Optimal Finance Daily · Sunday, September 13, 2026
Michelle Schroeder Gardner shares a financial lesson from her late father: that travel is affordable through careful budgeting. Her father, despite not being wealthy, prioritized travel by managing his money effectively, exemplified by his long-term ownership of a Camaro and dedication to work to fund his passion.
“If you are thinking my dad was rich, he wasn't. Instead, he worked with his budget and always made sure to fit traveling into his life because that is what he believed in.”
“He managed his money well so that he could take trips whenever he could.”