Today on Episode #21 Interview: Nurturing Self-Care Through World Travels w. Reni Odetoyinbo , I talk with travel enthusiast and finance content creator Reni Odetoyinbo about her experiences travelling to 35 countries while managing her finances and her wellbeing.

In this episode we discuss:

-the best cheatcode to travel to more countries for less $

-key tips to prepare for your first solo trip

-why travel can be one of the best wellness practices

-drama filled personal travel stories and what can be learned

-an easy way to start saving $ for travel trips

Guest info:

Reni Odetoyinbo is a content creator, marketing consultant, and finance enthusiast based in Toronto, Ontario. On her YouTube channel, ‘xoreni’ she shares resources around career development and financial literacy. After purchasing her first house at the age of 23, she started to share her knowledge with others in the hopes of helping Black folks become more financially literate. Over the past two years, Reni has built a community of over 100,000 individuals across her platforms. Professionally, Reni was awarded the Bay St. Bull 30 x 30 in 2022, The Peak’s Most Influential Leaders in 2023, she is on the leadership board of York University’s Black Alumni Network and is an alumnus of YouTube’s Class of 2022.

@xoreni on Instagram

@xoreniii on X

Reni on YouTube

Reni's Website

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From a Full Cup is a mental wellness education podcast that teaches women to prioritize their wellness and put themselves first, because you can’t pour from an empty cup. 

I'm your host Natalie Mullin , Certified Wellness Educator, Speaker, Facilitator and Teacher. Every Thursday I release a new episode, teaching women how to dream big, take action and move the needle forward in life.

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Copyright 2024 Natalie Mullin

[00:00:12] Natalie: I was like, I need to get my voice out there. I don't know what to do. And Reni was so kind. She gave me links, she gave me resources and just encouragement. And sometimes you just need just a little bit of help to get started. And so, Reni, I really appreciate that. And I took you up. I did, I did follow what you said and, and I'm still continuing to implement more of the things that you've suggested, but I just wanna recognize you and appreciate your contribution to this podcast becoming a reality.

[00:00:42] Reni: so happy to be part of your journey.

[00:00:50] Reni: Okay. Hi everybody. I am Reni. People call me Reni, the resource, and I am a financial literacy and travel content creator based in Toronto, Canada.

[00:01:16] Natalie: Okay, awesome. And you just beat me. I'm at 32 countries, so you know, I, I'm gonna have to try to get to that 35, but it's okay.

[00:01:38] Natalie: What made you decide to kind of merge these things together and what was important to you about that?

[00:02:04] Reni: But I was like, this is a huge part of my life. And also, that's what I spend the majority of my money on. So things I spend my money on are my investments, my food, and then my travel. So I was like, I am really big on value-based spending. I think there's a big gap in the personal finance space where a lot of personal finance creators tell you save, save, save, invest, invest, invest. But they never tell you that you should actually enjoy some of the money that you make. So I wanted to be that person who could like step into that gap, share what I spend my money on, and encourage people that it's okay to spend money on the things that you value.

[00:02:43] Natalie: Awesome. And that resonated with me, this idea of value-based spending because just growing up, uh, in my household and even our culture, Spending on things you enjoy wasn't really ever encouraged. It was kind of like spend on the things you need, like food, uh, yeah, not glorious food, just the basic foods.

[00:03:14] Natalie: But a that later is not guaranteed to you. there are so many people who get into accidents or pass away, or when the later comes, they no longer have the money to do it. So I really believe in traveling as as young as you can, and as often as you can that makes sense for your life. But if it brings you joy, then a hundred percent it makes sense to me.

[00:03:46] Reni: So I feel like my parents like traveling. So when I was growing up, I, we would go on vacation maybe once a year and then, but what really started my true love for travel, cause I travel a lot more than anyone else in my family, it's because I went on exchange and I did the study abroad program in Thailand.

