Some See Dollar Signs; I See Flights

Some See Dollar Signs; I See Flights

dollar clouds

As I lay in bed the other night, my back was uncomfortable. I had created a nice little crater in my mattress that no amount of mattress-flipping would alleviate. I thought to myself, it’s about time I spring for a new mattress (no pun intended). Perhaps I’d get a better night’s sleep, and wake up each morning feeling more refreshed.

I thought of the costs of a new mattress. I’m not so familiar with the market, but I thought that $1000 is about average. But then I thought, well that’s about the price that I could book a week-long trip to Europe for. And I mean including everything: airfare, hostels, food, beer, et al.

It dawned on me that I’ve been quantifying every cost in this manner for the last year or so. Costs of big ticket items, especially, cause me to ponder which destination I could reach for the equivalent price.

I remembered one of my crazier nights at home in New York City with some of my friends where I ended up blowing over $300 on food and about a gazillion drinks in hedonistic fashion. The next day I felt terrible, hungover for sure, but mostly because I equated that amount as the cost of a flight to Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic.

There was also the time I had so many things planned during one weekend that I almost had to invent more time for myself. Since this isn’t possible yet, I opted for the NYC remedy to this, which is to take yellow cabs everywhere. I spent over $150 on three separate taxi rides, after the tax and tips were totaled in. That’s one way to San Francisco usually, to see my close friends there.

There are other instances, some about as large, but most are smaller. Still, I can’t help but look at each one in its travel cost equivalent, something I’ve personally dubbed “the travelers exchange rate.”

It may be the product of a mad obsession, or it just be the next step in my evolution as a world traveler. Either way, not the worst thing in the world, eh?

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