{"id":2399,"date":"2016-05-17T12:03:44","date_gmt":"2016-05-17T17:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/larakrupicka.com\/?p=2399"},"modified":"2016-05-17T12:03:44","modified_gmt":"2016-05-17T17:03:44","slug":"deciding-when-to-splurge-on-a-bucket-list-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/larakrupicka.com\/staging\/6885\/2016\/05\/17\/deciding-when-to-splurge-on-a-bucket-list-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Deciding When to Splurge on a Bucket List Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/larakrupicka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Deciding-When-to-Splurge1.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-2406\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/larakrupicka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Deciding-When-to-Splurge1-300x300.jpg?resize=300%2C300\" alt=\"Deciding When to Splurge\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>The nine days my husband and I recently spent in Italy were filled with dream-come-true events. Just being in that country and seeing the sights I&#8217;d heard so much about would have been enough. But the extra tours (and a class) that I booked, along with some first-class travel and hotels\u00a0brought the trip up to the level of truly memorable.<\/p>\n<p>In previous posts, I\u00a0talked about how I saved money on <a href=\"http:\/\/larakrupicka.com\/2016\/01\/11\/bucket-list-travel\/\" target=\"_blank\">airfare <\/a>and <a href=\"http:\/\/larakrupicka.com\/2016\/02\/18\/bucket_list_lodging\/\" target=\"_blank\">lodging <\/a>using points and miles. I&#8217;ve always been thrifty, so I knew any bucket list trip I took would be done on limited funds (we <em>are<\/em> saving to put three girls through college, after all). As I showed in those posts, bucket list travels\u00a0don&#8217;t have to be overly expensive. But that doesn&#8217;t mean you shouldn&#8217;t occasionally splurge when it comes to once-in-a-lifetime experiences. It may be that those splurges end up being (to borrow from the well-known MasterCard commercial) priceless.<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t know when to splurge and when to save your pennies for another bucket list experience? Here are some criteria that worked for me:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Does\u00a0this option represent the quintessence of my bucket list experience?<\/strong> One of the tours I booked for us involved having lunch and wine\u00a0on the terrace of a vineyard in Chianti overlooking the Tuscan hills.\u00a0You can&#8217;t get much better than that for experienc<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2361 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/larakrupicka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_2463-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225\" alt=\"Chianti Vineyard\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/>ing the essence of Tuscany. Both the food &amp; scenery were amazing.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Does it afford me\u00a0an inside or behind-the-scenes look at something I\u00a0have admired from afar for a long time?<\/strong> We happened into the chance to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which gave us a perspective many don&#8217;t often gain and definitely became a memorable part of our trip\u00a0(confession: we actually didn&#8217;t have to pay to climb, thanks to some generous fellow travelers, but having the opportunity made me realize why it might be worth shelling out money\u00a0for options like that in the future).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Will I\u00a0continue benefitting from it afterwards?<\/strong> We took a cooking class in Florence, which gave us know-how and recipes we&#8217;ll use for making meals at home. Also, I booked this because my husband loves to cook and learning to cook Italian dishes in Italy &#8211;\u00a0\u00a0what&#8217;s not to love about that?<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/larakrupicka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_2392.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2365 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/larakrupicka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_2392-225x300.jpg?resize=225%2C300\" alt=\"In Tavolo Cooking Class\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Is the incremental cost minimal compared to the benefit?<\/strong> We were able to book a first class train compartment on one leg of our trip at the same price as second class, thanks to an available discount. It was <em>so<\/em> worth it for the privacy and comfort, even for a three-hour trip. Again, having experienced it, I&#8217;m going to keep my eye out even more for upgrade options like that, if they come\u00a0at little to no extra cost.<\/li>\n<li><strong>How does it fit the rest of my\u00a0adventure? Will this particular splurge improve the rest?<\/strong> I booked two nights at the Park Hyatt Milan (can you say &#8220;Five-Star Luxury&#8221;?) for the end of our trip. And while I used a credit card benefit to get them, I might consider splurging on better\u00a0accommodations similar to that\u00a0in the future.\u00a0The rest, relaxation, comfort and pampering we experienced there allowed us to return home more refreshed.<a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/larakrupicka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_2584.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2364 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/larakrupicka.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_2584-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225\" alt=\"IMG_2584\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Is my\u00a0bucket list experience itself a splurge?<\/strong> Maybe you&#8217;ve always wanted to fly first class or stay in a penthouse suite. Then saving up to make those happen, even if you have to pay full price (although on the first class flight I would argue that\u00a0there are plenty of ways around it), would make your decision for you.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Do I\u00a0have exclusive access through connections, or just being at the right place at the right time?<\/strong> This reason alone may not be worth the splurge, but combined with the above factors, could sway your decision.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some splurges are obvious &#8211; ones that match a\u00a0favorite hobby or interest or are somehow otherwise so perfectly suited to you or your family members. Others, aren&#8217;t so clear &#8211; but don&#8217;t blow them off. Give it some thought using the considerations I&#8217;ve listed above.<\/p>\n<p>I spent years saving my pennies and skipping add-ons when it comes to our family&#8217;s experiences. Only recently did\u00a0I discover how the occasional splurges can elevate an experience and add value well beyond the monetary cost. Hopefully the tips I&#8217;ve shared here will help you not miss out on special opportunities in your bucket list adventures when it comes to considering pricier options.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The nine days my husband and I recently spent in Italy were filled with dream-come-true events. Just being in that country and seeing the sights I&#8217;d heard so much about would have been enough. But the extra tours (and a class) that I booked, along with some first-class travel and hotels\u00a0brought the trip up to&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more-container\"><a href=\"https:\/\/larakrupicka.com\/staging\/6885\/2016\/05\/17\/deciding-when-to-splurge-on-a-bucket-list-experience\/\" class=\"button read-more\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,43,12,33,26],"tags":[42,34,63,24,13],"class_list":{"0":"post-2399","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-bucket-list-travel","7":"category-bucket-lists-2","8":"category-choice","9":"category-life-hacks","10":"category-planning","11":"tag-bucket-lists","12":"tag-good-food","13":"tag-planning","14":"tag-priorities","15":"tag-purpose","16":"entry","17":"has-post-thumbnail"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Lara Krupicka","author_link":"https:\/\/larakrupicka.com\/staging\/6885\/author\/laraadmin\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe5GGb-CH","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/larakrupicka.com\/staging\/6885\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/larakrupicka.com\/staging\/6885\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/larakrupicka.com\/staging\/6885\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/larakrupicka.com\/staging\/6885\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/larakrupicka.com\/staging\/6885\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/larakrupicka.com\/staging\/6885\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/larakrupicka.com\/staging\/6885\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/larakrupicka.com\/staging\/6885\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/larakrupicka.com\/staging\/6885\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}