Essential Websites for Seasonal Workers, Travelers, and Ski Instructors
I've curated a list of useful websites you should be using to make your life cheaper, easier, more organised, help you plan the beginning or in-between season, and potentially make you a few pennies on the side too! This is an ever-growing list and if theres something you think is worthy of adding to the list please get in touch.
Money Management
For managing your finances abroad, Wise and Revolut are game-changers. Both offer excellent travel debit cards with features like low transaction fees and easy budgeting. Revolut also provides cashback and discount deals, while Wise is renowned for its straightforward international transfers.
For a Revolut account: Click on this link here to sign up Join me and over 40 million users who love Revolut. Sign up with my link below: https://revolut.com/referral/?referral-code=edentb2le!JUN1-24-AR-H1
To get your own Wise account, click this link to sign up https://wise.com/invite/ahpe/edenb11
Paypal
As an instructor, babysitter, and casual freelancer in a cashless world, sometimes it can be really hard to receive a cash tip. I have found giving my bank details to people for them to pay me a tip for their holiday of ski lessons such a faff. I’d rather not, and end up more often than not saying don’t worry about it, just enjoy your holiday and come back next year. Paypal has solved that issue for me. To send money to your friends, and family, or for your clients to tip you on PayPal it only takes a few steps! If you download the app and create an account using my referral link (benefits for you vary if you use my link which could mean free money!)
Then follow these simple steps:
Tap payments
Enter the recipient's information: Name, @username, email, or mobile.
Enter the amount, choose the currency, add an (optional) note, and tap Next.
Select your payment method, review your information, and tap Send.
Click this link to sign up for PayPal to reap the rewards! If a friend joins PayPal and spends £5 within 30 days of signing up, you both can earn a £10 reward. Refer 10 friends and you can earn up to £100 in rewards.
Going out for dinner- First Table
Everyone loves to go out for dinner right!? Being a total foodie it has to be one of my favourite things to do with my friends while I’m travelling and working seasons in different countries around the world. I also love treating my friends to drinks when I’m out too.
If you’re going to be working the ski season in New Zealand then you're definitely going to want to try some of the local foods around, whether it is restaurants, bakeries, bars, or cafes there are so many cute places to chill out at, and yummy foods you have to try. This can be quite tricky if you're here traveling or just don’t earn that much. New Zealand has also recently been classed as one of the more expensive countries to travel around in, the higher expense here has a lot to do with the price of food both out and at the supermarkets.
Have you ever dined with First Table?
One fantastic way I like to save money and still enjoy restaurant food is by dining out with a few other friends and booking our table through First Table.com. First Table is an excellent website that not only shows you what restaurants the town has to offer but also gives you 50% off your food bill! There are two main conditions to the booking, one is that it is for tables of up to 4 people, you have to buy a drink each (this can be soft or alcoholic), and there is a booking fee of 5 or 10 dollars for some of the restaurants. You’re probably thinking what’s the catch? The main catch is that these tables are available for first seats or last seats, so the timing of your booking is usually between 5 and 7 or 9 and 10 (Last Table) or 12.30 for lunch. The timing of available bookings is dependent on which restaurant you book.
How does it work?
Participating restaurants list their first tables for breakfast, lunch, or dinner – showing seven days of availability First Table website. To secure a table: find a restaurant, select your date and time, and book a First Table for $10 to get 50% off the food bill for groups of two to four.
Important to note:
You must show up on time and together. FirstTable doesn't allow for holding tables for latecomers.
Check for Menu Exceptions and Drink Policies: While most restaurants offer their entire menu, a few might exclude certain high-end items. Additionally, some places might ask you to order a drink, but it doesn't have to be alcoholic. There are always budget-friendly options available. You'll find these details in your booking confirmation or you can ask the restaurant staff.
Order What You Can Eat (No Takeaways): Remember, First Table isn't for ordering more than you can eat to take leftovers home. While some restaurants might be flexible, generally, taking food home isn't the norm. It's better to order just enough and add more if needed.
Explore a Wide Range of Restaurants: With over 250 restaurants in Queenstown, Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, there's a lot to choose from. You'll find a variety of cuisines and famous restaurant names. Don't hesitate to try something new!
There is no minimum spend in FirstTable. Eat as much or as little as you like and your food bill will be discounted 50% at the end of your meal.
My top tip!
Know the Best Time to Book: First Table updates its availability just after 9pm every night for the following week. So, if you're planning for next Wednesday, check the options on Thursday at 9pm. While some popular places get booked quickly, there's usually a good selection available in various cities.
What are the benefits for participating restaurants?
Restaurants gain from increased off-peak patronage with no additional cost for being on the platform. They bring people together to enjoy new dining experiences and support restaurateurs by filling their off-peak tables.
How do I sign up to find the newest restaurant partners on First Table?
You can sign up for a free first table account using your email or Google account. Use promo code: edenb13 or click www.firsttable.co.nz/invite/edenb13 to get $5 credit to your account when you sign up! It’s totally free, safe to use, and a fab way to afford dinner out.