[00:04:20] Reni: So that was my logic, and I decided to go to Bangkok, Thailand. I went Tochu, Chula Longhorn University, and I lived there from january, 2017 to May, 2017, and I had such a good time and during that time I traveled to Malaysia, to Singapore, to Vietnam, Hong Kong, and one other place that I cannot remember right now.

[00:05:00] Reni: Like we think we're so big and huge and important, but like we're really just like a small spec in this world. And I found that so fascinating. So, yeah. Uh, I also, I also had my first solo trip. While I was on that trip, uh, all my friends had traveled to Vietnam, but I couldn't travel the week that they traveled.

[00:05:34] Natalie: Okay. Two things I wanna talk about. So one is just. For people who wanna travel, that's a cheat code is starting in one place and then traveling around. Right? That's what sometimes I think people think, oh, well this person made 32 separate trips. No, it doesn't work like that.

[00:06:02] Natalie: You could be in a new country, just an hour or two. That's another passport stamp. Why not just go see, and sometimes the country right beside is actually a completely different culture. So it's really nice to see. Um, it just reminds me of like, even when I was in, um, uh, Zambia and it's like you just walk across the bridge and you're in Zimbabwe and it's like, oh look, I'm here.

[00:06:39] Natalie: And so tell me, like, what, well, you, you explained already that , you just wanted to go, you wanted to go to Vietnam and, and nobody was down for it. So you're just like, okay, well I'm going, but what, what advice can you give to someone? Because, you know, a lot of times people are held back like they wanna do a trip and nobody will go with them.

[00:07:02] Reni: Yeah, I would say the reason, like, as you said, the reason why I went was because I was so tired of like sending a trip to my friends and being like, okay, let's go here.

[00:07:26] Reni: What I would tell people if they really want to solo travel, but they're maybe a bit nervous about it or not feeling confident, I would tell them to first take themselves out on like solo dates in their own hometown before they even go abroad, right? Because going to a completely new country alone may seem.

[00:08:09] Reni: We don't also wanna add on the, the, like the, um, punch the completely new language, completely new language culture. Yeah. Everything. So ideally if you can go, but also just like maybe choose somewhere that has the same language. At least that would be something that's super helpful for your full, for solo trip.

[00:08:46] Reni: I find, um, especially if it's like a walking tour, they're probably gonna be pretty young people who are taking those tours and like, yeah. So those are some of the tips that I have, but honestly, I encourage everyone to just do it, and it could be a life-changing experience because the beauty of solo travel is that you don't have to rely on anyone, and you can do as little as you want or as much as you want.

[00:09:24] Reni: You don't have to rely on anyone. Um, and you can just be alone and enjoy your solitude. Cuz I think a lot of us don't enjoy our solitude enough.

[00:09:42] Natalie: Okay. Because sometimes mm-hmm. People think they're the best of friends, let me tell you. You really get to know people when you travel with them. And sometimes people like, oh, okay, a little bit different. Right? There's some friends I have, we can't travel together anymore.

[00:09:58] Natalie: So that is, that is so true. And, and I love doing tours. I love doing walk tours, any kind of tour, and it's a small world. I was in China. And I met a man on a tour when we were going to the Great Wall, who knew my family, friends on the small island of Antigua, like knew them by name. And I was like, what in the world?

[00:10:33] Reni: For me, travel is just a time to be alone.

[00:11:03] Reni: Uh, that's something that I've been like a little bit struggling with. I have like a million things going on in my mind at all times, and I feel like I could do a lot all the time. My job is making content, right? Like I could literally make content about anything. Um, so I find that that's always happening when I'm at home.

[00:11:35] Reni: I would say.

[00:11:52] Natalie: I'm gonna go do this, this, that, and I would come back. I'd have a good time. I come back and I'm being exhausted and mm-hmm. As I've gotten older, I've started to realize like, you know what, there is something to be said about being present, being in the moment. Also not uh, Planning out your day so that you can just see where the day takes you.

