I don’t do a lot of product-oriented posts on here unless I’m talking about a book of mine or when it’s time to go get some new travel gear . I figure you’re bombarded with enough “Buy Buy Buy!” messages all day without me piling on constantly. I usually just try to steer you toward ways to save money on your travels and vacation better for less.
Sometimes the right resource can save you a lot of money though. If you listen to the people who are experts already, that saves you having to spend the energy and money to learn all that by trial and error. Invest a little now to avoid blowing a lot more later. Or get on track to free accommodation or working opportunities to really fatten your budget or lengthen your travels.
Here are a few books and e-books I’ve been checking out, plus something just for fun at the end.
Mexico City: An Opinionated Guide for the Curious Traveler is the latest edition of a book I loved from the get-go. I bought it before my very first trip to Mexico City and eventually got in touch with the author to interview him for a magazine story in Global Traveler. Since then I’ve written a bunch more on the city—including this blog post on how your assumptions about it are probably way out of date .
Also since then, Jim has written some pieces for two of my online magazines, like this Delhi story in Perceptive Travel. This is hands-down the best guidebook for one of the world’s largest and most vibrant cities, with the updates including more photos, great maps, and excellent walking tours. At Amazon as a paperback or Kindle book.
Jason Moore runs the Zero to Travel podcast and he had me on there lately to do a two-part interview. The first was about living abroad for cheap, the other about bargain places to travel. But that’s not why I’m mentioning him here. He also was one of the two partners putting together The Paradise Pack that I participated in, a big bundle of goodies that would get you on the path to location independence in your life and work. He recently published a Kindle e-book from house sitting experts Nat and Jodie from that group. Called International House Sitting : How to Travel the World and Stay Anywhere for Free, it provides around 100 pages of advice on how to splash out somewhere while usually just watering the plants, walking the dog, and keeping the house looking occupied. As I write this it’s only $2.99, so if this concept sounds enticing to you, what have you got to lose?
Nora Dunn has been a house sitter herself in different countries and after years of being a digital nomad, she knows more than most about the opportunities and challenges in working from a laptop while on the move. A while back she put out a book on the publishing platform of Chris Guillebeau , the powerhouse behind the World Domination Summit and several books I’ve praised before. Working on the Road will cost you quite a bit more than the other two books I mentioned, but it’s a solid, well-researched, attractively designed piece of work. Plus it will save you lots of time, money, and hassles, so it’s not hard to justify. There are some premium packages with extra help too. If you’re getting close to the point of earning a living while traveling around, this is the book to get.
This last one doesn’t require any reading, except perusing a few letters on the front of a t-shirt. My buds Ryan and Ang from JetsLikeTaxis appeared in an article I wrote for Lonely Planet and in my latest book. They lived in Guanjuato for a while and are currently in Seville, Spain. They run a virtual T-shirt company with cool stuff called Smash Transit . One design they do is airport codes, so that’s me sporting the one for the Leon-Guanajuato airport. They also do metro codes, but also more artistic and intricate designs if you’re looking for something less subtle.
Those who are on the Perceptive Travel newsletter list of are a fan of that page on Facebook are getting a crack at a $75 gift certificate from them this month. If you missed out on that though, go check out the collection here . They’re also on Etsy if you like shopping there.
Disclosure: I am quoted in the Working on the Road book and I’ve made some cash from The Paradise Pack. Chris Guillebeau gave me a cover quote once and Nora Dunn has interviewed me for articles and we hung out in Pisac, Peru. I know these people, but I wouldn’t talk up their stuff if they put out crap. Some of those links can result in a small commission for me if you make a purchase. I’ll thank you when I spend it on a Gallo in Guatemala or a Chang in Thailand next month.
