. It will help declutter your life and give you some money for your trip.

3 - Have your insurance reevaluated! You should do this done annually to stay updated with current laws and see if you are able to save money with your current policies. Take the money you saved and put it in the bank awaiting to be used for your trip.

4 – Change where you live! One of our most expensive bills that we pay every month is our rent/mortgage. If you are renting decide if you really need all that space after you decluttered or think about getting a roommate to cut your housing expense even further. For those homeowners, again think about space and if it is necessary. I know you may love where you live so check into refinancing your mortgage as there are really low interest rates and many programs out there to help.

5 – Cook at home! Eating out all of the time can impact your wallet and your waistline. Trust me I have been one of those people who ate out all the time. Making meals at home can be simple. Just decide on a meat, pair it with a vegetable and poof, you have a home cooked meal for a lot less than what you would spend out on the town.

6 – Drink Less! I know easier said then done because there are some days that you just really want a drink. I realized that what I really liked about lite beer was the fizz, so instead try club soda. It cheaper, and has no calories a double whammy!

7 - Work More… I know not the most exciting option on this page, but if you are only scheduled part-time pick up some hours and put the extra money towards your trip. You are already making due with what you are making now. why not work a little more and have a little more fun.

8 – Check your bank accounts for automatic withdrawals. I did not realize that I still had $40 taken out of my bank account each month for a service that I had not used for months. If I had let it go on for a year that would have been $480 I could have used towards a trip or staycation.

8.5 Travel is only as expensive as you imagine it to be! There are still good people out there that are willing to help fellow travelers which is how couch-surfing became popular. Also, think outside what your norms are. It may surprise you.

note: not all frequent flier programs are available with every option listed. Check with your individual program to see who they are contracted with.

E-miles.com – I have been using E-Miles on and off for the past few years and it is a very simple way to earn additional miles or to keep your account active with your frequent flier program. They usually have short ads or videos for you to look at, then a short survey afterwards to earn those miles. There are ways to earn additional miles if you actually buy/donate or sign up for the services that are being advertised. Just today I logged in for about 10 minutes and earned 35 miles by just watching a few 30 second videos, closing out the pop ups and then answering the 5 question survey.

E-rewards.com – E-rewards is more survey based than E-miles. You can sign up for how many surveys you want to receive on average and you are rewarded on the avg length of time it takes a participant to complete the survey. Collect you rewards and then you can exchange them for miles with your particular program.

Rental Cars – Many airlines have agreements where you can earn miles with a rental car company that they are contracted with. Many times you can earn double or triple miles by using these. I know not an everyday expense or option but something to keep in mind.

Flowers - Not an everyday purchase, but it should be. Show those who are special in your life that you thinking of them. Again, many airlines are contracted with some of the national floral companies

Shopping - You can earn points by shopping online with select retailers. Usually you just have to log into you rewards account and then go through there to get to your favorite retailers. This is also available to some extent on e-miles.com so you don’t have to memorize as many places to go.

Utilities – I didn’t believe this one either, but with Southwest’s Rapid Rewards you can earn points for just paying your utility bill. There are certain restrictions and it is only offered in certain states so be sure to check this out to see if you are in one of them. What could it hurt??

Before I set off on my next trip I always come across someone who asks me if I am nervous to travel because I don’t know the local language. NO! Is always my usual response. As humans, there are many different ways to communicate with someone than verbally. There are many many books and articles that have been published explaining that the words that you actually say mean very very little to the person listening to you (if they still are). I really do follow this philosophy, but it does occasionally fail you.

While connecting a flight in Frankfurt, Germany, I had to be re-screened at security because we had come in on an international flight, went through immigration/customs, and now had to get back into the secure area. I was curious to see if there were any major differences in security, but I didn’t really notice any except that the crowd seemed to be more of business travelers than leisure travelers. I have a bad habit of getting stopped and having to get my bag searched and re-screened because I always forget about something. In Frankfurt I was thinking it should be easy because I already did security once. To my surprise my bag gets pulled off the conveyor belt because I have contraband… crap what could it be this time??

Now keep in mind I am of German decent, but cant speak a lick of it. I looked so German that the nice lady kept talking to me in German about my bag and that there was something that I shouldn’t have inside. At least that is my story because I don’t have a clue what she was really saying, but she kept pointing to an outside pocket on my bag. I think it is my cell phone because I had turned it on and maybe it shouldn’t be on. You know some crazy European law that I didn’t know about. I pull it out of my bag and the lady laughs a little and says no. She then asks another question in German which I simply reply with a very puzzled look. “English?” she asks and of course I get a smile and say yes. Her next question was not that much longer, “Water Bottle?” Then the light bulb went off in my head! I had bought a bottle of water in Washington DC that I had totally forgotten about. You can’t get pass security in Europe with a water bottle either.

I pulled the bottle of water out of my bag and gave it to the nice lady at security. Joked about it a little bit. Thank goodness it was not any worse. I put my shoes back on and I was off to run and catch my flight to Vienna.