Deinfluencing Summer Vacation Travel Influencers (so OVERRATED!)

Summary

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Frugal Friends Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Deinfluencing Summer Vacation Travel Influencers (so OVERRATED!)
Hosts: Jen Smith & Jill Sirianni
Release Date: May 22, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the ways travel influencers shape our summer vacation expectations—and how that influence often leads to overspending, disappointment, and FOMO (fear of missing out). With humor and honesty, Jen and Jill strip back the Instagram sheen to reveal the pressures and realities of “bucket list” travel, emphasizing intentional, budget-friendly, and meaningful summer experiences instead.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Deconstructing the “Travel Now, Pay Later” Mantra

[03:31 – 05:42]

• Social media is rife with messages urging young people to book trips using payment plans because “life is short.”
• Jen: “Book that trip and put it on a payment plan. Life is too short… Pay that off in 18 months.” (03:42)
• The hosts see merit in experiencing travel when young or physically able, but they stress the importance of balancing this with financial responsibility.
• Jill: “You may not have the capability [to travel] when you’re older, but you have the money. When you’re younger, you don’t have the money, but you have the capability.”

2. The Reality Behind Influencer Travel

[05:42 – 08:15]

• Most influencers’ trips are sponsored or comped, so their experiences (and the content they create) don’t reflect a typical traveler’s reality.
• Beautiful online portrayals mask the less glamorous aspects—crowds, logistics, costs, or health issues.
• Jen: “We want to debunk the travel myths that influencers are spouting. Travel is good…but travel within your means, save for it, do it intentionally.”

3. Personal Travel Fails: Switzerland & Bali

[08:26 – 12:49]

• Jill recounts an unexpectedly expensive Switzerland trip: “I budgeted… and it still was nearly double what I thought it was going to be… Everything was so expensive—even tap water!” (08:32)
• Jen shares a Bali story marked by food-borne illness, despite cautious dining. After both stories, they agree that research and setting realistic expectations are crucial.

4. Aspirational Content & Identity Selling

[12:49 – 15:44]

• The algorithm pushes “aesthetic” and aspirational trip content, selling not just vacations but an identity: “The person we want to be.” (12:49)
• Jill: “It’s not just destinations—it’s appealing to parts of us that want to escape, that believe ‘you deserve it.’ But will it really deliver? Maybe, maybe not.”

5. Making Memories: Experiences vs. Purchases

[15:00 – 15:44]

• Jen argues: “You can’t buy memories. Good memories may come or may not, but it’s not because of what you’ve purchased.”
• The most cherished moments often come from simple activities—like family games—regardless of location or cost.

6. Overrated Destinations: Influencer Hype vs. Reality

[19:29 – 25:31]

• Viral travel spots are often overcrowded and underwhelming by the time listeners arrive.
• Clip on Santorini (20:34 – 21:56): "Santorini is the Disney World of Greek islands... highly curated, highly manicured, and genuinely, it felt staged."
• Destinations called out as overrated: Santorini (Greece), Abu Dhabi/Dubai, Blue Lagoon (Iceland), Salem (MA), Amsterdam, Phi Phi Islands (Thailand), and even Switzerland.
• Jen: “If you see a viral video, just assume it’s overrated by the time you get there.” (19:29)

7. Disney: The Ultimate Overrated “Project” Vacation

[25:31 – 34:12]

• The Disney experience is described as less a vacation, more a stressful “project” full of planning, high costs, crowds, and exhaustion.
• Jen: “Disney is not a vacation. Disney is a project you have to manage. It’s magical…but it is highly overrated for how expensive it’s gotten.” (27:29)
• Jill draws a comparison to Starbucks’ ordering confusion: “Disney feels like that times 20.” (30:33)

8. Skimflation & Hidden Travel Costs

[32:53 – 34:12]

• Discusses “skimflation”—paying more for less, like airline seat fees.
• Jen: “If I’ve already purchased my round trip plane ticket, why do I have to pay additional money to choose my seat?” (32:53)
• Airlines intentionally make it confusing to avoid upcharges.

9. So How Do You Travel Well?

[34:12 – 39:38]

• Summer Fun Motivator (34:56): “Fun is not going to come to you this summer. You have to create it.”
• Jill recommends: “Be introspective. Audit what you’ve enjoyed before. Local events, libraries, colleges, theaters—these offer fun and often free opportunities.”
• Jen shares her own “staycation” traditions, pooling resources to create memorable experiences close to home—and emphasizes that it “does not have to be Instagrammable.” (39:38)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Influencer Travel Pressure:

  • Jen: “Life is short, but life is also long.” (04:10)
  • Jill: “Influencers take it so far and normalize something that is totally not reality.” (04:36)

• On Instagram vs. Reality:

  • Santorini Traveler: “Just going somewhere to visually consume it because it’s beautiful is not what travel should be about.” (21:40)
  • Jen: “Disney is not a vacation. Disney is a project you have to manage.” (27:29, 27:46)

• On Parental Pressure & Childhood Vacations:

  • Jill: “Growing up, we just went camping or took simple trips—I didn’t feel deprived, and I loved it.” (18:17-19:29)
  • Jen: “We do as adults feel ‘deprived,’ but as kids, not so much… Aspirational travel content can trigger this.” (19:29)

