Savvy Travel Girl World Explorer * Tips & Tricks Of A Single Black Mom Traveling The World With A Frugal Flair

Reflections

Dreaming Of A Digital Nomad Life

Do you ever wish that you could be a digital nomad? It is my heart's desire to just travel the world until I get tired. I once thought that if you were officially "grown" with a mortgage, kids, and a full-time job then a life spent traveling was out of reach for you. NOTE: I said, "I once thought". Thankfully my point of view was changed through listening to podcast like Nomad Together, Nomadtopia, and The Offbeat Life.

Listening to these podcasts helped me discover that nothing is impossible if you want it badly enough. One obstacle for parents to living a Nomad life is schooling for their children. I discovered that many nomad parents homeschool or world school their children.

I have a disabled child who requires a lot of specialized medical care so that has cooled my Nomad thirst a bit. NOTE: I said it has cooled it but no extinguished it. Especially once I read the blog Have Wheel ChaIr Will Travel.

I currently work remotely for a major US employer and I am in the process of paying off all my credit cards, I have one and a half tasks completed. These tasks take me steps closer to my Nomad Dream. It is a big world and I long to see as much of it as possible.

Money For Travel

Teach English: A Underused Way to Earn Money for Travel

Photo by Tra Nguyen on Unsplash

Today we are going to discuss a terrific way to earn money for travel. I alluded to this as a way to earn cash here. Teaching online is a flexible way to earn money to travel.

One reason I like teaching is that I can set my own hours and it pays decent for a part-time gig. I like being able to meet new people and help them improve their English language skills. Teaching allows me to earn money while I remaining in the home. It also does not interfere with my fulltime job. I schedule my classes around my main job responsibilities.

The going price for teaching English online with little or no teaching experience seems to be about $16 per hour or $8 a class. Classes generally last a minimum of 30 mins. The requirements to teach English online are at least a bachelor’s degree, a TEFOL, TEFL or CELTA certificate and some companies require that you be a native English speaker.

The Celta is rather expensive to obtain stateside. I know for a fact that the TEFOL and the TEFL are not hard at all to obtain. I got my TESOL by purchasing a course on Groupon for around $24. I completed the course and obtained my certification.

I have taught with two different companies online. DaDaABC, and 51Talks. There are a bunch of other companies in the online teaching community. Therefore my advice to you would be to do your research and try to join Facebook groups like DigiNo prior to signing a contract with any given company. In the FB groups, you will be able to get information on different companies and discover how they treat their teachers.

As the old folks say anything that sounds too good to be true probably is and that is certainly true of online teaching. While online teaching affords one a lot of flexibility. It is essential that if you are going to get into the online teaching game that you get into it with your eyes open. I have always been paid but I have heard stories of people not being paid or payment being short what was expected with no recourse. A lot of these companies will fire you or block your access to their platform with little or no warning. When you do get paid you are paid in the home country’s currency and when it is converted to US dollars you may lose money. Also, the transfer fees to get paid usually come out of your paycheck. You check is not increased to account for this loss in currency conversions and transfer fees.

Another thing that some online teachers have to deal with is racism. Particularly when dealing with other cultures who have little or no contact with Blacks. It is not overt and need not be a deal breaker, but it is something to be aware of. Just know that you may not get as many students as your other ethnicity counterparts.

If you are still keen on obtaining an online teaching gig then make sure that you prepare for the interview which is usually done online via Skype or some other platform. Watch a few teaching interview videos on Youtube and make sure you are animated and engaged during your interview. Good Luck and go make that travel money!

Travel Tools

How Your Love of Shopping Can Benefit Your Love of Travel

I am a person who always wanted to learn how to obtain the perks that a frequent flyer enjoys. I thought that these perks were out of reach for me because I don’t fly frequently. I don’t have a job that requires me to travel a lot. During my entire working life, I have only had to fly for work two times! So far this post sounds like a downer but what I discovered was that frequent flyer privileges can be obtained by anyone who can harness the power of the points game.

