SINGAPORE: We’ve all heard of girl math. But the practice of young women justifying purchases with lighthearted unconventional logic is nowhere near as dangerous as its older, less conspicuous cousin: Travel math.
Recently, I took a blockbuster of a trip: London the first week, Amsterdam the next, and then New York for the last week, all to visit close friends and family.
Checking in at Changi Airport, I decided I wasn’t going to worry too much about money on this trip. I hadn’t had a proper break in some time, so I would focus on enjoying, not economising.
For the large part, I managed it. For just three weeks, I wasn’t a penny-pinching party pooper.
Upon returning to Singapore, I took one look at my credit card bill and my jaw actually, physically dropped. For the first time in my life, I came dangerously close to maxing out my credit limit.
I pulled up my banking app. Surely something had gone awry with a charge or two.
But as I scrolled, I saw only the truth reflected in my transaction history.
Flights weren’t cheap, even during the off season – just over S$2,200 (about US$1,700) to get me to the three destinations and home again. Not outrageous, but still a hefty chunk of change.
Any traveller worth their salt knows accommodations are the true budget killer of any trip. But I was fortunate enough to have loved ones in all three cities offer up spare beds and sofas.
“Look at all the money I’m saving on hotels and Airbnbs,” I thought. “Those flights practically pay for themselves.”
Travel math.
Some find their travel joy in luxury shopping, theme parks or extreme sports; my limited funds are all for the stage.
Shakespeare’s Richard II, led by Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey. Much Ado About Nothing, featuring Marvel stars Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell. A revisit of Tony Award-winning Hadestown, to treat a childhood friend to my favourite musical.
Tickets for these went as high as £165 (US$219). The cheapest deal I scored: £25 (US$33) tickets to an underground parody of Dracula. “After all I’ve spent on other shows?” I thought. “I’ll see it twice!”
Travel math.
Much of the time spent reconnecting with friends and family involved food and drink, which isn’t cheap in these cities.
Once I hit New York, the card swiping only ramped up.
A raved-about revival of Sunset Boulevard. An inventive staging of The Picture Of Dorian Gray starring Succession’s Sarah Snook. Sunset Boulevard again, because it was just so good the first time.
None came close to eye-watering territory until these: US$377 to watch Hollywood heavyweights Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal go head-to-head in Shakespeare’s Othello, and US$427 to see Paul Mescal in a much-lauded revival of A Streetcar Named Desire.
If the West End cracked the dam, Broadway verily crumbled it.
In New York City, the writer paid hundreds to watch Hollywood heavyweights Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal perform in Shakespeare’s Othello. (Photo: CNA/Melissa Lee Suppiah)
It’s a dilemma familiar to many of us: how do we balance the need to treat ourselves while on break with the need to make sensible choices?
Unlike girl math, travel math knows neither gender nor age. Whatever your particular interests, travel itself is more expensive than it’s ever been, even for those willing to rough it. It’s not just airfares – accommodation costs, food and beverage prices, even tourist taxes are all at a peak.
Money flies when you’re having fun, but in a time where so many of us are overworked and overstressed, how do we put a price on respite?
Looking through my payments history, my first thought was: “My mum’s gonna kill me.” Never mind that I've been financially independent for almost 15 years.
Guilt gnawing at me, I consulted a close friend for advice. “Okay,” he said, “you’re guilty about spending S$500 to see Denzel. But what else could you have spent that S$500 on that would make you just as happy?”
In the cold light of hindsight, I considered each item on its own merit. Save for a couple of exceptions (sorry, Paul), each charge was… fine, for an irreplicable experience.
Sunset Boulevard’s limited run ends this July. Beyond this version of Dorian Gray, Sarah Snook isn’t likely to play 26 different characters in a single show again. And Denzel Washington is 70 years old – how many more opportunities will I have to see him tread the boards?
Given the choice, I’d do most of these again.
As a single, childless young adult still living under a parent’s roof, my monthly expenditure clocks in on the low end. I don’t go to expensive bars or restaurants. I don’t buy packages at spin or yoga studios, or trendy fitness gyms. I hate clothes shopping with a passion. On the whole, I keep a pretty tight hand on my purse strings most days.
As a colleague opined, what’s the difference between such holiday splurges and what others fork out to watch a FIFA World Cup game or a Taylor Swift concert live, or trek to Everest Base Camp?
Even so, it can’t be all give and no take. I spend time and energy earning and saving money, but what for? To look after my loved ones, to make sure I can weather potential storms – but also, surely, a little bit at least, to enjoy the sunny days too?
This isn’t to excuse or hand-wave away the decisions I made in those three weeks. Money is tricky that way – the collective impact of our choices often amounts to more than the sum of each individual choice.
Still, travel math, like girl math, doesn’t mean spending without reason. Next trip, I’m going to try budgeting differently: instead of the hazy umbrella of “travel costs”, I’ll set aside a sum specifically for my big passion (theatre) and use a card, account or e-wallet specifically for that. Not math for travel – math for me, personally.
Hopefully, this will help me avoid both spending precious downtime counting change and losing all the benefits of a good rest when the bill arrives.
Even more importantly, I hope not to wait too long to put this new theory to the test.
Melissa Lee Suppiah is Deputy Editor, Commentary at CNA Digital.