• On Making Summer Fun Without Travel:

  • Summer Fun Motivator: “Fun is not going to come to you this summer. You have to create it.” (34:56)
  • Jill: “It’s about the life we’re building year over year, not just eight weeks.” (37:03)

• On Overrated Travel Spending:

  • Jill on souvenirs: “I will confidently say I won’t ever do it.” (45:18)
  • Jen jokingly, on receiving souvenirs: “I probably have 3 gallons of vanilla extract from Mexico because my mom doesn’t understand that I don’t bake.” (47:03)

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Practical Tips & Takeaways

• Don’t let influencer content dictate your travel plans or financial decisions.
• Focus on what kind of fun and fulfillment you & your family actually want this summer—define your own “meaningful” experiences.
• Explore local or regional activities and events; small-scale adventures can be just as memorable (and less expensive).
• Avoid viral, overhyped destinations if you want authenticity, value, and less crowding; consider “vacation dupes” or lesser-known spots.
• Don’t feel pressured to create social-media-worthy experiences—cherish genuine connection, not aesthetics.
• Be wary of hidden or add-on travel costs (“skimflation”).
• Skip the souvenirs—memories aren’t purchased, they’re experienced.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:31] – Influencer “travel now, pay later” mentality
• [08:26] – Jill’s Switzerland travel story
• [10:32–12:49] – Jen’s Bali experience and the reality of influencer trips
• [20:34] – Santorini: Instagram vs. reality and ethical tourism
• [25:31] – Disney World as an overrated “project”
• [32:53] – Travel “skimflation” (hidden airline seat fees)
• [34:56] – Summer Fun Motivator: “Fun is not going to come to you…”
• [37:03] – Local events and staycation suggestions

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Closing Thoughts

Jen and Jill emphasize the importance of intentional, budget-conscious travel and memory-making, pushing back on influencer-driven FOMO. Their advice is relatable, digestible, and infused with wit—reminding listeners you don’t need to spend big or chase internet trends to craft a memorable summer.

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Recommended for: Anyone contemplating travel FOMO, craving practical savings advice, or seeking to redefine what a “rich” summer experience means to them—frugally, intentionally, and joyfully.

Transcript

[Commercial Narrator]

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[Jen]

good life sleep de Influencing summer vacation Travel Influencers.

[Podcast Host Intro]

Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast, where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity, and live a rich Here are your hosts, Jen and Jill.

[Jen]

Oh no, it's time for the plane. Okay, and let's make sure we're all walking directly through First Class as they stare you down in disgust.

[Disney Experience Narrator]

Okay.

[Jen]

So sorry. Hey, Frugal Friends. I'm Jen.

[Jill]

I'm Jill.

[Jen]

And travel is overrated. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Travel influencers are overrated.

[Jill]

There you go. Yeah, we did start a conversation along these lines back in our episode titled four Things. Influencers have normalized and we still over consume. But we kind of want to continue that conversation specifically with travel because there

[Jen]

is so much and this is like peak time right now because we are. Maybe you've already scheduled your, like, big trips for the summer, but there are smaller trips for the summer that could have yet to be scheduled. And these are the ones. These are the impulse trips that come after you've watched so many of the spring travel videos and the Coachella videos from spring and all of these things where you're like, maybe I will travel this summer. And we are here to put everything back into perspective for you. And so that even if you've decided I'm not traveling, I am going to sit out for for my financial goals. You'll be able to laugh at a little bit of this and you won't feel so much fomo. So, but first, we are on our last day of our last mug giveaway. So if you want one of our Frugal AF mugs that say Frugal AF on them, head to frugalfriendspodcast.com mug. You must be subscribed to the YouTube channel because you're going to enter your YouTube username in the entry box with your email so that we can tell you if you want or not. So head to frugalfriendspodcast.com mug. That drawing will probably be tomorrow or sometime over the weekend. This comes out Memorial Day weekend. So this is also a great time to, to play if you're on your memorial weekend trip.

[Jill]

Yes. The influence yourself.

[Jen]

It's also my son's birthday. Yes. Seventh birthday. The day this comes out.

[Jill]

Amaz. So, okay, well we got, we got travel influencers telling us life is short. Don't worry about the future. Book that trip.

[Jen]

So this is the kind of, this is what I'm seeing on social media. And I don't know about you, but this is what's in my algorithm. Book that trip. Book that trip and put it on a payment plan. Life is too short. Life is too short to wait for others. Life is too short to not experiencing because you don't have the money right now because baby, put it on the payment plan. Pay that off in 18 months.

[Jill]

Book the trip. Yeah, we're hearing it all over.

[Jen]

It's, it's crazy because there's part of it that's true. Right? Like life is short and there's, there's a really good time to travel when you're younger. Like that is a fantastic time to travel and also like, you know, when you're an empty nester, but those years aren't promised to you. So like, how do you balance that? Like, cause life is short, but life is also long. So. So ye, yeah, there's validity in that.

