One of my favorite financial literacy blogs, Stacking Twenties, nominated me for the Liebster Award a while back, and I am so thrilled (albeit incredibly tardy) to receive it. She gives great advice to the twenty-somethings looking to get their financial lives in order, and shares stories about her own path to financial stability. She also does financial coaching! Basically, if you have personal finance questions, check out Stacking Twenties immediately. Thank you for the nomination!

The rules are:

1. Link back to the person who nominated you.
2. Answer the questions given to you by the nominator.
3. Nominate up to 11 other bloggers with fewer than 200 followers.
4. Create 11 questions for the nominees.
5. Notify all nominees via social media/blogs.

Here are my answers:

Questions:

1.Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging for a couple of reasons. The first is because I love travel. I love traveling, I love planning trips, I love talking about travel, I love reading about travel. At the time I started The 9 to 5 Wanderer, I was hit by a major case of wanderlust but had absolutely NO money to spend. Like negative money to spend. The second reason is because I love writing, but didn’t had much time or reason to do creative writing and was looking for an excuse.

2. What’s your most popular post? Why do you think it’s so popular?

Interestingly, I have an exact three way tie between the following posts:

How to Survive a Long Haul Flight

How I Like to Travel vs How Travel Bloggers Want Me to Travel

Is Frequent Travel Actually Bad for You?

The first of these three are travel tips, which I think are always popular because they are useful for everyone, and the other two are opinion pieces I wrote, which pleasantly surprised me. I guess I need to do more of that!

3. What have you learned how to do in the last year that’s improved your life?

I guess I didn’t exactly learn this but I began practicing yoga this past year (a travel blogger who does yoga, how cliche, I know), which has been such a game changer for me. For a high-stress injury-ridden gal like myself, yoga has proven to be the too good to be true silver bullet to many of my life woes.

4. What do you never regret spending on?

Experiences, especially those with family and friends. For me, that usually entails, you guessed it, travel. I also have recently gotten into yoga which is a bit more spendy of an activity than I’d like it to be (watching Youtube videos just isn’t the same as going to the studio for me), but I try to remind myself that the health and wellness benefits make it a worthwhile splurge.

5. What’s your biggest goal for the next year?

I’d like to kill off my Graduate Plus loan this year. There. I said it. It’s a super aggressive goal, as my current balance is $13,000, but it’s also a super aggressive loan with a very high interest rate. I’m starting to get to the point where my loans are becoming a real pain in the patootie, and I just want to get rid of them. Eliminating that comparatively small but high interest loan would be a MAJOR achievement.

6. What’s a book you’ve read recently and loved?

I have a not-so-secret addiction to mediocre to good mystery books. I say mediocre to good because honestly, they don’t have to be bestsellers, just give me a fast-paced story line and some mildly entertaining characters and I’m stay-up-til-2am hooked. I love reading, but a book snob, I am not.

7. If you didn’t have to work for a living, how would you spend your time?

Most definitely travelling the world and exploring new cultures (shocking, I know). I’d also like to donate my time to a charity or non-profit for a cause I felt passionate about.

8. Where’s your favorite place that you’ve lived?

My favorite place I’ve lived was Highbury, a neighborhood in London, England. I lived in the cutest little cottage on a charming little road in a neighborhood with lots of cute shops, cafes, parks, and restaurants. Basically my dream come true.

9. If you could time travel, where/when would you go?

I’m really into period pieces so probably the Victorian Era, although I would only want to stay for a short while because while I’m enamored with the time period, I also think it would probably be quite cold, dark, and a bit dirty. Did you know up until the early 1900’s women only washed their hair roughly once a month?!

10. How do you take your coffee?

I don’t drink coffee, actually, but I get my caffeine fix through copious amounts of tea, taken strong, with milk and a hint of sugar.

1. The Life of A Travelling Law Student– I appreciate your commitment to squeezing in short trips despite your insane law school schedule!
2. Road Warrior Voices- Great articles about interesting and amusing things in the travel world. Lots of excellent tips and tricks here, readers.
3. The Roaming Rose– Your travel photos are absolutely stunning and as a former Londoner I love your London Life stories.

Questions:

1. Why did you start blogging?
2. What’s your most popular post? Why do you think it’s so popular?
3. What are your new year’s resolutions?
4. What is your favorite travel destination?
5. What is your favorite dessert?
6. What was the most recent movie you saw in theaters?
7. What’s your best tip for saving money to travel?
8. If you could swap lives with any historical figure, who would you be?
9. You’re offered to have one of two superpowers, invisibility, or the ability to fly. Which do you choose? (And why?)
10. Do you have any pets?
11. Where is next on your travel bucket list?

Thanks for the nomination!