Power of Vision Boards - What to put on a vision board?

My friend Billy invited me over to his house to work on some of my college assignments.  When I got there, I saw a poster board collage with impressive pictures on it. There was a million-dollar check written out to himself, a picture of a bodybuilder, a sweet mansion, a Corvette Stingray, and a bunch of goals written out.  I had read about vision boards, but I had never seen one in action. A vision board is a collage of your dreams and goals, a visual reminder of what you want to accomplish. This can be used in conjunction with your visualization exercises, but it's not one over the other.  Because they both stimulate different parts of your brain. A vision board is a tool used to help clarify, concentrate, and maintain focus on your specific life goals. I recommend getting a piece of corkboard, cardboard, or any kind of poster board, and sticking your images to it.  The images you pick should coincide with your goals, so they are visually reminding you of what you want to accomplish in your life.  

    Your brain learns through all of your senses; sight (vision), tactile (somatosensation), hearing (audition), smell (olfaction), taste (gustation), temperature (thermoception), kinesthetic sense (proprioception), pain (nociception), balance (equilibrioception), vibration (mechanoreception), and various internal stimuli (e.g. the different chemoreceptors for detecting salt and carbon dioxide).  These senses are what feed your brain and teach everything that it knows. So if you want to learn something quickly, whether it be the strategies in this book or preparing for a chemistry exam, the best way is trying to use as many of your senses as possible.  

    When I was in college, I had up to sixteen classes a semester, so I had to learn information really quickly and thoroughly.  I would sit in a room, 1. Look at my notes (sight), 2. Read them out loud as I read them (hearing and kinesthetic) because my vocal cords were vibrating producing the sounds, 3. Stand and pace (kinesthetic sense, balance, vibration), 4. As I was saying everything out loud, I would write everything on the chalkboard in the empty classrooms that I used to find for studying (sight, tactile, auditory and kinesthetic sense).

    I later learned through my practice and training in sensory integration and neurology, that these simple exercises were the reason I was able to take so many classes at once and retain the information because I took a multisensory approach to learning.  If your goal is to become successful and you're training yourself for success, then a vision board should be part of your repertoire of hacks to get you to the next level.

For more success tips, check out my latest Amazon book.

How to Become Rich and Successful. The Secret of Success and the Habits of Successful People.: Entrepreneurship and Developing Entrepreneur Characteristics

Importance of social interaction in society - Types of social interaction

Having solid social interaction helps promote overall health and keep you happy.  People with strong social support have fewer health problems including depression, high blood pressure, obesity, and tend to live longer than their friends with fewer connections.

    Some of the more apparent benefits of having friends include: increasing your self-confidence and self-worth, reduced stress, helping you avoid unhealthy lifestyles such as drugs, drinking too much, and not exercising, increased sense of purpose and belonging.  It helps coping with problems that come up, such as break-ups, illness, death of a loved one, work problems, and even help you deal with loneliness.  

    As I have matured, I've noticed the number of friends I have dropped as they started prioritizing their families and work.  Some have moved away and others, like myself, have changed, and we no longer have the same things in common. What I've found is that it takes more work to make new friends and to keep them.  If you don't have a history with someone, you can't think back and reference everyday experiences that would hold your friendship together. What ends up happening is that your new acquaintances never become friends, unless you make an effort to include them in your personal life and form lasting bonds. 

    One option I recommend is using the Meetup application to meet new people with similar interests.  As you sign up, the app will ask you what your interests are and recommend social groups you can join that are in line with your interests.  This has been an excellent opportunity to meet new people, find support, learn about new things, pursue new ventures, and simply break up the routine and get out of your comfort zone.

   No matter how busy you might get, take time to develop social interaction and maintain good friendships.  When possible, make the worthwhile investment to foster new ones, because the enjoyment and comfort friendships provide will enrich your life.  Also, remember that everything you learn is going to come from someone around you. Therefore creativity comes from human interaction.

For more success tips, check out my latest Amazon book.

How to Become Rich and Successful. The Secret of Success and the Habits of Successful People.: Entrepreneurship and Developing Entrepreneur Characteristics

Visualization Techniques - Visualizing your success

It's not how much you know; it's how you approach things.  Think about Olympic sprinters, tenths of a second separates them.  But that makes the difference between being world-famous and no one ever knowing your name.  All things being equal, these folks are in good shape and train as hard as they can. But sometimes it's just a few simple techniques that someone taught them that separates them and makes them a champion.  If you think about it, there's no difference between you, Barack Obama, Madonna, Bill Gates, etc. We are all the same except for the choices we make in life and our approach to life that sets us apart. The more you train your mind, the better the decisions you will make, and the better the experience you will live.

    The reticular activating system (RAS) is located at the base of the brainstem and is responsible for alertness, consciousness, and serves as a filter for information entering and not entering your brain.  You and other people in your life program the RAS, and it helps you to react and respond to situations based on your filters. For example, when you look at your Facebook page, and you see ads on the sides, pictures, and loads of different information coming at you at the same time.  Most of what you see, you're going to ignore, except for certain items. Your RAS picks what you'll be responding to and how you'll respond to it. So, if you keep telling yourself your boss doesn't like you, then your RAS is going to look for experiences that support that idea and allow those ideas into your brain so it reinforces what you're thinking.  This is why negative self-talk is so self-destructive and why being around negative people can be damaging to you. So your thoughts will form negative or positive confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is the habit to search for, favor, recall, and interpret information in a way that confirms one's preexisting ideas or beliefs. It is a cognitive bias and allows you to taint the way you understand things with your thoughts, instead of being open-minded and looking at new things differently.  This is why you need to reprogram your RAS to see success and what you need to see to achieve your goals. Once you start reprogramming, you'll begin to see the opportunity, evidence, coincidences, and things that support the vision of your goals. What you choose to focus on, will become your reality.  

    Once you write down your daily, weekly, and yearly goals, take thirty seconds once a day in the morning to visualize achieving your goals.  Close your eyes and see yourself smiling, confident, feeling proud, happy, taking better care of yourself, leaving bad relationships, and achieving the goals on your list one by one.  When you do these visualization exercises each morning, your mind will also show you other possibilities for reaching the goal. This will help you uncover other ideas for achieving the goals you hadn't thought about.  Remember your brain doesn't know the difference between what is real and isn't real, so if you're thinking good things, your mind is going to be programmed for good things, and what you're going to be able to see in your life is the opportunity.  The more you visualize and think about your goals, the more you'll be able to improve and actually do it. Because you start believing it, you become confident about doing it, and then you'll start doing it. The more you reprogram with positive information, the more you'll help clean out the garbage and negative self-talk in your brain as well.  