[Jill]

Yeah. You don't want to deprive yourself so long. I can't tell you the amount of people that I have engaged with, had conversations with, who are in retirement years and now in declining health. And they always put off this trip until retirement and now they're not able to either because they or their spouse are not physically able to do it. And expressing some of that regret that we didn't do it younger when we had the physical ability. But that's the inverse negative relationship of but you have the money. You may not have the capability when you're older, you don't have the money, but you have the capability when you're younger. And how can we find the tension in that? So there is something to this. There's a reason that people say it. But then influencers take it so far and normalize something that is totally not reality. And time and time again we see that these expectations that we have built up because of what influencers are telling us is not actually the reality.

[Jen]

Yeah, we're seeing these beautiful destinations, but we're not seeing behind the scenes. And I think that's really what we want to put into perspective of like, okay, there is a way to travel when you're young and don't have a lot of money. And we'll talk about that. But you have to first not get caught up in all of the beautiful stuff that's on the Internet.

[Jill]

Right. Like we might see pictures, very picturesque locations, maybe even at one of the seven wonders of the world. And it looks as though what a once in a lifetime experience. And then you might go there or you might see an influencer who's gone there and is actually showing you the reality of it's super crowded, it's maybe super bad weather, just the time that you go there. Or it's a lot more strenuous to do the things that you wanted to do than maybe what was sold to you online or you had to have bought a permit to do the thing a year in advance. And you didn't know that until you got there. And so there's so many different reasons that when we then do something, it's just not what we thought it was going to be. And that can be really disheartening if we have spent a lot of money on the thing.

[Jen]

Yeah, we're seeing, yeah, we're seeing first these like worldly women. You know, they're traveling the world and it's like, I want to be like her. Like, I want to do that. I want to be cultured and experience different cultures. And that's amazing. That's a good human want. That's part of like self actualization. If we're looking at the hierarchy of needs, self actualization at the very top is, is creativity and living in your fullness and like experiencing other cultures and how you fit there. That's a human need. But like we also have to remember that most of these influencers, most of the big ones, not everyone, they're getting paid to be there. The trip is comped and that influences how they talk about it and it influences the type of footage that they're able to get right. And so I love these. If you were watching, we showed the compilation of like expectations versus reality. We love seeing that more on social media because it really does expose all of this idiot.

[Jill]

Abroad is such a fun show for this, the, the expectation versus reality. So if you, if you need more de influencing stuff, I do recommend that show.

[Jen]

We both expect experience this personally, too, like you. Your Switzerland story. Yes.

[Jill]

I nearly went viral with my little clip about Switzerland. I really went off because I knew that it was going to be expensive. It was part of a trip that we took with friends where we went to Portugal, London, and Switzerland, and I mean, different parts of there. So, yeah, England. And I knew that the Switzerland portion was going to be expensive. We only planned to be there for three days, and I budgeted for that. And I did a lot of research on what to expect in using public transportation, and it still was nearly double in certain categories, what I thought it was going to be, primarily when it came to public transportation. And that's one of the things that they do. They make it very affordable for those who are citizens of the country. And they just absolutely price gouge the people who are touring, just visiting. The food was absurdly expensive. And it just got to the point where I was so angry the whole time at how much money everything costs when it did not need to be that expensive. There was literal babbling brooks of fresh spring water coming down off the mountains that you could go and fill your cup up with.

[Jen]

With.

[Jill]

With water. That part was great. But then you walk across the street to a restaurant and you ask for tap water, and they're going to charge you $3 for it when you could just go outside and fill up your cup with, like, stuff like that. And I was just at the end of myself, because here's the thing. Yeah, Switzerland is beautiful. They've got the outs. You know who else has the outskirts? Germany, France, Austria, Italy. You could go to nearly any of these other places. It's going to be far less expensive than Switzerland. Skip it.

[Jen]

And that's the vibe of this episode. I'll put you out. You know, like, we want to, like, debunk the travel myths that travel influencers are spouting, because travel is good. Travel is not overrated. But travel within your means, travel within your budget, save for travel. Do it and do it well. Do it intentionally, because I've experienced that, too. I went to Bali, and we tried to do it as inexpensively as possible. We got Airbnbs, we rented scooters, and it was fine. But we were so unprepared for how sick we would get by eating everything. And we thought we were going to restaurants where we thought we were safe because there were.

[Disney Price Update Narrator]

It was.

[Jen]

It's very, like, industrialized, like, westernized in some places. And we thought we were safe, and we were not. And we were both, like, sick for most of the trip.

[Jill]

I Mean, there's a whole phrase around it, they call it Bali belly.

[Jen]

And we had it. And this was, but this was before for this was like 2017, 2018. So I think there was like, we weren't going because of the travel influencers, but we also like didn't know enough, we didn't do enough research. So like, yeah, there is stuff that you can be influenced on and then maybe stuff that you need to be influenced on and we will talk about that. But I really do believe summer is like peak aspirational content because algorithms love esthetic beaches, they love day in my life content, especially when that day in my life content is in Italy airport fits luxury experience. Like that is what the algorithm craves because that is aspirational content to a T. And they, we as humans love aspirational stuff. We want, we would rather buy stuff to become the person we want to be than actually do the hard, boring, unsexy work of becoming that person. And the algorithm knows it. Yeah.

