The Frugal Explorer
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  • About Me
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  • Side Hustles
    • Free Money Offers & Discounts
    • Hustle Apps & Sites
    • Money Making Ideas
    • Hustle Income Diaries
    • Side Hustle Guides
  • Budget & Save
    • Budgeting
    • Saving Tips
    • Investing Basics
    • FIRE Movement
    • Frugal Living
  • Travel
    • Destinations
      • North America
        • USA
        • Guatemala
      • South America
        • Peru
      • Europe
        • Romania
      • Africa
        • Morocco
        • Egypt
      • Asia
        • Jordan
    • Housesitting
    • Hotel & Travel Reviews
    • Travel Hacks
    • Packing & Budget Tips
    • Travel Spending Diaries
    • Summer Camp
  • About Me
    • My Money Story
  • Travel

    Wowcher Mystery Holiday Review – Is it worth it? Where to?

    February 12, 2026 /

    Disclosure: Please keep in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. I link to these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours. £99 for a week in Bali, New York or even Dubai!! This deal is a budget travellers dream… or is it? Here is my full Wowcher mystery holiday review. When I saw this deal going around on social media, I thought it was a scam. It sounds far too good to be true… the…

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    3 Comments

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    9 Things I Learnt from Travelling Alone for the First Time

    April 25, 2020

    The Actual Costs Of The Viral Spa Trip To Therme Bucharest

    April 22, 2025
    airport interior

    Sleeping At Heathrow Terminal 5: Everything You Need To Know

    February 12, 2026
  • airport interior
    Travel,  Travel Hacks

    Sleeping At Heathrow Terminal 5: Everything You Need To Know

    February 12, 2026 /

    As I am writing this at 6.35am from one of London Heathrow airport many bougie airport lounges (thank you Trusted Housesitters for including lounge passes in your membership!) in terminal 5, it is safe to say that I survived. Want to know how it went sleeping at heathrow terminal 5? Keep on reading! I had a nights gap between a housesit ending and my flight to New York City so I initially looked into airport hotels. Wow they are so so expensive! We’re talking over £150 for a room at an airport hotel. One that I would have had to vacate at around 5am the next morning anyway because of…

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    4 Comments

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    4 Day Inca Jungle Trek Adventure: Full Review

    August 27, 2025

    9 Easy Ways To Save Money On Travel

    May 1, 2021

    9 Things I Learnt from Travelling Alone for the First Time

    April 25, 2020
  • Summer Camp,  Travel Spending Diaries

    46 Days of Full Time Travel: Post Camp Trip Spending Diary!

    October 2, 2024 /

    Michigan, Nashville, Florida, New York, Antigua, Tulum… woah best post camp trip ever!!! And last year I did a two week New England road trip followed by two weeks in Italy. I had a 30-day travel period off the back of my J1 visa for camp that I wanted to take full advantage of. Then with nothing in the calendar until the end of September, I decided to head down to Central America and finally explore a little bit. Plus it gave me chance to put my almost-2 year Duolingo streak to good use 😂 But how much did I spend on my post camp trip? Let’s break it down……

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    0 Comments

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    5 Ways to Land a Summer Camp Counselor Job

    November 12, 2024

    AmeriCamp Discount – Get £30 off the fees!

    April 15, 2025

    AmeriCamp Costs: The Truth Behind Working At Summer Camp

    October 14, 2025
  • Travel Spending Diaries

    Oslo Money Diary – 2 Nights In The Expensive City!

    May 21, 2024 /

    Oslo is somewhere that has been on my radar for the past couple of years. But there was always somewhere else I wanted to go to more! Until I was planning a meet up with some of my uni friends and it worked out cheaper to meet up abroad than in the UK. Crazy right!! Cue days of back and forth. The logistics of flying from three different places in the UK was a nightmare. Oslo came out the reigning champion and our flights were booked. Two nights in one of the most expensive countries in the world – my budget was already crying! But how much did we actually…

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    2 Comments

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    £5k Budget Update

    £5k Budget Update – December 2022

    January 3, 2023

    Travel Spending Diary: House Sitting in NYC for 10 Days

    November 9, 2024

    Is Antigua Really The Cheapest Place To Learn Spanish?

    February 20, 2025
  • Packing & Budget Tips

    25+ Tips To Save You Money On Your Next Trip

    April 20, 2024 /

    Travel doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg! And as someone who successfully travelled full-time for 9 months only spending £5k, I’m here to show you that budget travel is possible and you don’t have to give everything up! You just might have to get a little creative to be able to explore the world without breaking the bank. Here are 25+ budget travel tips that anyone can put into practice and save some serious coin whilst still getting to explore and see the world… {Disclaimer – this post may contain affiliate links which means I may earn a commission if you follow a link and make a…

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    0 Comments

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    I Travelled Hand Luggage Only For A Year – Here Are My Packing Light Tips

    February 19, 2024

    5 Easy Steps To Save For Your Next Adventure

    February 12, 2024

    What To Wear In Morocco – Guide For Female Travelers

    March 17, 2025
  • Travel Hacks

    Flixbus Review: The Ultimate Budget Friendly Way To Travel

    April 16, 2024 /

    {Disclaimer – this post may contain affiliate links which means I might earn a commission if you follow a link and make a purchase. This comes at no extra cost to you.} Overnight buses are the ultimate budget travel hack and this is the hill I will die on. Not only do you get to a new place in a really cost effective (and better for the environment) way but you also save money on a night of accommodation. I love getting a last full day in a place and then waking up in a new place ready to go out and explore. If you can’t tell I’m a massive…

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    0 Comments

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    AMEX Refer A Friend: New Cardholders Get 6,000 Bonus Avios

    August 27, 2025

    VirginRed Sign Up Offer: 1k Bonus Points or a Free Coffee

    September 16, 2025

    I got 5000 Bonus VirginRed Points With This Hack!

