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The following post is by MPFJ staff writer Travis. Travis is a customer blogger for CareOne Debt Relief Services, and also appears weekly at Enemy of Debt. Travis candidly shares his personal journey to pay off $109,000 of credit card debt and the tips he’s learned along the way. As a father and husband, he provides a unique perspective on balancing debt, finances, and family.
I’m not a sight-seeing kind of person, I’m not a shopping person, and I’m definitely not a souvenir buying person.
On a trip to Mexico with friends and family, we decided to spend an afternoon shopping at an open market. Although I wasn’t thrilled with the idea, we all went as a group activity. While others loaded up on cheap t-shirts and trinkets, I just walked up and down the isles of vendors glancing at the products each was selling. Nothing piqued my interested until I saw a gentlemen selling shark tooth necklaces.
I had always wanted one, and I thought a shark tooth necklace from Mexico would be a wonderful souvenir to remind me of a really fun trip. The price was about $50, and although I am horrible at haggling, I negotiated the price down to $20. I was quite proud of how much I was able to get the seller to come down, until I got back to our hotel and I found that they were selling shark tooth necklaces at the gift shop for about $12. Admittedly, I didn’t like the style quite as much, so I was still happy with my purchase, and had a great story to go along with it.
Ever since then, I use the same methodology for souvenir shopping whenever we go on a trip. I have the perspective that there is one thing that I’m going to buy to remind myself forever of the trip. I don’t know what it is, or where, or when I will find it. I just believe that I’ll know it when I see it.
I’ve tried to pass this same mindset on to my children.
We went on a family vacation to Florida several years ago with some good friends. My then ten year old son had saved $15 from his allowance that he brought along in case he found something he wanted to buy. Before we left, I shared with him my story of the shark tooth necklace and how I searched and searched for the item I wanted to purchase. I tried to imprint on him that a souvenir shouldn’t just be a mindless piece of junk, but something special that makes him instantly think of that particular trip.
As we went through the first several days of our vacation our friends bought their kids countless towels, T-shirts, hats, light up glasses, and every other piece of tourist junk that they begged their parents to buy. Finally, they told their kids, “That’s enough, no more souvenirs!”
Yet, Tristan hung on to his $15.
On the second to last day of our vacation, we were walking through an amusement park when we ran across a vendor that was selling something that caught my son’s eye. The item was $14, and he asked if he could use his money to buy it. Knowing that he had been looking diligently for just the right item, I simply asked him, “Is this what you’ve been looking for?”
He looked up at me with his big brown eyes and nodded slowly. I was so proud of him for not giving into all the temptation of all the souvenir stands that flooded his vision during the trip, and for not blowing his money on the first piece of junk he saw. He handed his money to the vendor, who placed the item into a small plastic bag and handed it to my son. Tristan instantly took it out of the bag, and put it on. He wore it for the rest of the day, as well as the plane ride home.
He continues to wear it today on special occasions. Every now and then he asks me if I remember where he got it. We remember together our trip to Florida, and the $14 he spent on his very own shark tooth necklace.
How about you all? How do you decide how many souvenirs to buy on a trip? How much do you spend on souvenirs when you go on a vacation?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Image courtesy of sixninepixels / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