[Jill]

And it's not just selling these destinations, locations, trips, it's also selling something so much deeper than that. It is tapping into identity, certainly aspirational identity, the person we want to be. It's appealing to the parts of us that want to just escape. We're so tired, we're so worn down, we just want to get out, we want to have a different experience. Maybe we just truly want to escape our current life. And travel can certainly offer that, or at least it's kind of the promise. It can tap into this. You deserve it. I deserve it. And we do think that a lot of us, most, most of you do deserve good things. You're hardworking, you are aiming at wisdom with your finances. Life is demanding so much of you. There's so much grief and difficulty and pain and, and you deserve good things. And yet travel influencers are going to try and make us believe. And this is it. This is the exact thing. This will exactly hit the mark. Yeah, maybe it will, maybe it won't, and probably not in the way that they're selling it to us. It can also make us feel like we're going to have this sense of belonging depending on the different cultural experiences that they are, you know, idealizing or showing images of them traveling with their family of, look at us, family of four, just jet setting to all the places in Europe. And especially, I think for parents, when it comes to the summer, there's this big question mark of what will we do and how will I make summer magical? I've got to make every single Part of these eight weeks I've to fill it up. I've got to not be distracted. Everything needs to remain done and and food needs to be on the table. But my kids just need to have an absolute blast. It's got to be memorable. I only get 18 of them and what am I going to do when we see somebody selling us this once in a lifetime trip with our family? And won't that be so memorable? I'm never going to regret that I dropped $10,000 on it. You might.

[Jen]

That's the thing. Like experiences over stuff. That's the problem with that, right? Like the experiences usually don't turn out the way you envision them in your head. And there's no way that you can plan for that. Like we say a lot like you cannot buy memories. Like you can't buy a Disney cruise and expect that to result in good memories. It may not. Good memories may come and they may not. But it's not going to be as a result of what you have purchased. You can only put yourself in the opportunity for good memories. And usually those come from playing cards around the dinner table or games or quality time. And you can do that anywhere.

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[Jill]

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[Jen]

But yeah, I think that we have like really missed the mark on we only get 18 summers and I think that's a good wake up call but I think it has placed a lot of pressure.

[Jill]

Yeah it's that tension again that yep, we only live once. Do it while you can do make the most of it. But but also other aspects of your goals and life still matter. Not everything needs to go on hold and you don't need to go into debt for this. And spending money isn't what is the memory making piece. I mean growing up this is not the way that we traveled and I don't feel like I'm really lacking as a result of that at least for me. When I was younger we would do we had a camp and we went to a campground for at least a week every summer and that was a good portion of what we did. We did that with other families as a kid. I mean I can't speak for my parents but I loved it. The campground had a pool, I had friends to play with and we did all kinds of stuff and then occasionally we would do other trips that were most of the time within driving distance and just, just explored whether it was a cheap hotel or staying with friends and family that, that we knew in these different states. Like that's what travel was for me growing up.

[Jen]

Yeah about, for you. I feel like we never felt deprived like as kids but we, we do as adults feel depressed. Well I don't know. Like I feel like I had a lot of fun growing up as a kid and there were things I was told no and like, that was a bummer. And I've taken that with me into an adult, into adulthood. And I want to like, give my kids more. But like, why? Why do I want to. It didn't feel deprived. Right. And so that has been really a trigger for me with watching this, like aspirational travel content. So we wanted to like go into like, what are the most overrated summer travel trends that you're going to see? And the first one is every destination you see on short, short form video. So if there is a beautiful viral video about a destination, you can probably just assume it's going to be overrated by the time you get there. Like this one of the five islands

[Santorini Experience Speaker]

that we visited in Greece, Santorini was by far my least favorite. I am fully prepared to get a lot of crap for saying what I'm going to say, but I do think there are a lot more people than you think that have similar feelings to me. At the end of the day, this is what I think. Santorini is the Disney World of Greek islands. It's crowded, highly touristed, highly curated, highly manicured, and genuinely, it felt staged. It felt like it only existed for tourism, not for Greek people who lived there and then there happened to be tourists there. It literally felt like it was designed and built for tourists. Now, I don't know the entire history of Santorini and obviously, obviously it existed before tourism, but I think that there's a real over tourist problem here and I have contributed to it just by being here. So I'm not saying that I'm better than anyone else. I'm simply saying if you've gone to some other Greek islands, you might understand why Santorini is not a very authentic feeling experience. What we should have done is gone to some of the wineries and hiked the volcano and maybe gone to some historical sites instead of going to Oia and just standing in line with other people to get pictures or to see the blue dome that are actually all over the island of Santorini. I think overall it starts a bigger conversation about over tourism and ethical tourism. Just going somewhere to visually consume it because it's beautiful is not really what tourism should be about or what travel should be about. It should be about experiencing cultures and meeting new people and having great food and really immersing yourself in an entirely new place that you've never been before. And that's different from where you come from.