[00:12:29] Natalie: I, I think that that's like a really important part of travel. So, yeah.

[00:12:36] Natalie: Yeah. Yeah. This is when you come back, you're like, okay, my cup is full. I can do this again.

[00:12:51] Reni: I was just like, I'm, I'm in Antigua. I didn't plan anything for the entire seven days or eight days that I was there. I just chilled and as you said, I went with the flow and if, if PE I met a lot of people and they were like, oh, we're going here. And I was like, ok, let's go. Or sometimes I was like, no, I just wanna lay on the beach today.

[00:13:08] Natalie: So, No, no, that's, that's great. I love that. And I, I think I'm gonna, I think that should be a certain type of travel, like every year, if you can just go do like a solitude, replenish, just relax, cancel the plans, and just pour back into yourself. How do you, you know what, it's kind of going into the next question anyways about balancing the, the planning and spontaneity when you're exploring a new destination and any tips about finding that sweet spot.

[00:14:01] Reni: And I'm like, okay, am I feeling good up to experiencing a lot of activities today or am I not? And that's how I approach it when I'm traveling solo. But when I'm traveling with someone else, I usually like to like use a tour guide. Well, I did it for the first time. I'm just using a tour guide to figure out like, these are the things that I'm going to do while I'm on the trip.

[00:14:37] Reni: Uh, for my recent Peru trip, I. Use the tour guide for the first time. It was a really good experience. I did that cuz it's a brand new destination, like, and uh, it's a very adventure filled destination, I'll say. Mm-hmm. So I wanted to take advantage of it. It was definitely on a restful trip, but I do wish that maybe I had planned like half of the days.

[00:15:14] Reni: And then if you're feeling up to it, then you can add them on when you're there. I think that would be a good approach to take. What do you usually do?

[00:15:31] Natalie: And I like it. So I like just starting off slow, just meandering. I, I always have an idea of something that I'd like to do in the, in the place that I'm in. I always research ahead of time, um, what are things to see and, and. I encourage people to don't just research like the top, like, okay, if people come to Toronto or they come to Canada, they're going to Niagara Falls.

[00:16:08] Natalie: I wander out, I'm like, okay, even if I do a tour, it's same thing. It's, it's just not, it's not for the whole day anymore. Um, and I always give myself time to come back. It depends on what kind of trip. Sometimes I come back and I take a nap. Okay. I'm at that stage where naps are helpful and I'll take a nap, and then I go again, and the evening I'm recharged instead of like, me just, you know, dragging on through the day.

[00:16:44] Natalie: And every country is different too. Every, every city is different. But I think also just being open to new experiences and asking questions, asking people like, Hey, what's good around here? Right. Because you can do all the research you want, but it's the local people who always have some, some good tips too.

[00:17:25] Natalie: Mm-hmm. Um, so yeah. Travel can be both exhilarating and challenging. And I would love to know maybe you have a story, um, of a time that you might have faced a significant obstacle or a barrier or something dramatic or crazy happened during your travels. And what did you do?

[00:17:45] Reni: There've been a few.

[00:18:11] Reni: Very rough. Yeah. So something happened to the car and. It like, I don't know. I can't explain what happened. And he was asking us all for like hundreds of dollars and not, we're all like, um, no. So that was, that was an experience. Um, eventually we, we did not pay for it. I don't know what happened. I actually do not know what happened at this point, but I hope that he has fixed the car.

[00:18:55] Reni: But another, another obstacle that I did have was when I was traveling in England and I actually left. I lost my camera and I, I figured out, so I got to the airport, we were going on a flight to France and then they canceled our flight and said the next flight was three days later. So we went, I know. So we went back to wild, uh, my friend's house that we were staying at in London.

[00:19:41] Reni: I was panicking. Like, I was literally, like, I was hyperventilating, I feel like, and I was probably like 18 or 19 at the time and I was just very stressed. I was like, my parents are gonna kill. Oh my, but then, Take, take a deep breath and be like, okay, where was the last place you saw this? And I went back to where we were sitting.

