Money-saving tips for traveling in Spain & France ️

Our first trip together was 5 days in Portland, just 9 months into dating.

Then, barely a month later, we went on a two-week road trip 🚘 down Highway 101, from San Francisco to San Diego.

Turns out, one of the strongest threads in our relationship is how much we love to travel 🫶—and, luckily, how well we travel together! 👩🏻‍🤝‍👨🏼

Tyler’s parents have a saying every time they hear about our upcoming trips: “Moss can’t grow on you guys!”

So, we’ve made it a priority to keep building the lifestyle we both love.

And now we’re on the go 6 months out of the year. ✈️🚄🚗 1 month here, 2 months there, diving into new cultures and exploring art, history, and architecture. ✨

But here’s the catch: constant travel doesn’t always leave us super prepared. 🫠 We’ve made a few costly mistakes—enough to say goodbye to a few hundred bucks along the way. 💸💸😭

So now, we’re sharing our lessons learned, so you can skip the travel regrets!

Every time Angie looks at this photo with the charming town of Gordes in the background, she remembers the day we explored all those cute towns in the South of France 🧡…and the terrible tour guide we had. 😡 Plus, it was the most expensive tour of the whole trip! (OK, time to meditate…)

In this letter 💌, we’ll share 3 money saving tips we learned the hard way while traveling in Spain 🇪🇸 & France 🇫🇷

More tips are coming… 🤭

1. Skip Third-Party Train Tickets 🚂

Europe’s trains are the way to go, but skip third-party sites to dodge hidden fees. Book directly with providers like SNCF, Trenitalia, or DB to keep things simple.

If possible, splurge on faster trains with reserved seats—you’ll thank yourself when you’re comfortably seated, watching the countryside fly by while enjoying your favorite bread 🥖 and cheese 🧀 (instead of stressing over whether you’ll find seats together or, worse, end up standing the whole time 😰).

2. Sample Fancy Restaurants with Strategy 🤤

We were thrilled to find that some of the restaurants we wanted to try offered à la carte alongside their tasting menus. 😍

With tasting menus, we’d get two portions of the same dish, filling us up faster. But with à la carte, we could sample so many more dishes, ordering just one portion each. 🤤🤤

Let’s just say we ended up ordering everything from the tasting menu…and then some! 😈

Even better, if the food doesn’t vibe with our taste buds, we’re not locked into overspending on a full tasting menu.

3. Check if Your Destination Offers Its Own Tours First 🧐

We booked a Sagrada Familia tour through GetYourGuide, only to learn later that prices fluctuate like crazy based on demand—too early or too late, and you’ll pay a premium. 🙉

To make it worse, we found out that Sagrada Familia offers its own tours  at a third of the price! 🫠 But heads-up, you have to book wayyy in advance.

So yes, this magical church cost us an arm and a leg, 💸 but it was mesmerizing enough to ease the pain of overpaying. 🥺

The moral of the story is before booking with third parties like Viator or GetYourGuide, see if the place you’re visiting offers its own tour. —and you’ll save a few (or hundreds of) euros for more adventures. ✨

Final thoughts…

If you get scammed, consider it part of the travel experience—next time, you’ll be wiser!

Angie’s working on this too—she’s let a few foul moods steal good moments 😓. And her go-to remedy is an hour of morning meditation 🧘🏻‍♀️ to reset the mind and embrace a new day of next adventure.

And at the end of the day, those painful lessons won’t stop us from traveling. 🙅🏻‍♀️🙅🏼‍♂️

Every morning on the road, we wake up with excitement 🤩😍, and the longer we’re out there, the more we want to keep going 🥰.

As we get savvier, we’re also getting better at protecting our wallets and staying on track for Financial Freedom. Traveling with peace of mind? That’s double freedom! 💎

Hope these tips bring you more excitement and freedom to savor every moment 😉

Also check out

• Tasting our way through Spain 🤤
• Our Spain highlights 🇪🇸
• Financial Freedom on the Go: Travel tips to keep your budget in check & Our favorite budget tools for traveling 🥰

Hope it's helpful for your journey to Freedom 🙏

Love you to freedom and back, 🫰

Angie & Tyler

Things We are Loving Right Now ❤️‍🔥

🧳 Travel

• Water Bottle : Save money on bottled drinks 💰
  "I never thought a water bottle could be this enjoyable," Tyler remarked whenever he used the bottle.

  Fill it up every day while traveling, and it pays for itself quickly! It’s ultra-light, insulated, leak-proof, and—here’s the magic ✨—opens with a single button and is designed to prevent splashing. A carabiner clip would make it flawless, but as it is, it’s a delight to use!

• Versatile Camping Cup: A trusty stainless steel cup may not seem essential, but it’s a lifesaver! Perfect for rinsing after brushing your teeth, mixing up some cold remedy (oregano oil 😷), or even as a makeshift bowl on the go. With foldable handles, it’s compact yet sturdy—our go-to for years.