Sat, 28 April 2018: Tonight I sewed up the final pre-payment of our upcoming London/Scotland adventure.
You save money by purchasing train tickets in advance, so I bought our group’s rides from the airport to the train station nearest our London hotel. A while back I secured our reservations at that hotel, and since then I’ve pre-paid for our West End theatre show, our Scotland train tickets, our Highlands tour, and our Edinburgh hotel.
Some things you leave to your last minute whims: dinner reservations at the restaurant you just walked past; tickets to see that band you kinda like who happens to be playing at the venue next to your hotel; one more subway ride across the city to retake the selfie that came out blurry.
But most things should not be decided on the spur of the moment. You know you need a place to sleep in your destination city, so book it before you fly. You don’t want to be dragging your luggage on a quest for a hotel when you’re jetlagged, and you certainly don’t want to pay the “walked in off the street” room rate. Your wife has her heart set on seeing that exhibition of her most beloved artist, so contact the museum in advance to be sure it’s still running when you get there. That winery has a waiting list to get in, so email them a few weeks ahead to guarantee your seat at a tasting.
Time will become your enemy if you let it! Settle and pay for the necessities ahead of time whenever possible, or you may regret it.