[00:20:16] Reni: She was just holding it for them. So, and I was like, whatever. But eventually I found the camera. Turned it in as well. Yeah, it was a little, it was a little suss, but maybe she saw me panicking and crying and she was like, Hey, lemme just skip it back. But, uh, the moral of the story for that was like, just when, when stressful things happen, just take a step back, calm down.

[00:20:51] Reni: So that, that was a, that was a stressful experience and that I experienced.

[00:21:08] Natalie: I remember I was in Germany. And I was young too. I think I was about 18 or nine, uh, maybe 19 or 20. Let's go with 20. And my cousin and I, we had gone on a trip. We were with Contiki. So for those who don't know, Contiki, Contiki is a tour group for 18 to 35 year olds. Highly recommend it if you're nervous about traveling.

[00:21:46] Natalie: Stop. That's the only thing about being on a tour sometimes. Sometimes you go to these places, these stops and you're like, but I don't want to be here. Yeah. So I do not drink beer. I have zero interest. I'm like, I don't wanna do this. So I was like, I'm in Germany. You know, it would be really powerful for me to, uh, visit a concentration camp and just really honor, uh, that experience and kind of just, Center myself and always just remember the horrible things that have happened, uh, in the past so that we never go through them again.

[00:22:29] Natalie: There's no bus, there's no people. Okay? Um, now I need you guys to understand Germany is a different country. There is, they do not speak English for the most part. And we're in like, it's like the sound of music. Okay? So like we're just on rolling Hills with like a random building and I'm like, where We had just taxi to drop his bus.

[00:23:06] Natalie: We didn't know anything about like international SIM cards or anything like that. I learn why lesson. Ok. The middle of, in the middle of this building. We finally understand that the bus is gone and is no longer coming back. That much was communicated to us. So now I'm like, so what do we do? Like we're not even in a city like I truly have.

[00:23:46] Natalie: The subway is not in English. I don't even know to the left or right, like I'm just like, I just dunno. I had an idea of where our hotel was and again, the struggle bus was real, but with, you have to be very brave when you're traveling, especially if you're traveling alone. You have to ask questions. Yeah, you've gotta be willing to like chat.

[00:24:12] Natalie: this is something you have to kind of overcome. And a lot of people worked together to try to help us get to the right, um, stop.

[00:24:35] Natalie: I don't even think I have my phone. My passport was in the, was in the, uh, suitcase, which was on the bus. Like it was just, A mess. But long story short, we got back to the hotel and what ended up happening a tour, God was like,

[00:24:49] Natalie: sorry. Apparently in uh, Germany, they have very strict rules around how long a, a driver can drive for it and the bus will actually shut off if they pass their hours.

[00:25:13] Reni: that's scary. I was like, were

[00:25:17] Natalie: Cause, you know, anyways, it worked out in the end and we got, I think we got, um, we got a free, we got to do water wa white water rafting in Austria for free. And I think she gave us a couple bottles of wine. Like in hindsight, I should have asked for a lot more. You know, you're young, you're just like, okay, lets now.

[00:25:56] Reni: But yeah, that's,

[00:26:17] Natalie: Right. Um, yeah, so definitely guys will follow already cuz she'll put you onto multiple things. Like, it's been so good for me, like just looking at your page. Um, cuz I learn things and I'm not even a social media person. Thank you. And I still learn things so. Traveling can be very hectic. I re like, even, especially if you go somewhere where there's a time change and it just throws you off.

[00:26:54] Natalie: Especially when your, your travel time is limited, so you still wanna make, you know, you still wanna enjoy the trip, but it's like you gotta. Figure out how to adjust.

