How to Reflect and Learn on Experiences

Self-reflection is known as a part of the process of having self-introspection that is done by seeing back and reflecting on many things that have been done in life, like experiences, decisions, and habits. Self-reflection will help you have a better life next time.

Doing self-reflection can open up opportunities for you to see the important things from every situation you have been through. When you have it regularly and on the right way, the self-reflection will make your life better, balanced and happy.

Benefits of Self Reflection

There are various benefits of self-reflection that you can get, including:

1. Understand your strengths and weaknesses

Having a self-reflection will help you to understand your strengths and weaknesses well.

Use reflection to develop the strengths to some concrete skills. Meanwhile, by knowing your shortcomings, you can find out your limits in doing something.

2. Finding valuable lessons

Self-reflection can also help you gain new perspectives and lessons from the things you have experienced. This allows you to be optimistic about the future because you already know that the worst in the present can be beneficial in the future.

3. Responding to something wiser

When you faced a situation and problem, you will respond to the situation carelessly. However, this will lead to bad words or react with regretful actions.

Self-reflection makes you aware of the consequences of your words and also your actions. That way, in the future you can consider the best course of action you can take in certain situations.

How to Apply Self Reflection

Here are some ways to apply self-reflection in everyday life:

1. Prepare important questions

Before doing self-reflection, you need to prepare some important questions for yourself to answer. Some examples of these questions include:

  • What’s my biggest fear?
  • How does this fear affect my life?
  • What’s my biggest regret?
  • Will I get rid of this regret?
  • Is there a way that I can become a better friend, co-worker, or partner?

In addition to the questions above, you can also prepare a variety of other questions, for example, questions that may have been on your mind all along, but you haven’t been able to answer.

2. Select the appropriate method

After determining the questions for the self-reflection process, choose a self-reflection method that is comfortable for you to do.

Various methods of self-reflection that you can choose from include meditating, walking, running, or writing. While carrying out the method you have chosen, answer the self-reflection questions you have prepared beforehand.

Remember, when answering self-reflection questions, you need to be honest with yourself about what you’re thinking and feeling.

If you can answer these questions, then try to think about whether there are things you might learn from them. If so, you can apply those lessons to life now.

3. Schedule time for self-reflection

Setting a schedule will help get you into the habit of self-reflection. Try to start short at first, say 10 minutes, and then add time slowly. By doing it regularly, you will feel the maximum benefits of self-reflection.

However, remember that the point of self-reflection is not to beat yourself up or regret things that have happened in your life. Instead, self-reflection is done so that we can learn and be able to make changes for the better in the future.

If all this time you feel you have made many mistakes or regretted many things that happened in the past, it could be that the self-reflection you are doing is not correct. This should not be maintained because it is not good for your self-esteem and mental health.

If this happens to you, don’t hesitate to consult a psychologist. That way, you can be guided to form a new, better perspective on things that were negative for you.

The most important thing is that you don’t need to regret anything that has happened in your life, all things that have passed, let go. If the past is a sheet you have written, then read it and learn from it. The future is a new and untouched sheet, so write what is good for the future without having to try and force you to do what has been written on the back.

No matter how bad someone’s future is, their future is sacred and they have the right to change themselves and feel happy with what they choose in life.

How to Use Meditation for Insomnia

Sleep pattern problems are a problem for many people. Insomnia at a certain level can cause health problems. There are many ways to deal with insomnia, for example by taking medication or going to a psychiatrist. However, the consumption of drugs will cause unfavorable effects. Therefore, the most likely suggestion is to do meditation.

Meditation before going to bed is known to be able to overcome complaints of difficulty sleeping or insomnia. If you often experience it, this method is worth a try so that you sleep better and of course quality. The following is how to meditate before going to bed and its various benefits.

A study says that around 35-50% of adults are prone to insomnia. This condition should not be ignored because lack of sleep can cause difficulty concentrating and fatigue, which can interfere with activities and productivity.

Here’s How to Meditate Before Sleeping and Benefits

In the long term, sleeplessness can also trigger a variety of serious health problems such as diabetes, hypertension, and even heart attacks. Because the impact cannot be underestimated, you need to deal with this complaint carefully; one way is by meditating before going to bed.

Meditation before bed is believed to reduce stress which often triggers insomnia. This relaxation technique can calm the mind and make the body more relaxed so that you can sleep more soundly.

How to Meditate Before Sleeping

Meditation before going to bed can be done anywhere and anytime and does not require special equipment. You just need a quiet room so you can focus on meditating.

