Help, how do I spend more money?

My daughter and I was in Europe 8 weeks in 2005. Excluding our airfare and Eurail passes and souvenirs, we spent less than $100 USD on the average per day.

LOL, Lee. You could either go to a beer hall and make several new friends by buying countless rounds or continue spending as you have and return home to pen your new best seller - Germany on $85 a Day.

Custom-made lederhosen!

Quit using Laender tickets and hire a private driver for the next five days.

Buy a ridiculous amount of steins and ship them back home overnight.

That should do it.

Lee, As your New Best Friend, you could always give your left over money to me.

Lee, I have a daughter in the sixth grade who could solve your problem in no time!

Lucky you, just spend as you normally would save the remainder for another trip another time. I hope you e-note? was just for fun.

Buy me a last minute plane ticket to join you, pay for my hotel, and then we'll take Frank's idea and go to a beer hall to spend the rest! Now that's a way to end the trip!

um, you can leave it here with me. I will keep it safe for you and the next time you come to Germany, it will be here waiting for you. ;-)

Buy more schneeballs!

Schneeballs... Ewwww.

I like JS's idea. Save it for the next trip. My philosoply has always been, the less I spend each trip the more often I can come back.

WHY are you supposed to spend a specific amount? Seems unusual (to say the least) to me

If travelling alone your daily allowance sounds OK for me ( thinking you are backpacking?)

Just guessing, but I think the real question here is "Why does it cost other people so much to travel when I spend so little and have a great time"? I'm pretty cheap myself, spending a minimal amount on food and shopping while still having a great travel experience. Lee, your remarks are actually a good advertisement for German travel and economy.

Ironically, when I found this tongue-in-cheek thread on the helpline, it was right next to another one that suggests a sure-fire way to spend more money.

The title of that thread is "Reasons for Traveling without Info?"

No simpler--or less rewarding--way to spend more dough.

Lee : Fly to Rome, eat every flavor of Gelato there, and fly back to Germany. After you do that, post a reply here, saying what is your favorite flavor of Gelato. And if you still have too much money, spend it all for buying Gummy Bears in Germany.

Hmm, I don't think some of you got this thread at all. Its a JOKE,, he is basically saying( as other poster said) " look how much fun I can have with so little" .

Lee, if you want to spend more I recommend you cancel your last few nights at those cute character hotels and only book into big American or American style chain hotels, Marriotts and Hiltons.. also, be sure to alway eat within a one block radius of any main tourist site, I understand you can get a lovely glass of coke for 10 bucks somewhere on the Champs Elysees,, LOL good luck.

My husband is the one who likes to shop for clothes and shoes on vacation, HOWEVER...

I could do quite some damage with $1675, myself. ; )

Time for a splurge. Maybe you should try the front doors for a change, four star hotels and daily spa treatmennts. That should do it.

Become a woman. The money will disappear and youll have no recollection of how or where it went, but you will have an enviable collection of shoes, purses, scarves and chocolates shaped like the Glockenspiel....

Wow, Tami, as a woman, I deeply resent your post! I travel like Lee does. Not every woman loves shoes, purses, and chocolate.

Tami, as a Woman, I heartily agree with your sentiment. I am sure that Not Every Woman likes to shop (not all men like football) but I Do !!

Well to each his or her own,, but as to myself, I hate wasting time shopping in Europe.. I have fascinating and historical sites to see!!!
I grab a handful of scarves or fridge magnets on the last day and hand those out at home, to heck this hauling around gifts for others!

I'm gonna go with Tami too. I buy one pair of shoes and wear them til I need a new pair. I do like to shop, but I certainly know where my money goes. I also travel more like Lee and there's nothing I like better than saving a buck (or a euro as the case may be). As to chocolate, give me real, dark chocolate from Belgium that I can eat, and I don't care what form it is.

Mail me a check. I will PM my address .

I wasnt trying to offend with my post re: women and shopping. Im a girly girl and love to shop. It was just a silly joke, like his post was a silly post. I know there are other girly girls out there as well that can relate to what im saying :)

Oh, I could do some damage with $1675, too, but not for clothes and purses -- and not in Europe. I only shop for clothes, etc., for myself when I absolutely have to. I buy gifts like Pat does, and I know where my money goes. If shopping is your thing, then fine. But just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I like the same thing or do the same thing that you do. In the same circumstance, I'd hang on to the money for my next trip.

Its ok Tammi, this is just a lighthearted thread,, I may not be a shopper, but I do have my weaknesses ( like flying first class, just once, just to see what it would be like( had a small windfall) .. ( I am now back to strictly economy or ec plus)

I do want to point something out to you shopping ladies, you do not always get the deal in Paris that you would think you would.

I wear a certain L'oreal Lipstick,, it costs me about 9 dollars here,, we saw it in Paris, exact same color, number and line, and it cost 17 EUROS,,, we had a good laugh on that one..

Pat, my mom suggested I should price my favorite Lancome mascara in Germany, so she pulled up a German dept. store website. It was the same in Euros as I spend in dollars! Don't think so! I am more likely to bring food home than anything else.

Isn't that weird Cate, you would think the french lines would be cheaper in France, I guess its a bit like when we were in Hawaii 2 yrs ago,, they were selling whole Dole pineapples for 4-5 bucks, when we get the same ones here , imported from Hawaii, for 3 bucks on sale,, LOL

Shopping is a sport,, and I suck at sports.

My first reply on here was a joke in response to him jokingly asking how he can spend more money. It was not meant to be a directive telling women to go shopping! No need for long winded diatribes explaining how not all women shop, etc.

To break down my expenses, per day:

Food: €20

Lodging: €31

Transportation: €14

Entry and Misc: €5

I don't picnic or buy food at grocery stores, but I do understand the menus and take advantage of less expensive traditional dishes, and lunch is sometimes a sandwich and a drink grabbed at the train station while traveling.

Five nights were at a 3-star "lodge" in the Harz, but half my accommodations were in Privatzimmer (for about €26 per night). My last night costs €62 because I wanted to check out Hotel Königshof in Mainz, because I recommend it (still do) for people leaving early from FRA.

I basically stayed in a small area (western middle Germany), which kept travel expenses down. I also stayed in "bases", so a lot of travel expenses were local tickets. I did have some longer days of travel, for which I took advantage of discount fares, like Länder and Dauer-Spezial tickets.

I have shown my expenses in Euro to keep the exchange rate out. (I could report in dollors my first trip to Germany when the Euro was $.89, but that wouldn't be fair or realistic.)

What do other posters think? Is Germany more or less expensive for travel than, say, Italy? Maybe I've just picked the right country.