    The Olympics are the greatest human show on Earth and one of my favorite events to indulge in.  The athletes represent the apex of human execution, discipline, tenacity, dedication, and motivation, all the traits that we aspire to master in our lives.  Among the many heroes, Lindsey Vonn and Michael Phelps, two of the greatest Olympians of all time, used to stand before their races moving their bodies as if they were already racing, focused, and visualizing their victories.  This ritualistic behavior is common amongst world-class athletes in many sports. The athletes set goals, visualize them, and execute. Follow the methods of world-class thinkers, athletes, musicians or whatever you aspire to be, and make it part of your daily training.  

Visualization Techniques   

    Nighttime routine, play hypnosis music in your bedroom while you sleep.  This will help retrain your subconscious mind with success-oriented thoughts.  YouTube has hundreds of low frequency and restful hypnosis music recordings. Some of the recordings last eight hours, so they match your sleep time.  The music programs you for health, happiness, wealth, success, and much more. I find that, when I listen to these, I go into a deeper sleep and feel much better the following day.  I also play music from YouTube for increasing vibrational frequency during the day. I play this music in the background while I work. It's very soft like elevator music, but it has subliminal sounds mixed in to help stimulate mental clarity and focus.

    Morning routine, train your mind with positive statements, also known as positive affirmations.  Make a list of affirmations to use daily such as “I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and doggone it, people like me;” or, “I am smart, I am healthy, I am skinny, I am successful, I am motivated, I am attractive,”  Make a list and repeat them in front of the mirror every morning. This can help you change and overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts. These affirmations can also help reprogram your RAS; when you repeat them often, they build up and inspire your subconscious mind which can help you overcome internal barriers and self-doubt.  Overcoming these barriers kicks off the law of attraction which is the ability to attract into our lives whatever we are focusing on. This reprogramming will cause a manifestation into a physical reality, the things that you are focusing in on, which means, whatever you train yourself to believe in, you can bring into a reality.  

    Sometimes success may be unlikely, but you can still succeed because you believed you could. You made it happen, when the possibility may not have existed. So your focused attention created the outcome you wanted.

For more entrepreneurship habits, check out my latest Amazon book.

How to Become Rich and Successful. The Secret of Success and the Habits of Successful People.: Entrepreneurship and Developing Entrepreneur Characteristics

Meditation Benefits - How to meditate | Successful People Habits

MEDITATION BENEFITS & HOW TO MEDITATE

Think of your body as a super-fast computer that is processing tons of data throughout the day.  Now imagine you put that computer in a hot room, spill a glass of water on it, or it slips out of your hand and hits the floor.  Any of one of these mishaps could slow the performance of the computer or damage it, so you'd try to avoid these issues as much as possible.  People have a tendency to build up stress in their body and mind, and meditation is ideal for balancing the body systems. The mind and body can be primed to function better helping to ease chronic pain, anxiety, stress, improve heart health, resolve pregnancy problems, boost mood and immunity.  

    Before you start your meditation, do 5-10 minutes of deep breathing. 

1. Place one hand on your belly button, relax your stomach muscles, and close your eyes.


2. Inhale through your nose slowly, and push your abdomen out, so air will reach the bottom of your lungs.  You’ll feel your stomach pushing out against your hand.


3. Keep inhaling till you can’t push your stomach out any further and you feel your collar bones rise.


4. Hold your breath for a moment, then exhale out your nose.


5. At the end of the exhalation, pull your belly button toward your spine, pushing out all of the remaining air in your lungs.

    A morning breathing exercise is one of the easiest and effective ways to improve your health and well-being.  It takes practice, and over time, it will become an essential part of your day and you will discover the meditation benefits yourself.

    After your breathing exercises, start your meditation.  Take 1-5 minutes in the morning and before you go to sleep to clear your mind and allow for more information to flow in.  If you have a particular religious belief, you can integrate that into your meditation and ask for guidance for whatever you're dealing with.

For more entrepreneurship habits, check out my latest Amazon book.

How to Become Rich and Successful. The Secret of Success and the Habits of Successful People.: Entrepreneurship and Developing Entrepreneur Characteristics

TOP 10 travel destinations & what to do

The Ten Coolest Cities to Visit

1. Paris, France


2. Los Angeles, USA


3. New York City, USA


4. Mexico City, Mexico


5. Bangkok, Thailand


6. Tokyo, Japan


7. Florence, Italy


8. Rome, Italy


9. Marrakesh, Morocco


10. Hong Kong, China

 

The Top Ten Most Interesting Museums in the World

1. The Louvre, Paris, France


2. The Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC, USA


3. The Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt


4. The British Museum, London, England


5. Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, Poland


6. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, USA


7. Museo Nacional Del Prado, Madrid, Spain


8. The Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, Florida, USA


9. The Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, USA


10. The War Museum Korea, Seoul, Korea

 

The Ten Coolest Natural Experiences to See in the World

1. Bioluminescent Bay, Vieques, Puerto Rico


2. Catatumbo Lightning, Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela


3. Hearing the Indri Lemur in Madagascar


4. Seeing lava from Kilauea’s eruption flowing faster than you can run, Hawaii, USA


5. Northern Lights, Iceland


6. Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina


7. Watching Sea Turtles at Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica


8. Seeing the most massive trees in the world Sequoia National Park, California, USA


9. Listening to the sounds of the forest while taking a canoe ride down the Amazon River, Brazil


10. Watching fireflies, The Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, USA

 

The Ten Coolest Activities to Do in the World

1. Taking an inner tube ride down the Mekong River, Vang Vieng, Laos


2. Taking a plane ride around Mount Everest, Kathmandu, Nepal


3. Snorkeling in the Red Sea, Dahab, Egypt


4. Taking a class with the Dalai Lama, ‎McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala, India


5. Doing things backward at the Equator, Ciudad Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador


6. Seeing the Big Five in Kruger National Park, South Africa


7. Going to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Korea


8. Shark cage diving, Cape Town, South Africa


9. Driving the Golden Circle, Iceland


10. The Mystery Spot, Santa Cruz, California,  USA

 