If you are already in a quiet room, you can apply the following meditation method before going to bed:

  • Get into a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down.
  • Close your eyes.
  • Adjust breathing by inhaling deeply for 5 seconds, then exhaling slowly for 5 seconds as well.
  • Do it repeatedly.
  • Try to focus your mind on the movement and rhythm of your breath. Whenever your mind starts to turn to something else, return your focus to the airflow and breathing movements.

If you’ve never tried meditation before, just meditate briefly, take at least 3-5 minutes before going to bed. Once you get used to it, you can extend the meditation time to 15-20 minutes or adjust it as needed.

Benefits of Meditation Before Bed

The main benefit of meditation before going to bed is to improve sleep quality, however, not only that. There are other benefits that you can get from this habit, namely:

  • Increases the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone
  • Reduce pain
  • Improve mood
  • Reducing anxiety and depression
  • Improve focus
  • Control blood pressure
  • Maintain heart health

Apart from doing meditation before going to bed, several habits can also make you fall asleep faster or get better quality sleep, namely:

  • Avoid playing with gadgets when going to sleep.
  • Dim the bedroom light,
  • Consume enough water.
  • Wear comfortable nightgowns.
  • Try to sleep at the same time so that the sleep cycle is formed.

If the various methods above have been tried but you still experience insomnia or difficulty sleeping, try consulting a doctor to find out the cause of your difficulty sleeping so that appropriate treatment can be carried out.

You can also look for the closest person you can trust to be able to share a lot of complaints so you don’t have to keep or keep your feelings to yourself. So in essence, doing good socialization can also be a factor that helps you manage a good lifestyle and avoid insomnia.

Do not let you underestimate the problem of insomnia because you could have a psychiatric disorder and feel frustrated or even acute depression. Every human being has a body that needs rest with its capabilities and capacities, and if that is not fulfilled then it can become quite a serious problem.

After all, sleep is the only time when you can rest your mind and body, and good quality sleep will make you more stable mentally and physically healthy. You can start to calm your heart and mind by meditating.

Such is the review of the benefits of meditation in helping to reduce the problem of insomnia, I hope this is useful.

How to Design Home With Maximize Storage

Are the items in your house more and more? Do you feel confused to put things that you rarely use? Your house looks messy because lots of things are scattered.

An easy way you can do to organize these items is to buy a new storage area. But don’t be in a hurry, because the more storage boxes you have in your home, the more cramped your house will seem.

Try to check some small spaces in your house or places where the arrangement can be rearranged so that it is enough to store more things.

Like the space under the bed, the space under the stairs, or maybe the space behind the door. You can use small places that look useless to store things.

For those of you who are starting to get confused about how to organize your things, please read this article to the end, because in this article we will discuss about how to design a home with maximize storage space.

Tips & Tricks

Here are the points about how to design a home with maximize storage space:

1. Hanging rack

You can move the items scattered on the floor to the shelves that you hang on the wall. Of course you need to buy wall shelves in various beautiful shapes. So besides being used to tidy up your things, this also can be used as a decoration for your room.

2. Use multifunctional furniture

Currently, many furniture craftsmen provide services for custom furniture manufacturing. You can design multifunctional furniture according to your wishes and then discuss it with the craftsmen so that the resulting furniture can have to optimal functions.

An example of multi-functional furniture is a bed with a storage drawer underneath. Or making cabinets with a base that blends with the floor and a height that approaches the ceiling of the house.

3. Optimization of small rooms in the house

This small room, for example, is behind the door, or the part under the stairs.

You can store shoe racks, key chains or even jackets that you usually use behind the main door of your house.

As for the bedroom door, you can use it as a place to hang pajamas or clothes that you have used.

Furthermore, you can use the space under the stairs to store cleaning tools such as brooms, mops, floor brushes and so on. In addition, you can also keep a stock of cleaning soap in the room.

4. Use boxes

You can put items that you rarely use in container boxes. After that you stack the boxes into one pile so they don’t take up space.

Apart from that, you can also put small items such as sewing kits, medicines or other things in small boxes according to their type so that they are tidier and easier to find when you need them. If you don’t have a small container box, you can use a lunch box as a substitute.

You can also use small boxes to organize food ingredients in the refrigerator. Besides looking neat, this can also add to the aesthetics of your refrigerator.

5. Make a kitchen set

The kitchen is one place that contains a lot of things. Starting from food ingredients, cutlery, to tools for cooking.

So that your kitchen becomes tidier, you can make a kitchen set at the bottom of the floor your kitchen or a kitchen set that hangs on the wall.

In addition to placing items that you often use for cooking, this kitchen set can also be used to store foodstuffs that you don’t need to store in the refrigerator.

