Travel Lean

10 Frugal travel hacks we used for our week in Portugal.

In October, Kelly and I went on a quick super frugal six-day, five-night journey to Porto, Portugal. The trip was a bit of an experiment as we’ve never done a “quick trip” to Europe together. Usually, due to the cost of airfare and traveling with the family, trips to Europe in the past were generally two weeks long, even before we had kids.

This time, because it was just us traveling, and we were able to find some good quality low-cost flights to Europe ($342 each on United) we decided to give it a shot. These low airfares were the first travel hack we used on the trip. Since airfare is usually the most expensive part of the trip, we use the best-priced tickets in helping us decide where to go.

Here’s how we did it:

Getting low airfare to a place you’d like to visit. The first thing I do is let others do the searching for me. I sign up for free email updates from Scott’s Cheap Flights and Dollar Flight Club. Both of these services scour the web to find low prices on flights from your home airports. They both offer premium versions of the free service but I’ve been able to find some great deals without signing up for premium. For instance, just today I saw flights to Paris and London for as low as $400. In shoulder seasons.

Shoulder seasons. This is where the best deals on airfare are but that’s not to say you can’t find some good ones during prime months. By avoiding summer months in Europe we’ve gotten much better deals. If you have a specific week or month in mind you can also use Kayak Explore or Google Flights Explore. Just put in your dates to see the cheapest places to fly. Currently we are looking at some spring break destinations and Cartagena, Colombia showed up with some sub $300 fares. You can also limit the number of stops and layover times which are very important when looking at discounted airfares. If you find a destination with great fare and you’re not ready to purchase right away, simply click on “watch this fare” and you’ll get email updates.

[Read more…]

How to Talk Yourself Out of a Boat or RV Purchase, Every Time You Get That Itch.

06/21 by The Frug 2 Comments

Sometimes we buy a thing when what we want is the time to use it.

It’s springtime here in Virginia which means my mind often wanders to adventure. We live close to the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. When the weather gets nice, I’m often thinking about how it would be cool to own a boat or an RV, get the family out, and have some fun. As a kid I remember some great times out on my parents’ boat on the Chesapeake Bay.

If you spend some time following blogs or YouTube channels, you’re bound to run across lots of folks having grand adventures sailing around the world or traveling cross country in RVs.

Weekend Warriors vs. Modern Nomads

There are generally two types of folks here: Those modern nomads who have chosen to live on a boat or in an RV full-time and those who are enthusiasts who make these large purchases for recreational purposes. Since the second group is vastly larger, that’s who I’m talking about today.

So, if you actually live full-time on a boat or in an RV you’ve already achieved a high degree of minimalism and don’t need these tips. Unless of course you’re thinking about buying a house to have a home base for your RV or boat, then please read on.

[Read more…]

This Street is Closed. Travels During a Pandemic 2021 Version.

02/21 by The Frug 1 Comment

How 2021 will change the way we travel and dine out forever.

By Brad Beckstrom

For 2021, I’ve decided to dust myself off, climb back on my horse, and start sharing my ideas again. I’ve got a pretty good backlog of things I’d like to write about, sticking with my themes of living lean, working lean, and traveling lean.

Speaking of getting back on the horse, we decided to take our first pandemic journey of 2021. For my wife Kelly’s birthday I surprised her with a four day, three night getaway to Miami. Frontier Airlines has been bombarding my browser with ads for $50 round-trip direct flight to Florida. It’s funny, I usually ignore these ads because when I click on them the flight ends up being $350 roundtrip by the time you hit purchase.

Frugal, Frugal

But, the $50 round-trip price for a direct flight fascinated me. Usually cheap flights involve long layovers, crappy connections, and out-of-the-way airports. I went through the process with Frontier and, lo and behold, was able to book 2 frugal round-trip tickets for a total of $108.94. It’s like making it to the last level of a game avoiding all those upgrades. It pays to have a few days flexibility when booking with discount airlines.

Of course, I knew Frontier would charge for any baggage. They allow for one personal item, which is not to be confused with a carry-on. Check the size on the personal item. Generally a (small) backpack, messenger bag, or purse will get through without a problem. For checked bags or carry on bags, it’s a $41 fee each way. They give you up to a 50 pound limit so we just put both our luggage (all 46 lbs. worth) in a single large bag and checked it.

Pandemic Travel

I figured this flight would be fairly crowded based on the price. It turned out the plane was crowded but not overly so, and on the way home it was only about 60% full. The airport and parking garage were empty.

I’ll be honest, I probably wouldn’t be comfortable flying if my wife and I had not already had the virus back last March and both had positive tests for antibodies. We still took every precaution and wore N95 masks. Obviously no food or beverage service was available unless you wanted to buy a small bottle of water for $3.99.

