A Luxe Moment from My Travels: Frugal, Of Course

I've been wanting to write about some of the more emotional aspects of my recent trip to middle and eastern Europe. Miss Em said Ummmmm. That's not really about frugality, is it? Good point. I do tend to wander. So I may have to start ANOTHER blog I won't have time to keep up with.

So: ON TOPIC. We were exceedingly frugal on this trip, perhaps because we kept detailed records of spending for the first time. In fact, I think we need to add a bit more luxe on the next trip. However, luxe moments do crop up, sometimes unexpectedly.

Moment 1 in BUDAPEST. We walked over the Danube from the Buda side to the Pest side. There, in all its renovated glory is one of the top architectural sights--and sites--in Budapest.The magnificent art nouveau Gresham Palace, now a hotel. Mr FS and I peered in, but felt a little timid and self-conscious, shabby even. Then we saw people even more shabby. They marched in and so did we. Our leaders were tourists, as we were. Then we noticed that the guests were just as shabby--typical tourist dress, with broken-in shoes. I realized that--as in the USA--hotel lobbies are public spaces. Public spaces have bathrooms. This is no big deal in my home country, but in Budapest--and elsewhere in the big world--bathrooms are hard to find and may require payment. Shocking to Americans!

Mr FS remembered that he had seen a website featuring public bathrooms in Budapest. Just in case you are IN the hotel right now, here are the provided directions:
In the Gresham Palace Hotel walk in the main entrance and then towards the reception desk. Turn left into the major hallway as you approach the desk and the toilets are on your right.

By golly, it worked! What a bathroom! All marble. Truly over the top paper towels. Mr FS asked me if the towels were really paper. We brought one home as a souvenir (is that ethical?--sorry, if it's a breach). We made a point of stopping by the bathroom whenever we were nearby--maybe thrice more. The sense of luxe never wore off.

Next luxe moment: previewing a celebrity, almost royal wedding.

Beans for Jeans

We came home and Miss Em went away the next morning. Before she left, she said "There's a reason there are two bags of red beans in the car. The food bank thrift store is letting you trade a bag of beans for a pair of jeans."

Beans for Jeans: what a great idea!

What I Bought in Europe: Souvenirs

Two large tubes of paprika paste: one regular, one hot.

It's not that I'm so virtuous. We had small suitcases, were traveling between cities, took subways and buses. Not to mention that we have an overstuffed house as it is.

If there's anything we want--haven't thought of it yet--we'll have to go back. Now there's an incentive.

On my first trip to Europe, I bought a skirt from Biba, a fisherman's sweater, a Spode plate for my mother, a pair of platform shoes, and that's what I can remember 30plus years on. Wish I still had the Biba skirt.

Has your travel-related buying changed?

Paris, Budapest, Vienna, Prague: TBYM

We returned lat night from our longest trip ever, a dream trip of cities, three heretofore unvisited, including the city of my mother's birth. How did we pay for it? Being mere teachers and all. Who haven't had a raise in at least five years? The short answer is always the same: FRUGALITY. The longer answer is TBYM.

TBYM. That means TRAVEL BELOW YOUR MEANS. The term is adopted from the familiar LBYM, a cornerstone of frugal living, early retirement, and the like: LIVE BELOW YOUR MEANS. So when I hear about the snazzy lodgings and luxe restaurant meals of other tourists of my acquaintance, I'm not jealous for more than a few minutes. We are trading a long vacation for a shorter--and perhaps more intense--one.

The rough stats:

Airfare and inter-city transport: a bit under $3000. OUCH. I do envy people who can rack up big frequent flyer numbers through business cards and the like. I am not one of those people.

Lodging: Thank you internet for AirBandB and similar. We paid between $38 (Budapest) and $70 (Vienna) per night. Our apartment in Paris was teeny and probably below the acceptability level of many people reading this. We thought it was fine. These little apartments had washers and--most important--kitchens, so

Food: OK, my kids say we should go out more. Still, I LIKE cooking and I loved figuring out how to use the unfamiliar ingredients of Eastern Europe. So we ate chez nous mostly, just like at home. The best thing we ate: some strawberries in Prague.

Yeah, the numbers added up, but not as much as you would think. We're going to start saving for next year!

Do you TBYM?

The Most Reasonably Priced Stuff in Paris

Best deal of all (educators only): one-year Louvre pass for 35 euros.

And, to pay for our plane ticket, we have been eating lots of

camembert
fromage blanc
jam
yogurt
couscous
cookies

How can this stuff be so cheap?

The Biggest Declutter: Happy and Sad

About a year ago, I wrote about a happy declutter: Frugal Son, back from a year working in France, unsure of the next step, got a job at a bilingual school in New Orleans. He discovered that he loves teaching. He also discovered that he loves New Orleans. The happy declutter: helping him furnish his tiny shared apartment with my--ahem--overstock.

But we had a sad event too. Mr FS's beloved father died, and our share of the neat and sentimental items overstuffed the house again. More than before. Little did we expect...

That, owing to the fact that Frugal Son was paying too much rent and wants to stay in New Orleans, we would be able to help him buy a house. Using part of our share of the house of Mr FS's parents. We wish they could see it.

Yesterday, we moved a lot of overstock to the new house, including many items belonging to his much-loved grandparents. A table that Oompa made. A tapestry that Nana made. I do think that memories inhere in objects and, for this reason, I am stubbornly materialistic.

Getting Rid of Stuff and Getting Your Money Back: Return Items Within the Rules

My late father, who studied market research, was interested in consumer behavior. And he loved stores that stood by their wares. So part of being a good consumer is to return things you don't want. I can't tell you how many items with tags I see at thrift stores. I enjoy getting such things, but think the purchaser should return--and maybe donate the full price to charity!

Miss Em and I just boxed up a few things and sent them back to our usual retail sites: Garnet Hill, LL Bean, and Nordstrom. We kept the good things and returned the rejects. We love that these shops have no-questions-asked returns and we are careful not to take advantage of their policies.

So far, we have donated a bunch to the Food Bank thrift, taken books to 2nd and Charles, sold 2 things on Tradesy, and returned mistakes to stores, But the biggest declutter....