The Frugal Explorer
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  • About Me
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  • Side Hustles
    • Free Money Offers & Discounts
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    • Money Making Ideas
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  • Budget & Save
    • Budgeting
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    • Investing Basics
    • FIRE Movement
    • Frugal Living
  • Travel
    • Destination Guides
    • Housesitting
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    • Travel Spending Diaries
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  • 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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  • 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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    16 Nights Exploring Italy – How Much Did We Spend?

    November 8, 2023

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    February 26, 2024
  • Travel Hacks

    48 Hours On A Train: A Review Of The Amtrak Empire Builder

    April 23, 2024 /

    No that title is not clickbait. I did once spend 48 hours on a train travelling from Chicago to Portland non-stop. This was during my gap year, where I spent three months following housesits around the USA. And you might be surprised but it actually ended up costing me more than it would have cost to fly. I’m still not over how procrastinating buying the ticket cost me an extra $150. Originally, I’d found this route as a good alternative to flying across the country and having to find somewhere to stay for two nights. None of the in between cities made sense for a layover and once I saw…

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    Everything You Need To Know Before Sleeping At Heathrow Terminal 5

    November 23, 2022

    Travel Hacking a £145 Flight to NYC

    September 13, 2022

    I’ve Saved Over £11k On Flights Using Avios Points – Here’s How To Get Started

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  • 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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    8 Ways To Stretch Your Travel Budget Further

    February 21, 2024

    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
  • 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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    April 23, 2024

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    Long Haul Budget Flights – Are They Really Worth It?

    April 15, 2023
  • 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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    Wowcher Mystery Holiday – How Much It Actually Cost!

    June 10, 2022

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  • 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

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

    February 19, 2024

    Marrakech Packing List – What Did I Actually Wear?

    March 17, 2025

    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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    November 9, 2024

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    February 20, 2025

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    July 26, 2022
  • 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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  • £5k Budget Update
    Travel Spending Diaries

    Gap Year Budget Update – 8 Months In

    May 6, 2023 /

    8 months done and dusted!!! That means I graduated 9 months ago 🤯 Wtf!!! I still frequently refer to myself as a student because I just haven’t got over it yet 😂 These past 8 months have been absolutely amazing and have really made me stop and think about the life I want to create going forward. I frequently change my mind on what I want to do next and I don’t think I’ll make a final decision until I absolutely have too. Anyway, enough of my indecision, the end of the month means only one thing around here… it’s time to break down last months spending 🥳 You may have noticed…

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 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

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  • The Actual Costs Of The Viral Spa Trip To Therme Bucharest
  • Cashback.co.uk Review: Make Money Doing Easy Online Tasks
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