Olá from Portugal!

Spending recap, budget travel edition

Hello (a little delayed today!) from a co-working space in Lagos, Portugal.

Yes, the rumors are true, this in-debt area woman is spending August abroad – how original. For the next four weeks, I’ll be in Portugal, then Paris and then Tel Aviv, staying either with friends, family or in affordable hostels, working, sitting in the sun, eating various types of bread product and generally attempting to spend as little money as possible

GM Lisbon I love you!

I’ll still share expense and spending breakdowns here as usual, as well as budget tips and recommendations I discover in my travels. I’ve been putting money away specifically for this purpose for about a year, and yet I still feel somewhat anxious about spending it, especially during a particularly slow freelance period. 

But I’m here, I’m aware of the money I do (and don’t!) have, and am going to share it all honestly, the good and the bad, with you. 

Speaking of bad – this week I spent $50 on a bad airport martini and a “flatbread” which was just a piece of bread with vegetables haphazardly thrown on top, a decision I blame on flight anxiety and the fact that I cannot be trusted in an airport. 

I promise, things get more fiscally creative from there. 

Here’s a look at where I’m at as of July 31 with my discretionary budget for the month, which I track using Tiller: