Travel Is Cheaper Than Divorce

Navigating Emotions and Logic: Enhancing Relationships and Travel Planning

• David Packer • Season 1 • Episode 10

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Ever felt like travel planning could be a minefield of emotions and logic? Join me, David Packer, on this engaging episode of "Travel is Cheaper than Divorce," where I share personal stories that unravel the delicate dance between emotions and rationality in both travel and relationships.

From a heartfelt compliment from my spouse that reinforced the importance of blending emotional insight with logical thinking to the time I booked a flight on the wrong day due to frustration, you'll learn why patience and rational planning are vital. Find out how a wise mind can not only save you from costly mistakes but also make your travel experiences more enriching and enjoyable.

Patience isn't just a virtue; it's a game-changer in relationships and travel. Hear about a touching moment when my wife affirmed my worth, showcasing the rewards of being patient with oneself. Discover the broader implications of patience with family members, and how this can stretch your travel budget further. 

Whether you're looking to enhance your familial bonds or master the complexities of travel planning, this episode offers invaluable insights that can transform your journey. For more tips and tricks on luxurious travel at little to no cost, be sure to connect with us on our YouTube channel, Travel Point Pros.

Speaker 1:

You are listening to. Travel is Cheaper than Divorce. This podcast for all those who may be struggling with their spouse or their children and the relationship with them. We help give you tips and tricks by using travel as the means to be able to help your relationships with your family. I'll provide those tricks and other ways to help travel with little or no cost, so let's get into it.

Speaker 1:

One of the most beautiful things my spouse ever said to me recently was, well, two things. One thing that she said to me recently is you are a very good person. That's really important to me and so it really touched me. That was probably the one more impactful thing she said. But one of the other things she said recently or I won't say recently, within the next last couple of years, and she's's reiterated a couple of times is that she loves my mind. Why is that so important to me? Because my mind is what's caused a lot of the problems in our marriage. It's because I'm too far up my head up in my head that I cannot sometimes see emotions. The reason I bring this up is because it's not like being in your head is bad and it's not like having emotions is bad either. It's the merger of those two things and what is called wise mind having both. That's so important.

Speaker 1:

Because of the divorce that I keep referencing, I learned to shut off my emotions. I thought they were useless, almost in the way, and they have been in certain circumstances, and that's what I want to talk about is there are certain circumstances and I'm going to give some examples here in my life, where emotions do get in the way of what you're trying to do. There's this one time do get in the way of what you're trying to do. There's this one time and this I want you to relate to, because when I'm talking about these things, these concepts, and I talk about points and miles in my other business, patience is probably the most important thing you can have. You don't want to be emotional. When you book a trip, you can be excited. Don't want to be emotional when you book a trip, you can be excited. But the problem is is when you're emotional, you make irrational decisions where you need to make rational ones. So so the example here I once booked a trip forgive me, I cannot remember where. Now, where was it? Oh, it wasn't the entire trip, thank goodness, because that would have drove me insane, because I'm kind of a tightwad and a penny pincher in a lot of ways, but it was just one leg of our flight to Hawaii and I was so impatient that day, so impatient it was just not a good day with our children and I was so impatient it wasn't a good day at work either. It just ultimately wasn't necessarily a good day. So I'm flustered and I'm frustrated, and that's the day I chose to book this leg of my journey on the Hawaii trip.

Speaker 1:

It's hard to explain without explaining points and miles. So, very briefly, when you book trips with points and miles, you generally want to book one-way tickets to your destination and you generally want to be airport agnostic. In other words, you go from whatever airport that's around you, even if it isn't the closest one. So when I booked my tickets to Honolulu this is the trip I took with our kids, because we had a trip earlier with just my spouse and I, but when I booked these tickets anyways, I already booked tickets from San Jose to Honolulu. San Jose, that's weird, yes, it is weird, but that was the cheapest tickets as far as points and miles are concerned, where I could fly first class for the same price as coach, and that's what I usually try to do when I'm booking longer flights. I don't like to sit in coach on longer flights anymore, because I can not, because I'm uppity. It's simply because the points and miles work out better for me anyways. It's just cheaper. But just having that background understanding, I need to book a flight from my closest airport to which, as you guys know in the other previous episodes, is Vegas to San Jose. That one was not going to be booked with points because it's such a short flight. It's really a waste of points to do it that way. That one was going to be a cash flight, which makes the story even worse.

Speaker 1:

Really, because I was frustrated, because I was flustered that day, I booked the flight on the wrong day, completely the wrong day, completely the wrong day. Or was it the wrong? Yeah, it was the wrong day. I mean, that's a rookie mistake and at this point I felt like I had the points in traveling and everything down. I'm deep into the system and I still effed it up. And why? Because it doesn't matter how much you know, if you are frustrated, flustered, angry and you try to book a trip at that time, that's a terrible idea. It's because I was impatient. I could have waited another day and I should have, I really should have but emotions got in the way in this case. I mean, you've heard me say before that love is the most important thing and makes the world go around. That's an emotion, right, I think it's stronger than that, but let's just call it an emotion for the for the sakes of this, this episode. So I'm basically saying emotions, or love, is the most important thing. I agree with that 100%. But it's important to also have the other side of your mind, especially, especially when booking travel.

