Sleeping With Money: Going Along for the Ride
Sometimes the most economical way to have a little fun is to go along for the ride with a 
partner on a business trip. I never used to be too keen on doing this because the trade off between using vacation time and the questionable amount of time you might get to spend together never equated to a positive enough result. However, now that I am more mobile and flexible, I jumped at the chance to tag along for a portion of a recent business trip Kim had to take.
For a number of recent years we’ve gone to New York City to “play” for my birthday. This year, however, due to limited cash flow that idea was nixed in favor of something less expensive but equally fun. When Kim learned last minute that she had to go to NYC for a training class, though, it was the perfect time to combine some fun with company paid expenses.
She had several days of training and then an exam on the final morning leaving much of the day free for fun. So I figured it was the ideal time for me to hop into the city the night before, have fun, lodge for free, and spend an evening and afternoon in the Big Apple with my sweetie among the sights and sounds of the holiday season.
As I breakdown the cost of this little jaunt, I figured I got to take advantage of having the following expenses being picked up by her company:
- 1 night of lodging (~ $400/night)
- Free taxi ride from the hotel to the bus terminal (~ $15)
- Portions of our fancy dinner out that we shared. Things like appetizers, desserts, and partial wine bottle (~ $50)
- Shared portions of lunch (~ $6)
I realize I spent plenty of money I would not have otherwise spent by going into the city. After all, I had a blast wondering around, eating lunch on my own, sampling wine bars, hitting the TKTS line to take in a Broadway show at discount, and shopping. Overall, though, I kept a handle on discretionary spending. And, while it did cost me $36 to take the bus in, it sure beats a fortune in parking and it’d cost me well in excess of that in gas to drive there. So, sure there was a personal cost to the trip.
However, our usual jaunt for birthday celebrating for one night in the city can often easily cost us $1000. I figure a few hundred dollars is a small price to pay for a special day + in the city. Not to mention we jam so much into a short amount of time that it tires me out! That’ll keep me home watching Netflix for at least a few weekends.
While we miss out on a lot of benefits of marriage, sometimes gay couples can have just as much fun on their partner’s company’s tab as their straight counterparts. What has been your experience? Ever go along for the ride on a partner’s business trip? Did you encounter any unique challenges being an LGBT couple?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Paula Gregorowicz is the Comfortable in Your Own Skin(tm) Coach and you can learn more at her website www.thepaulagcompany.com and blog www.coaching4lesbians.com.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Paula: Jeanine and I have never gotten our act together to benefit from my international business travel. We’ve thought about it many times, but my trips are usually intense and quick and it would mean that she would be spending most of her time alone.
As your post suggests, it has all the markings of economical travel, but for some reason we’ve just never made it happen. Alternatively, we’ve considered extending one of my trips and tacking on vacation time, but quite frankly, I’m always eager to get home.
It frustrates Jeanine. She feels like I’m the only one seeing the world. The problem is, there’s not much seeing going on during my business trips. It’s work. A lot of people don’t understand this. Well, Kim does – being holed up in a training while you’re traipsing around Broadway. Glad you had fun and saved some money this year!
That sounds like a really fun trip. I’m hoping someday Micah will get sent to some big philosophy conference somewhere exotic and I can come with. š
My parents do this when my father has conferences to attend. If the conference is near me I’ll suggest some places for them to have dinner and I’ll have Sunday brunch with my mother while he’s in a meeting. If they go to places where there are no friends and family near then they’ll take an extra day for just the two of them.
I have friends that do this sort of thing all the time. One of them is a research scientist and the other one a teacher. They’ve spent the summer in California (pretty impressive to us Brits) taken trips to France, Germany, Japan,… I’m so jealous.
We only ever went on one trip together that was on business. My partner is involved in big level discussion in our church related to GLBT issues. She goes to Chicago 3 times/year. I went once, 3 years and 2 kids ago. I enjoy time alone, so when she was busy, I took in all Chicago could offer at Christmas time (plenty!) Our current sitters would not be able to handle the tribe for longer than a few hours.