[Jill]

Yeah. And this one article points out how many places are like that, that once influencers have really highlighted a place and say, go here, go here, then it's just flooded. But that doesn't mean it's the only place to go. And one of the things that stands out to me most in that little clip is the ethical tourism piece. And I think there's so much that can be said about that and ethical tourism. It honestly might look different in different places, but it does have to do with engaging in the culture. Like, if we were to travel, really, it the mindset that we're going into it with, are we just coming in expecting to be catered to, taking and skedaddling, or coming in with, like a learning immersive posture of what can I glean from this culture? How can I not, you know, imprint what I think should be done here? And can I support some of the local businesses, the local attractions, and really learn more about the place that I'm traveling to? Not just the snapshot and snapshot picture of Definitely, obviously has to do with the way that we consume when we're there and probably doing a little bit of research on wherever we're going. How can I go there? Well, what's going to be most meaningful to the people who actually live there? Not just what an influencer told me to do.

[Jen]

Yeah. And this article that I found lists some of these places. But if you know some that aren't on this list, I would love for you to put in the comments places you've been that are overrated. Switzerland isn't on the list.

[Jill]

People do love it. It is beautiful.

[Jen]

I get it.

[Jill]

It's just very expensive.

[Jen]

Abu Dhabi in Dubai is on the list. Overrated. Santorini is on the list. Blue Lagoon in Iceland has over 819,000 posts on Instagram. And people are saying it's just packed and overrated. Salem, Massachusetts. I've actually been there. I was there, gosh, like 20 years ago. And I thought it was cute and eclectic. It is definitely not a place I would go on vacation. I don't know if it has gotten touristy in the last 20 years.

[Jill]

I think around, like, Halloween, I think

[Jen]

people view it as like, we, yeah, we were not there on Halloween. Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Fifi Islands in Thailand.

[Jill]

And that's not to write off whole locations. Right. People do live there and they probably are beautiful in their own right. But as far as just going there because an influencer told you to go there, it kind of bubbles to the surface. The reality that some of this might not be what it was sold to you as. And to make your own informed decisions about where you want to go and also recognize there are other places to visit. It's why this was year ago at this point. But we did an episode on vacation dupes like alternative travel locations to go to if you want something like this experience but you don't want to pay $10,000 and be fighting with crowds to enjoy it. Like she even said in the Santorini clip that there are the blue domes all throughout the island, not just there. And so there. There can be similar experiences had just not in the super touristy sections.

[Jen]

Yeah, a specific location that was not on the list in the article, but we will include here and we will ruffle some feathers. If there's. If there's one group of people I don't want to come for, it's your own people.

[Jill]

Probably.

[Jen]

Yeah. In some ways I wouldn't say that I am one of these people, but I am adjacent to them and is why I will say it. Disney, Disney people.

[Disney Experience Narrator]

This is what you see on Instagram versus the reality of going to Disney World. This is the harsh truth that no one tells you about. You have to wake up at 6am every day to get on the bus and then jump onto the monorail train all just to get into the park. This is an hour before the park officially opens to the public. But just look at how busy it was already. When I tell you I have never run for my life, there was a whole stampede running towards Space Mountain. The thing that they don't tell you is that the really popular rides get sold out so quick. So the only option that you have if you do want to get on the ride is that you have to pay to use a lightning lane, which is $17 per person. The most popular rides there is not even an option to stand in a real queue. Everything is all virtual. Toronto is my favorite ride, so it was definitely worth it. We then had lunch at the Be Our Guest restaurant which we had to book a month in advance. Not gonna lie, I was a little bit disappointed because the Beast only came out for about five minutes. Just be aware that the food here is a set menu and it's $70 per person. Make sure to bring sunscreen because you're gonna need to reapply cuz it if

[Disney Price Update Narrator]

you are booking a trip to a Disney park, all that magic is about to get a lot more expensive. Magic ain't free, people. Disney has announced it is raising ticket prices for its theme parks during peak days in both Anaheim and Orlando, effective immediately. A single day pass to Disneyland around the big holidays like Christmas, New Year's and Thanksgiving will now run you $224 a pop. That is up $18 from last year. A bit of good news, I guess. The price during the least busy days remains unchanged at $104.

[Jen]

Her face at the end of it. $104. Yeah. I mean, I'm gonna be honest. Disney people. Disney is not a vacation. Disney is a project that you have to manage. And it is okay. It's magical.

[Jill]

This is the most, most honest thing I have heard in my life.

[Jen]

It's magical. I am running the Disney World Marathon in January. If you want to help me get there, you can go to frugalfriendspodcast.com run. I'm raising funds for the Ronald McDonald House. And it is truly magical. It has a feeling that places like Universal Studios and other theme parks do not have. I will give it that. But it is highly overrated for how expensive it's gotten. Highly, highly overrated. You can get that experience, I think, by. And you're not going to have a good time with your family. Like somebody is going to have. Somebody's going to be hot, somebody's going to be sick, somebody is going to be tired. You will not have a good time with your family. And that's why more and more Disney is catering to Disney adults that don't have kids and they have disposable income. It's not a secret that Disney is catering more towards affluent families who can afford private tours and Disney adults with more disposable income. And so it is insane how much people will go into debt. And you can find a lot of YouTube videos and social media videos now of kind of calling out and making fun of people for how much they're going into debt and how much they're spending on Disney, which I hate those videos. And I think it's really exploitative. But you don't need to. It's not worth it. Disney is magical, but it's not worth the debt. And it is not as good as the Disney influencers make it seem. I 100% believe that as somebody who goes to Disney once or twice a year. Not it. Not it. Yeah.