    September 17, 2025
  • Travel Spending Diaries

    Dublin Spending Report – Is It Really That Expensive?

    February 26, 2024 /

    A few weeks ago, I spontaneously decided to book a little solo city break to Dublin after finding cheap flights on Skyscanner. I’d always wanted to visit Dublin but it had never worked out. Considering how close I live and my family’s links to the country, I’m shocked it’s taken 23 years to visit Ireland. After seeing the flights and already planning on being in the city they were from it was a no brainer. Especially considering I have a travel fund, fully funded ready to go. So I went ahead and booked it! {Disclaimer – this post contains affiliate links meaning that I might earn a commission if you…

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    0 Comments

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    Jess on Brooklyn Bridge

    2 Nights in NYC – New York Money Diary

    November 29, 2022

    How Much I Spent Travelling The UK For 2 Months

    January 28, 2023
    £5k Budget Update

    Gap Year Budget Update – 8 Months In

    May 6, 2023
  • Packing & Budget Tips,  Saving Tips

    5 Easy Steps To Save For Your Next Adventure

    February 12, 2024 /

    Have big dreams of travelling the world? Want to step foot in every country? Have plans to backpack South-East Asia? Inter-rail across Europe? Have all these grand plans but no idea where to start saving for your next adventure? This is the post for you! Here’s a simple five step process to save for your next adventure… Do your research The first step before you can save, like with anything, is the research phase. Research where you want to go, how long for and then infer from this how much you reckon you’ll need to cover the adventure. Blogs and vlogs are a great (and free!) resources to start your…

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    1 Comment

    You May Also Like

    What To Wear In Morocco – Guide For Female Travelers

    March 17, 2025

    I Travelled Hand Luggage Only For A Year – Here Are My Packing Light Tips

    February 19, 2024

    8 Ways To Stretch Your Travel Budget Further

    February 21, 2024
  • Housesitting

    How Does Trusted Housesitters Work? – The Entire Process

    September 19, 2023 /

    Trusted Housesitters is a site I found by chance one day whilst watching a random youtube vlog. It was so long ago that I can’t for the life of me even remember which or whose vlog it was. But I am SO thankful that I found it!! So how does Trusted Housesitters work? This post will explain the process from start to finish! After verifying that the site was legit, I stalked it for a couple years before investing in a membership. This was mostly down to one of the requirements being that you must be 21 and I wasn’t at the time, plus I was still at uni so…

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    3 Comments

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    Travel Spending Diary: House Sitting in NYC for 10 Days

    November 9, 2024

    Is Trusted Housesitters Still Worth It With The NEW £9 Booking Fee?

    February 15, 2026

    Three Years of Housesitting and These Are My Top 6!

    February 20, 2025
  • Travel Spending Diaries

    13 Day USA Roadtrip – How Much I Spent!

    September 2, 2023 /

    Hello, ello, ello, long time no blog post!! But I’m back from my best summer yet working as a camp counsellor at a sleep away camp in the West Virginian mountains. I have soooo much to share about my experience at camp and of course the finances surrounding it but I thought I’d kick it all off with a spending roundup from the roadtrip I did with a few new friends once we left camp. We spent almost two weeks together travelling from West Virginia up the coast to NYC (where we met up with some fellow counsellors, one of whom was kind enough to host us) and then onwards…

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    1 Comment

    You May Also Like

    Dublin Spending Report – Is It Really That Expensive?

    February 26, 2024

    Inca Jungle Trek Costs: Full Breakdown from Start to Finish

    August 26, 2025

    Working at Summer Camp in the USA: Spending Diary

    August 27, 2025
 Older Posts

HELLO!

Hi I’m Jess, the one woman show behind The Frugal Explorer!

I am obsessed with finding the weird and wonderful ways to make money online, stretching that money as far as it’ll go and travelling on a budget.

I am on a mission to visit 100 countries before I turn 30 whilst also working towards big money goals!

The Frugal Explorer exists to empower & help curious, budget-conscious adventurers to earn more, spend smart, and explore the world without going broke or sacrificing financial freedom!

Recent Posts

  • Is Trusted Housesitters Still Worth It With The NEW £9 Booking Fee?
  • How Much is a Trip to Egypt & Jordan? Full Spending Breakdown
  • Wowcher Mystery Holiday Review – Is it worth it? Where to?
  • Sleeping At Heathrow Terminal 5: Everything You Need To Know
  • The 8 Best Bars in Antigua, Guatemala To Visit
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