The Ten Coolest Ancient Wonders

1. The Pyramids of Giza, Egypt


2. Bagan, Myanmar


3. Angkor Wat, Cambodia


4. Borobudur, Indonesia


5. Teotihuacán, Mexico City


6. The Colosseum and the Forum, Rome, Italy


7. Nazca Lines, Peru


8. Tiger's Nest Monastery, Bhutan


9. Stonehenge, Salisbury, England


10. Tulum, Mexico

Ten Habits of a Professional Traveler

1. Don’t make assumptions


2. Be cool


3. Don’t take things personally


4. Be honest


5. Try your best


6. Be flexible


7. Enjoy


8. Be careful with your words


9. Plan, be prepared


10. Be skeptical, but learn to listen before you judge

 

Top Ten Places to Visit That Have a High Concentration of Cool Stuff to Do

1. New York, New York


2. Paris, France


3. Cairo, Egypt


4. Rome, Italy


5. Israel


6. California


7. Florida


8. Puerto Rico


9. Madagascar


10. Iceland

 

Top Ten Places to Eat a Variety of Good Street Food

1. Bangkok street food vendors


2. Hong Kong street food vendors


3. Mexico City street food vendors


4. Los Angeles food truck vendors


5. Marrakech, Morocco, street food vendors


6. Istanbul, Turkey, street food vendors


7. New York, NY street food vendors


8. Saigon, Vietnam street food vendors


9. Paris, France


10. Rome, Italy

 

Top Ten Places to Buy Interesting Souvenirs

1. Bangkok, Thailand,


2. Tijuana, Mexico


3. New Delhi, India


4. Hollywood, California


5. Marrakech, Morocco


6. Florence, Italy


7. West Bank, Palestine


8. Beijing, China


9. Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania


10. Cairo, Egypt

 

Top Ten Road Trips in the World

1. The Pacific Coast Highway, California, USA


2. Route 66, multiple states, USA


3. The Ring Road, Iceland


4. Amalfi Coast, Italy


5. The Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland


6. North Coast 500, Scotland


7. The Mexican Pacific Coast from Mazatlan to Chiapas, Mexico


8. The Baja California Highway from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico


9. Cancun to Panama, Mexico, and Central America


10. Orlando to Key West, Florida, USA

 

Top Ten Dance Destinations 

1. Havana, Cuba


2. Cali, Colombia


3. Las Vegas, Nevada


4. New York, New York


5. Berlin, Germany


6. Jakarta, Indonesia


7. Los Angeles, California


8. Miami, Florida


9. Bangkok, Thailand


10. Ibiza, Spain

These were my top 10 travel destinations and things to do while traveling. Please share in the comments your favorite top 10 travel destinations.

For more travel tips, check out my latest Amazon book.

How to Travel the World and Live with No Regrets.: Learn How to Travel for Free, Find Cheap Places to Travel, and Discover Life-Changing Travel Destinations. (Cheap Flights Book 1)

Entrepreneurship Development - Live below your means

 Live below your means and try to figure out ways that you can cover your living expenses with extra income so that you can invest all your primary salary.  A minimalist lifestyle is much more rewarding than the standard consumer lifestyle. The more you can save, the more you fund investments and take advantage of compound interest to grow your investments.  

    This style of living is often referred to as the Spartan lifestyle.  Spartans were known for living a minimalist, simple, and frugal lifestyle.  They didn't spend money wastefully, ate only what they needed, and kept their bodies fit.  Living a Spartan lifestyle will teach you humility and appreciation for simple things. 

    My father always chose to live a Spartan lifestyle.  When we were kids, and he would get behind on his bills, he would sell his car and walk six miles round trip to work for months.  When he managed to save enough for another used car, he would buy one. Otherwise, he walked to work or hitched rides, and in Los Angeles that was unusual. 

    Humble people tend to be better leaders because they are better able to focus on the needs of others versus only focusing on their own needs.  For this reason, they tend to be better liked, which helps them to be more effective in their leadership roles. Humble people have a low sense of entitlement, so they don't think they are owed anything.  This leads to a less prejudiced view of the world and increased tolerance of people who are different from them. Humble people tend to be more helpful, generous, have better relationships, and be team-oriented versus egotistical people.      

    My maternal grandfather was a successful gynecologist here in Los Angeles, and my grandmother was paid well for working at a meatpacking startup.  Thanks to their hard work, my mom had a very privileged childhood with nannies, new Cadillacs every year, and abundance all around her. She had a childhood full of wealth and comfort.  

    As a kid, I can remember both of my parents hustling to keep the household going.  My older brother Bobby and I used to drink a gallon of milk each at dinner time and milk throughout the day.  We even had individual 50-ounce Big Gulp cups from 7-Eleven that we used for drinking milk. One day, I found my mom in the kitchen diluting the gallons of milk with half water, because she didn't have enough money to buy milk for us that week.  I remember the sad look on her face as she explained what she was doing and why.  

    Despite her embarrassment, I had a sense of admiration for her perseverance and ingenuity solving the issues at hand.  This taught me to take the initiative to problem-solving, rather than sitting on my hands. This experience, amongst many others, reminded me that I didn't want to live a life of struggle; but that when and if I ever did, there would be no shame in it.  No matter who you are or aren't, be humble and remember you are the same as other people. Being humble, helps you stay grounded. When a challenge arises, it'll be easier for you to do what's necessary to be successful instead of having to fight yourself and your ego over whether or not you can engage in or complete activities that others may see as being beneath them.  Humility allows for continuous learning.

 

For more entrepreneurship tips, check out my latest Amazon book.

How to Become Rich and Successful. The Secret of Success and the Habits of Successful People.: Entrepreneurship and Developing Entrepreneur Characteristics

 

Types of transportation when traveling

Types of transportation vary from country to country, but the usual methods are generally available: cars, buses, trains, planes.  Subways operate the same everywhere in the world.

   Subways are a fast way to get the outlay of a new city.  Most subways also offer free maps that you can use to guide you around the city, helping you avoid traffic, and the need to ask for directions. In Europe and most other countries, this is standard practice. However, in North America, it is a skill one must develop as the culture there is more car-oriented.

    By using subway stops as reference points, you can immediately familiarize yourself with a new city.  Use these landmarks as points of reference as you look for other locations in the city. This will help you keep track of where you are as you walk around the city. 

Freighter Travel

    This is around $139 per day, which includes room, meals, and transportation.

Container ships allow limited space for SLF (self-loading freight). Meals are shared with the crew, and the food is usually simple.  Otherwise, you are left to care for yourself. The ports are generally not close to the desirable places, so you’ll have to make your own arrangements to go sightseeing.

