Financial Friday 8

You all know the deal by now. Let’s break down my expenses.

Travel

On Saturday, a couple with a rental car took a few of us out to see the tallest mountain near Thessaloniki. I probably should have given them something for gas…. Oops. I guess I have their contact info, and can get them back eventually. I’m sure we’ll cross paths again at some point.

On Monday, I went to Σέρρες (Serres) by train, and came back on Wednesday. I saved 2 euro each way by booking the return trip at the same time as the one going out. Score! It ended up running me $8.80 each way. Check out the blog post about the trip if you’re curious, but to sum up, it was totally worth it.

Accommodation

Monday and Tuesday are a bit higher as AirBnB is typically more expensive when traveling solo. It was really nice to not have roommates for a couple nights though.

The rest is at the hostel in Θεσσαλονήκι (Thessaloniki). The variable prices are mostly due to currency fluctuations, and rounding. Bottom line: the larger the expense, the better rounding will work in your favor.

Food

Yeah so…this looks really bad over the weekend. I really got along with my roommates at the hostel, and we went out for food and drinks every day. Between a bunch of shared appetizers, main dishes, and wine…well, it adds up. The lesson here is don’t make friends if you want to be cheap…. The company was excellent though. I really miss those guys.

Other

Travel insurance: $3.07 per day.

On Friday, I went to a nightclub with a local I met: $6.20. There was a lot of dancing involved. It was pretty fun, but this introvert can only take a few hours of that so I went home earlier than the rest of the gang.

On Saturday, I went to the Thessaloniki Modern Art Gallery: $2.48. It was interesting to see what people did with selfies…I mean, self portraits. I also think it’s the only museum where I saw locals. I guess they’re over the whole ancient ruins thing.

Oh yeah, I also went to the Ανακτοπικό Συγκρότημα Γαλερίου (Anaktoriko Sigkrontima Galeriou: basically, it’s the ruins of the old Roman palace built by Galerius) on Sunday. The cost was nothing! I guess they figure it’s no use as they can’t stop people from walking around the outside and looking in. The sidewalks above it are some of the busiest in the city so….

Summary

So not the worst week ever, but I’ve certainly done a lot better while I’ve been in Greece. And I made some cool friends, and got out of the city for a bit so I’d say it was pretty good all things considered.