I’m on The Reframe! Talking 110 Days in Europe, Our Budget + More

For anyone curious to hear my voice (or some approximation thereof; does anyone else feel self conscious about hearing their own voice on audio???), I’m on a podcast today!

Earlier this summer, Kathleen Paley invited me to come on her podcast—The Reframe—to talk about our 110-day family adventure in Europe.

To any of her listeners visiting me here in this little corner of the internet for the first time: Welcome. I’m Elisabeth!

Kathleen and I have a lot of overlap in how we think about money, family, travel, and spending according to our values, so this was a very fun conversation.

And we covered a broad range of topics.

We talked about why John and I decided to take our kids to Europe for almost four months in the first place… and why now felt like the right time to do something this big.

We talked about the highs and lows of spending 110 consecutive days together as a family. (Spoiler alert: we still liked each other at the end!)

We talked about money. Specifically, how we managed a trip like this without spending an astronomical amount—where we were frugal, where we happily splurged, and how the whole thing fit into our broader family ethos of saving aggressively in some areas so we can spend freely on the things we value most.

(Here are the travel spending breakdowns I referenced a few times in the podcast episode: Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Portugal.)

There are some important caveats to our total spend, which we discuss in the episode. We used points for a variety of things, and because John continued working while we travelled, some expenses overlapped with legitimate business costs. And, we were awarded nearly $4,000 in flight cancellation compensation. But I was still surprised by how affordable the trip ended up being.

We spent… a lot of money on amusement parks. We rode a gondola in Venice. I paid an objectively ridiculous amount of money for a latte in Copenhagen. We just tried very hard to spend where the ROI was high for us.

Kathleen also asked about homeschooling, and I gave us two grades: a D in traditional schooling and an A in organic schooling.

We did one day of formal math before that particular aspiration collapsed spectacularly. But the kids toured Dachau, saw Roman ruins and Viking ships, visited world-class art museums, navigated public transit in unfamiliar countries, and can now locate every country in Europe on a map.

We also talked about why this trip fit so naturally into what we want for our family.

International travel is something we value as part of our kids’ education. They’re Canadian-Portuguese dual citizens, and we want them to understand that Europe could potentially be part of their future—not just somewhere Dad disappears to for work.

And with our daughter finishing Grade 9, this felt like one of the last easy windows for an adventure of this scale.

More personally, the trip was about choosing the bigger life.

Given the choice, I’m content to stay home with a book, a blanket, and a cup of coffee. Leaving that life for 110 days was way outside my comfort zone.

And…

I am so glad we went on this trip.

You can listen to my full conversation with Kathleen on The Reframe.

And come back this Thursday because we’re switching places! Kathleen will be here answering my questions about what early retirement actually looks like now that she and her husband have officially reached FIRE.

Your turn!

• What’s a trip or experience you’re especially glad you said yes to?
• Are you naturally more of a “choose the bigger life” person, or do you have to talk yourself into it?