2016 Travel Resolution: Mix Family and Business Trips
Prior to having Sesame, I traveled frequently. In addition to traveling back home a couple times a year, I also attended academic conferences and visited friends in different states. While I knew that I wouldn’t have as many girl trips, I still envisioned bringing Sesame and Mr. S to academic conferences with me. I figured I would attend a few sessions, maybe present at one, and then have some quality family time in a new city. And then reality set in…
Throwback picture from my first time attending an academic conference in 2008
The truth is my scholarship and research took a back seat to my new roles as a wife and mom. Not too mention the academy is not as family friendly as I expected. I was still researching and writing, but attending conferences seemed unrealistic while nursing. Plus, we really didn’t have room in the budget for me to attend several conferences a year in different cities. Well earlier this year, I told Mr. S that I needed to start getting back out there. I’m almost ABD and I need to make sure I’m building my CV and making connections.
Photo via Simon Salt Photography
While many people like to use conferences as their time away from family, I really want to incorporate my family into this traveling. I want to share these experiences with my two biggest cheerleaders, so I decided to come up with a plan for bringing my family to work with me. I created a three prong test, which was really me just asking the following questions:
- Do the conference dates fall during a break? Or a less busy time in the year?
- Where is it located? Is it family-friendly?
- Is it driving distance?
These questions helped me figure out if this would be a solo trip for me or one the whole family could attend. With those questions in mind, I applied for two conferences and ended up accepted into both. I declined one because it failed all the questions, and it just would not work out for me to attend solo either. However, I knew I could not decline the second one. Why? Because it is one of the biggest conferences in my field and being accepted the first time I applied is kind of a big deal. Lucky for me, it passed all the questions, so the family will get to travel to work with me this spring.
Photo via Simon Salt Photography
Prior to finding out I was accepted, I decided that we needed to start saving for it because acceptance or not I wanted to attend for the networking. I also didn’t want it to become a financial burden or prevent us from taking a family trip later in the year. So, just like any other time we plan a vacation, we discuss the finances first. This means making sure our credit cards are paid off before the trip and that we’ve set aside emergency just in case money as well. We’re already Capital One users, so we knew wanted to use our credit card for the rewards benefit. I know that there are some people who are totally opposed to using credit cards to pay for things, but I like the security of having the credit card as an option and not having to use worry about my bank account potentially being compromised when traveling.
If you’re on the market for a credit card with travel rewards, look into the Capital One Venture Card. It offers double miles on all purchases-anywhere, anytime, and without most of the restrictions you find in other rewards programs. You can use the rewards for everything from flights to hotel stays, cruises, and even Uber rides. You’re not tied to a specific airline and don’t have to worry about inconvenient flight times or advance booking. We don’t have the Venture Card, but after finding out about all their benefits, I’m definitely going to call them about making that switch for 2016.
Do you mix family and business travel? I’d love to hear your tips and I can’t wait to share what I learn this spring.
If you’re still figuring out your 2016 Travel Goals, use 360 Savings from Capital One to start planning.
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
