Chasing the Fionist Dream

It’s summer time! Time to plan last minute vacations – or if you’re like us – you might be planning a vacation for off-season later this year, when prices will be much lower and attractions will be less packed. If you haven’t yet read our post on how to save thousands on your next vacation, read that first. We’ll wait.

Now that you’ve found your frugal destination and booked your inexpensive flights and accommodations, the next step is familiarizing yourself with the most common mistakes travelers make that push them (often far) out of budget. These mistakes can costs you hundreds or thousands of shekels and have the potential to ruin your vacation. So before you go, make sure you know how to avoid them.

1. Roaming charges. Your Israeli sim card WILL pick up the local signal and appear to work fine, but it will cost you an arm and a leg (or at least a shekel a minute) to do so. Many people only discover they made this mistake once they get their next cellphone bill or credit card statement. We bought the World 8 global sim card from the post office and are happy with it for our calling and data needs while abroad. If you only need data, and not minutes, there are several virtual sim cards such as Airalo that will be even cheaper. You also can generally find a pre-paid sim card at your destination. Make sure you understand how to activate your (virtual) sim card and make sure that each call or internet use is on that one. And since sim cards are so tiny and valuable, we recommend using the second sim card spot in your phone if you have one, so you don’t lose either one.
   
   
2. Unexpected medical expenses. Kupat Cholim (Israel’s universal healthcare program) does not work outside of Israel. For this reason it is imperative that you purchase travelers’ health insurance before you leave for your trip. A hospital stay while abroad can set you back (possibly tens or hundreds of) thousands, especially if you are in the US, where the price of healthcare is among the highest in the world.
   
   
3. Not reading the fine print on low cost flight tickets. We generally have had good experiences with low cost carriers (between the two of us, we’ve flown Wizz Air, Ryanair and EasyJet), but it’s crucial to learn how they work before booking with them. Learn what is covered by your ticket and what is not. Usually the basic ticket includes a randomly allocated seat and a regular sized backpack, and you must check in online between 48 and 3 hours before your flight. If you bring a bigger bag, or more bags, or you forgot to check in, you will be fined upwards of 50 euro per person per leg. Read your airline’s rules carefully and abide by them.
   
   
4. Being hungry or thirsty in the airport or on your flight. Airports are known for charging double to three times the price for food and beverages, since they know they have a captive audience. Low cost flights will charge you a pretty penny for any food or beverage on board, even water. And while regular carriers usually do provide food, you might not like it, there might not be enough of it, or it might not meet your dietary needs (despite having ordered a special meal in advance). Always travel with enough food and water (usually you can refill water bottles in the airport) for the duration of your journey.
   
   
5. Not having a budget. Many people jet off on a vacation without knowing how much they expect to spend. Use our vacation planning tool to avoid YOLOing yourself into debt.
   
   
6. Treating the local currency like monopoly money. It doesn’t look like the money you are used to and calculating the conversion for every price you see into your home currency can be a pain. For these two reasons, it’s really easy to overspend while abroad. While it’s fine to enjoy some luxuries on your trip (which you should have budgeted for), make sure to keep track of your spending. Bonus points for knowing what conversion charges your credit card has and finding the best way to get local currency.
   
   
7. Taking a loan to cover a vacation. One of Israel’s leading banks currently has an ad running on buses offering a loan of up to 30,000 ILS to cover your summer vacation. We hate this ad because not only is it encouraging people to spend money they don’t have, they will end up paying interest on top of it and spend even more. Never borrow money for a vacation. Create a trip slush fund instead. Going on the trip will be a wonderful reward for accomplishing your goal.
   
   
8. Getting pickpocketed or scammed. When booking your Airbnb (or equivalent), make sure that the apartment you choose belongs to a superhost and has plenty of good reviews. Never carry your wallet, phone or passport in your back pocket or in the outermost pocket of your backpack, and wear your backpack on both shoulders. While nerdy, those under your clothes fanny packs are a great idea too.
   
   
9. Getting fined. Make sure you understand local driving and parking laws before renting a car in a foreign country. If you choose to get around by public transportation, make sure you understand how to buy and validate a ticket. Just like in Israel, you may find yourself paying tens or hundreds of times the price of a public transportation ticket because you didn’t understand how they worked.
   
   
10. Frying your precious electronic device(s) or not being able to charge them. Different countries may use different shaped plugs and different voltages. And did you know that Israel’s three-prong plug shape only exists in Israel? Make sure to look up the voltage and plug shape at your destination country and make sure to bring converters and/or adapters if you need them.

While we all do our best to avoid making mistakes, it is important to remember that mistakes happen anyway and things don’t always play out as planned. Add to that the different culture, laws, currency and language in your destination country, so don’t let a little glitch in your plans get you down. We recommend that you expect to unexpectedly overspend on SOMETHING, and add a nice miscellaneous buffer into your budget.

Nesiya tova and bon voyage! We can’t wait to hear all about your trip.

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