Airplane Roulette & Tips to travel more for less

A few days ago, the company I work for announced a raise in wages. I got text messages and emails from colleagues all day long. The excitement couldn't be contained. You would have thought we all had won the lottery, but really my brother still worries about how I will make rent at the end of the month and the first year I started flying, after opening my W2 to fax it to me, he asked me if I needed to borrow some money. Sweet, huh?

However, I have been doing just fine. I am far from being rich, but I haven't needed anyone to help me and I have been to Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Salvador, Korea, China, Japan, Australia, Iceland, Thailand, Indonesia and many more places, and this list does not even include cities I have flown to for work such as beautiful Prague or breathtaking Venice. I know what you are thinking - I barely pay for my tickets so that's why I can afford it. But SURELY, you make more money than I do and I still have to pay for my accommodations, my food and drink expenses, and all the activities I want to experience. So don't use that as an excuse: book a flight and go.

The money you would be spending on flights is money I don't even have to begin with. For everything else, we are in the same boat. I just might get a business seat while you are stuck in coach :-)

So here are a few simple tips to make the other expenses go down. Some might seem unimportant to you, but before dismissing them, just remember all the countries on your bucket-list that you are still just dreaming of, meanwhile I have already been there.

- Never take taxis, always public transportations. I don't care if you think you are too exhausted to last another hour. You are not. It will save you major $$.

- Never go to all inclusive hotels. Not only do they always overcharge, it is usually poor quality.

- Book your accommodations last minute. If possible, wait until you land, and once you are in the city, find a cafe with wifi and start browsing airbnb, hotels.com and booking.com. Not only will you find good deals, you can ask locals for advice about neighborhood, and might just stumble into someone who is renting their cousin's apartment for super cheap with a crazy view of the Blue Mosque. You just never know. It happened to my friend Samantha and I in Istanbul.

- If possible, don't have your heart set on a destination. Play Airplane Roulette.

Heineken Departure Roulette

Perhaps your best vacation to come is a destination that wasn't even on your bucket-list with a person you didn't even really know. Deidre and I had planned for a stop in Mozambique after South Africa, but landed in Mauritius instead ... Trust me, we don't regret it

-:) And if you dont't trust me, check out my Mauritius pictures below.
PS: Deidre and I didn't even know each other when we "planned" this trip