Financially Fabulous: A definite work perk

After spending 5 days in Cancun I am pleased to report that my skin is no longer a shade of pasty softest ivory… but simply soft ivory. While a trip down south for our National Sales Meeting is definitely a work perk, it wasn’t all sun and fun. In fact, I didn’t see the beach until 4:30 pm on Day 2 as my first 36 hours in Mexico were spent fine tuning and rehearsing my presentation. But by Day 3, once my team’s show went off without a hitch and we received rave reviews, I felt the stress of the past several weeks of loooooooong-ish work hours disappear.

And what better place to celebrate than in Mexico?

Once our meetings wrapped up, I got to take some time out to read on the beach, splash in the waves, and sip sangria by the pool. Our hotel was a 5-star resort full of lush gardens and manicured ponds that made for a perfect setting for our group who was mixing business with pleasure.

Even though this was a work trip, there are always a few hidden costs that pulled at my purse strings. My Eye Candy was also away for his sales meeting so we spent $120 on doggy care for Miss Fergie. I also spent $18 on magazines for my in-flight entertainment (note: bridal magazines are more expensive than my usual literature, and this will be an upcoming blog entry as I’m just getting my feet wet with the extravaganzas of wedding planning). And I gave in and forked over $45 for an epic night to party at Coco Bongo.

For those of you who have not experienced Coco Bongo, it is like all of Las Vegas crammed into one club and since they pump oxygen into the crowd, you constantly feel the rush of dancing alongside spectacular animations. I spent most of the night hiding from a creepy Beetle Juice impersonator and while I’d like to say he was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen, I have to confess that this was my second time to Coco Bongo so really – he was just the creepiest person I’ve seen since my last time there. And somewhat less creepy was Antonio Banderas who picked the same night as me to grace Coco Bongo with our VIP presence.

A few of my work friends opted not to leave Thursday night and extended their stay over the weekend. This was a very tempting idea, but the financially fabulous me had to crunch the numbers first. For 3 more nights in Cancun, I would have spent:

+ $60 on care for Miss Fergie
+ $50 to change my flight on WestJet
+ $10 taxi to change hotels
+ $300 on hotel accommodations assuming double occupancy
+ $30 on a taxi from my new hotel to the airport as the work shuttle would not be supplied

… all for a grand total of $450. Definitely not “free”! I decided to skip the extra days in Cancun and keep my $450 locked-up in my Vacation Fund. The plan is to go later this winter to Cuba with my sister and our Eye Candies and then, work will be the most distant thought from my mind.

Is traveling a work perk for you too?

*Rosie*