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I’m Kate
For more than a decade and a half, I’ve helped people create a life by design through my lifestyle and travel blog.
I’m a mom of 3, a full-time romance author, and I’ve been to more than 40 countries and nearly all the states.
I’m happy you’re here.
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Latest Blog Posts
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He Opened 11 Credit Cards to Chase Travel Points. Here’s What Happened to His Credit Score.
He opened 11 credit cards in 14 months chasing airline miles and hotel points. Then three banks closed his accounts the same week, his credit score dropped 140 points, and the points he’d collected mostly evaporated. Here’s exactly what happened — and the version of the strategy that doesn’t blow up.
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What Cruise Ship Workers Actually Make — The Salary Breakdown, the Tipping Math, and What They Think of You
The people serving your drinks and cleaning your cabin every day are working under contract terms most American labor laws wouldn’t allow. Here’s the full financial picture — who earns what, how tips actually flow, and what crew members say about passengers when nobody’s listening.
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These American Cities Keep Blowing People Away on a Long Weekend — and Nobody Is Talking About Them
Everyone’s already been to Nashville, Asheville, and Sedona. These are the cities that people keep coming back from stunned — the ones where the food scene, the walkability, the history, and the cost caught them completely off guard.
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Your Health Insurance Covers Almost Nothing Abroad. Here’s the Actual Gap That’s Costing People Thousands.
Most Americans assume their health insurance follows them overseas. It doesn’t — or it barely does, at premiums and deductibles that mean ‘covered’ is a technicality. And if you’re on Medicare, you’re on your own entirely.
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Americans Keep Making the Same European Train Mistake — and It’s Stranding Them in Cities They Can’t Afford
European rail is one of the great travel experiences — and one of the most reliably misunderstood by Americans. The gap between ‘I have a Eurail pass’ and ‘I have a confirmed seat on the train I want’ is where thousands of people discover the difference too late.
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These Tourist Scams Are So Sophisticated That People Fall for Them Even After Reading About Them
You’ve read the travel forums. You know about the scarf trick, the fake police, the friendship bracelet. And you’re still going to get taken. Here’s the precise psychology behind why awareness alone doesn’t protect you — and what actually does.