You can make a kitchen set with a shape that is adjusted to your needs. For example, a kitchen set with an arrangement of drawers to store spices, or a kitchen set with an opening door to store your cooking tools.

6. Discard unused items

Discarding unused items can make your storage space wider and can be used to store other items.

Closing

Those are some points that you can apply to your home. We hope that the information about how to design a home with maximize storage space above can make your home cleaner and tidier. Happy cleaning!

7 Ways to Make a Comfortable Home

Your home is a place to make good memories. This is a place where you can rest and grow your family. Decorating your house to make it comfortable is what you need for a happier life. Besides being a more comfortable place for living, a cozy home will bring warmth to the people living in it.

Creating a comfortable home will make you love your home. Besides, it will also reflect your personality. So, decorating your house will help you to showcase who you are. You can express your taste and your personality by designing your house the way you like.

So, how do you decorate your house to make it more comfortable? We’ll consider seeing how we decorate them perfectly!

Decorating a Comfortable House

Living in a comfortable house will escalate your mood and will make you more productive. If you want to have a happier life, maybe you should start by decorating your home.

In case you want to start decorating your house to make it comfortable, you will not only consider the aesthetic aspect but also its functions and features to make the overall design of your house comfortable for living.

Here are 7 ways you can make a comfortable home even cozier:

  1. Optimize the natural light in your house. Make sure you have wide windows opening. You can have a big glass window to make get plenty of natural light from the outside of your house. Besides making the room brighter, it also reduces energy usage for your house.
  2. Choose LED lights for your house. It uses less energy and will reduce the electricity bills at home. You can choose lamps with warm hues, making the house looks warmer and cozier. Yellowish color lamps are good to create a warm look inside the house, especially in your bedroom where you need to make it cozy to rest.
  3. Use good quality fabric curtains at home. It helps you make your house feels warmer and more comfortable. The plastic or any other materials used as your curtain will not make it cozy. It would look more industrial and office-look. You can also get some rugs for the house. Choose warm-tone rugs to make your rooms look cozier and warmer.
  4. If you want to make your house more comfortable, then you can add live plants to your rooms. Live plants add freshness to your room, making the house more cheerful. Besides, you can also choose some fresh-cut flowers to add colors to your room. The colorful room will make your room more attractive!
  5. Choose a good color palette for the rooms. When decorating a house, choosing a color palette will be suitable for you. It will make your room looks more well-crafted, which makes your personality shines. You will want to avoid some bright colors like neon and bold ones to make it looks warm. Some recommended colors are beige, white, and pastels.
  6. You can also choose your personalized house fragrance. Choosing the right aroma for your house will make it more comfortable. You can indulge in an aroma that is familiar to you. Make sure you choose a soft scent to make your house more comfortable and smelt neutral. Avoid using an overpowering scent in your house.
  7. Make sure to always eliminate the clutters and unused stuff. Although you don’t want to live a frugal life, you must still get rid of unused things at home. Make sure you get rid of them based on what you need. Besides making your home cleaner, you can also feel you have enough by choosing what to have wisely.

Those are some ways to make your home more comfortable. The key to a comfortable home is to make your house personalized just like how you look. You can add more personalized things like your favorite colors, books, and other things to make it more comfortable for you and your family.

Home Improvements on Budget

Do you want to make your home more than just a place to live? If you want to make it cozier and more personalized, then you can choose some things you love. however, sometimes you need to think about the budget wisely. You don’t have to splurge for decorating your house, but you can always make it more comfortable.

When decorating your house, you need to know when to splurge and when to save. Make sure to splurge on high-quality products. It is important if you want to purchase things to use in a long term. Of course, it needs to be of high quality because you will use it for years. You can also save your money to purchase something simple like accessories and other small things. You can always customize your budget to make your dream home comes true.

So, are you ready to decorate your house?

Choosing The Right Flooring For Your Home

The floor is one component that is quite important in your home. Choosing the right floor components can support your comfort while at home and also improve the aesthetic appearance of your home.

In choosing a floor, of course you need to adjust to several things, including adjusting the choice of flooring to the concept of your home. For example, if you have a vintage style house, you can choose a floor with a wooden model and so on.

In addition, choose a floor texture according to its use, for example, for a bathroom floor, choose a floor that has a slightly rough texture so that it is safer when you are in the bathroom. In addition, you can also choose a floor texture that must be for the family room so that it is safer for children’s play areas.

How to Choose the Right Flooring

For those of you who are still confused about how to choose the right flooring for your own home, you can read this article to the end because after this we will provide several important points that you can pay attention to when choosing the right flooring for your own home.