    Some of the places you visit on freight ships don't have access by plane.  One of the best places to use freighter travel is in the Pacific. There is an awesome trip you can take to all of French Polynesia or through all of the Marquesa Islands for 6 weeks.  Without Freighter ships, it would cost tens of thousands of dollars to see these islands. These particular trips can be booked up to the day of departure. 

    Other Pacific routes can be booked up to one year in advance.  Check out TravlTips.com and CruisePeople.co.uk. For freight travel to New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific, check FreighterTravel.co.nz.

 

Trains

    It used to take six months to get from the midwest to California by wagon train, and one out of every ten passengers died.  Once the transcontinental railroad was completed, a person could travel from New York to California in comfort and safety in under a week.

    Trains are one of the most comfortable and environmentally friendly ways to travel.  Trains are much safer and more comfortable than a car or a bus, and you get to see natural environments.  Wherever there is a road, there is environmental degradation. Trains, on the other hand, take the path of least resistance through mountains and areas that would not be safe for a car or bus.  Therefore these spaces tend to have the best scenery and have the best-preserved natural landscape. Trains offer you a continually changing environment outside your window with time to sit back and enjoy the view or create your own activities.

    When you drive long distances on a highway, you're sure to see billboards and businesses catering to the needs of drivers.  When you're on a train, you'll see neither as the trains are self-contained and there aren't enough travelers to warrant the marketing investment in these routes. 

    Flying is convenient for crossing over steep terrain, faster, creates a lot of pollution, but you miss out on all the sites below.  A train is much slower and environmentally friendly, but you're going to have an authentic experience. Keep in mind that a train is part of the travel experience, while the plane is the fastest way to get somewhere.  

    Trains offer two types of travel coach (seat) or sleeping car (includes a seat that converts to a bed).  Some trains also offer a business class option with more luxuries. It is best to plan out-train trips in advance as seats do fill up, especially sleeper cars and even more during the summer.  Amtrak also offers travel packages, that save on buying a bundle that includes train fare, hotel, and tours. 

    If you book a trip in coach the train cars are air-conditioned, so pack a blanket and an inflatable pillow.  Neither are provided, although they can be for sale on trains they can be expensive and not always available.

    Some trains allow for bicycle storage for an extra fee.  Check with the train company ahead of time, as some trains only allow bikes on local trains. 

    Seats in the middle of the train as well as on the second floor will be quieter, smoother, and have the best view.

    If you book a trip and there are no sleepers available, there are still two ways you can get a sleeper car last minute.  The first is to board the train and immediately ask the conductor if there are any vacancies available. If someone did not make their reservation, you could buy the available sleeper car vacancy.  The second is to call Amtrak 1-800-USA-RAIL at 3:30 AM eastern time and ask for vacancies. At 3:15 AM the computers erase all of the reservations that people have made and not confirmed. This opens up seats in every category and will give you the first opportunity to buy them as they become available.

    Another option is to combine a plane and a train trip on the same journey.  For example, you could fly to New York from Los Angeles and ride the train back to Los Angeles.  This would save you some time, but still, allow you to see the entire train route.

    Individual ticket prices vary according to how flexible you want the ticket to be.  The further in advance and the more rigid the time frames, the lower the cost. Typically when you buy tickets on short notice and with fixed travel dates, that’s going to cost you more.

    Rail passes in Europe, USA, and other places are more economical and give you more flexibility.  You can buy a rail pass that comes with multiple trips to be used within a set amount of time in a predetermined region.  For example, in the USA Amtrak sells passes as indicated below;

 

Amtrak Passes	California Pass 21 Days, 7 Segments	National Pass 15 Days, 8 Segments	National Pass 30 Days,12 Segments	National Pass 45 Days, 18 Segments
Adult 16+	$159.00	$459.00	$689.00	$899.00
Youth 13-15		$459.00	$689.00	$899.00
Child 2-12	$79.50	$229.50	$344.50	$449.50

 

Rental Cars

    If you're flying somewhere or taking a train and the local transportation will only get you so far, consider renting a car to increase your possibilities.  Renting a car will allow you to plan your own trip, bypass things you don’t like, and spend more time soaking in experiences that you’re enjoying. Rental cars are a good option for hard to get to places and for saving wear and tear on your own vehicle.

    Rental cars can be more cost-effective if you’re traveling in a group or traveling in a country with limited travel options.

    I looked up an African Safari in Kruger National Park, South Africa, and the best price I could find was $1,200 for 6 days per person.  I rented a car for $25 a day ($750 for the month), paid $25 a day per person for the entrance fee, and drove the park ourselves. There were three of us on the trip so we would have spent $3600 for 6 days of travel instead we paid $800 for all us or $266 each.  On this trip, we traveled through 12 countries on our own, which saved us over $35,000 in six weeks, off the lowest priced tours we could find.

In some cases, the more difficult the travel challenge, the more rewarding it is to achieve. Driving and hitchhiking to Cancún was a crazy life-experience; flying there would have just been a ‘trip.’

 

Cruise Ships

    Avoid boarding early, or you’ll have to wait in more lines and for extended periods of time.

Avoid parking at the port that is usually the most expensive parking.  At least one of the nearby hotels or parking lots will have discounted rates for cruisers.

Cruise ships do have their own jails, in case someone gets out of line.

Casino payouts on cruise ships are the worst of any casino anywhere.  However the poker tables are full of rookies, so if you’re a poker player, it’s a great place to clean up.

Baggage limitations are the same as planes and trains 2 bags per person with a 50 lb limit.  As long as you're reasonable, there are no constraints on liquids.

Most of the stuff for sale in the cruise ship stores go on sale at the end of the cruise.

When you arrived in port walk a couple of blocks to avoid the highest price transportation.

Be extra clean on a cruise and practice good hand hygiene as a virus such as the Norovirus spread quickly.

Large ships have a morgue in case someone dies.

Larger cruise ships will offer private in-room babysitting, while you go out to party.

When you arrive on the cruise, ask how much for an upgrade, and sometimes you can get a good deal.  If someone the better rooms haven't sold.

Cruise ship prices are the same on every website.

It's cheaper to cruise when kids are back in school.

Turn your phone on airplane mode on the ship, or you’ll get charged high roaming charges.

Interior cabins are usually the lowest priced.

Just like on airlines, authorities check passenger lists and arrest you when you arrive back in port.

For people that get seasick.  Cabins in the lower and middle of the ship have less movement.

