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.

Another week has come and gone. Let’s see how I did.

Travel

Zero. I stayed in Θεσσαλονική (Thessaloniki) all week, and walked anywhere I needed to go.

Accommodation

Same hostel; different exchange rate. The cheapest way so far remains booking directly with the hostel, and using my ‘no foreign transaction fee’ credit card. The larger the block of time booked, the better rounding works out for you in the exchange rate.

Food

I did a pretty good job stuffing myself with the free breakfast at the hostel in the morning, and grabbing something cheap from a take-away place in town for most of the week. On Monday and Tuesday, I went out to ‘fancy’ restaurants with people I met in the hostel so…budget sort of busted? The food was amazing though. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of the delightful treats here.

Other

Travel insurance: $3.07 per day.

I went to the Λευκός Πύργος (White Tower) on Friday: $2.46. It was OK, and would have been excellent if there had been plaques in English. Why the ‘symbol of Thessaloniki’ only has signs in Greek I will never know.

Saturday was laundry day: $3.69. Speaking of laundry, the socks I bought last week had their first trip through a washing machine. They’re already showing signs of wear. While disappointing, at least they were cheap so I consider it more of a learning experience than a waste of money.

On Tuesday, I gave in and tried the ‘pirate cruise’. While technically free, I bought an orange juice for the compulsory drink: $6.15. It was touristy, but so worth it; especially before the ‘captain’ jumped on the bow with his bell and pirate flag.

Also on Tuesday, the data SIM I ordered was shipped from the US to my hostel in Greece: $14.00. I should see it in a couple weeks. If all goes well, the cheaper data rates will make up for the cost of sending it 1/4 of the way around the world.

On Wednesday, I sent some money to the cell (mobile if you’re from the UK) carrier I’ve been using: $12.41. It seems the services I pre-paid don’t roll over to subsequent months so I tried to purchase a roll-over option via credit card. Since credit card transactions don’t get to the merchant until a couple days later, the roll-over purchase failed, but the transaction is still pending. Live and learn right? Fortunately, they give out freebees for logging into your account once a week. So in a few weeks, I’ll be back to everything I had before…until the next month rolls around….

Summary

Even with the occasional set-backs, it’s still been the cheapest week yet! The financial story continues next Friday….

All right, you guys know the drill by now so let’s go….

Travel

Zero. I stayed in Thessaloniki the whole time. Traveling slow is awesome.

Accommodation

So you’ll notice on the spreadsheet that there are different numbers despite staying at the same hostel for the same price (in euros). That’s the difference between the exchange rate I got from an ATM and what I got from my ‘no foreign transaction fee’ credit card. The difference becomes especially noticeable the larger the expense. In this case, I booked a week so…. There’s a travel hack for you.

Food

I’ve save so much money by getting up early enough for the free breakfast at the hostel. And bonus, it’s awesome! I’ve recently discovered fresh baked, wheat bread dipped in tahini and honey. OMG, where has this food been all my life?

I did go out to eat at a ‘fancy’ restaurant on Wednesday: $18.45. I mean…eating like a king for the price of a normal sit-down place at home is still winning in my book.

Other

Travel insurance: $3.07 per day.

On Saturday, I did laundry: $3.69. It would have been double that, but I went for the air-dry option. They give us balconies with contraptions to hang clothes from so of course I had to use it.

Similar to laundry, I bought 3 pairs of cheap socks from the local flea market on Saturday: $3.69. I got them because they’ll take up a lot less space in my backpack. I haven’t run them through the washing machine yet though so the jury’s still out on how well they’ll hold up to normal wear and tear. More on that in next week’s Financial Friday.

Also on Saturday, I bought a Greek grammar book…that’s in Greek: $4.92. Since Greek has 4 cases and I’m trying to learn the language, I figured a book would come in handy. So far, I’ve tried to read the commentary explaining the lessons once…and that’s been it. Hopefully, I’ll get come real use out of it eventually.

On Tuesday, I bought a SIM card from GigSky. They have deals with carriers all over the world for cell data. I’m hoping it works out so I won’t have to buy a local SIM in every country I visit. It would have cost me $9.99, but I had some Amazon credit from when I was back home. You guys can add that into the total cost if you like.

On Thursday, I found a Greek class I really like: $49.20. That’s half the cost of the 4 month course…and it’s a total steal. When I was looking at most language programs, they wanted about $400 for 6 weeks worth of lessons. Will I become fluent? Hell no. But I consider attempting to learn the language part of my cultural studies so it’s totally worth it to me.

Summary

So this has been my cheapest week yet. Traveling slow pays off. And I really enjoy not being go-go-go all the time. Until next week….