[00:27:12] Reni: And for those who don't know, like in Toronto we're about 76, I believe it is meters above sea level. Whereas in Cusco, Peru, we were. 3000, 300 meters above sea level. So there's a lot less oxygen the higher you go and, uh, your, you, your body reacts to it cuz it's not used to having that little oxygen. So if you're running, you'd, you would, you would probably faint.

[00:27:57] Reni: Like I think I would've been probably, I probably would've painted if I had not taken that. So I'm really glad that I did the research. So for anyone, any country you're going to make sure that you research beforehand, cuz I met a lot of people there. Who didn't, who had never even heard about the altitude sickness.

[00:28:36] Reni: And I like doing that because it allows me to still keep my sleep schedule and like still sleep on the plane overnight. Wake up in the morning. Obviously it's not the same. You're sitting upright and, um, you're, it's like. It's not comfortable typically on a plane, but it's still better than like, you know, you sleep on the plane if you're flying midday and then you're tired once you arrive.

[00:29:17] Reni: Mm-hmm. But same thing, I like to arrive during the morning or. Or late at night, like not midday, just so that I can like, you know, either fall asleep or just get through the entire day. But like I usually try to pick my times where like I arrive at a time that is strategic and advantageous, especially if you don't have a very long time to be in the country.

[00:29:54] Reni: Mm-hmm. I also kept up like my self-care ritual of journaling every morning. It wasn't more reflective. You know, uh, trip. So maybe that's why, but like I try to like continue with my, uh, routine and I find that just maintaining some of the routines that you have at home helps you have like a, a smooth transition into the trip and out of the trip so that you don't ha because usually when you're like done your trip, you get back to real life and then it's like, It struggle to to get back.

[00:30:31] Natalie: good. And that's like a tip for me to try next time because I went on a cruise a few months ago and. I had all intention of working out.

[00:30:57] Natalie: This was in March guys, it is June. Have I gotten back to my regular routine yet? Ask me. Okay. And, and then, because when I got back I was sick and that knocked me off even more. So I think that next trip for sure. I, I love what you're saying about like just try to maintain the routine, um, because it helps you not just going into it but coming back out of it and, um, Research is important.

[00:31:41] Natalie: I think we were standing outside for nine hours, which if you know me, I don't even wanna be outside for five minutes in the cold. So that was a wild experience. But, you know, they tell you once you get into your certain, uh, they have a gated areas, once you get into that area, you cannot leave. So you are there for 7, 8, 9 hours.

[00:32:22] Natalie: Once you get there, you're not, you're not allowed to go. So me, I remember saying, I'm not drinking. I didn't drink a sip of water that day from the time I woke up, even when I was brushing my teeth, I was like, make sure all the water. I, I what, imagine how heartbreaking it is to stand for seven hours in the freezing cold and then realize like you can't manage anymore.

[00:32:52] Reni: is really important. See, I didn't even know that. I didn't know you had to send out there for nine hours.

[00:33:12] Reni: Mm-hmm. Uh, like if you're taking iron pills at home, take them on your trip as well so that your, your body. Again, we wanna keep our routine as smooth as possible even though our, what we're do, we're in a new place. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:33:40] Natalie: And just before you answer, like, this is important to me because, I mean, I couldn't afford most of the trips I went on, but I still went. And, um, I'm so grateful, especially when I was in university. I had no money, but I, I did so much traveling then, and I'm so grateful I did it then because people kept telling me, oh, you shouldn't travel.

[00:34:17] Natalie: So when I went to China, I went from Antigua back Toronto to then go to China, right? So like that gets very expensive and bless Antigua. Antigua's expensive. So, um, it's not, you know, so these things, these things, um, if, if you can do it, I think you should do it. But anyways, let me, let me not give my 2 cents.

[00:34:40] Reni: Okay, so someone who wants to travel but doesn't think they can afford it. I think that oftentimes when we look on social media, we think that travel has to be like extremely expensive because you know, we're seeing typically like the glamorous travels, right?