If you're booking a flight to catch your cruise, arrive the day before for the best airfare.

To avoid long lines, pay your cruise account late at night or early in the morning.

Buy cruise gift cards at a supermarket to get the highest amount of rewards then pay off your cruise with those gift cards.

Repositioning cruises typically give you the best deals.

For more travel tips, check out my latest Amazon book.

How to Travel the World and Live with No Regrets.: Learn How to Travel for Free, Find Cheap Places to Travel, and Discover Life-Changing Travel Destinations. (Cheap Flights Book 1)

Why self education can make you a fortune

SELF EDUCATION

Education can lead to success, but it definitely doesn't always mean you have to go to school to be educated.  Nor do you necessarily have to go to school to be wildly successful. You can use self education. In fact, when I visit big cities, I notice that many of the buildings are named after famous and successful people; university campuses, museums, parks, libraries, and other famous structures are mostly named after people who don’t always have extensive education.  That's because most highly educated people are not wealthy, they are middle class. The wealthiest people in the world are usually people who saw problems and found solutions to those problems, people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Dell, Larry Ellison, Ted Turner, Kim Kardashian, David Geffen, Paul Allen, Henry Ford, Russell Simmons, and thousands more.

    Successful people know there is a lot to learn, and learning is infinite, so they invest in self-learning.  Regular people think they know it all or don’t think they have to learn anything new. Successful people spend around $10,000 a year in books, seminars, and other forms of self-teaching, while regular people spend around $10 a year.  Learning is not just memorizing facts for a test the next day, it’s about learning things that will make you more successful. Formal education will earn you a living, while self education will make you wealthy. I recommend investing in both, so you have more choices.

    I was talking to my friend Justin, and he was lamenting that he had invested two years of studying and paying for a degree, and then only practiced as a therapist for one year before going into real estate.  Actually, 40% of new graduates don’t work in the field that they studied. What Justin was not considering was the benefits of the scaffolding effect. When a large building is being built it must be built level by level starting with the foundation.  You can’t skip to the next level until the one below it is built or the building can become unstable and collapse.         

    Although Justin was no longer working as a therapist, he had built his intellectual foundation with the school.  Having the degree under his name allowed him to get a loan from the bank to buy his property. When you’re a new graduate and don’t have a work history, banks will accept a college degree instead of showing a steady work history.  They do this because statistically, your expected income will be higher when you have a college degree. Therefore you are lower risk, and it’ll be easier for you to qualify for loans. Once he got his building, he started remodeling and started a successful short term rental business that replaced the income from his job and allowed him to not have to work as a therapist anymore.  This gave him the opportunity to start his own multimedia marketing business.

As you can see everything scaffolded on top of the next step: 1. Degree, 2. Property, 3. Short term rental business, 4. Multimedia marketing company. So even though Justin may never work as a therapist again, it was worth the investment, because it allowed him to build his foundation and scaffold other businesses on top of that one.  His foundation will always be the degree that he obtained to get him started.

    He may have been able to come to the same end through a different route.  But the degree definitely helped him bypass the years of work experience banks want you to have in order to qualify for a loan.  When you have a college degree, banks will lend you money based on projected income, rather than the traditional looking back and seeing what you’ve already accomplished.

    The same can be said for anyone who goes to college.  Even if you don’t practice what you studied, it doesn’t mean it was a mistake.  The study gave you an intellectual base to build upon and allowed you to scaffold upwards to other fields.  Learning new ideas and concepts will never be a drag on your career, but rather a boost.

    Make learning a habit; most successful people in the world read about one book a week on average.  Set a personal goal for yourself to read a set number of books each month. Besides being a wise person, being financially literate will give you more options, and allow you to see things uniquely.  It takes wisdom to recognize wisdom. This is what sparks innovation, creates big ideas, builds new companies, helps you resolve complex issues, and creates shifts in culture. Keep reading books and watching YouTube videos to help you learn and explore new ideas.  

    The more you learn, the easier it will be for you to recognize opportunities and act on them with confidence.  Successful people work smarter, not harder, copy good ideas when they see them. You'll also be able to help others around you who may need your wisdom.  You'll be better prepared to conduct business, you'll be much more knowledgeable, and people will trust you. If you decide to make investments in formal education, you will be increasing your earning potential, and you can deduct student debt.  If you live in a city, take advantage of all of the museums, cultural events, and lectures. Practicing self education will help you build your knowledge base faster and more profoundly, giving you some unique opportunities to be successful.

    People are a one-of-a-kind combination of culture, race, sex, family values, religious beliefs, environment, traditions, and the imprint of every person and experience they've ever encountered.  You are a one-of-a-kind irreplaceable being, that will never again exist. Your perspective on anything can never be replicated, never because it's not possible. If you can enhance your abilities with wisdom, you can be a game-changer like the world has never seen.  That's just a fact of life. 

    Self education will help you manage your money better, and you'll be less likely to lose it.  Most people are never taught how to manage money. In school, you don't learn how to do it; and after school, most people don't take the time to learn how to keep the money they earn.

    Recently, a famous person applied to rent a house from me; I was shocked because I assumed he lived in a mansion in Beverly Hills.  I wasn't sure why he needed my place. Once I ran his credit, I was reminded of all the famous athletes and performers you hear about, who lose their fortunes and end up bankrupt.  Many of these folks had extraordinary talents that helped them come into wealth very quickly. Unfortunately, they didn't take the time to learn how to manage those fortunes. So, instead of investing the money and protecting it from others, they squandered it till it was all gone, and all they had left was pleasant memories.      

    In the nursing homes I visit, I've met many people who were once wealthy but never developed the know-how to make that money work for them.  So, once they stopped working, they stopped producing, and they steadily spent all of their money till they had nothing left, and the only place where they could afford to live was a government-funded nursing home.

For more entrepreneurship tips, check out my latest Amazon book.

How to Become Rich and Successful. The Secret of Success and the Habits of Successful People.: Entrepreneurship and Developing Entrepreneur Characteristics

Increase Your Longevity - OUTWORK YOUR LIFE EXPECTANCY

HOW TO OUTWORK YOUR LIFE EXPECTANCY

   A typical car lasts about seven years; now imagine if you were given a car and were told that the car would have to last you for your entire life, around eighty years.  With that in mind, you would probably take outstanding care of the vehicle, checking the fluids, changing the oil, using quality gas, changing the filters regularly, not stressing out the engine too much, and treating it with respect.  Otherwise, you'd be walking for a very long time. Think of your body in the same way. You only get one, and you want it to be as healthy, productive, and beautiful as long as possible. Treat your body with respect as it is going to be the only one that you'll have in this lifetime.  Take time to rest, eat healthy, exercise, learn, manage stress, and develop your spirituality. This will outwork your life expectancy.

