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For weeks 5 – 7 we settled in a great residential town on Oahu island called Kailua. I have my Instagram friends to thank for helping me find an unrented back side of a home for a very, very lovely price. Kailua is a great place for us because the house is just 10 minute walk from the town center which had everything we needed, and multiple bus lines run through here to take us where we need to go.
During week 5, Mr. Savemycents took his parents out about town. Since that’s more a vacation for them, I did not record the costs associated with that, with the exception of the car, because we would have had the car regardless.
Travel and Transportation
Car rental – $286 for a one week rental out of the airport.
Gas – $70 And we saved what we could by pumping at Costco
Parking – $3
Bus – $5.5 – hubby took the bus back from the airport when he returned the car
Lodging
Cottage – $400, $1,350 in free value realized. I was connected with someone who owned a home in Kailua that was split into to units. The front of the house had a tenant. The back of the house she claimed was not yet ready for rental but if I wanted to I could have it. It’s been a godsend. Coming from New York I saw nothing wrong with this unit. It’s a very spacious (maybe 600 or 700 sq ft?) 1 bed, 1 bath cottage, with a living room area and a kitchen. I would frequently take my child on walks in the neighborhood. The reason why I assigned a $1,350 in free value to this cottage is that no matter where else I searched on Hawaii using publicly available resources (Craigslist, Airbnb, hotel searches), the cheapest rental I could find anywhere else on the island was at least $2,500 for a month and not counting parking.
Me walking with BB around our Kailua neighborhood. I’m wearing BB in the Infantino 4-in-1 convertible carrier
Food – $218 total spent, $22 in free value
We got groceries mainly at Costco and Target this week, we used a $22 Target gift card. We also restocked on diapers – not a large Costco box, but a small pack of Huggies that should just be exactly enough to get us to the end of the trip. Mr. Savemycents and I did a combination of at-home groceries and also eating out.
Filling up the fridge with eggs, fruit, Zico coconut water, and Chobani yogurt
We did a lot more eating out in week 6 where I will highlight our favorites. For now, check out some of our favorite activities from this week
Ko Olina Lagoon – there are 4 lagoons. 3 of which are for use by luxury resorts such as Disney Aulani resort. The fourth one is open to the public and has parking. Get here 2 hrs before sunset, bring your beach chairs / towels, and enjoy a beautiful afternoon
Me standing on the grassy field before doing the Diamond Head Crater Trail. It took us 90 minutes – 30 minutes up, 30 minutes down, and 30 minutes up there exploring the top. This was my first ever hike post partum. I consider it easy but I do recommend you eat before you take the stairs! The parking lot may seem full when you pull up, but they let you wait and it only took us a few minutes to get an open spot
The gorgeous Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden. Entrance is free, they will tell you where to park and which parking lots may be reserved. The road through the garden is all paved and I saw many families with strollers taking a morning jog. You can also camp overnight and have cookouts in this park. The morning light falling on the palis is incredible
I hosted a #debtfreecommunity meetup at Morning Brew in Kailua. It was so great meeting everyone!
I tried to sleep train BB this week but it was hard with multiple adults going in and out of our bedroom to use the bathroom at night. The Purea LED is my main source of light at night. It’s a USB-chargeable LED light with two color settings, a timer, and easy on/off by tapping the bulb.
Week 5 totals: $982 cash spent, $1,372 in free value realized
Trip totals: $3,662 cash spent, $9,108 in free value realized
Enjoy this? Follow along live with me on Instagram as we travel the world for 85 days through March 2020! We have been actively monitoring the coronavirus situation. We recognize there is a possibility our trip could be canceled if things take a turn for the worse. We know how lucky we are that we GET to take this trip. Please pray for all the people who are affected by the quarantines, people who are sick, families mourning the dead, and the brave health workers and other essential workers who are performing their professional duties.