Here are some points you can pay attention to:

1. Choose a type of floor that is easy to clean

Some areas in your home must be visited most often or made the main area when you are on the move.

For areas that are visited most often, such as bathrooms and kitchens, make sure not to choose a mosaic-type floor because this type of floor has lots of gaps that can cause dirt to accumulate in those parts and will be difficult to clean.

For the kitchen area, you can also choose a type of floor that can be easily cleaned from oil splashes so that you don’t need extra effort to clean it.

2. Choose a floor material that is strong and durable

Kitchens and bathrooms are often passed by many people, so the floors must be made of strong and durable materials. Such as tiles, ceramics and marble.

Bathrooms, kitchens and other important areas of the house must be watertight. Therefore, wooden floors are not suitable for use because the surface is easily damp if exposed to water. As flooring, the floor is easily weathered, and moldy.

3. Adjust the area of the room

As you know, each floor has a different size, some are small, medium, and large.

If you have a large enough room, make sure to choose a large floor type as well, so that the area of the room and the area of the tiles look more balanced.

Meanwhile, smaller rooms, focus on making the area feel more spacious. The trick, you can choose a floor with bright colors. It can also be a floor with a vertical or horizontal striped pattern.

4. Consider the appearance of the room in the next few years

In the next few years, you may be bored with the current home atmosphere. Then, the idea emerged to change the color of the walls and furniture with a dark concept. However, it didn’t work because it didn’t match the floor pattern which was full of colorful patterns.

Therefore, choose a floor with a neutral pattern that matches various room concepts. In addition, you can also choose a vinyl floor that can be easily disassembled.

5. Consider the difficulty level of floor maintenance

Consider the level of difficulty of maintenance. Are you willing to spend time and money repairing it if something goes wrong?

Marble and granite floors are rare. If it is damaged, it is difficult to find a new floor with the same pattern and type.

If you don’t have a lot of time or money for floor maintenance, you can choose ordinary types of ceramic or tile which have a fairly easy maintenance level.

You don’t need to worry, because currently ceramic and tiles have quite a variety of patterns and can be adjusted to the concept of your home.

Closing

Those are some tips that you can apply when choosing a floor for your home. Hopefully, the discussion on how to choose the right flooring for your own home above can help those of you who are confused when choosing the floor for your house.

Importance of Mental Health and Emotional Well-being

It is widely said that adults will have a greater risk of experiencing depression. This makes more sense because they have more problems in their lives, starting from relationship problems, household problems, work problems, and many more that they face.

Even so, childhood and adolescence also have the same risk of experiencing mental disorders. The pressures felt by children and adolescents are the same. If adults feel that they are in trouble because of the environment and people’s judgments, so do children and adolescents.

They can feel this because their age is indeed in a period of searching for identity and a lot of people are looking for recognition from those closest to them or people they are proud of.

Mental Health Issue in Children

Mental health issues that affect children and young people include depression, anxiety, and behavioral disorders, which are often a direct response to what is happening in their lives. Mental health care for adolescents is very important but often neglected by society.

While more and more people are paying attention to the destructive power of untreated or delayed mental illness, there is still a long way to go in addressing mental health issues for adolescents as a whole.

As we know mental health has inherent and interrelated with physical health. You can’t have one without the other because they are both attractive and related. Adolescents’ physical health is usually focused on at school and home because it is easier to identify physical than mental problems.

However, many mental problems that are ignored and undetected will in turn have a devastating impact on adolescents, especially those who have been fragile for a long time.

Good Mental Health

Mental health is about a description of social and also emotional well-being. Children and young people need good mental health to develop healthily, build strong social relationships, adapt to change, and face life’s challenges. Adolescents with good mental health often have the following characteristics:

  • Feel much happier and become more positive people and able to enjoy life
  • Bounce back from annoyance and disappointment
  • Have healthier relationships with family and friends
  • Have physical activity and keep eating healthy food
  • Get involved in activities
  • Have a sense of accomplishment
  • Can relax and sleep well
  • Feel comfortable in their community.

Human mental health is recognized to be heavily influenced by physical health. Encourage your child to do things like be active, have more energy, feel confident, eat properly, and get enough regular sleep to keep them emotionally and physically well.

In addition to physical health, you also have to help children with their mental health by talking heart-to-heart with children about their condition and mental health. You need to take that first step to be sure. Say that even adults have problems they can’t solve on their own. Show that it’s easier to get help when you have the support of others.

Tell your kids that it is normal for teenagers to be anxious, upset, or depressed. Also, let them aware that sharing personal ideas and feelings might be frightening. Tell your kids that talking about a problem can help put things into perspective and clarify feelings. Someone with more or different experience, such as an adult, may be able to propose alternatives they haven’t considered yet.

