Talking about money @anomadsoul? Well, okay! It's not my favourite topic in the world, and I could probably write up a long blog why money is such an emotional topic for me (which has very much to do with the in my view negative and inhumane principle of 'survival of the fittest' instead of 'taking care of all including the weakest plus the artists we're all enjoying but never paying, lol'), but here we go.
https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdHhpebYHzCGyqjB7PNq6yZWPYp89jrkQEjmoWnzTbYWG/roadtosteemfest.jpg
How to fund my trip to SteemFest?
Getting in
Well, for one, I am super privileged since I already live in Europe, Poland is only two countries away from The Netherlands, so I will save a lot on travel costs compared to those who come from other continents - and to those who do: I respect you immensely - that's a huge investment!
But anyway, travel within Europe is relatively cheap, and if I wanted to buy a very cheap ticket I could probably find one for 20-40$ from Amsterdam to Krakow, not a bad deal at all. The problem is these budget airlines don't take really good care of people with lesser mobility and I swore the last time I took a flight with budget operator I would never give them my money again, even if it was only 20$.
So, if I wanted to book a flight with an operator that makes sure I get on board without having to stand in line and such (saving me a full recovery day in Krakow!) it will be 5 times as expensive - which is why I still haven't booked my flights yet because I haven't decided still if I can/want to spend that 5 times higher fair or will let go of the idea of getting to Krakow unharmed.
I also thought about going by train, which is more fun than flying anyway, but that is certainly not a budget option - and not a comfortable one either - I was shocked to see I need 4 trains to get to Krakow, I though maybe two before I went searching for tickets.
So well. Coming week I'll decide: go full budget and book an extra day so I can recover from traveling? Or spend the extra money and arrive in Krakow without the disadvantage?
Stay
I like the hotel options @roelandp has arranged for all of us, but oh - I love it so much to stay in an Airbnb! They are also 2 times cheaper than the hotel options on average, so I probably pick one out coming week saving half of the accommodation costs - even with the extra Uber rides I will have to take to the activities I will save on that. If you use my referral link we will both get some credit (25$ for you, 15$ for me) so we can both safe on our accommodations as well!
Conclusion
Maybe save on accommodation and instead splurge on the plane ticket?
Now to the funding
Well here went my reasoning for what I will probably spend before I could get to the funding. My FIAT income is currently on a low point. I'm involved in a super cool project where underprivileged kids in my neighbourhood get behavioural education and mentoring from ex-pro soccer players, but it's all in a start-up stage which means - waiting and waiting for some significant funding to finally get through plus the pay I still am owed has been postponed - waiting is not a fun game at all.
I expected it to come through sooner, but it will be later, which also means I have postponed finding other FIAT earnings since I thought I was covered. Ah. The pleasantries of life (it just can't really be planned ;-))
So here I am with empty wallets and bank accounts, but with a little FIAT here and there I will be able to fund most of the trip, just not the most expensive tickets, and not the most expensive stay, and not the most expensive anything...
But I'm not complaining.
I will have some liquid STEEM in november since I'm planning to not powering up my earnings from the DaVinci/Utopian work I'm doing at least until then, and if prices go up I might for the first time in my Steem career cash out a little to fund parts of my trip or have some euros to buy you all a beer. It's also still 2 months away and with a bit of luck I will find some euros in my account if the funding for the soccer school finally comes through and/or I will do one or two short-term freelance jobs.
But for now it's all a maybe. The FIAT that is. I am coming to Krakow, one way or the other. It's a promise :-)
Once I'm there I am guessing I will feel like Royalty even without much liquid euros since I'm guessing everything in Poland will be 3 times cheaper on average then I'm used to in The Netherlands. Just one country is separating Poland from The Netherlands but the differences between the countries in economic terms are quite large...
And last but not least
I have been thinking about selling photo prints or a tiny hand-made art book I will create in limited edition before SteemFest. I've been wanting to do this anyway, but have been looking for ways to sell my art where both FIAT and crypto can be spend. I will look into this option further or might do a 'quick and dirty' unofficial style webshop where you send me STEEM or some FIAT on my PayPal and I will send you the item (or bring it with me to Krakow!).
Anyway, that might fund my trip in a way that is exciting anyway, since I would love to make physical items in the coming weeks to get my creative juices flowing again.
Well, that was it, it was an honest freewrite where I simply started and went all the way to here in one go - I feel I'm rambling when I do freewrites and my head feels like it's filled with mushy peas instead of brain cells since I have a cold but went for cocktails last night anyway - awesome combination.
Still, since whatever my excuse is I still put this on the blockchain for you and future generations to read you can still hold me accountable for anything I wrote. Scary, scary combination, freewriting on the blockchain :')
PS: Just before posting I realized I am competing in the SteemFastForward challenge thanks to the likes of @blocktrades @sndbox and @anomadsoul! Who knows, winning that might spare me a huge chunk of the costs and will provide me with an opportunity to maybe fund a little bit of the costs others are making!
Previous #roadtosteemfest write-ups:
