I save the butcher paper that comes in a lot of the packages I order, and use that + twine to wrap things. It can look cute and old school and saves a bunch on buying wrapping paper (I also try and buy that on massive clearance after Christmas, and if I can get more generic or even just winter themed paper I’ll angle for that to use for birthday gifts later in the year)

About vacation, I have a few tips.

I live in Europe, so the context for these is when visiting another European city for 3-7 days, with the intention of getting to know the city and local culture better.

How to get to the place varies a lot, and there’s no tip here other than the usual: ride shares (blablacar.com) and scouting for cheap flights/busses/trains.

1. Accommodation

Usually, the most expensive part of these trips is accommodation, and it’ll of course vary a lot based on your tolerance for crappy rooms.
I’m older and won’t do shared bedrooms anymore, so my tip here is to use booking.com or airbnb to find a room as far away from the city center as possible, as the price difference is huge. Just make 100% sure that there’s public transportation from that place to downtown and that it’s not like a 2h commute.

2. Food

Do not, ever, eat at the tourist places. It’s always expensive subpar food. If you want to experience a city’s local cousine, eat where the workers go out for lunch. You can find these places in google maps by looking at the photos: local places are usually shabbier looking and the reviews are in the local language. And of course the prices.

3. Activities/attractions

Cities often charge for going into museums, historical buildings, etc. These can get pretty expensive depending on how many you visit, so make sure to look for weekly passes, you can save so much money with those.

Also, and some people think they’re lame, I’ve only had extremely positive experiences with guided city walks/bike rides. They’re usually extremely cheap (5-10 euros total) and you learn and experience so much in one go.

4. Transportation

Do not take cabs around, that’s throwing money in the bin. Look for a daily/weekly public transportation ticket as soon as you get there, and you’ll experience the city in a slower and more genuine way.
Rental bikes can be a great option too.

Speak to no one. Don’t spend anything. Disappear completely.
Every year I get closer. About halfway so far. One of these years I’ll get there.

You don’t always have to go out for lunch. Make sandwiches from supermarket ingredients. Buy a short serated knife (life the victorinox) with the round tip. You can cut bread, meat, veg AND you can butter said bread with it. Best freaken travel accessory! Make epic sandwiches in your hotel room and save money when you’re out during the day. We did this in Spain and Portugal and saved a tonne. Free hotel breakfast, cheap super market lunch, “fancy” restaurant dinner. I mean, come on!