Suggest some other people the child can talk to if they don’t want to talk to you, for example, an aunt or uncle, a close family friend, a sports coach or trusted religious leader, an older person, or a general practitioner. Let your child know that talking to a GP or other health professional is confidential. These professionals cannot tell anyone else unless they are concerned about the safety of the child or the safety of others.

Emphasize that your child is not alone. You need to be there whenever your kids are ready to talk. If you raise a concern with your child, they may refuse any help or say that nothing is wrong. So many young kids do not need to ask for help on their own. So you may need to say that you are concerned about them and will try to get professional advice. Better encourage children to come along.

Attention and Recognition

Children and adults alike need attention and recognition from those closest to them. However, the existing standards are different. If adults want approval from their families and co-workers, then a child or youth only wants recognition and support from their parents. Therefore, in maintaining children’s mental health, the role of parents is very important and cannot be separated.

When it comes to children’s mental health, the main focus is their parents. How should parents behave towards various kinds of child behavior that may not be under agreed norms? However, parents’ reactions to children’s mistakes will greatly determine the mental formation of children.

Lots of children feel unappreciated when their parents overreact to their child’s mistakes. Children may imitate and be responsive or even tend to be aggressive. Children will fight with their parents a lot and don’t want to listen to advice and in the end; it will affect their mental health.

Be a wise parent and can add your patience in dealing with your child’s treatment. Imagine the effect of your overly reactive attitude on the child’s attitude. Be a good listener and use a softer tone of voice and be a good friend to your child and take care of their mental health.

10 Best Exercises for Everyone

Even though you are a busy person, maintaining your health is something that must be done. Even if your schedule is super tight, there’s no reason for you not to exercise. Home can be a fun place to exercise with other family members. By inviting your family to exercise, you will be able to make your life healthy together.

Here are 10 exercises that you can easily do at home without the help of tools and are certainly very cost-effective and healthy.

1. Travel

Travel doesn’t have to be outdoors. You can also take a walk happily in the corridor or yard. You can also try going up and down the stairs in your home.

For some cases, you can also try walking in a place with greater posture and movement so that it can have a more significant fat-burning effect. Try to walk in place by lifting your legs higher or using bigger and stronger hand movements.

2. Jumping Jacks

Another sport that you can practice at home is jumping jacks. If you don’t know the jumping jack move, try watching it on YouTube. Besides being easy and practical, jumping jacks are a great cardio exercise to warm up.

Jumping jack is a difficult move and you need to get used to it. Therefore it is advisable to keep warm up before doing it, and don’t forget to stretch. Do it regularly so you can quickly get used to the movement, and over time your body will become lighter.

3. Push Ups

This movement is also very simple. You can see that the movement is so simple, and there are many variations of push up. You can see and learn the pushups variations on YouTube. Push-ups are a sport that you can easily do at home without the help of tools.

The variations you do can determine the results of the push-up movement, for example, you try the push-up movement with your hands closer together so that it puts more pressure on the chest area and can build chest muscles more quickly.

4. Leg Lifts

Leg lifts can also be done at home. This movement is useful for strengthening the leg muscles. This is the most widely performed movement because it is considered the easiest but the effect is quite large and can make your feet lighter if you are used to doing it.

5. Sit Ups

One sport that is highly recommended is sit-ups. Sit-up movements are useful for strengthening the abdominal muscles. This method is very effective for tightening your stomach muscles that are still slack.

For those of you who want to tighten your abdominal muscles and get rid of a distended stomach, this is a popular and widely used method. There are several variations of movement when doing sit-ups, you can also adjust the slope of the field during sit-ups to increase the level of difficulty.

6. Jogging

Who says jogging has to be done on the streets or in parks? You can also do jogging at home. You can also jog in place while watching TV or listening to music.

7. Squats

Squats are useful for strengthening the legs and back. Practice to doing squats by standing and then sitting on a chair. Do this movement repeatedly.

8. Lift Weights

Lifting weights doesn’t have to be done in the gym using dumbell and barbel. You can also use improvised equipment that can be found around the house, such as a bucket filled with water or leftover bottles that are not used.

9. Dancing

Dancing is the right choice for exercise as well as entertainment. Not only raise your mood, but dancing is also so useful in increasing your body’s metabolism.

You can also see how K-Pop idols can have a good and ideal body. One of them is because they do dance moves that are quite intense and have the same weight as sports.

10. Up and Down Stairs

Another exercise you can try is climbing up and down stairs. Although the movement is very simple, the benefits of this exercise are extraordinary. If you do this movement to the fullest, going up and down stairs is beneficial for strengthening the muscles and bones of the legs.