Speaker 1:

Because in this game and it's become kind of a game for me it's kind of fun to me my wife laughs at me because I find it fun and amusing One of those guys right To build spreadsheets and figure out the best deal and get this best deal and fly in the most beautiful things and the beautiful ways and finding these things out of nowhere that nobody else could find. It's just so much fun to me, it's quite exhilarating could find. And it's just so much fun to me. It's quite exhilarating, if you haven't told already, I'm pretty much a geek in this way. So it is kind of fun to me. But this game, this booking travel, going on trips. It takes patience. It takes patience. It takes patience with the system TSA isn't the most beautiful thing in the world, for example. It takes patience in your travel. It takes patience Even sometimes. I keep talking about the beauties of travel like it's all roses.

Speaker 1:

Let me tell you another story. When my family were traveling and this is the family trip to Hawaii my wife and I had another argument there and it was not a pleasant one what one is, but it wasn't good and emotions got flared up and me being the person I was got really defensive, which is not helpful at all. By the way, to tip to guys out there, defensiveness never a good thing. Changes tend to change the whole mood of the conversation. Emotions, emotions almost completely got in the way of our kids' trip and it wasn't pleasant way of our kids' trip, and it wasn't pleasant. Actually, if I were to really really be honest with all of you looking back, it's my lack of emotion, my lack of emotion, that actually caused that problem in the first place. I just want to be upfront with you and that causes emotions to be flared up and other things. I think there are more people out there than want to admit that they're also struggling in this way.

Speaker 1:

So when booking travel, when living life, it's important to have emotions, but it's also really important to have your wits about you, as they put it. But it's also really important to have your wits about you, as they put it. Again, going back to the term wise mind, it's important to have a very wise mind. Both have the emotions and the logic behind it. Let me tell you why. One more reason why Because I've been talking about cash booking when I gave you that example.

Speaker 1:

But points booking takes a lot of patience because you might have to search for days on end because certain amounts of points I don't want to get too deep into this but certain amount of points you may have a ticket to. Again, we're going to use Honolulu as an example. From wherever, what airport, that is 30,000 or, excuse me, let's say, 120,000 points one day, and then, literally two days later, it could be 40,000 points. So sometimes you have to check daily. Don't really have to check daily, but you have to check often enough and be patient and not book the first thing that you think is great. You have to have a goal, you have to understand what you're after and then you go get it and be patient until you find it. So don't let emotions get in the way of what is a logical exercise, or don't let logic get in the way of what is a very emotional exercise, which is being with your family. So, if you have the time.

Speaker 1:

Another thing about patience I alluded to this in an earlier or another episode If you're really patient and the more patient you are, the better deal you're going to get in travel. Especially If you're really patient, then you do flexible dates. You don't even pick a date and you just find the date that has the cheapest flight, the cheapest hotel, and you run those dates. That's a great way of doing things. By the way, I've done that before. It was wonderful. Great way of doing things. By the way, I've done that before, it was wonderful.

Speaker 1:

So if I were to give you a takeaway again today, I would tell you this Find the wise mind. I think for I'm just talking generalities. It's not always true, but usually for men they're more in their head and for women they're more in their heart If you really want to come together, you both need to find a wise mind, and in that wise mind is I talk about booking travel and being patient, and you should be more in your head, but maybe not Really. You need to have both. You need to be in that wise mind. It is the best place to be for nearly everything. So take stock of yourself again and be patient when you book. I'll just say it that way your takeaway today is be patient when you book travel.

Speaker 1:

If there's a place that you and your spouse have always wanted to go, go, go. But that doesn't mean today, that doesn't mean tomorrow. It means be patient and find when that time is. Sometimes it's not that the destination that's expensive, it's the time that's expensive. As we talked about the summer, you don't want to travel in the summer Usually more expensive. When is the great time to go when? When is the cheapest time to go? But make sure, obviously, that it's not a place like, again, canada in the winter.

Speaker 1:

If you don't like the winter which I don't like the winter I hate the snow. Generally speaking, I like to visit the snow, but I don't like the winter. I hate the snow. Generally speaking, I like to visit the snow, but I don't like to live in it. Let's just put it that way. So be patient when you book your travel.

Speaker 1:

Be patient with your family. Really, honestly, I'm going to say something like I said. One of the things my wife said that impacted me more recently was that she told me I was a good person, because sometimes I'm not very patient with myself. So sometimes it's good for you to be patient with yourself. Be patient with yourself too. Be patient everybody with yourself, with your spouse and with your travel, and that will make your dollar stretch so much farther dollar stretch so much farther. You have been listening to Travel is Cheaper Than Divorce with me, your host, david Packer. Please connect with us on our YouTube channel at Travel Point Pros. There, you will learn many tips and tricks on how to use points and miles to travel in luxury for little to no cost. Remember to like and subscribe and comment on any of the videos that you find helpful to you. Thank you for listening.