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Playa del Carmen Travel Hacking and Highlights
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HSA Account 5 Steps to Maximize Pre-Tax Dollars
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#HEALTHSAVINGS in 5 simple steps with your Health Savings Account (HSA) with pre-tax dollars!
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Crossing off Bucket List Items with Ben Nemtin from ‘The Buried Life’
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What do you want to do before you die? This was the key question that was asked at the Possibility Project event. We often have bucket list items, such as traveling, meal planning, and saving money, but do we actually put in the work to do them? We can make the impossible possible if we break down the goals into steps, and follow up with actions to complete them.
One of my favorite events that gave me a wake up call to start my money and travel blog and to go to my last continent Antarctica was the Possibility Project. The keynote speaker was Ben Nemtin from MTV’s The Buried Life and the #1 New York Times Best Selling author of What Do You Want to Do Before You Die? The Buried Life.
At this event, Nemtin went over how he and his friends made the world’s biggest bucket list of things they wanted to do before they died. They borrowed an RV, bought a camera on eBay, and road tripped across North America to complete items and helped others on the way. It was pretty inspiring because each time they crossed off an item from their list they paid it forward by helping a stranger cross off an item from their list.
They achieved goals, such as playing basketball with Obama, drinking a beer with Prince Harry, and being guests on the Oprah Winfrey Show. This event made me question myself and made me really think about how I was putting of this blog for years, and how I only had one continent left to visit.
This event took place in December 2018 and I found this free event on Eventbrite and luckily I also had friends that were available to go as well. We received a pamphlet to write down goals, and we had an opportunity to read them aloud, which made it easy to get feedback from others on how to achieve our goals.
I was fortunate to meet other entrepreneurs at this event, and I learned how they started their businesses, which gave me motivation to start my blog. In addition, I even met a person that went to Antarctica a few years ago.
It has been 4 months since this event and I am happy to say that I started my travel and money blog and saved enough money to book a trip to Antarctica in November 2019 with Oceanwide Expeditions. Going to events like these, and listening to podcasts, such as The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes, The Chalene Show, and Goal Digger with Jenna Kutcher allow me to stay motivated and help me stay on track for completing my goals.
3 Upcoming Free Events (NYC)
Saving HerMoney for Travel on the Today Show
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Goals can be difficult to achieve, but if we are in the right mindset, we can achieve them. To stay motivated, I found it helpful to listen to podcasts, read newsletters, be around like-minded friends, and join Facebook groups.
I consistently make it a goal of mine to save money on everyday things in order to have a bigger travel budget. Some of the ways I save money are attending clothing swaps, meal planning, and finding free events. I have been to 34 countries to date, and I will be visiting Antarctica and Argentina in November 2019.
One of the best resources I use for learning personal finance is HerMoney Media. HerMoney Media has written content, video, and a podcast on budgeting, investing, and financial planning topics that are specifically geared towards women.
Last year, I joined the HerMoney Facebook group because I was a fan of the podcast and newsletter. In addition, to listening to personal finance topics on the podcast and reading the weekly newsletter, I also wanted to get more advice and to help out others online.
A weekly thread in the HerMoney Facebook group is the #HumbleBrag Friday, where you can say something you are proud of, and it can either be financial or non-financial. The March 1, 2019 #HumbleBrag mentioned that HerMoney would be filming a Happy Hour in the NYC area, and that they were looking for community members. After seeing this post, I reached out to Kelly Hultgren (co-founder and head of partnerships for HerMoney, and the producer of the HerMoney podcast) and was luckily one of the members selected to be in the Happy Hour that would be filmed for the Today Show on NBC.
Filming the Happy Hour was a great experience because I received financial advice and met other HerMoney members in person. I learned that not everyone has the same goals, such as saving for education, mortgage, and travel, but in the end we still have the same goal to save money. It was also helpful to learn how others split their bank accounts with their significant others, and how important it was to not rely on someone else to be entirely in charge of the finances.
To see the Today Show clip, please click here. The women featured in the segment are Pat Moran, Angel Trinh, Narda Chin, Kathryn Farwell, and Larissa Pai.
Jean Chatzky is the financial editor of NBC’s Today Show, an award-winning personal finance journalist, AARP’s personal finance ambassador, and host of the podcast HerMoney with Jean Chatzky on iTunes. Her newest book, Women with Money: The Judgment-Free Guide to Creating the Joyful, Less Stressed, Purposeful (and, Yes, Rich) Life You Deserve can be purchased here.
HerMoney will also be hosting Happy Hours in other cities, which is currently being finalized. To stay updated about personal finance and upcoming Happy Hours, please subscribe to their newsletter, podcast, and join the HerMoney Facebook group.