    Although it seems like common sense, the better condition you are in, the longer you'll be around, and the longer you'll be producing.  I have brilliant friends who have terrible eating habits, drink, smoke, or do drugs. With age, those behaviors cause a steady decline in their health, productivity, and success.  There is a relationship between success and longevity. So make decisions based on longevity and health versus strictly towards building wealth. For example, I took a job that paid twenty percent less, but it cut my drive time down by two hours a day.  The amount of stress I didn't have to endure sitting in traffic for two hours a day was well worth the decision. The extra time allowed me to write blogs and start a new business. Never put wealth before your health!

 

For more entrepreneurship tips, check out my latest Amazon book.

How to Become Rich and Successful. The Secret of Success and the Habits of Successful People.: Entrepreneurship and Developing Entrepreneur Characteristics

TIME MANAGEMENT skills and tips - Habits of successful people

 Learning excellent time management skills will help you organize, plan, and divide your time between specific activities and goals that you need to achieve.  Having excellent time management skills will allow you to work smarter with less effort and get more done in less time, even when you are under pressure. When you have more to do than time to do it in, then do what you can in happiness, rather than all of it in misery. 

    Once you set your goals for the day, focus your time on the most important goals and make everything else wait.  There is something called decision fatigue, so you want to deal with the most critical issues when you're rested and thinking clearly.  Once you finish your priorities for the day, you can sift through what's left to do. Make an inventory of activities that you do regularly such as washing clothes, buying groceries, walking the dogs, buying clothes, maintaining your car, etc.  If you want to dedicate time to your priorities and have the budget for it, outsource as many tasks as you can to others. If you don't have the budget, then multitask the less important things to do. Wash clothes when you shower; when you cook, cook large amounts that can be eaten over several meals; listen to audiobooks while you exercise or drive; drive outside of traffic hours, and use your driving time as office hours to make and receive calls.  

    Cut out non-productive activities such as social media, news, television, disputing with others, or shopping for unnecessary consumer goods.  The needs of other people can occupy too much of your time, and if you allow it, they will. If you're short on time for the secondary activities, get a virtual assistant or find other ways to outsource the activities.  Put all utilities, mortgages, credit card bills, and whatever other bills you have on autopay with paperless billing, so you spend as little time as possible on bills. When things come up that need to be done, complete them immediately if possible and remove them from your to-do list.  For example, when the mail comes, have checks, stamps, and mailing labels ready to pay and send whatever needs to be at that moment. This saves you time having to go back and forth looking for bills, forgetting to pay for items and getting charged late fees.  

    Don't get stuck on low-level activities that don't add much value to your life.  I have a friend who’s always chasing her tail and struggling to survive. She has college degrees in mathematics and biology, and has extensive experience, but struggles to survive economically.  Whenever I talk to her, she’s always busy and running around trying to get things done. However, if we talk about what she's doing, the activities seem trivial, such as, “I have to drive across town to return something that cost me two dollars and broke.”  This can be forgotten or shelved until you actually have a reason to go to the store again. Or, “I'm going to small claims court for someone who stiffed me for twenty-five dollars.” Filing the case costs thirty dollars; she argues that it's the principle and not the money.  I understand, but if you're struggling to make money and you're going to miss a day of work to be in small claims court, then even if you win, you lose because of the investment in time and lost productivity. Or, she'll drive across town to wait in line for one to two hours to get half off a hamburger on Tuesdays, to save two dollars.  If you're spending your brain time thinking about these types of activities, then you’re going to result in low productivity for your life overall. Be smart, think about how you're investing your time, invest it in the most productive activities. This will set the tone for how you spend your time overall.  

    You can't do everything, so let things go that are not worth your time.  Remember time is your most valuable asset and you cannot produce more of it.  So spend it wisely on something that’s important to you, because you can never get that time back.

For more entrepreneurship tips, check out my latest Amazon book.

How to Become Rich and Successful. The Secret of Success and the Habits of Successful People.: Entrepreneurship and Developing Entrepreneur Characteristics

How to survive in the desert - Traveler Life

Stay out of the sun.  Moving around in the sun will make you sweat and cause you more to become dehydrated faster.

Don’t waste energy looking for food.  You can live weeks without food. So it’s best not to expend water looking for food.

If you're stuck in the desert, but you have a vehicle, don’t leave the vehicle.  It can provide shade during the days from the sun and at night from the cold. It’s also easier to spot your car if someone is looking for you.



If you don’t have a car, then only walk at night when it’s colder, and the sun is not out.

Look for water on the north side of canyons, gullies, or big rocks.  Seeing insects is also a good sign that water is close by.

Watch for poisonous snakes, scorpions, spiders, and other insects.  They will be attracted to your body heat at night. So keep your shirt tucked in, pants tucked into your socks, and sleep as high off the ground as possible.

At night lay out your jacket or tarps to collect whatever dew you can and drink it.

Don’t drink from cactus, the fluid inside will make you noxious, and it’ll make you vomit.  It only works in the movies.

Don’t drink your urine.  It is a concentrated waste, and drinking it will dehydrate you further.  When you're dehydrated, the urine you produce is more concentrated than usual with waste and cause you more harm.  Yes, it is sterile, but the waste built up in it can cause kidney damage.

 Be careful with dust storms they can kill you.  If you see clouds of dust moving towards you, take shelter by a large rock or anything sticking out of the ground.  Cover your eyes, mouth, and nose with a fabric.

For more travel tips, check out my latest Amazon book.

How to Travel the World and Live with No Regrets.: Learn How to Travel for Free, Find Cheap Places to Travel, and Discover Life-Changing Travel Destinations. (Cheap Flights Book 1)

Reasons for establishing a business and how to do that

Most of the wealthiest people in the world make their fortunes by starting a business.  A business allows you to learn to scale up your finances much faster. One of the fastest ways to become super-rich is to start your own business.  It will enable you to set things up your style, set your own deadlines, make critical decisions, and pursue something that you have a passion for. As you can see, many of these features are specific to you.  Therefore, if you're well-disciplined, your business will be likely to succeed. If you're not, your business will have a flaw in it from the beginning that could doom it further down the line. 

