I used to be one of those people who believed that travel was not within my means. When I would see people online having amazing experiences and getaways, I told myself that it wasn’t possible for us. Then, I would head to the mall or Target and drown my sorrows with $100 worth of random crap I didn’t need. What I didn’t realize is that if I were to just save that $100 each month, I could have started affording more getaways. However, applying a minimalist mindset to travel was also crucial. In previous years I insisted on buying new clothes before we traveled, picking up souvenirs at each destination, all that jazz. Now that I’ve painted a clearer picture of what I want when I travel (new experiences), I spend way less and experience way more. Here’s how New York went down…on a budget…
After we got back from our second trip to Glacier National Park with our kids, I was flooded with questions about what we did, where we were and how to navigate planning this kind of trip with kids in tow. So, I decided to pull out all the stops and share with you how we make big trips like this happen and share a few of my go-to ideas for what to do in Glacier…on a budget…with kids! That means kid friendly hike ideas, low cost adventures and simple plans that won’t turn everyone against each other.
I grew up visiting Minnesota’s North Shore, but it wasn’t until I had kids of my own that I learned to really appreciate just how much there is to enjoy and explore up north. A girlfriend of mine recently asked for advice on things to do in the Duluth area for a 3 day weekend with little kids, so naturally, I thought I’d whip together a blog post with all of my best tips. Below is a basic itinerary for a 3 day family vacation in Duluth. If you want to do as little planning as possible and still maximize your time, this should do the trick!
If you’ve been hanging around here for a while, you know that at one point our family was drowning financially. We were living in a house that we couldn’t afford, had medical bills piling up and had totally maxed credit cards. For a while, while we worked to dig ourselves out of debt I didn’t allow myself to have any fun or do any travel. This left me feeling defeated, depressed and kind of made me forget what living was actually all about. Finally, I decided it was time to make small changes wherever I could to make travel a little more accessible for me and my family. If you have found yourself in a similar bind, here are my 5 biggest recommendations for living a little more wanderlust even if you are short on funds.
As a homeschool family, we decided to kick-start our 2020-2021 homeschool year by taking a 2 week, cross-country family road trip from Minnesota to Washington and back. For this particular trip, our must-see location was Glacier National Park! We planned 4 days to spend in Glacier and honestly feel like we could have spent more. Because we were going to be on the road for a full 2 weeks, we wanted to make Glacier National Park as fun and budget-friendly as possible.
I think there is oftentimes this misconception that you don’t get to be an “outdoorsy” person while also caring about your appearance. If I may, I would like to request that this silly belief be put to an end right now. Over the years, I have definitely learned to simplify my makeup routine into a more minimalist style, and I definitely simplify it even more before hiking or backpacking. I’m not suggesting we all haul along a celebrity-sized makeup kit on our hiking adventures. What I am saying is that there are some sneaky ways to keep up appearances while spending most of your time in nature. Here is a look into some of the best products and hacks for applying minimal makeup when camping or hiking — and don’t worry, it won’t take up much room in your backpack!