While many have learned how to leverage credit card sign-on bonuses to their advantage this particular post will be focused on using the shopping portals of major airlines. When I discovered how to receive miles through online shopping I was hooked.

Because airlines such as American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, British Airways, Delta, and United all have shopping portals. When you make online purchases through their portals at your favorite retailers you receive miles on your airline reward account.

Unquestionably my favorite shopping portal is Southwest. But I have accounts with Delta, American, and British Airways as well. When I want to make an online purchase at a retailer, I check to see how many miles per dollar spent each portal is offering for that retailer and go with the portal offering the most miles. If they are all offering the same number of miles then I go with the account that has the most points in it. The goal is to top off the account closest to qualifying for an award flight.

Example: I want to purchase something at Macy’s. I check all the portals for how many points per dollar they are offering at Macy’s. I see Southwest is offering 7 miles per dollar spent at Macy’s. I sign on to Southwest Rapid Reward Shopping portal. I select Macy’s. It takes me to the Macy’s website. I complete my purchase on the website and it is registered with Southwest. I receive 7 miles for every dollar spent with Macy’s in my Southwest Rapid Rewards account.

In order to use these portals, you need to have a frequent flyer account prior to registering on the shopping portal. Obtaining frequent flyer loyalty numbers are free and don’t require a flight so there is nothing stopping you. Go get your miles!

SIDE NOTE: THIS IS ALSO A GREAT WAY TO KEEP MILES FROM EXPIRING.

American Airlines

Southwest

Delta

British Airways

United

Destinations

The Amazing Love I Discovered in Switzerland

Photo by Katarzyna Grabowska on Unsplash

One of the reasons that I consider travel invaluable is due to the opportunities it affords you. I love to discover things when I travel. One particular discovery occurred when my friend and I visited Lugano, Switzerland. The only reason why we were even in Lugano was that it is really close to Milan. We spent the majority of the time we had on this trip in Milan, Italy. Lugano is a pretty charming little town that is not too touristy. It looks very picturesque. The town's main claim to fame is Lake Lugano which is usually overshadowed by the frequently praised Lake Como.

We stayed in an Airbnb while in Lugano. Our host made suggestions on places to eat and check out in the town. One of her suggestions was to get some chocolate from this shop in town. She described the chocolate to us and went on and on about it. I thanked her for her suggestions and then thought to myself. "It's chocolate! How amazing could it be?"

While we were exploring the town we happened to pass the chocolate shop our host told us about. So I decided to give it a try. BEST decision I ever made! Läderach chocolate is the TRUTH! When I tell you that this chocolate cost me about $12 US dollars for 5 pieces and was worth every cent!. I am a recovering a sweet addict and I like chocolate just as much as the next woman but OMG! This chocolate was better than Lindt and Lindor by far in my humble opinion.

I willingly walked up and down hills to get to this chocolate on our last day in town! ~~and Savvy Travel does not do hills~~

I wanted to bring back samples to all my friends at home. I made a righteous effort to do this but the samples somehow got eaten on the long plane ride. Y'all pray for me!

If you ever get the chance to eat Läderbach chocolate please sample the chocolate with the caramelized toasted almonds and give me your opinion. When I bit into that piece of chocolate my mouth thought it had died and gone to heaven.

Uncategorized

Dirty Planes: A Germaphobe’s Worst Nightmare

Correct me if I am wrong but don't the flight attendants ask if you have trash at least two or three times per flight? Then why do people constantly stuff all manner of germ-filled yuckiness in the seat back pockets of airplanes? Just give it to the flight attendant! Better yet throw it away in the airport. A brief stint on the cleaning crew of a major airline left me with one revelation. Airplanes are not clean! ~~I mean not even in the loosest interpretation of the word clean.~~

Domestic flights have a pretty tight turnaround which leaves the cleaning crew with little or no time to clean. A typical cleaning crew can be two or three people. Two or three people to clean 295 seats in about 15 minutes! Might I add that in this 15 minutes the cleaners have to contend with slow-moving deplaning passengers, flight crew getting in the way, and equipment malfunctions

One quick turnaround I helped clean was so quick we didn't even have time to clean the lavatory. The bottom line is the airline is most concerned with the aircraft maintaining on-time departures so cleaning is secondary to a plane being on time.