So, those were some types of exercises that you can do at home. There is no need to have expensive equipment to exercise. By utilizing body mass, you can stay fit and healthy.

How to Avoid Overspending on Your Vacation

Vacationing is the best way to unwind. You can relax under the sun or go on a relaxing nature tour. Check all the lists of your dream destinations that you want to visit so that you can make your mind fresher when you return to your routine.

Before traveling, you must make a thorough travel plan. Starting from planning a budget, determining tourist destinations, accommodation, and more. Careful planning will prevent you from overspending on vacation.

Of course, excess spending on vacation is unexpected and very annoying. It could be that your credit card bill has swelled by 50% due to excess spending during this holiday. This will not make your body fresh, instead, it will make you dizzy about how to deal with swollen bills.

How to Overcome Overspending on Vacation

Many people experience excessive spending on vacation. This could be an indication that budget planning is immature or you are easily tempted to spend. To overcome this, here are some ways you can do it:

Set a Budget and Be Consistent

Before determining a tourist destination, you can determine how much budget you have prepared for this vacation. Determine this budget according to your financial capabilities and the funds you have saved for the holidays.

After setting a budget, you can project it into several things such as airplane tickets, hotels, transportation, food, activities, shopping, and other things. Make sure all the activities you are going to do have their budget.

This method can overcome excess spending, especially in terms of food and shopping. Often tourists feel at a loss while on vacation because they are easily tempted to shop for souvenirs or food.

Daily Expenditure Planning

To avoid overspending on vacation, you can set a daily budget while on vacation. This includes food, local transportation, or shopping for souvenirs. Setting a daily budget can make your vacation more economical.

A daily budget won’t cost you too much. But make sure you are consistent with the budget that has been made and doesn’t be tempted to spend more money when shopping.

You can even feel the luxury or satisfaction of shopping if you set a daily budget. You can start saving to plan next year’s vacation. Every day you can set aside a little of your money and collect it for a year.

Next year, you can enjoy a more enjoyable holiday and be satisfied shopping for souvenirs.

Use Public Transportation

One of the unexpected expenses when traveling is transportation. You can find out in advance the local transportation that residents usually use to travel. To save more on costs, try to take public transportation to the places you have planned.

The price of public transportation will be cheaper than online transportation or transportation provided by the community. You should look for lodging that also offers transportation services so that you are ready to take yourself anywhere without having to pay any more.

Cook Your Food

Compared to going to a restaurant or trying typical culinary delights, you can choose to cook your food to make it more cost-effective. However, this depends on your preferences, if you are on vacation for a culinary tour then you can try many regional specialties.

But make sure you have surveyed the price of the food or restaurant you are going to visit. This will make you save more on spending money while on vacation. But if you are only planning a trip to certain places, you can cook your food. Look for lodging that has kitchen facilities so you can cook your food.

But you can also occasionally try the famous restaurants in that place, but still, limit your expenses so that unexpected costs don’t arise later.

Adapt Like Locals

Many tourists try to get around like residents this is effective enough to get them to get cheaper prices. Try to get to know the locals better so you don’t get tourist prices when shopping.

Many residents help tourists to get cheap prices because they try to get along and interact with local people. You can do this method to get cheaper prices anywhere.

Keep Having Fun Despite Limited Spending

To overcome excess spending on vacation, you need to be consistent with a set budget. That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun you can still have fun even though you have to save money. You can still enjoy 5-star restaurants or shop for souvenirs for friends and family.

As long as you stay consistent with your vacation budget plan. Don’t let yourself be tempted by food or shopping that is too fancy and makes you spend a lot of money.

Those are some ways you can do to save expenses while on vacation. If you are consistent with the budget that has been prepared, then there will be no excess spending on vacation.

7 Important Reasons to Have Travel Insurance

Being a traveler is certainly fun, apart from getting lots of new experiences you also have to think about ways to protect yourself while traveling. Not all experiences will be pleasant, there are times when you feel difficult because of unexpected things while traveling.

This is one of the reasons why you need travel insurance when you decide to go on vacation somewhere. Apart from preparing a budget for flight tickets, food, hotels, or activities, you must also prepare travel insurance.

Using travel insurance is a pretty smart investment and you can feel safer while traveling. Even the price of travel insurance is also relatively cheap, only 5% -6% of the total cost of the trip.

What Do I Get From Travel Insurance?

There are still many travelers who have not prepared a special budget for travel insurance, even though this insurance provides many benefits. Here’s what you can get from travel insurance:

Flight Cancellation

The problem of flight cancellations by airlines often causes losses to travelers, especially those who have been planning a trip for a long time. This seemingly sudden cancellation makes you have to look for a replacement flight and this is enough to irritate anyone.