[Jill]

If you're gonna stretch yourself potentially financially hurt yourself to get there, think twice, wait it out. Definitely don't go. The kids are not gonna remember if they are under five.

[Jen]

Like, absolutely not.

[Jill]

You're doing it for them. You're not really. Because they're not even gonna remember it. And then you're gonna be so sad because you spend lot of time a spend so much money for them to have this experience.

[Jen]

Yeah, nobody's gonna wanna watch. I know some parents will like leave. If there is a kid that loves Disney, they'll leave the other kids at home and just take that one kid. And that can be a magical experience and it can save a lot of money. And so there are ways to do it. If Disney is important to you, but do not go into debt for it, it is not worth it.

[Jill]

Oh, and the project management piece. Because Disney to me feels like 10 times worse than how I first felt about Starbucks where I didn't understand it. I felt like I needed someone else who knew Starbucks to help me order a drink because what I saw on the menu wasn't what people ended up with. And people, it's like everyone knew what a special order that they wanted to get and I just didn't understand it. And Disney feels like that times 20 where you have to know it if you want to have a good time. And Disney people will tell you this. If you want to have a good time, you've got to do your deep research. You've got to plan months, if not years in advance. You've got to know where you're staying, you've got to know what the itinerary is. You've got to know when you're going to hit what ride, what type of pass is going to be best to be able to get you on those rides. And you're if still not even done because when you're there day of, you've got to sign yourself up for the queue on your phone to get into. To even be able to have the privilege to stand in line for the popular rides. Like you wait in line on your phone and hope that the lottery system chooses you to then be able to go stand in a two hour line to ride the five minute ride.

[Jen]

And oh no, no, no, you don't want to know how long tron is, is one minute.

[Jill]

No way.

[Jen]

The Tron ride is 60 seconds long.

[Jill]

Yeah, yeah. And so that's true. That part's true. You, you, you've got to know so much. You've got to know. And the app is not intuitive. It does not have a good user interface. Show me the lie. And then also this is going to my hot take. The food's not good. I have been to Disney a good handful of times and the best I have found is the Tater Tot Tots in Toy Story World.

[Jen]

And they're Tater Tots.

[Jill]

How can you mess that up.

[Disney Price Update Narrator]

Yeah.

[Jen]

Toy Story World has, has peak food.

[Jill]

The dole whip is, is okay. But a soft pretzel.

[Jen]

Yeah.

[Jill]

Good luck. It's gonna be hard and it's gonna lack salt. Any other type of meat is gonna be super dry and overcooked.

[Jen]

Okay. We could portion size. Jill could go on. Jill could go on. Okay. But I think we, I think you get the idea that there are ways to do it and going into debt to make it this magical one time vacation is not worth it. Another thing that's not worth it. That is a huge trend that seems to just be flying over people's heads when they travel. Literally is skimflation. If I have already purchased my round trip plane ticket, why do I have to pay additional money to choose my seat on the plane? I already paid for my ticket and I'm in basic economy with the rest

[Jill]

of the peasants for a reason. Yeah, that is a thing. I mean, here's the thing. You don't have to pay for your seat. You can let them assign it to you.

[Jen]

Yeah, but they want you to. They want, they design it to make it look like you have to. That is the thing. They design the interface to make it look like you have to pay more for a seat. And they make the button to not pay. Hard to understand. So if you're not traveling often, you may accidentally pay for a seat. And that is intentional. And it, that is making the price of travel get worse and worse. And very few people are talking about it. We are paying more and more for worse and worse experiences.

[Quince/Monarch/Bilt/Chime Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Jill]

So what do, what do we do? We have said a lot about what's not worth it. And influencers are making it seem like it's so great. In reality, it's not. And yet we both travel. I probably travel about once a month. Most of that is to go see family. But still, I'm getting on a plane, I'm leaving my home, I'm doing the thing. So I'm doing it. But how do we do it in a way that is sustainable, that we're actually going to enjoy, that we don't waste a ton of money and look back and think, dang it, I was sold a lie versus something we've chosen and we know that this is how we want to spend our money and what we want to engage in.

[Jen]

And I think this influencer right here really sums it up really well.

[Summer Fun Motivator]

I don't know who needs to hear this, but fun is not going to come to you this summer. You have to create it. So if you don't want this summer to be a flop. If you don't want to look back and be like, dang, like, this summer wasn't even all that. I think you should create a plan for what it is that you want to get out of your summer. I was thinking about how I want to have a really fun summer, but then I was also just like, what is fun even look like for me these days? What does it even mean for me to have fun? And I realized, like, my definition is changing. Parties aren't as fun to me as much as they were before. Even day parties aren't that fun to me. The brunches, the day party brunches, they're not fun to me anymore. And I feel like that was what my summer revolved around a lot in years past. What I do find fun is experiencing new places, meeting new people, and trying new things.

