My job is sending me to Europe for a week, paying my flight, food and hotel. My wife wants to come (and before MMM she did so regularly) and we found a way to fly her there for free with our credit card miles/hacking.
We are staying for three days with a friend's family. The entire trip is 14 days: 1 day traveling, 1 day in a European City, 5 days working (while the wife does whatever), 4 days probably visiting some other city, 3 days staying with these friends.
So we'd probably spend $1000 or so on extra hotels, her food, and train trips/etc. Maybe $1500. For a trip to Europe.
I can't help but think (1) this is a very antimustachian thing to be doing, you know, spending money and everything on an experience like this, and (2) it would be very dumb for me to pass up an opportunity to see another part of the world for such a small amount of money. In fact it has been these trips that have helped us see outside of the American Consumerist Bubble of Excess and Stupidity.
Do I need a punch in the face?
Related question: any suggestions on how to make this trip fit more with the values of this site? We had an opportunity to stop by Paris but the horde of people made me think, "maybe some other time"...