With travel insurance, you don’t need to take care of cancellation tickets or rebook flight tickets, because the insurance company will help you find the fastest flight to your destination. Apart from cancellations from the airline, you can also feel the benefits of travel insurance in the event of unexpected things such as illness.

Missed Flight

Not a few people feel that they missed their flight due to carelessness or other reasons. However, this can be overcome by travel insurance under certain conditions. You need to ask the insurance provider whether missed flights can be claimed as travel insurance.

Civil Unrest

Some travelers have had unpleasant experiences, especially when they are in a conflict-ridden country. Of course, as a foreign tourist, you will feel threatened if a conflict occurs which results in losses.

With travel insurance, you can be protected from civil unrest because the insurance company will prioritize your safe return by accelerating your flight. If you feel unsafe and in a dangerous situation, then you can directly contact the insurance company to get the best steps.

Health Insurance in an Emergency

When traveling, of course, you want to stay healthy. However, many travelers experience illness or accidents while traveling. If you don’t use travel insurance, maybe you will be confused about how to process the treatment or take care of your return.

Travel insurance also includes health insurance that you can use in an emergency, such as an accident or illness. All ambulance costs, doctors, and medicines will be covered by insurance with predetermined limits.

With travel insurance, you can also reduce expenses for personal treatment if you get sick while on vacation.

Lost Baggage

Many travelers experience this bad thing, losing luggage is a very annoying. There are still airlines that are not responsible for your belongings so you have to lose your suitcase or personal equipment.

If you use travel insurance, they will replace any value of lost luggage. They will also try to detect where your luggage is lost and hold the airline accountable.

Natural disasters

The thing that travelers don’t want the most is to experience natural disasters. Lots of unexpected natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and others. Travel insurance will protect you from unexpected events and will prioritize your safety so you can go home safely.

Travel insurance will help evacuate you and your friends and then find the fastest flight. So you no longer need to worry while on vacation in any country.

Terrorist Attack

Things that often appear unexpectedly are terrorist attacks. Many travelers feel threatened by this, especially those who go to countries where there is political unrest.

Travel insurance will prioritize protection for you in the event of an event that endangers your life. So you can go home safely.

Travel insurance provides many benefits for travelers, especially those who are going on long trips. We recommend that you prepare a special budget to buy travel insurance so that your vacation becomes safer. Happy holiday everyone!

Apps and Gadgets to Make Solo Trip Easier

Going on an adventure alone or traveling solo can be a therapy in itself to help relieve everyday fatigue. Solo traveling also gives you a sense of freedom. You can explore various places, eat whatever you want to try, to explore certain cultures that interest you.

However, traveling solo means that you will go anywhere alone, do everything alone, and have no friends to discuss with. You will determine all decisions regarding your activities while traveling.

That’s why, so you don’t easily get lost or choose something wrong, it will be much easier if you use applications and gadgets while traveling.

Apss for Your Solo Trip Easier

There are many things that are sometimes difficult for you to do alone. For that, there are several applications that could be the best choice to perfect your search. Starting from finding the right transportation, a comfortable place to stay, to a tour of the destination you want.

Some of these applications can help you to overcome it all easily.

1. Citymapper Transit Navigation

The first challenge you face when traveling solo in a foreign country or city is determining a travel route. You need navigation to determine where you are going, like this Citymapper Transit Navigation application.

This integrated Uber application can make it easier for you to map in unfamiliar areas, by providing real-time public transportation departure systems, line status, transit maps, and real-time trip interruption warnings. The coverage is quite wide, including major cities in Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States.

2. Peek Tours and Activities

Peek Tours and Activities can be used to find interesting activities and tourist spots in your location.

The “handpicked activities” feature in the application has a function to help you filter your choices until you find entertainment that suits your interests and pocket conditions. Then there are the “Off the beaten path” and “Walking tours” features which can provide an exciting travel experience discovering cities in a unique way.

Peek Tours and Activities can be used in 17 major regions of the United States, Cancun, Paris and London.

3. Google Maps

Who doesn’t know Google Maps? This is one of the most popular directions app around the world.

Google Maps cannot only show routes and addresses, but can also be used to find cool places that you can explore more broadly later. For those of you who don’t bring a private vehicle, Google Maps also has a feature that can guide you in using public transportation.

Google Maps is also able to show which roads are jammed and which are not. Shown with a red indicator on the road flow, indicating that the road is congested and will take longer.