[Jill]

I couldn't agree more. Here's the thing. If Disney is a project you have to manage, I mean, so is our summer. Like, it's not just gonna. A good, meaningful, memorable summer isn't just going to fall into our laps. There is some curation that we have to do. But I think my biggest takeaway as we talk about this concept is that I am introspective about what do I want to get out of these next few months? What would actually be meaningful for me? What have I enjoyed in the past? What have I not? Great. To do an audit of last summer. If you've kept any planners or anything that you can look back on to see what did it look like last summer? What went really well, what didn't. What parts can we recreate? What do I want to weave in? One of the things that I can't recommend highly enough, especially if you don't have it in the budget to go on a trip this year.

[Quince/Monarch/Bilt/Chime Advertiser]

That's okay.

[Jill]

You're not alone. Not everybody is traveling. Not everybody's doing a long road, getting in a plane.

[Jen]

Do you hear that? Not everybody's traveling this summer. It's okay to not travel.

[Jill]

Yeah, but you could. That doesn't mean no. Oh, you don't get to have a good time. I say sign up for the mailing list of. Of your local events.

[Jen]

Your.

[Jill]

Your local venues. Do you have a local theater? Not your big Regal or amc, but a local theater. Get on their mailing list. Do you have a local venue? Do you have a local college? Definitely your library. They're curating a ton of fun stuff for you. Facebook Marketplace events. You're going to learn about the cool stuff that is happening right in your community that you get to be a part of, you get to meet other people. You might get more engaged in the place that you spend your entire year. Right? Because it's not just about eight weeks. It's about the life that we're building year over year. And those are the types of rhythms that can follow us throughout the year. To be able to build that these fun lowcost or free events that we're doing and, and find that we're not missing out. There's not much we're missing out on

[Jen]

and it doesn't have to just be your city. So it's the summer so maybe there's more free time. Work is slower. You can check around the cities that are near you. Maybe an overnight stay of one or two nights and you're doing a staycation. We do this all the time personally. So we go to Orlando five or six times a year and I'm the only one going to Disney once a year. And it's not with my family. It's to run a half marathon or a full marathon. But we will go to the resorts and do a two night stay. Use our points. Kids play on the water slide, lazy river pool. We try to book something that has like that's a little special and we just do that. That's our travel that we do most because that, that's what the kids like. That's offers us the best flexibility for the age our kids are at right now. We get to lounge by the pool, maybe have a cocktail, maybe not, you know, like. So that works better for us in this season versus trying to force something international or even like something like Disney. Something that it looks like other families or other people are doing on social media but they're really just doing it it as aspirational content to get more likes and followers and views. So figure out what does fun look like for me, what does fun look like for my family and what can we do that's maybe a little bit different than what we normally do and take advantage of the freedom of summer without spending a ton of money. And it does not have to be Instagrammable.

[Jill]

Do you know what's free? It's not Instagramable.

[Jen]

Never going away, but it is always fun.

[Jill]

The bill of the week.

[Podcast Host Intro]

That's right. It's time for the best minute of your entire week. Maybe a baby was born and his name is William. Maybe you paid off your mortgage, maybe your car died and you're happy to not have to pay that bill. Anymore. Duck Bills. Buffalo Bills. Bill Clinton. This is the bill of the week.

[Victoria Carey]

Hi, ladies. My name is Victoria Carey. I'm from Madison, Wisconsin. I am a longtime fan. My bill of the week is our legislative bill that I've been working on with some friends in Wisconsin. We've been working with say yes to Recess, our state's chapter and we've our parent chapters in Tennessee. We're all working towards 60 minutes of unstructured play for recess for K through 6. Hopefully, we'll get later grades. But, yeah, our bill got presented to the education committees, and it's been cool to see the process, but hopefully we can get guaranteed playtime. 60 minutes of play time during a kid's work day. Every day for every kid. And we're so excited. Thanks, ladies. That's my bill of the week. Say yes to recess.

[Jen]

How wonderful. And honestly, I know teachers would like that too, because then they will get an extra hour of prep time of. Yeah. Planning time. Maybe they could eat.

[Jill]

Maybe they could have lunch.

[Jen]

Yeah. And we have recess at our elementary school, like, in addition to PE and it's. I got to.

[Jill]

Have they gotten rid of recess?

[Jen]

This is news to me for some,

[Jill]

like, even in the younger grades.

[Jen]

No.

[Summer Fun Motivator]

1.

[Jen]

Yeah, because they'll just have P.E. you know, they'll just have physical education.

[Disney Experience Narrator]

No.

[Jen]

Yeah. But we. There's recess at our school, and it's a public school, and they just get to run around and, like, have unstructured play for, you know, their little imaginations.

[Jill]

Yeah.

[Jen]

So, yeah. Oh, that's wonderful.

[Jill]

What a great way to spend your time. There's. Oh, I shouldn't. I'm not gonna get. I'll say this. If you want to have an impact, I think the best way to do that is locally. I think we can have some of the most impact politically when we are doing it within our community. And I love that this is where you are putting your time, energy, and effort and that you're seeing progress. You probably submitted this, like, five months ago. Feel free to submit an update. Love to know where things are at now. 60 minutes of unstructured play. I love it.

[Jen]

I need it.

[Jill]

Hi. We all need it.

[Jen]

I need it.