The next time you are onboard a plane and you feel the uncontrollable urge to lay your food on the seat back tray…. Don't! I shiver to think of the number of germs a toddler consumes by doing that very thing.

Big ups to all the airplane cleaning crews all over the world who clean hot A$$ airplanes all day for $9.00 an hour. People, I implore you please give your trash to the flight attendants when they request it. The less time a cleaning crew spends digging trash from the seat back pockets equals more time to dedicate to cleaning the lavatories.

Travel Tools

6 Awesome Gifts A Traveling Mom Will Love You For

Considering the fact that Mother’s Day is fast approaching I decided to compile a list of gifts that a traveling mother would greatly appreciate.

Skylight Photo frame-https://www.skylightframe.com Skylight photo frame is a touchscreen digital photo frame that can be updated by emailing photos to your skylight email address. This way you can give your skylightframe email address to friends and family so that they can email pictures directly to your frame. This is a great gift because you can use it to display all your favorite travel photos

Eagle Creek Compression Packing Cubes-https://www.eaglecreek.com Packing cubes are an awesome asset to a frequent traveler. Go ahead and surprise mom with something that will help her keep her suitcase organized and underweight.

Life Straw-https://www.lifestraw.com– Life Straw makes a variety of water bottles with filters they also make a minimalist straw that filters parasites and bacteria out of water. This is a great product for the international traveler who frequently travels to areas where the water quality is not great.

Travel adapterhttps://www.sharperimage.com I love sharper image travel adapters. I especially like the nesting ones which I usually purchase at TJMAXX or Marshalls. The all in one adapter tends to be bulky and weigh down sockets sometimes depending on what is plugged into them.

Perfume-A 0.34 oz roller ball of mom’s favorite fragrance is great for traveling. I love Le Vie Est Belle and a purse size bottle comes in very handy when you are on the go. Even a jet setter likes to look and smell her best at all times.

A lounge Pass-If mom travels often but does not have elite status with an airline nor a premium travel credit card which grants access to airport lounges she might value an airport lounge membership purchased through priority pass www.prioritypass.com. I recall my first experience in an airport lounge. It was a welcome respite on a long-haul flight. I felt like royalty and mom will too with a priority pass membership.

Travel Tools

Why You Can’t Ever Find a Travel Deal: Finding a Cheap Flight

Disclosure: This post contains a link, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a credit if you click through and register with Airfordale. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and I receive no compensation other than that disclosed.

"I can't ever find a travel deal!" I hear this all the time. People frequently ask me how I am able to travel so much. The short answer is I know where to look for a flight bargain. The way I like to book my travel is to purchase flights first and then build my trip around the ticket that I have purchased. Where do I find these flight deals? I subscribe to several travel newsletters. The three I read religiously and on a daily basis are secret flying, thrifty traveler, and the flight deal. Once you locate a flight deal you have to act quickly because airfares aren't guaranteed until booked. Access to these newsletters allowed me to purchase roundtrip fare from Atlanta to Tokyo for $554.

Let's say you find a flight but don't have all the cash to purchase the ticket and don't want to put it on a credit card you can use a service like airfordable to put the ticket on layaway. I have used this service many times and I have never had any problems.

I like to search for the advertised airfare using Momondo or Skyscanner make sure that you search using an incognito tab or that you clear your cookies because cookies will affect the price of airfare on all sites if you have searched the same route several times.

Once you find your flight you can use the tools I discussed here to book your lodging.