4. Airbnb

Airbnb is an application that travelers can use to find accommodation around the world with the right budget. This application will connect solo travelers with lodging providers around the world.

Not only staying overnight, if you are willing, you will also be invited to tour your destination by the host. So stay overnight but have a personal guide, suitable for those of you who do solo traveling who are looking for friends on the way.

Apart from being a visitor, you can also become a host on Airbnb. Using an empty house to get income is a brilliant idea.

Apps for Solo Travelers to Find New Friends

There are various apps available that can help you if you want to travel to a new place. If you like traveling solo, you can also find people with the same interests to share tips and tricks.

The applications that have been developed have various functions. But its main use is to form a circle of friends among travel enthusiasts.

1. Solo Traveler

The first application that is included in the recommendation is the Solo Traveler application. This is the best application that can be used by people who like to travel alone.

By using the Solo Traveler application, you can find new friends who are both on vacation alone, and can also plan your trip perfectly.

You can also get and share information about the cost of tours, transformations, lodging and more. With this app, you can find travel companions that are tailored to your age, place of residence, and interests.

2. Couchsurfing

This traveling application is one of the most famous and most used by solo travelers around the world. The Couchsurfing application allows you to form a community that can later provide a place to live or join in at the place of fellow members.

If you stay at the homes of fellow community members, the costs you incur are less than living alone. You can register as a member by including information about yourself and where you live.

The main requirement to be registered as a member is that you are willing to be a host, that is, someone who wants to give other members a place to stay.

3. Withlocal

Withlocal can help you when you visit a new place, because this application will show you various activities and exciting vacation locations. You can also communicate with local residents so you can find cool tourist spots that not many people know about.

This application is suitable for use when you are traveling to Europe and Asia. You will find a guide through this application who can accompany you during the trip. When using this application, you can also chat with the prospective guide you choose.

In addition, you can list if there are specific things you want to try. This is perfect for those of you who don’t want to miss a hidden gem in a new location!

4. Meetup

Meetup is the right application for those of you who want to meet people with the same hobbies to travel together. As a solo traveler, Meetup will help you connect with the community that holds certain events. The event can also be held online, so you can save it and view the event again later.

This application allows you to participate in forming Meetup groups according to your interests and hobbies, then you can share photos between your groups.

Gadgets for Solo Travelers

We live in a world where technology is very sophisticated, so inevitably we will keep up with the times, one of which is the use of gadgets. Apart from daily needs, gadgets can also be used for certain purposes, such as traveling needs.

If you are a solo traveler, it’s mandatory to bring some gadgets that will be useful for traveling and capturing your vacation moments.

1. Smartphone

Smartphone are mandatory items for everyone, including solo travelers. There are many uses that can come from one practical object, such as installing applications that are useful for traveling, capturing moments, listening to music, and watching videos.

It’s good, you choose a sophisticated smartphone that allows you to do many things. Make sure your smartphone’s memory storage still has plenty of space to install applications and capture photos and videos.

2. Camera

If you like capturing things while traveling, a camera is an important item to carry. This will make it easier for you to capture moments, capture beautiful places, and anything else you don’t want to forget.

3. Earphones / Headsets

This is necessary if you like walking while listening to music. You will feel calm from the music you hear while traveling alone so you can avoid the hustle and bustle around you.

4. Power Banks

You definitely don’t want to run out of battery in the middle of a trip, so a power bank is the solution. Power banks are useful for charging your cellphone battery if it runs out of power in unexpected places, because not all places provide access to charging.

Always remind yourself to fully charge your cellphone and power bank at night, so that the next day, you’re ready to take them without worrying about running out of battery.

5. SteriPen: Drinking Water Purifier

When visiting countries where the water supply may be less than ideal, you can take your SteriPen with you. This portable water purifier uses UV light to turn tap water into safe drinking water, and it’s small enough to fit in your pocket.

6. Mini iron

Even though the clothes are neatly arranged in the suitcase, sometimes you will find some clothes that look shabby when traveling. To work around this, this mini iron can help you.

7. GoTenna

This is a gadget that answers your safety issues when you are in a foreign area and there is no internet connection there. The appearance of GoTenna was inspired by the concept of aid when disasters often hit America.

This gadget, which is made of durable material, serves to maintain an Android or IOS device connection even when there is no cellular network around us.

8. Smart Bag

The smart bag is a waterproof bag so that the items in the bag won’t get wet if it rains. This bag can also be used to charge cellphones, power banks, laptops and so on. So, this bag will really help you during the trip.

Conclusion

At least, install some applications and bring some gadgets that we think are very crucial on the way later. Never do solo traveling without the proper preparation and gadgets.