    Being someone flexible, adaptive, and willing to work as hard as necessary are also essential traits to develop to be successful.  When you own a business, you have to be able to adjust to everything that comes your way, often working under pressure. This allows you to learn details that you're not going to learn as an employee; in other words, how to survive.  While in business school, we were taught the framework for how to best run a business; however, 90% of how to run the business, we'll learn on the job. What I learned is that everything depends on you, and new opportunities and challenges present themselves to you daily.  Some people thrive in this environment as they like the chance to always be learning new things and the opportunity to learn from problem-solving. The significant difference between being an employee and an employer is that an employee's duties are similar from day to day, but an employer has to figure out how to do the new things presented each day to survive and keep the business alive.  

    The way to get started with a new business is to think of yourself as a two-sided scale.  On one side, it's you the employee working, and most of the weight of your income comes from this activity. This side will be the heavy side so 10 lbs will be on this side of the scale, and the other business side will have 0 lb because you haven't started yet.  As you earn money and knowledge through your work, you decide to start a side business. So now you move 0.5 lb from the working side of the scale to the business side, and the scale tilts slightly.  As you work as the employee and earn money, you keep investing your extra cash and grow your business.

    The more confidence you gain, the more money and time you'll shift from the employee side of the scale to the business side, till the scale starts tipping to the business side and most of the weight is now on the business side.  As you learn more and more, this trend continues, and now you're investing more of your time and resources towards your business which is working for you, and you end up working less as the employee. This gradual process of skill and knowledge acquisition is what leads you to be financially independent and not having to depend on others to earn a living.  Instead, your business is earning income to support you and your lifestyle. Giving you more time to pursue things of your interest.   

For more entrepreneurship tips, check out my latest Amazon book.

How to Become Rich and Successful. The Secret of Success and the Habits of Successful People.: Entrepreneurship and Developing Entrepreneur Characteristics

How to Calculate the CHEAPEST TRAVEL DESTINATIONS Using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)

The most common question people ask is “what are the cheapest travel destinations.”  The simple answer would be to make a list of countries that you think are the cheapest according to what you feel is “cheap” by comparing it to your home currency.  But that is subjective, and it only takes into consideration the money you use.  Therefore other factors must be considered to answer this question truthfully.

A more comprehensive and scientific way to calculate cheap travel destinations is to use purchasing power parity (PPP).  PPP tells you what value of goods your currency can buy, according to the exchange rate.  For example, let's say you want to travel to Mexico, and you want to figure out if Mexico would be a cheap travel destination for you coming from the USA.  You could start with something simple that is found almost everywhere: a can of Coca Cola.  In the USA a can of Coke cost $1, while in Mexico it’s 5 Mexican Pesos (0.25 cents USD), this is a ratio of 1:5.  Then you compare this ratio to the actual exchange rate, which is $1= 20 Mexican Peso, a ratio of 1:20.

Another way to look at it is to convert everything into your currency.  For example, the American would pay $1 for the Coke in the USA and $0.25 for the Coke in Mexico, while the Mexican would pay 5 Mexican pesos for the Coke in Mexico and 20 Mexican Pesos for the Coke in the USA.

In other words, an American traveling to Mexico can buy four cans of Coke in Mexico for the same price he would pay in the USA.   He could buy four times as much stuff in Mexico as you could buy in the USA.  On the other hand, a Mexican traveling to the USA would pay four times more than usual for items in the USA than they would in Mexico or 25% of what they could typically buy back in Mexico.

The Mexican tourist would want to buy sunblock, clothes, snacks, toiletries, and anything else they might need for their trip at home before traveling to the USA.

The American traveler would want to go with empty bags and load up on everything they might need at a 75% discount in Mexico.  He should fill his luggage with goods to bring home as well to benefit from the PPP.

Using these examples gives you a simple but very accurate way to figure out if you’re going somewhere that is cheaper or more expensive for you and how much you need to budget for travel expenses.  You can check out the World Bank’s website in this link to see what your currency would buy you in another country.  Although the exchange rates are not updated regularly, you can get a general idea of how PPP works.  I also suggest reading the famous “Big Mac study” presented on the Economist website.

    This simple calculation will help anyone from any country figure out where the cheapest travel destinations would be for them. 

 

For more travel tips, check out my latest Amazon book.

How to Travel the World and Live with No Regrets.: Learn How to Travel for Free, Find Cheap Places to Travel, and Discover Life-Changing Travel Destinations. (Cheap Flights Book 1

Drug Overdose Treatment While Traveling

If you suspect a drug overdose, act immediately.  Call for emergency services before your heart stops, or you’re incapacitated and can’t move.

If the person is awake, keep them conscious by walking around with them.  You can also place them under a cold shower to wake them up, just keep the water away from their mouth and nose so they can breathe.

Don’t allow a person to fall asleep and if they do wake them up or their heart can stop, and they’ll stop breathing.

If the person is unconscious, lay them on their side so if they vomit they won’t aspirate, choke, and die.

Avoid drug use.  If you decide not to, then try small doses if you’re a first time user. 

It’s not the most effective, but you can try drinking milk if the person is conscious.  The calcium in the milk will bind with the drugs and negate some of their effects.

 

For more travel tips, check out my latest Amazon book.

How to Travel the World and Live with No Regrets.: Learn How to Travel for Free, Find Cheap Places to Travel, and Discover Life-Changing Travel Destinations. (Cheap Flights Book 1

Food safety while traveling

Food

    Choose the Asian-vegetarian option on the plane. You get your meals before anyone else, and the special-order meals tend to be fresher and have better quality ingredients.

    Eating choices while on vacation, are going to be determined by your budget and diet regimen. I'm vegetarian, mostly gluten-free, and often on a budget, so I usually carry a few protein bars, meal replacement bars, or nuts (fruit often gets confiscated), so I have something to snack on during domestic travel, saving me money on having to eat low-quality processed food on airlines or in airports. You may even bring a few extras if you're going somewhere expensive like Moscow or Tokyo, so you can have something to snack on during your days. One empty water bottle also comes in handy as you can fill it up at a water fountain and reuse it.  It’s eco-friendly, and you won’t spend money on plastic bottles of water laced with carcinogens like BPA.

    Remember, this is where most people’s trips get to be affected in a pleasant way (Anthony Bourdain exploring foods) or in a wrong way, getting stuck way out somewhere with a life-threatening sickness or parasites.  This is a personal choice that is going to vary depending on your food preferences and how sensitive your body is to certain foods. Generally speaking, it’s best to eat vegetarian while you’re traveling as meats tend to have a higher risk for foodborne illness.  Trust your nose, not your eyes. Smells are important indicators of the quality of food.