[Read more…]

Happy Fridays From the Frug’s Basement Bar

02/20 by The Frug Leave a Comment

Sharing some Frugal beer finds and a few other things.

Over the past few years, I’ve been having some fun with old coasters, postcards, matches, photographs, and other various items I find in my travels. I tend to accumulate these things from different bars, restaurants, and hotels that I stumble upon. I’ve always enjoyed the creative effort that goes into some of the simplest things, like the logo for a new craft beer or an unusual coaster or postcard.

I keep a small stack of these items in my office. When they get to a certain height, I spread them out with some old photographs and other random things on a card table and photograph them with an iPhone. Since these are essentially Friday happy hour images, I’ve always added a nice cold beer which I enjoy at the end of the photoshoot. So far, there are 16 in the series and you can see them here on Flickr, or occasionally popping up on my Instagram feed.

This year I’m adding a new twist. Lately I’ve been finding some good quality imported and craft beers at our nearby ALDI and Trader Joe’s stores where we do most of our shopping.

The prices are great, for example, $4.95 a six pack for a great quality IPA or $6.49 for some solid imported brands. The first of which I’m sharing here today. Kinroo Blue a Belgian White Ale.

Frugal Beer Finds — Happy Friday from the Frug’s basement bar. 16th in the series. Today I’m trying Kinroo Blue a Belgian White Ale that’s light-bodied with some nice orange and spice notes. A great beer to compare with Allagash White for half the price at ALDI. Sharing #beer #Art #Travel #Photography #Traderjoesfinds #aldifinds and some places I’ve traveled. 5 countries represented in this image. Guess which ones.

When I come across a new beer I like I save it in the Untappd app along with some tasting notes and ratings. It’s also a great way to find great beers nearby.

Look for more of these Happy Friday images to occasionally pop up here or on social media along with a brief beer recommendation.

The Frug

Financial Independence through Living Lean, Working Lean, and Traveling Lean. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook , Flickr , or Instagram

The Allure of the Obscure.

05/19 by The Frug Leave a Comment

See more for less by traveling off the beaten path.

The Real Grand Budapest Hotel. Palace Bristol Hotel in Karlovy

By Brad Beckstrom

Knowing little about your destination is half the adventure.

Years ago, before online travel booking, I had a roommate that used to walk into a travel agent, or up to a ticket counter, and ask for the least expensive plane ticket available to anywhere. He would gather up the information and try to talk friends into joining him at this random, often obscure, location for a weekend. It was the late 80s and discount airlines were starting to crop up with all kinds of $39 specials to destinations that they wanted to build traffic to. There was one airline, People Express, that would even collect payment for the tickets once you got on the plane, sort of like a city bus.

His rule was it had to be the absolute cheapest ticket available, not something close to cheapest. The destination would be a secret to anyone who went along until they got to the airport.

8 ways to hack UBER, ditch your car, and save money in the on-demand economy.

02/19 by The Frug Leave a Comment

By Brad Beckstrom

In the middle of a crowded Irish pub, my friend stood up and shouted “Brad will be taking Uber home tonight!” and ordered another round to cheers and jeers. Late that evening, a shiny Jeep showed up and drove my wife and me home in the freshly falling snow. The total cost of the ride $6.28. My friend didn’t know that I use UberX about once a week and whenever I’m traveling

Having a shiny sedan show up at your home with a driver may not seem very frugal until you consider parking costs $6-$10 for a night out in the city and the occasional $50-$100 parking ticket. I got $200 worth the year before I started using UBER. The hundred dollar parking ticket was due to an expired Virginia inspection decal. I was a bit peeved until I saw that this parking ticket actually said “ticket and tow” and I’d gotten to my car before the tow truck had arrived. My Virginia inspection decal was two days expired and I was parked in Washington DC! That city will do anything for a buck as long as it’s a pain in the ass.

A few years ago when Virginia tried to ban Uber, I wrote to my Congressman and told him that he was putting drinkers back on the road if he supported banning services like Uber and Lyft. I didn’t use the word drunks because many folks who get a DUI think they’re fine until it’s too late. The average cost of a DUI can range anywhere from $7000 to $25,000 depending on the area and fines. The younger the driver, the more invincible they believe they are and more likely to have others in the car with them, not to mention the other drivers and pedestrians they endanger when driving impaired. If you’re going to be out celebrating, use it tell your family and friends to use it. I’ll give you some Uber hacks below to eliminate any excuses. [Read more…] about 8 ways to hack UBER, ditch your car, and save money in the on-demand economy.