Reflections

Have Melanin Will Travel: Traveling While Black

Photo by William Stitt on Unsplash

Judging from the comments I read in many of the travel groups I am a member of traveling while black is a concern of many black American travelers. Naturally, you look for people that look like you when you venture out into the world. I look for other faces like mine while traveling but if I don’t see any I don’t panic. The main purpose of my international travel is to experience other cultures and allow other cultures to experience me in all my melanin goodness. I think that some American blacks fail to comprehend that some areas have limited or no exposure to other cultures. When you live in a homogeneous society sometimes your only exposure to people of color is via television and the dreaded “reality show”.

One thing that bothers me about some of the comments that I read is that the authors of these comments try to convince others not to travel to a particular place because the said place is not black folk friendly.

One particular place that is notorious for its anti-blackness is Italy. I was shocked. I have been to Italy more than once and my first opinion of the Italian people was that they were the friendliest of all the countries we visited on that particular trip. We were kissed by our taxi driver, our hotel clerk went to the train station looking for us because my friend left her coat, shop keepers held lengthy conversations with us, and an elderly woman warned me about pickpockets on the train.

I realize that some ethnicities have experienced varying degrees of difficulty in Italy, but I do not believe that the entire country deserves to be banned or crossed off your bucket list because of it. We went to several different regions in Italy and I left feeling good about the country as a whole. Upon reading some negative comments about Italy, I called my friends who had traveled with me and asked them their opinion about our trip. I am fallible so I wanted other opinions to verify that my recollections we indeed accurate. I do not want to attempt to downplay anyone’s experiences but what I have observed while traveling is that some American blacks draw a lot of attention to themselves when they travel. Sometimes this attention is not positive in nature.

I feel that we as American blacks are so shell shocked by trying to navigate the racism in America that we just automatically assume when we go to a new place that people treat us a certain way due to our skin color and in actuality, it is due to our nationality which is American.

Another region I have heard a lot of warning against is China. I have heard that the Chinese touch you, take pictures without permission etc. I have yet to venture to mainland China but I have been to Hong Kong. I will say that while I did not find the people of Hong Kong particularly friendly. I did not feel racially profiled or gawked at. I did have a street vendor come up and take a picture with me while I was trying to browse his cart. I am sure he just wanted a picture of a black girl. It just felt quirky. I thought who wants to take a picture with a random person they don’t know? I am sure if I had to endure that on a daily basis it would probably work my last nerve but it was one incident and I really didn’t feel one way or the other about it.

There are other regions that many have written off due to the perceptions of others in the black travel community but I implore every traveler to do their own research and take “opinions” with a grain of salt. If cultural understanding is the goal of your travels then you are going to have to step out of your comfort zone sometimes.

Reflections

A Life of No Regrets: A lesson from Notre Dame

Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable.

Sydney J. Harris

It is my desire to get through life with as few regrets as possible. Every day we are constantly reminded that we have a limited amount of time wither we like it or not. I was saddened by the news of the fire at Notre Dame. Construction of this cathedral began in 1345 and in 2019 it was nearly destroyed.

The tragedy of the fire at Notre Damme made me sad, it made me stop and think, and lastly, it made me glad. Glad that after so many years of wanting to go to Paris that I finally did get to Paris and I did see Notre Dame prior to the destruction that took place on April 15, 2019. Browsing the internet I noticed a lot of people commenting on how they wanted to see Notre-Dame and how they wished they would have gone prior to the fire. Living a life full of regret is no way to live.

As for myself, I am sorry that it took a very big REGRET in my life to wake me up to the fact that I was wasting my precious days putting my desires off for another time. I am thankful for the awakening and I encourage everyone to lead a regret conscious life…meaning you are making the conscious decision not to accumulate a lot of regret in your life.

In time they will repair and rebuild Norte Dame but will it ever really be as it was? If you wanted to see Notre Damn and never got the chance. Make this one of your last regrets. Go…See… Do all the things your heart has been dreaming of. I leave you with this quote from ― Krishna Udayasankar

“No empire lasts forever, no dynasty continues unbroken. Someday, you and I will be mere legends. All that matters is whether we did what we could with the life that was given to us.”

