5,000 NP Vacation: Faerieland

And that’s where I come in. *Plays super hero music* Alright, just kidding, but really. :) I can help. I will show you that vacationing cheap doesn’t mean sacrificing those wonderful books you saw in the shop window. In fact, by only spending 5,000 NP and being smart about it, you can bring home a variety of items that are unique to your vacationing spot, without breaking your budget, either.

Now, you may ask, where did I ever come up with the idea that I can only spend 5,000 NP on vacation? Well, it’s simple, really: Like many of you out there, extravagant vacations are far beyond my income. (I own a simple shop, really. I’m sure you know how that goes.) I couldn’t bear to just walk away from all those great souvenirs, but I sat down and figured out the values of some of the key items I wanted to bring home. Now, I know that the crowds in the stores are awful during tourist season, and that the market inflation will cause my prices to be a bit off, but really, I mean the best. Honest.

And that led me to my first vacation destination: Faerieland. For all of you who live there, blah. =k Not all of us are that rich. And besides, if you’re rich, why are you reading this, anyways? You can afford the 100k vacations that would send most of us into bankruptcy. Anyhow, I went to Faerieland, and for any of you who don’t know, the shops there are SUPER crowded. But I did manage to get a few things, and total up my spending. As I said before, my prices are a bit off, I went by the suggested retail price, or the approximate value. I guess it was just my luck that inflation went down just before I left on my trip. :) Sorry for those of you who didn’t catch such a lucky break as I did.

Faerieland isn’t exactly cheap, and we all know that. So I carefully planned out my strategy, picking out the shops I wanted to get to and writing out my budget plan. The thing about budget plans that you have to remember, though, is that you must stick with it. Must. Sure, it’s easy to splurge the 13k or so that a Faellie may go for, but is that cute little critter really worth the extra hours you have to put in at home? (FYI, the answer is no. :) ) It’s like making a contract with yourself: If you breech said contract, you’re in trouble. End of story, but continuing my article.

Yes, you may be asking yourself, how did I cover transportation, my place to stay, meals, etc. Well, I didn’t budget those into my 5,000 NP. If I had, I wouldn’t have gotten anything. (And what would be the point of having gone in the first place?) So yes, I did spend more than 5k, but what did you expect? I certainly can’t give you all the secrets of traveling, now can I? (I really could use that for my up-and-coming travel book, something I can actually sell to you, instead of you simply reading the Times.) Of course one tip I can give you is to research your destination. Find out what attractions there are, and plan to spend some extra NP if you’d like to visit them, unless, of course, they’re free. You will see this in my proposed budget plan, which I will give to you next, along with an explanation of the items in the list.

Foxie’s Faerieland Budget Plan:

Furniture: 950 NP

Food to bring home: 1,350 NP

Books for library: 650 NP

Wheel of Excitement: 150 NP

Other: 1,900 NP

Alright, to explain my list. The first item I budgeted NP for was furniture. I’m constantly redecorating my neohome, and I thought that an item from Faerieland would be the perfect addition to my sunroom. With 950 NP, I figured I could find something that was able to work with what I had in my mind. Secondly, I budgeted for some take-home treats. Known for their magically delicious tastes, this was my second-largest item in my plan, with 1,350 NP and hopefully to get more than just a turkey. My third budgeted item was my book store amount. Unfortunately, I only came up with 650 NP, enough for at least one book. If I spent all I wanted to on books, I wouldn’t be such a good finance guide, now would I? :) The fourth thing that came to mind was the Wheel of Excitement. This happens to be a one-time flat fee of 150 NP, and easily fit into my budget. If I won any good amount of Neopoints, I may splurge on that Table Lamp I saw in the furniture shop back there… Any item would come home with me, and hopefully nothing ill-fated would befall my vacation. With the leftover 1,900 NP, I designated them to go to whatever happened to attract my attention at the time. With my budget plan in hand, I set off on a warm Spring day to do some shopping.

Furniture Shop: This was my first stop, in sync with my budget plan. And I had to admit, I wasn’t sure it was such a good first stop… I nearly blew my plan on a Light Faerie Table, but then I remembered: What kind of article would this entire trip make if I didn’t even follow my own advice? Browsing through the shop, I came to the perfect piece to take home: A Lavender Faerie Rug. After briefly arguing with the shopkeeper about how much I could take it home for, I paid 900 NP for the rug. I did a small triumphant jig as I walked out the door, knowing that I came under-budget by 50 NP. Not too much, but any save is a good save as far as I’m concerned.

Food Shop: Just a short walk from the Furniture Shop, the smells that came out of the door were very tempting, to say the least. The aroma inside was even better, believe me. After perusing the shelves for a bit, looking at all the wonderful assorted goods, I finally settled on The Faerie Queen Burrito and a Delicious Faerie Bubbles. I walked out of the shop with a smile on my face, having paid only 447 NP for the burrito, and 910 NP for the drink. At a total of 1,357 NP, I only came seven over-budget. Not so bad, considering my savings in the Furniture store.

Instead of heading over to the Book store, I took a detour at the Wheel of Excitement. If you haven’t been there and tried the wheel, I highly recommend it. The thrill is like nothing else. My luck was with me, too, and I won 500 NP. Instead of buying something else, however, I decided I would take the money I won and go to the Poogle Races. My gambling has never been good, so I won’t let you know whether I lost more or won more. It shall be my secret. :)

Book Store: This was my favorite shop, I have to admit. And to blow my budget again was very tempting. I nearly ran through the shelves of books, picking up a few flashy ones that caught my eye, but having to put most back due to my 650 NP designated for a book. I finally found the perfect book, and the shopkeeper was extremely nice to me, saving me 46 NP. For only 604 NP, I was the proud owner of Faerie Tales. It’s still one of my favorites, just so you know. :)

After the book purchase, I had 89 NP left from my already-purchased items, plus the 1,900 NP I had left of my budget plan. I’m not a huge fan of the battledome, so I knew that a weapon from the new shop wouldn’t be my purchase. I did take a look through the merchandise, and trust me, the prices weren’t pretty. Which led me to the Petpet Shop. I didn’t expect to find anything within my budget there, but I was pleasantly surprised. 1,992 NP later, I walked out with the cutest Floud in the world.

For those of you who are Math’s Nightmare champions, you’ll know that I spent a total of 5,003 NP during my shopping. Three neopoints over my budget plan, but easily compensated for by the Poogle Races. ;) Which, as you may have guessed, leads me to my conclusion. You don’t have to budget 5,000 NP on your vacation, it can be any amount you like. Just remember to do your research and buy smart. Watching the market inflation/deflation isn’t a bad idea, either, and can save you hundreds of neopoints during your vacation. With that in mind, happy budgeting and have a wonderful vacation! :)

Author’s Note: While the happy frolicking Unis in Faerieland love to jump off of clouds, they have wings to fly with. For those of us who don’t, it’s not such a good idea. Although the hospital has many wonderful doctors and nurses, I highly discourage such behavior, as it severely breaks one’s budget. No worries, in a few weeks my leg should be healed and I’ll be vacationing in the Haunted Woods. Look for me then!