[Jill]

Yeah. That's what we can do this summer. Just unstructured play. Have fun. If you have a bill that you want to submit, if it has to do with a legislative bill that you've been working on, go off. Or if your name is Bill, or you have literally anything else Bill related, we can't wait to hear it. Frugalfriends podcast.com Bill thank you.

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[Jill]

And now it's time for the lightning round.

[Jen]

What is Something you never, you'll never splurge on again while on vacation. Biggest, biggest waste of money.

[Jill]

I, I, I've never, I've never really spent money on what I'm about to say, but so I can confidently say I won't ever do it. And it's souvenirs person. But it is very interesting to me how common that is. There's a certain group of people who, they go to a sporting event, they go on a vacation. They like literally anywhere that has a, a thing to buy. It feels like it's part of the experience to them that they have to get it. They've got photo, they've got to get that snow globe, they've got to get that keychain.

[Jen]

That's my mom and she travels a lot for work. So.

[Jill]

And you get, and you have the, and, and then she gives them to you.

[Jen]

Magnets for the fridge, clothes for the kids, like T shirts and stuff. Candy.

[Jill]

I will say there are two exceptions to this that I am, I'm curious, I'm not opposed to. One is consumables. And I will do that. If a consumable can fit in my suitcase and I don't have to do a checked bag for it, I'll do that. And I have not done this, But I do like the idea if this is you and if this is the only thing that you end up doing, but an ornament from any place that you go. Because I do think when you put up a tree and you put the ornaments on it, that's like a reflective time to look back over the years. And if that's a way to kind of bring back those memories and share stories about, I think there is something meaningful to that. So those, those are two interesting things to me.

[Jen]

But I will agree with the ornament. I probably have like 3 gallons of vanilla extract from Mexico because my mom doesn't understand that I don't bake. So, so just always brings me back vanilla extract from Mexico.

[Jill]

I'll take some.

[Jen]

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

[Jill]

Okay. Yeah.

[Jen]

Okay, great.

[Jill]

Stun.

[Jen]

Cool. But yeah, souvenirs also. I hate buying souvenirs. Don't wear T shirts. I just, I don't, I hate it. And I, if I could say something different. Ah, no, that's it. That's the biggest thing. I hate souvenirs.

[Jill]

I mean, I think that overall your pushback on all of this is you're not doing the trending travel. You just, you don't and you won't.

[Jen]

Yeah, I don't like receiving the souvenirs. Either. That's probably the biggest thing.

[Jill]

Good to know. All right, thanks everyone for being here. Thanks for sharing your comments. Maybe the places that you've been to that have been so worth it are the ones ones that haven't been worth it. We'd love to hear about it. We also have been loving to read kind reviews of our book buy what you love without going broke. Like this one from Joy, five stars. Says this book shows you a different approach to what we buy and why. It's not about being cheap, it's about being smart and using money as a tool to finance what we truly want. Beautiful summary.

[Jen]

Thank you, Joy. If you are interested in getting the book, buy what you love book.com and you can look for buy what you love without going broke wherever books are sold. And please subscribe to the YouTube channel if you're still here and you haven't already subscribed. Why not? Why not just do it? We do more de influencing episodes like this and all kinds of episodes to help you be a more conscious consumer and intentional spender. And we'll see you in the next one. See ya. Frugal Friends is produced by Eric Sirianni.

[Jill]

Okay, our summer is going to be full of hot travel.

[Jen]

Oh. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right. Studying for our July exam. But then, then as soon as we take it, I'm gonna take a cruise.

[Jill]

Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm going on a cruise.

[Jen]

You already know that. It's in your calendar.

[Jill]

Oh, that's right.

[Jen]

Yeah.

[Jill]

Caribbean.

[Jen]

You put my cruise in your calendar?

[Jill]

If you're right, no.

[Jen]

Yes.

[Jill]

Caribbean.

[Jen]

With my mom and her boyfriend and all of our family. It'll be Atlas's first cruise.

[Jill]

Oh, you're finally taking him.

[Jen]

We're gonna finally bring him.

[Jill]

Not gonna leave him behind like last time.

[Jen]

Last year he was not potty trained and we didn't want to spend the

[Quince/Monarch/Bilt/Chime Advertiser]

extra to put him in the nursery.

[Jen]

So this year he's potty trained and ready to go.

[Jill]

He's gonna go nuts. He's gonna love being on a cruise.

[Jen]

Oh, he. He's gonna love being on a big boat. He did say I told him we were going on a big boat and he's like, I want to go on a small boat. And I was like, you, you'll go on the big boat and you'll like it. That's what I said.

[Jill]

Mommy spent a lot of money on this and I can't afford to leave you behind. So.

[Jen]

Yeah, so that'll be fun for us.

[Jill]

Yeah, that's true. Like after the test is done, there is still more summer left. That's a fun thought to have. I really hope we pass.

[Jen]

Same before then. Summer does not start until the day after that exam.

[Jill]

No kidding. So it'll be hot but we'll just be inside studying.

[Jen]

Yes, and let's hope we pass.

[Jill]

Yeah, let's get to it.

[Quince/Monarch/Bilt/Chime Advertiser]

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[Commercial Narrator]

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[M]

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