After finding out the cost of the 90,000 mile car check-up, I decided to try to get a few more no-spend-days under my belt for the minimum wage challenge. While I did do a hike with a friend,
I mostly spent the days working on the computer (I know, boring, but not expensive). In addition I did drive out to visit my sister for an afternoon to see my youngest niece take part in her first dance performance (so cute!)
It was there that my sister found out that I landed a week-long vacation guide opportunity.
I’ve done a lot of traveling to state and national parks in the west and while I wouldn’t consider myself an expert, I do know more of those “secret” places than the average person. I was asked by my dad and his wife to come along on a trip as a guide for a week in Utah where my expenses would be paid (hotels, transportation, etc) in exchange for showing them some of the more interesting spots that I’ve been to in the area.
My sister instantly claimed that this is cheating because she feels that this offer is simply being made because they know that I am doing this challenge, so I should have to declare all the expenses (even though I’m not paying for them). I might be able to see her point if this was the first time for something like this to happen, but the fact is that I have been asked to do similar things in the past when there wasn’t any challenge involved, so I feel it’s perfectly legitimate for me to take advantage of it. For example, we did a Colorado River Grand Canyon rafting trip a couple of years ago that was arranged in a very similar manner.
over the last four days, the only expense I’ve had was buying a drink on the drive to visit my sister which put me back $1.09. I did go to the local coffee shop one day, but still had money on my card so there was no expense there. The other days I went to the library to work. There was no costs on my part for the hike, so for the four days, I came away with only spending slightly more than a dollar.
I expect the next week to be a little more expensive than the last few days, but not by a whole lot since most expenses will be paid for. it should be interesting to see how it turns out. So, what do you think? Is it fair for me not to count any of the expenses on this vacation guide trip?
Four Day’s Spending
Food: $1.09
Car: $0.00
Lodging: $0.00
Travel: $0.00
Health: $0.00
Misc: $0.00
Total: $1.09
Total Spending
Food: $301.66
Car: $597.00
Lodging: $146.31
Travel: $408.26
Health: $2042.65
Misc: $70.10
Total: $3566.18
Jeffrey strain is a freelance author, his work has appeared at The Street.com and seekingalpha.com. In addition to having authored thousands of articles, Jeffrey is a former resident of Japan, former owner of Savingadvice.com and a professional digital nomad.
Comments