[00:35:13] Reni: So thinking of like the location that you travel would be really important. Like maybe you're avoiding the islands, maybe you're avoiding Antia, cuz Antia is very expensive. Um, maybe you're avoiding, like maybe you're gonna Mexico instead of Antigua, just for price wise, right? Yes. I think it's all about doing your, the proper research and finding the places that make most sense for your budget.

[00:35:54] Reni: And that's exactly what I did. Even when I wanted to go to Thailand, I worked two jobs that summer before an internship and a part-time job, just though that I had. Enough money to like go to Thailand for five months where I wouldn't be working. So I feel like if you really wanna travel, you have to start prioritizing it and like making it a line item in your budget.

[00:36:26] Reni: Super smart. I literally work so that I can, like, that's, you know, my, one of my goals, one of my reasons for working is so that I can travel more. Mm-hmm. Um, I wanna make more money so I can travel. Also, look at travel deals, like, again, travel can be expensive, but recently I saw a flight to Thailand for like $970, where it's normally 1,970, do $1,900.

[00:37:08] Reni: Travel does not need to be extremely expensive. And also people do like couch surfing even. I don't know if I recommend that, but, uh, People stay. You can like go and stay on people's couches in exchange, and then you live there. There's also like house sitting where you can live in someone's house and explore the city that they live in, but you're like taking care of their house while they're gone and that's how they're paying you.

[00:37:48] Reni: Like my hotel in Peru save was like a hundred dollars a night. Versus the hostels in Peru were like $20 a night. So that's a way that you can still go to these countries, but save a lot of money, uh, while you're doing

[00:38:07] Natalie: So at this current stage, I'm not going to any hostel, but you know, neither, there was a time, there was a time when that was the option and that's what allowed me to do the things I wanted to do. So, uh, don't knock it, right? Like, you might not start off with glamor or luxury trips right away, so just do what you can do.

[00:38:44] Natalie: Um, I slept with my bag, like right under my head, wrapped around my hands. Like, you know, you just gotta use a little bit of, of wisdom, um, and kind of. You know, just watch the place, evaluate the place, read the reviews, right? Like, I'm not just walking in the street to any hostel period. Like I, I read all the reviews, they're, they're rated, some hostels are actually really nice and it's a nice way to meet other people as well.

[00:39:27] Natalie: And I, I, maybe you can speak to this, but I'm used to do that. I'm not gonna lie, why I used to be a little bit reckless, but now I'm older and wiser. I'm like, I do what you do now. So I put money aside every paycheck. My husband does the same thing and we're like, this is our vacation fund. Mm-hmm. And even if we don't know where we're going or when we're going, so we just have the money building up.

[00:40:05] Natalie: You don't have a way to pay it back and it, it, you know, it just balloons. And then on top of that, you're gonna spend money when you're on the trip, right? So, yeah, please don't go into to travel. It's not like you can just find a cheaper place to go.

[00:40:27] Reni: I, again, I just said I'm not, I'm not staying in any hostel at this age, but I definitely have stayed in some hostels and it's what it allowed me to travel around Asia for very cheap. So, uh, I would, I would say, Match your travels to your budget. Don't match it to your, to your credit card. Limit it. Match it to your, to the, to the money that's in your account.

[00:40:58] Reni: Yes. If you wanna learn more about me, you can find me on Instagram, on Twitter, on YouTube, on all the PO TikTok, all the platforms at XO Reni.

[00:41:28] Reni: And I am talking to someone who has been to 50 countries and they've actually been to those 50 countries on a Nigerian passport, which for those who don't know is, is very hard to do because you have to get visas for almost every country. And she has not gone broke trying to travel the world. So I think that you should listen to that.

[00:41:51] Natalie: I'm definitely gonna look out for that one. And I've been loving your podcast and thank you. I won't say too much, but I, I saw the post that you talked about, the lawsuit situation, the broke confessions, and I'm like, what?

[00:42:23] Natalie: And, um, yeah, I look forward to staying connected.