    Be aware of who is handling the food. Avoid establishments where the food handlers don’t practice good hygiene, such as tying back their hair, wearing protective gloves, and having clean hands and fingernails. If you see food servers smoking, touching their face, eating out of pots, chewing gum, sneezing or coughing near food, avoid purchasing food from that vendor.

Look for crowds. When surveying the street food scene in any location, look for groups.  Locals get sick, too, and won’t return to stalls suspected of serving unsafe food, so if there’s a crowd, it’s usually a safer choice to make.  Chances are the food is fresher and cleaner since they are selling it quickly before it has time to sit and grow bacteria or have flies lay eggs in it.

    This is how I caught salmonella in Thailand:  I ignored the advice of the local Thai people to not eat at a specific Indian food restaurant in Chiang Mai.  When I went in, I ordered a large sampler dish. I was so impressed that they had it ready in about three minutes, not thinking that it had already been sitting out in the 100 plus weather.  After I finished eating, I ventured up a mountain to my private villa and wasn’t able to leave for three days due to diarrhea and vomiting. I slept for about 23 hours and 45 minutes a day. I can only remember opening my eyes for a few minutes and quickly cutting up, aerating, and eating as many cloves of raw garlic that I could until I passed out again.  My saving grace was the fact that I had a fresh braid of garlic with me. Garlic is antiviral, antibacterial, antiparasitic, and it’s great for supplementing most treatments of travel bugs. In this case, I believe it saved my life! I recommend carrying garlic with you when you’re traveling to use for any intestinal problems. Merely mixing in some into your dishes, will help nullify some of the adverse effects the food could have on you.

    Be selective when choosing foods. Since raw food is subject to contamination, travelers should try to avoid salads, uncooked vegetables, and unpasteurized juices and milk products.  Dry foods such as cakes, cookies, and bread are safer options, although not as healthy.

    Spice things up. Become familiar with spices such as chilies and turmeric, which are known to have antibacterial properties, and seek out dishes that include them.  Acidic fruits, such as citrus fruits and pineapple, are also safer bets when traveling. Because of the higher vitamin C content, they give you an immune system boost.

    Avoid over-handled foods such as bulk bin food where people are handling the food items.  Avoid foods that require a lot of handling before serving or that contain raw or undercooked meat or seafood. In most cases, meals that are boiled should be safer to consume.

Wash vegetables and fruit before eating. If you purchase fresh produce from a roadside stand, be sure to wash and peel them before eating. Bacteria can be present on their exterior and transferred into the edible section once sliced.  So make sure you cleanse the fruit before slicing into it.

    If you’re traveling in an area with unsafe water, be sure to clean the produce with bottled or filtered water and vegetable cleaner, vinegar, peroxide, or soap.

    Eat hot foods hot, and cold foods cold. If the dish you ordered is supposed to be served hot, make sure it is hot when it is served to you. The same is true for any foods that are intended to be served cold. Otherwise, it may not be safe to eat.

Remember the one-hour rule. Don’t consume any perishable foods that have been sitting out beyond one hour when the temperature is higher than 90°F.

 

Wash Your Hands

    Before eating or handling food, wash your hands with soap and water for at least twenty seconds.  A good rule is to sing the happy birthday song in your head while you wash your hands. Once you're done singing the song, you're done washing your hands.  If freshwater is scarce, use antibacterial hand gels or wipes to help keep your hands clean, especially after using the restroom and before eating.

    If you have kids, you are elderly, immunocompromised, or get sick often then sanitize "high touch" areas.  Germs linger longer on nonporous materials like plastic. When traveling via plane, train or bus, wipe down common surface areas such as tray tables, seat armrests, and lavatory door handles with an alcohol-based wipe or gel before you touch them.  If you’re staying at a hotel, do the same for the TV remote controls, bathroom door handles, and the telephone.    

    Don’t use antibacterial products that are not alcohol-based, most are made with triclosan.  Triclosan causes hormonal irregularities in humans, is toxic for the environment and causes drug-resistant strains of bacteria.  

    If you’re healthy, then don’t bother.  The more you are exposed to germs, the stronger your immune system is. The less you are exposed, the more vulnerable you are, and the more you’ll get sick.  I generally don’t wipe anything down, but I do carry a bar of soap with me to wash my hands whenever I can. 

 

Drink

    Boil tap water before consuming.  If you need to use tap water from an unknown source, be sure to boil it for several minutes first at a good rolling boil.  Also, avoid consuming beverages that may be mixed with the local tap water supply, such as juices or sodas from sources such as fountain machines or drinks containing ice, since freezing does not kill most microorganisms.

Beverages made with boiled water and served to steam hot (such as tea and coffee) are generally safe to drink.  A friend of mine once got sick from eating butter that had been chilled with ice that was contaminated with microorganisms.  It is best to avoid ice.

    Not all bottled water is safe. Bottled water products in other countries can be impure or even counterfeit (i.e., refilled from a local tap source, which is common in India and China), so always check the seal to ensure it is intact.

    In general, be careful with drinks of any kind when going out for nightlife or just having lunch.  This is often the easiest way for people to slip drugs into your drinks and rob you or take advantage of you.  I've had several friends go out to clubs, meet someone, and wake up somewhere without all their personal belongings.  Carry your own water bottle, refill it yourself in reliable places, and if you’re going out, open sealed drinking containers yourself.  You can also carry iodine tablets and portable water filters with you, so you’re not buying plastic bottles and creating more trash.

 

Tips for saving on meals

    Food is going to be your third most significant expense after transportation and accommodations.  The easiest way to save is to cook for yourself. You can spend the same on a week's worth of cooked meals as you’d pay in one day worth of eating out.  If you don’t know how to cook, watch some YouTube videos on how to cook beans and rice dishes, they’re inexpensive, filling, and healthy. Bring a refillable bottle, so you don’t have to keep buying bottles of water.  Avoid eating in tourist areas, these are by far the most expensive places to eat. Wherever you’re staying ask for recommendations for low cost, local places to eat. Locals will always know the best budget places to eat, where ever you are.

 

For more travel tips, check out my latest Amazon book.

How to Travel the World and Live with No Regrets.: Learn How to Travel for Free, Find Cheap Places to Travel, and Discover Life-Changing Travel Destinations. (Cheap Flights Book 1