I am going to Melaka this weekend, and I have just booked my hostel for the night I'll be there. It cost me $5.39. No joke. It looks clean, has good reviews, and is on the studentuniverse site, so I figure it's probably a perfectly acceptable hostel. I've never had any problems with studentuniverse endorsed hostels, and in fact, when I had the opportunity to compare notes with other travelers about their hostels, the studentuniverse hostels usually were better for the same price.
When I was planning my trip, the boys' father suggested a nice hotel in Melaka that he called a 'Budget hotel.' He said, "I think you can get a room for under $50/night. Really quite reasonable." $50?? $50 is a lot of money! I will pay $50 for a good pair of shoes, or perhaps for a truly well-made piece of clothing. I might even pay $50 for a ticket (I would have shelled out $50 for Ian McKellan playing King Lear here in Singapore, but unfortunately, it was already sold out except for the $200 seats, which made it a moot point since I can't afford $200 seats at all). But, I will, under no circumstances, pay $50 for a hotel outside of the United States. Hostels are gross in the US, so I will spring for a hotel if I have to at home. But outside of the US, most backpacking hostels are perfectly acceptable, clean alternatives. And it's just sleep - my bed would probably be just as lumpy in the other hotel. I can sleep anywhere anyway.
Tomorrow, we're going back to Sentosa. We were thinking of doing the 'swimming with the dolphins' package. Then I looked on their website and realized that for 3 people, there is a Trio Package of S$425 to swim with the pink dolphins here. This is a savings of S$25 from paying for three people individually at S$150/per person. So, we're going to watch a movie instead.
Tonight at dinner, their father was talking about a new electronic Chinese language dictionary that he bought. He said the salesmen were trying to sell him the cheaper model, but he opted for the more expensive one. He said, "It was only S$100 more." I don't think I've ever said that in my life. What gets me about that sort of cavalier approach to money is that he's such a tightwad about anything the boys and I use, but it's okay to splurge when it's for his own use (seriously, he won't buy me the granola cereal I like because he thinks I should eat the cereal he buys for the boys. I hate shredded wheat).
Both of these brought me back to the question of budget, and what exactly it means in an individual context. To me, $5 is a fairly significant amount of money, but not enough to freak out over, and I've never been much for coupon cuttings. But starting at $10, I start getting antsy, and something has to be really worth it for me to shell out more than that. I will pay for good chocolate. The imported organic European dark chocolate at the grocery store costs S$6. I pay for that - Asian chocolate has the consistency of melting rubber.
But I hope that, no matter what job I get, or what happens to me in the future, I always remember how I used to laugh at a $50/night hotel being in any way 'budget.'
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
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6 comments:
I completely and totally understand, and to a certain degree, I'm the same way when it comes to using my money. I don't make a lot, so when I do spend it, a good amount (I'd say about 65%-70%) goes to ye old bill pile. The bills come first--if it's a question of the latest Harry Potter book or the health insurance, obviously, the health insurance wins out.
But at the same time, when I splurge, I splurge. On trips, I don't mind shelling out $100 on a hotel room (meh, I'm a little picky about where and how I sleep). $60 super cute red shoes that I can wear a million times and aren't crap? Sure, why not. If it's a question between spending $5 on a mediocre meal and $10 on a fabulous one, I have no qualms with getting the more expensive one. The extra money (if there is any) is there to treat myself, so dangnabbit, I'm gonna.
The only catch is, the bills and the important stuff gets paid for first and the splurges and "me" money doesn't exceed what I can't pay. It works out. It's a reward system. :)
Oh--can't wait for your return! Let the countdown begin!
countdown begin? I've been counting down the days since the second week I was here. *rolls eyes* Sometimes - I'm not so smart. You know, I'll pay for food. I was thinking about that last night - I spend a lot of money making sure I eat food that's not lousy or covered in bug killer. And I don't have health insurance. Too expensive.
Ah yes. Bug killer food...not so good.
I finally caved earlier this year and got basic health thru the state ($38 I think for my income level). It's actually worth it. It's Group Health, which isn't the best, but any perscriptions I get are mostly paid for along with doctor visits (getting bronchitus last winter and having to shell out $80 for the perscription and doctor visit 'cause I didn't have any insurance made me look into a low-cost insurance option). If anything serious happens and I need a hospital trip however, then I'm screwed.
What I'd kill for though is dental insurance. Le sigh. I'm currently $950 lighter after getting a cleaning, two fillings, and two broken fillings replaced. Desperately needed to be done, but still... *Weep*
It is such garbage that we have to pay for this stuff in the US. There's no reason there couldn't be low cost insurance that covers all the basic needs. Turning health into a profit making business is just evil. I can't wait to see the new Michael Moore movie, I saw a preview, and it was fantastic. some dude had to choose between $64k to fix his middle finger or $12k to fix his ring finger after cutting them off with a saw. He went with the ring finger. That's just awful!
Oh, "Sicko" is truly as good as you think it is. I think you will enjoy. In the way that you enjoy something that leaves you frustrated, angry and shell-shocked. By the way, the dad could not sound like a bigger jerk. I think you should leave some shredded wheat in random locations throughout his house before you leave.
that would be highly satisfying. :) But I don't know if he would notice. The coffee grounds end up just about everywhere but the coffeemaker, on the table, the floor - it was really building up until the new cleaners he hired starting cleaning (he's now too busy for anything but working and texting his girlfriend). They arranged his books by HEIGHT. HEIGHT!!!! Who arranges books by height??
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