5 Ways to Find Free Pop-Ups & Events (NYC)
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Pop-ups are short term retail stores and temporary art installations and are very popular in New York City. Some of my favorite pop-ups that I go to are workouts, wellness panels, and photography walks/sessions. Please see below for my recommendations on Instagram accounts, newsletter subscriptions, and websites to use for finding cheap and free events in NYC.
My top favorite Instagram accounts to follow for pop-ups and events, include queenoffreeba, fomofeed, artworldnyc, and popupgirlsnyc. Queenoffreeba has daily morning Instagram stories about free events. Both fomofeed and artworldnyc have eye catching posts about pop ups and often feature pop ups on their feed prior to the public event launch. Popupgirlsnyc may even feature your post if you tag them on Instagram.
2. Newsletters
My favorite newsletters to find events include the Skint (daily), and the Joy List (weekly). The Skint is a daily newsletter about fun and free cheap things to do in New York, which include ongoing events, such as poetry readings, outdoor movies, and comedy shows.The Joy List features events that you can go alone and meet new friends, which include potlucks, game nights, and dance clubs.
3. Goldstar
Goldstar is great for finding complimentary tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets, and under $10 tickets, and can be also used in 26 cities across the United States. I have found great discounts on tickets that I would normally pay full price from the venue and Ticketmaster.
4. Eventbrite
My favorite part about Eventbrite is that I can use the “free” filter and that I can search by keywords. My favorite keywords to use are pop-up, clothing swap, panel, and wellness.
5. Facebook
On Facebook I use the events section, and I filter results by New York, New York or I can choose a city to see events in the area. In addition, I can also put the city in the search keyword as well, such as Pop-up New York, Clothing Swap New York, Panel New York, and Wellness New York. Some of my favorite Facebook Event pages are FOMO New York – Free Events, Epic Events NYC, Awesome Events – NYC, The NYC Daily Event List, and Free Events in New York City.
NYC: 3 Day Weekend Budget Itinerary & Meal Plan
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New York is known as one of the world’s most expensive cities, but it does not mean that you cannot be on a fun budget here. One of the amazing things about New York is that there are free events and discounted museum days. Please see below for my itinerary I would follow for a fun budget weekend.
My 3 Day Weekend Itinerary Guide
Friday
Morning: Financial District
- Cost: Free
- Highlights: Charging Bull, Fearless Girl, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
- Train: 2/3/4/5 train to Wall Street
- Address: (NYSE) 1 Wall St, New York, NY 10005
Afternoon: Chelsea & High Line
- Cost: Free
- Highlights: Walk around Chelsea and the High Line (elevated park)
- Train: Take the 1 or C train to 23rd Street
- Address: The park runs from Gansevoort Street – three blocks below 14th Street, in the Meatpacking District – through Chelsea to the northern edge of the West Side Yard on 34th Street
Evening: Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
- Cost: Free Friday only from 4-8pm
- Highlights: Vincent Van Gogh – “The Starry Night”, Pablo Picasso – “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” Monet – Water Lilies
- Train: E/M train to 5th Avenue/ 53rd St
- Address: 11 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019
Saturday
Morning: Statue of Liberty (via Staten Island Ferry)
- Cost: Free
- Highlights: The Staten Island Ferry takes you right past the statue for free
- Train: 4/5 train to Bowling Green
Afternoon: Central Park
- Cost: Free
- Highlights: Take a stroll walking throughout the park, the pond and Gapstow Bridge, and Sheep’s Meadow
- Train: N/R/W train to 5th/59th St
Evening: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
- Cost: Pay only what you wish Saturday from 5:45pm-7:45pm
- Highlights: Édouard Manet –“Before the Mirror,” Pablo Picasso – “Woman with Yellow Hair”, Pierre Bonnard – “Dining Room on the Garden”
- Train: 4/5/6 train to 86th St
- Address: 1071 5th ˀAve, New York, NY 10128
Sunday
Morning: Brooklyn Bridge
- Cost: Free
- Highlights: Take photos of the iconic bridge and get spectacular views of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Brooklyn Heights, and DUMBO
- Train: 2/3 train to Clark Street
- Address: Take the Henry Street exit. Walk left on Henry Street. Go left on Cadman Plaza West/Old Fulton Street and walk downhill to the entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park, located at the bottom of the hill, at the waterfront
Afternoon: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met)
- Cost: $25 (pay what you wish for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut residents)
- Highlights: Jacques Louis David – “The Death of Socrates” , Raphael – Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints, Marble statue of Aphrodite
- Train: 4/5/6 train to 86th St
- Address: 1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028
Evening: Times Square
- Cost: Free
- Highlights: Shopping, people watching and being amazed by the billboards
- Train: 1/2/3/7/S to Times Square – 42 Street Station
Meal Plan
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Sweet Potato Chicken Kale Skillet
Friday
Chicken with White Wine, Leek, Spinach and Arugula Pan Sauce
Saturday
Creamy Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Mozzarella
