Taking a trip? In this economy? Vivian Tu, the CEO and founder of Your Rich BFF Media, joined Cheddar News to talk about how to make summer travel affordable amid high costs. “My motto when it comes to vacation spending is, you can afford anything, just not everything," she said.

Cheddar's News Wrap

Summer Fun Without Breaking the Bank

Welcome back to cheddar news right now. Have you found yourself scrolling through instagram envying your friends international vacations and summer plans. Are you wondering how in the world they're managing to live the life they're living in this economy well after all, airfare prices at the pump and prices pretty much everywhere is on the rise. But that doesn't necessarily mean we can't travel make those summer plans and even earn extra money this summer joining me. Now to discuss is Vivian to Ceo and founder of your rich B. F. F. Media and Vivian, is it too late for people to plan that big summer vacation without breaking the bank? It's not too late. However, you are gonna have to make some concessions. I know maybe you're seeing this on instagram as well, but every single person I have ever met is currently in europe. Um, you may not be able to take that amazing two week italian vacation at a price that you can afford. However you can definitely still travel domestically as well as some other off the beaten path destinations as well as using credit card points as a way to help make this more affordable. So when it comes to big trips, where do you think that people tend to overspend and what blind spots are being missed that actually can pay off at the end of the trip? Yeah. So I don't think there's one section where everybody across the board overspends. However, my motto when it comes to vacation spending is you can afford anything just not everything. And I like to take a trip to Miami every single year. And my friends always gave me the hardest time and they would say you are the only person I know who would fly Spirit Airlines just to get off the plane and go to the Four Seasons. And the reason for that is I am very fortunate. I'm a young, able bodied person. I will sit in the last row in the middle seat next to the bathroom because a three hour flight doesn't matter to me. But if I'm taking a beach vacation, I want to be at a nice hotel with a nice pool. I want to have really cool chairs when I go sit down on the sand and I want to have service. So it's really important to me to be at a nice hotel. So really prioritize what matters to you. Alright, so flight delays and cancelations are becoming more and more common. But you suggest fighting back when that happens to you. I am traveling in august I'm all years. What do I do? How do I fight back? Where are you traveling to? In august las Vegas? Okay, so when it comes to domestic travel, there are fewer protections. However, with certain credit cards, you are able to receive delay compensation if your travel plans are interrupted. However, four are friends who are currently in Europe. The eu actually provides significantly more consumer protections and if your flight is delayed arriving to the destination, anywhere between 2.5, 3 hours, four hours, you are able to get anywhere between 250 to €600. All you have to do is you email the airline, you let them know about all of your details, such as the confirmation number, the dates you traveled, the locations, how long you were delayed and site EU regulation 261 slash 2004. All right. And also you, we were talking about making money. What are some ways that we're making money now? Yeah. Making money is really important because inflation is truly so high. It's at 9%. Now You need to be asking for a raise at your job and I'm not talking the 2-3% cost of living increase. I'm talking, you need to be asking for a 10% raise or more to keep up with your cost of living. And what you can do is start that conversation mid year. It's going to be a really great time for you to set expectations with your manager about. Hey, so you know, at end of your reviews, I'm going to be making this ask. This is what I want. This is what I expect. You're able to, you know, make the point first during the summer, remind them in the fall and then drive at home during the winter season when everybody's getting their performance reviews, asking early does help them budget you in for any of those raises or promotions. Now you were mentioning that your friends pick on you because you fly spirit and you go to the four seasons. But how do we get away from talking about money making that seem taboo with friends or relatives or spouses or whomever? I think there has been always a touchy, you know, tread around how much people are spending, how much people are making. But if you initiate your friends with this conversation and say, hey, I don't wanna make this weird, but how much are you making it work? I'm really interested in a job similar to yours or I'm interested in traveling to this place that you went to. But flights seem really expensive. Any tips? It's a really natural way for them to share something like, oh well I use my credit card points. This is a great credit card that I have, you should consider it or I stayed at this hotel because they give you the fourth night free and learning those tips are really, really key to making the most of your money. Vivian to the goat Right now, Ceo and founder of your Rich B. F. F. You're welcome. Now thank you so much. That was incredible.