Travel Tools

5 Things To Always Include When You Pack A Carryon

Photo by Arnel Hasanovic on Unsplash

Five things to always include in your carryon are as follows:

Water Bottle– Always carry an empty water bottle with you. Once you get through the security check-point fill it up. This will save you from dying of thirst on the plane while waiting for drink service to begin. You will also avoid absorbent airport water prices.
A change of clothes and underwear– This is only applicable on long haul flights. If you get to your destination and find your luggage didn’t arrive you still have at least one day of clothing to wear while you hunt down your checked baggage.
A good quality reusable bag– I like to take a reusable bag folded up in my pocket or somewhere in my carryon luggage. This comes in handy when you get to the airport scale and find out your checked baggage is too heavy. Just take a couple of items out of the checked luggage and you can place them in your handy reusable bag. This bag also comes in handy when you purchase too much stuff in dutyfree and it can’t fit inside your carry on. I like to purchase my reusable bags from Marshall’s or Ross. They fold very well and last a long time and at only $1 it is a steal.
Trail mix– Bring trail mix or some sort of snack that travels well and is non-perishable. Once I was on a flight with no meal service. I did not eat before I got on the flight. Once I got to my destination the weather made it impossible to land. Our plane was rerouted to the alternate airport to wait out the storm. The food service at the alternate airport was already closed. I was hungry and tired and it was on this day that I developed tip number 4!
Your camera- ALL expensive electronic equipment should be placed in your carryon. I would think that #5 is self-explanatory but I was on a South African safari once and a fellow tourmate had placed her camera in her checked bags. Needless to say, she made it to South Africa but her camera did not! This tourmate is also the reason I implemented tip# 2.

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Savvy Travel Girl World Explorer

Dreaming Of A Digital Nomad Life

Teach English: A Underused Way to Earn Money for Travel

How Your Love of Shopping Can Benefit Your Love of Travel

The Amazing Love I Discovered in Switzerland

Dreaming Of A Digital Nomad Life

Teach English: A Underused Way to Earn Money for Travel

How Your Love of Shopping Can Benefit Your Love of Travel

In order to use these portals, you need to have a frequent flyer account prior to registering on the shopping portal. Obtaining frequent flyer loyalty numbers are free and don’t require a flight so there is nothing stopping you. Go get your miles!

American Airlines

Southwest

Delta

British Airways

United

The Amazing Love I Discovered in Switzerland

Dirty Planes: A Germaphobe’s Worst Nightmare

6 Awesome Gifts A Traveling Mom Will Love You For

Eagle Creek Compression Packing Cubes-https://www.eaglecreek.com Packing cubes are an awesome asset to a frequent traveler. Go ahead and surprise mom with something that will help her keep her suitcase organized and underweight.

Travel adapterhttps://www.sharperimage.com I love sharper image travel adapters. I especially like the nesting ones which I usually purchase at TJMAXX or Marshalls. The all in one adapter tends to be bulky and weigh down sockets sometimes depending on what is plugged into them.

Perfume-A 0.34 oz roller ball of mom’s favorite fragrance is great for traveling. I love Le Vie Est Belle and a purse size bottle comes in very handy when you are on the go. Even a jet setter likes to look and smell her best at all times.

Why You Can’t Ever Find a Travel Deal: Finding a Cheap Flight

Have Melanin Will Travel: Traveling While Black

A Life of No Regrets: A lesson from Notre Dame

5 Things To Always Include When You Pack A Carryon

Water Bottle– Always carry an empty water bottle with you. Once you get through the security check-point fill it up. This will save you from dying of thirst on the plane while waiting for drink service to begin. You will also avoid absorbent airport water prices.

A change of clothes and underwear– This is only applicable on long haul flights. If you get to your destination and find your luggage didn’t arrive you still have at least one day of clothing to wear while you hunt down your checked baggage.