{"id":496385,"date":"2025-10-13T14:51:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T14:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/496385\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T14:51:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T14:51:19","slug":"i-spent-months-traveling-across-europe-and-it-cost-less-than-my-rent-heres-the-money-saving-hacks-i-used","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/496385\/","title":{"rendered":"I spent months traveling across Europe and it cost less than my rent&#8230; here&#8217;s the money-saving hacks I used"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">For some, traveling the globe may seem like an impossible dream that can never be accomplished because it&#8217;s too expensive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">But when Monae Hendrickson spent almost two months in Europe over the summer, she was shocked to discover that her vacation was actually cheaper than her rent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The total cost of Hendrickson&#8217;s massive, 55-day trip &#8211; including accommodation, transportation, and food &#8211; ended up being less than what she pays monthly for her <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/los-angeles\/index.html\" id=\"mol-b82280e0-a60d-11f0-a0eb-5b54f13c2ed2\" rel=\"noopener\">Los Angeles<\/a>, <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/california\/index.html\" id=\"mol-b821e4a0-a60d-11f0-a0eb-5b54f13c2ed2\" rel=\"noopener\">California<\/a>, apartment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Hendrickson, 29, visited 14 countries in total, including\u00a0<a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/italy\/index.html\" id=\"mol-808fdc30-a60e-11f0-a0eb-5b54f13c2ed2\" rel=\"noopener\">Italy<\/a>, Albania, <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/hungary\/index.html\" id=\"mol-808fb520-a60e-11f0-a0eb-5b54f13c2ed2\" rel=\"noopener\">Hungary<\/a>, <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/poland\/index.html\" id=\"mol-80909f80-a60e-11f0-a0eb-5b54f13c2ed2\" rel=\"noopener\">Poland<\/a>, <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/finland\/index.html\" id=\"mol-808f8e10-a60e-11f0-a0eb-5b54f13c2ed2\" rel=\"noopener\">Finland<\/a>, <a style=\"font-weight: bold;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/sweden\/index.html\" id=\"mol-8090eda0-a60e-11f0-a0eb-5b54f13c2ed2\" rel=\"noopener\">Sweden<\/a>, and Norway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">She calculated that she spent\u00a0$4,177 on her adventures, which comes out to roughly $76 a day. In comparison, her rent back home is\u00a0$2,600 per month, which equates to just under $87 a day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">So how did she travel the globe so cheaply? Thankfully, she broke down the money-saving hacks she used exclusively with the Daily Mail.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">First, Hendrickson explained that she purposely picked countries that are known for being inexpensive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;Go to a travel booking site and look up the cost of a hotel in your hometown on any given day. Then look up the cost of a hotel in the place you are thinking of visiting,&#8217; she suggested.<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-d94362be59dbf6ec\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/102894671-15181861-image-a-91_1760126156609.jpg\" height=\"594\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Monae Hendrickson spent almost two months in Europe over the summer, and was shocked to discover that her vacation was actually cheaper than her rent. She's seen in Albania\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Monae Hendrickson spent almost two months in Europe over the summer, and was shocked to discover that her vacation was actually cheaper than her rent. She&#8217;s seen in Albania<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-ffe37408b5e3f53e\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/102894663-15181861-image-m-93_1760126160210.jpg\" height=\"751\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Hendrickson, 29, visited 14 countries in total, including Italy, Albania, Hungary, Poland, Finland, Sweden, and Norway\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Hendrickson, 29, visited 14 countries in total, including Italy, Albania, Hungary, Poland, Finland, Sweden, and Norway<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;This will provide a general idea of how expensive a destination is in comparison.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">She also chose to stay in each place for a long period of time, pointing out that most hotels will offer &#8216;better deals&#8217; for longer stays.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;Staying in an accommodation for a week will nine times out of ten get you a discount,&#8217; she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Hendrickson added that she was traveling with her partner, which helped because she had someone to split the costs with.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">In addition, they saved money by cooking a lot of meals rather than eating out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;I&#8217;m someone who believes going to grocery stores abroad is a cultural experience, and slow travel allows you to avoid restaurants for every meal,&#8217; she explained.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">And when she did eat out, Hendrickson found that because Europe doesn&#8217;t have the intense &#8216;tipping culture&#8217; that America has, the cost of meals was &#8216;reduced&#8217; immensely.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">The traveler said she found that the overall cost of living in most places across Europe was much lower than in America, and claimed that the locals seemed &#8216;less stressed financially.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-a3b9bc65745e785d\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/102894669-15181861-image-m-97_1760126218091.jpg\" height=\"965\" width=\"634\" alt=\"The cost of Hendrickson's 55-day trip - including accommodation, transportation, and food - ended up being less than what she pays monthly for her Los Angeles. She's seen in Serbia\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">The cost of Hendrickson&#8217;s 55-day trip &#8211; including accommodation, transportation, and food &#8211; ended up being less than what she pays monthly for her Los Angeles. She&#8217;s seen in Serbia<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" id=\"i-d7088b7b430272af\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/102894665-15181861-Hendrickson_seen_in_Stockholm_saved_money_by_picking_cheap_count-m-1_176036202878.jpeg\" height=\"672\" width=\"634\" alt=\"Hendrickson (seen in Stockholm) saved money by picking cheap countries and cooking rather than eating out; she also got deals by staying in hotels for longer periods of time\" class=\"blkBorder img-share\" style=\"max-width:100%\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"imageCaption\">Hendrickson (seen in Stockholm) saved money by picking cheap countries and cooking rather than eating out; she also got deals by staying in hotels for longer periods of time<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;Leave the country once, and you will quickly see how out of hand the cost of living in America is,&#8217; she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;We see the statistics and economic numbers in headline news all the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;But to experience life in a place where you feel your money goes further is eye-opening.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">Hendrickson&#8217;s other tips include traveling during the slower seasons and being open about where you want to go.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">She previously revealed on TikTok that she sometimes &#8216;lets the price of the flight&#8217; decide where she goes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;Doing this, I not only went to places I usually would never go to, but it also saved me thousands of dollars,&#8217; she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\">&#8216;The most expensive part of your travel is going to be flights and accommodation, but [if your flight is] inexpensive, it increases your travel budget so much.&#8217;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For some, traveling the globe may seem like an impossible dream that can never be accomplished because it&#8217;s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":496386,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[557,92,2000,299,5187,368,769,2190,2199,556,770,812],"class_list":{"0":"post-496385","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-dailymail","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-european","13":"tag-femail","14":"tag-finland","15":"tag-hungary","16":"tag-italy","17":"tag-los-angeles","18":"tag-poland","19":"tag-sweden"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115367424083959487","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}