Continue reading...
Recently, I took a blockbuster of a trip: London the first week, Amsterdam the next, and then New York for the last week, all to visit close friends and family.
Checking in at Changi Airport, I decided I wasn’t going to worry too much about money on this trip. I hadn’t had a proper break in some time, so I would focus on enjoying, not economising.
For the large part, I managed it. For just three weeks, I wasn’t a penny-pinching party pooper.
Upon returning to Singapore, I took one look at my credit card bill and my jaw actually, physically dropped. For the first time in my life, I came dangerously close to maxing out my credit limit.
I pulled up my banking app. Surely something had gone awry with a charge or two.
But as I scrolled, I saw only the truth reflected in my transaction history.
Related:
THE BREAKDOWN
Flights weren’t cheap, even during the off season – just over S$2,200 (about US$1,700) to get me to the three destinations and home again. Not outrageous, but still a hefty chunk of change.
Any traveller worth their salt knows accommodations are the true budget killer of any trip. But I was fortunate enough to have loved ones in all three cities offer up spare beds and sofas.
“Look at all the money I’m saving on hotels and Airbnbs,” I thought. “Those flights practically pay for themselves.”
Travel math.
Some find their travel joy in luxury shopping, theme parks or extreme sports; my limited funds are all for the stage.
Shakespeare’s Richard II, led by Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey. Much Ado About Nothing, featuring Marvel stars Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell. A revisit of Tony Award-winning Hadestown, to treat a childhood friend to my favourite musical.
Tickets for these went as high as £165 (US$219). The cheapest deal I scored: £25 (US$33) tickets to an underground parody of Dracula. “After all I’ve spent on other shows?” I thought. “I’ll see it twice!”
Travel math.
Much of the time spent reconnecting with friends and family involved food and drink, which isn’t cheap in these cities.
Once I hit New York, the card swiping only ramped up.
A raved-about revival of Sunset Boulevard. An inventive staging of The Picture Of Dorian Gray starring Succession’s Sarah Snook. Sunset Boulevard again, because it was just so good the first time.
None came close to eye-watering territory until these: US$377 to watch Hollywood heavyweights Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal go head-to-head in Shakespeare’s Othello, and US$427 to see Paul Mescal in a much-lauded revival of A Streetcar Named Desire.
If the West End cracked the dam, Broadway verily crumbled it.
In New York City, the writer paid hundreds to watch Hollywood heavyweights Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal perform in Shakespeare’s Othello. (Photo: CNA/Melissa Lee Suppiah)
DOES "TRAVEL MATH" WORK?
It’s a dilemma familiar to many of us: how do we balance the need to treat ourselves while on break with the need to make sensible choices?
Unlike girl math, travel math knows neither gender nor age. Whatever your particular interests, travel itself is more expensive than it’s ever been, even for those willing to rough it. It’s not just airfares – accommodation costs, food and beverage prices, even tourist taxes are all at a peak.
Money flies when you’re having fun, but in a time where so many of us are overworked and overstressed, how do we put a price on respite?
Looking through my payments history, my first thought was: “My mum’s gonna kill me.” Never mind that I've been financially independent for almost 15 years.
Guilt gnawing at me, I consulted a close friend for advice. “Okay,” he said, “you’re guilty about spending S$500 to see Denzel. But what else could you have spent that S$500 on that would make you just as happy?”
In the cold light of hindsight, I considered each item on its own merit. Save for a couple of exceptions (sorry, Paul), each charge was… fine, for an irreplicable experience.
Sunset Boulevard’s limited run ends this July. Beyond this version of Dorian Gray, Sarah Snook isn’t likely to play 26 different characters in a single show again. And Denzel Washington is 70 years old – how many more opportunities will I have to see him tread the boards?
Given the choice, I’d do most of these again.
Related:
INSTEAD OF "TRAVEL MATH", DO "ME MATH"
As a single, childless young adult still living under a parent’s roof, my monthly expenditure clocks in on the low end. I don’t go to expensive bars or restaurants. I don’t buy packages at spin or yoga studios, or trendy fitness gyms. I hate clothes shopping with a passion. On the whole, I keep a pretty tight hand on my purse strings most days.
As a colleague opined, what’s the difference between such holiday splurges and what others fork out to watch a FIFA World Cup game or a Taylor Swift concert live, or trek to Everest Base Camp?
Even so, it can’t be all give and no take. I spend time and energy earning and saving money, but what for? To look after my loved ones, to make sure I can weather potential storms – but also, surely, a little bit at least, to enjoy the sunny days too?
This isn’t to excuse or hand-wave away the decisions I made in those three weeks. Money is tricky that way – the collective impact of our choices often amounts to more than the sum of each individual choice.
Still, travel math, like girl math, doesn’t mean spending without reason. Next trip, I’m going to try budgeting differently: instead of the hazy umbrella of “travel costs”, I’ll set aside a sum specifically for my big passion (theatre) and use a card, account or e-wallet specifically for that. Not math for travel – math for me, personally.
Hopefully, this will help me avoid both spending precious downtime counting change and losing all the benefits of a good rest when the bill arrives.
Even more importantly, I hope not to wait too long to put this new theory to the test.
Melissa Lee Suppiah is Deputy Editor, Commentary at CNA Digital.
Continue reading...