The short answer is: I planned, and I saved. I decided to make this month-long trip to Italy 10 months before it happened, and I’m stubborn. So I did it.

But I do have some tips and tricks for ensuring that a month abroad won’t put the dent in your savings you might think it would. As I say of many things in life: the main reason someone is doing something you want to do, and you aren’t, is because they are, and you aren’t. Capito?!

Allora, the long, more detailed answer:

LODGING

My first step was to sublease my apartment in New York. I chose June travel knowing that summer is a high-demand time for temporary renters, so I posted about it on Instagram and had it rented within two weeks. +$2400

With rent freed up, I got an Airbnb for the month (much larger than my studio in New York) -$2,955. I did finagle $100 off the total price for the month by — drumroll, please! — asking for it. I had a goal of paying “under $3K” and asked if we could make that happen. I will take what I can get!

For all of 2022, Chase (my main credit card) had points worth 25% more with “pay yourself back” on Airbnb charges. Right before my trip, I used the points I had accrued to take a chunk off my credit card bill: +$650.

This put me at spending $2,355 for lodging for a month. This is a lot for Italy if you consider it monthly rent, but it’s not a lot for an AirBnB/a month of travel. I could have done a bit cheaper — say, $1800/mo (counting the same -$650), and maybe I should have. But I thought I’d try out actually living somewhere nice for a while.

And, technically…I was actually net +$45 at this point.

If you’re curious, here are some photos from the AirBnB listing for the spot I rented in the Monti neighborhood of Rome:

TRAVEL

My airfare was $1200 direct from NYC to Rome. I didn’t see many ways around that, as I didn’t have enough Delta points to make a real dent, and I wanted to have the flexibility to change or cancel. For me, the additional $~240 was worth it for the peace of mind. I booked the airfare several months out, so it was long paid off before I left for my trip.

(Side note: you can save a lot of money if you’re flexible about location and timing. I recommend signing up for Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) and hopping on a deal that appeals to you when you see it. They come right to your inbox.)

Once in Rome, I got around mostly on foot, occasionally by Lime scooter or taxi, a few times in the back of a friend’s Fiat. I’d say I operate the same way in New York, so these are probably equal.

When going to other towns, I took the train, which is cheaper than a Metro Card swipe locally, and maybe 77 euro to travel 3 hours away.

INCOME

At the time, I had one client I was on a creative direction retainer for, for part-time work. We had weekly meetings on Mondays at noon EST, which was 6pm in Rome. I treated Mondays like a full workday as many Roman cultural sites are closed anyway, then I’d head out to dinner after 7pm when my “work day” was done. The rest of the week, I’d respond to any emails or slack messages. +$4,000

DINING

In Rome, 20 euro can buy you happiness (“happiness,” in this case, defined as a perfectly executed pasta dish and a glass of wine, plus gelato). I kept some groceries around the AirBnB, like coffee, yogurt and Fanta, which are all readily available at any grocery and inexpensive.

In the spirit of honesty: I didn’t pay for all my meals. A few of my restaurant outings were dates, or just folks who I’d bumped into somewhere who wanted a buddy for a reservation they had. I did not count on this or rely on it as part of my budget, but I figure it’s worth mentioning. (Another reason to travel solo, while you’re still young 😉 )

Plus, there’s aperitivo in Rome, which means: free snacks with drinks. One day, my friend Breana and I endeavored to pay only for alcohol, risking any potential side effects of eating somewhere around 30 olives each. No negatives to report.

New York is way more expensive, period. This is true for many American cities, especially when it comes to drinking quality wine. If you’re someone who eats out/delivers/picks up food often, you won’t spend more in Rome.

SIDE TRIPS

One of my most favorite not-at-all-secret weapons is the Seated app. I’m frequently telling my friends about it, but most of them haven’t picked it up. I guess they don’t like free money?! I’ll never understand them. Seated is a reservation app for which you get rewarded a percentage back on the check from your booking to use toward gift cards. Among others, those gift card options include Airbnb, hotels.com, and Delta.

When I took a trip to Polignano a Mare (in Puglia, roughly a 3-hr train ride from Rome) I traded +$100 in Seated credits for a hotels.com gift card and stayed somewhere really cute for two nights (with free breakfast!) for -$250 total.

I was also able to do a couple of AirBnB experiences for discounted pricing with Seated credits.

Since I had splurged a bit on my Airbnb, I did a lot of day trips to other areas that included transportation, returning for my paid-for accommodations at the end of a full day. (I’ll link those here once I write about them separately).

IN CONCLUSION…

Everything costs something. But it doesn’t just have to be money! Taking time and effort to plan, free up other funds, and save with a particular goal in mind can go a lot farther than you’d think. I know it’s not feasible for everyone, but consider that it just might be feasible for you. Can you take two weeks of vacation plus two weeks unpaid? Can you merge your vacation time with company holiday to extend your time away? Can you…quit your job?!

I did a cheaper version of this mini retirement this past January – I’ll be writing about that soon. In the meantime…start looking up flights, why don’t ya?