Hello!

When I publish posts about my trips from time to time, I am often asked questions in the comments, such as this: “What kind of funds do you ride, pensioner?”

How much do we get per month

I honestly give the alignment: my pension with an additional payment for a dependent (son is a full-time student) is 10,570 rubles. So the state has estimated 25 years of work at school. Plus a salary in the public service — 17,000 rubles, along with a bonus. Such salaries in our region, what can you do …

Some amounts — each month in a different way — drip from the Zen channel. This income is unstable and unpredictable. From the moment I entered monetization, my income ranged from 900 rubles to 12,000 rubles. I withdraw this money to a separate card.

My husband works as a dispatcher, after three days. His salary is even less than mine, but such a mode of service allows him to devote a lot of time to his hobby — work in a home carpentry workshop. This hobby also generates income, and also every month in different ways. It is this income that is the basis of our travel budgets. And I usually «responsible» for the tickets.

In Azerbaijan, in the valley of mud volcanoes. Photo from personal archive. In Azerbaijan, in the valley of mud volcanoes. Photo from personal archive. In Germany. Düsseldorf, Rhine embankment. 2016 Photo from personal archive. In Germany. Düsseldorf, Rhine embankment. 2016 Photo from personal archive.

How much do we spend

Not so long ago, I began to write down our expenses, and it turned out that we spend exactly “on life”, that is, on food and things, very little money.

Since we live in a village, we grow vegetables ourselves. We keep a bird: smoke turkeys. It turns out that eggs and dietary meat are of our own production.

Prose of village life. Photo from personal archive. Prose of village life. Photo from personal archive.

In stores we buy mainly flour, oils, spices, cereals and dairy products. And then, most of the cereals are used to prepare cereals for our dog. I bake my own bread in a bread maker, always adding whole grain flour.

As for clothing, life in the village determines the composition of our wardrobe. These are mainly sportswear and work clothes. My basic wardrobe is jeans, jumpers, shirts, jackets. Shoes are mostly sneakers.

Living in the countryside, we walk a lot, and we manage to do it everywhere — saving on transport costs. If we drive a car, then we don’t stand in traffic jams — again, fuel economy …

We are adults, we already have a house, a car (albeit well-deserved, but reliable). The period when we were in loans up to our ears — thank God, has passed, got out …

It turns out that we already have everything we need. And there are not too many temptations in the village. Therefore, it turns out to save money for travel. And to help children.

Saving? — No, we just consume wisely

One of my city friends constantly nags me, especially if we happen to go shopping together: “Natasha, why don’t you buy things for yourself? Look, this dress is made just for you! Isn’t it cool?!» And yes, the dress is awesome. But I just DON’T NEED IT! At work, I have a dress code. In everyday life, I prefer jeans with sneakers. And my friend has dozens of dresses. I ask why? Well, he says, a woman SHOULD have a lot of dresses! She has many dresses, but she does not travel, she does not have enough money. She cares about dresses. So what? All people are different…

I think if I lived in the city and had the opportunity to regularly go to shopping centers and galleries, I, like any woman, would also sometimes make spontaneous purchases. And so — I go to the city about 1 time in 10 days, as a rule, with a clearly defined goal. And most of my money is intact.

I love high quality shoes. But I only have two legs! Therefore, for different seasons and occasions, I have 2 pairs of leather weekend shoes — beige and black, sandals, 2 pairs of sneakers, 2 pairs of boots, 2 pairs of boots. And that’s enough for me! If they break or get bored, I’ll buy new ones. Yes, I forgot the most important thing! — two more pairs of galoshes (light and with insulation :))

Eggs — in different baskets

Well, I mean, money, of course, money is not eggs …

We have several savings accounts. One is called «Travel». We have been saving money there for several months. Then, based on the amount, we decide when and where we can go (fly) with this money. Usually we make 1-2 «distant» trips a year. And a few more car sorties within 300-500 km.

There are other accounts as well. For example, «Repair». For grandchildren — for each individual. These are all accounts with low interest, but at any time you can withdraw money or replenish your account.

Know how to look for options

In fact, travel is not as expensive as it might seem. First, you need to be able to search for tickets, track promotions. In addition, many airlines allow you to pay with accumulated miles for tickets. The last time we flew was the three of us: my husband and I and our grandson. The airline credited us with almost 9,000 miles. A mile is a ruble. This means that next time I buy tickets, I will pay 9,000 rubles less.

No need to be afraid to travel during the low season. As for me, in the low season, a trip can bring more joy: fewer vacationers, no queues at museums (or much shorter), cheaper housing prices.

About housing. We usually rent one-room apartments. So, at the beginning of October 2020, we paid only 6,900 rubles in Kaliningradez for 6 nights in a one-room apartment.

Before the pandemic, we often stayed in hostel family rooms or guest houses. We try not to spend too much, but we don’t get hung up on savings: I’m for reasonable savings, not crazy.

We made all our trips on our own, and not on trips. But in some cases, it is more profitable to fly on last-minute trips. It’s just that profitable tours never came across to us on the dates we needed.

But at the moment I am not ready to travel: I have flown, I am walking with a “crown”. I dream of a time when this infection will already calm down, and life will return to its usual track.

All health!