I love bookme.co.nz. Their app is like FirstTable meets Tripadvisor all in one place all specific to New Zealand spots. It’s also full of reviews from real people and hidden gem suggestions. Similar to FirstTable, you can book a restaurant for up to 4 people on bookme.co.nz for as little as 2 dollars and receive up to 50% off of your food bill. Certain conditions apply to these bookings and regular table bookings are possible through the website also.
How to save money on your food shop in Queenstown
Wonky box.
Get veggies delivered straight to your door for less than 30 dollars!
It can be really hard to eat healthily in Queenstown due to the high price of fresh fruit and veg. It also always comes packaged in plastics or it's travelled miles and miles to get to the supmermarket which I hate.
Subscribing to wonky box is really easy and I've really enjoyed doing it! They even give you recipe suggestions on what to cook with the veg they've given you or you can leave it as a surprise and get inventive. So much fun can be had by someone else selecting your veggies for you.
Better yet you can take pride and peace in the knowledge that you're saving the planet!
Essential Apps
We’ve all been out to dinner with friends that we see often and made a big sigh when it comes to the faff of splitting the bill at the end. We’ve just had dinner and now we need to share a taxi back home and wait we had some drinks before and afterward too and she paid for this and I paid for that… it can get really messy. My favorite app to sort out all of the payment sharing and splitting is Splitwise. You simply create a group and independently log what each person has spent on what and it tells you who owes who whenever you choose to settle up. This was an absolute lifesaver when I was road-tripping with multiple friends too.
Unrelated to money, we all need to stay fit and healthy, us instructors especially. My favorite way to get enjoyable exercise in each morning, stretch, recenter and mostly enjoy myself without venturing from the warmth of my house is by doing at-home workouts, yoga, and scratch routines with my Les Mills App. I absolutely love it and that's no stranger to my friends and family either. There isn’t a huge amount in it for me to share the link to sign up with Les Mills apart from sharing the pure love for their App, workouts, and the trainers they have. So click here to join up (you’ll receive a free 3-day trial!).
For the most part, I’m that gal who turns up in a new place and walks around to find the nearest attractions to then ask people questions about what else there might be worth exploring whether that may be a hike a restaurant, or a coffee stop. Occasionally though I find myself pushed for time or without the ability to ask someone and Tripadvisor comes in super handy with suggestions of places to go, things to do and cafes and restaurants to get a feed. My favorite thing to do on their app is to log on the trip advisor map once I’ve visited somewhere so that I can return and suggest it to others.
Accommodation
Working seasons invariably involve booking lots of accommodation, flights, and other activities. We all travel to and from ski resorts around the world, occasional overnight trips to explore new places, visiting friends and family. This all involves booking accommodation. My go-to App and website to use to search for places to stay at reasonable prices is Booking.com. By booking multiple trips on their App, I have been rewarded with discounts, room upgrades, free breakfasts and the ability to look back on my log of places that I’ve stayed at to revisit and recommend to others.
When I'm traveling with others I also love to use Airbnb for those more unique, secluded and homely special places. I once did a road trip up to the north of the north island in New Zealand with a friend and we had driven so far to get to this beautiful spot surrounded by waterfalls, absolutely exhausted we just wanted a cosy place to stay where we would be looked after, a warm shower and a cuppa T. Airbnb saved us and we found a lady with a lovely room on the edge of the botanical gardens who pulled out all the stops.
This one is for those of us travelling the bigger cities, looking for a place to stay at an airport or just craving a little more luxury of a hotel room. Hotels.com has a great loyalty scheme for those who prefer to stay in hotel rooms on their travels. I find it super convenient when in big cities such as Tokyo and Auckland on my way in and out of the countries at the start and end of the seasons.
Flights and transport
Skyscanner and kayak
Season workers spend a large chunk of our money on flights back and forth from a few countries. Without comparison sites such as Skyscanner, it would be really hard to find the best deal at times and dates to suit you best. Compare flights and transport options to find the best deals. Always check the carrier’s website directly for the best booking conditions.
Using your phone abroad- buying an e-sim for your working holiday
Airalo - e-sims. Get $3 credit when you sign up using my code
EDEN9972
When you work seasons, you spend extended periods of time living in different countries. You’re going to want to be able to contact your friends and family and colleagues while your out and about. Not only to share the enjoyment of your trip but also to ensure your safety. It isn't a good idea to just rely on wifi connections and the main reason for this is because you will need the use of maps. Maps won't run without wifi if you need it spontaneously. The amount of times having local data on my phone has saved me is enough reason for me to spend time writing his post to tell you you should sort out a sim for your travels.
Now this is a boring task. Boring life admin. Try not to see it that way. Sorting out the little gadgets and details that will enhance your trip is a step towards having the best time of your life! It’s an important tick box on your before-you-leave to-do list so let me help you get it sorted.
Your provider may try to sell you one of their bolt-on packages, but they aren’t always the best option.
Sometimes they can be super expensive for insufficient amounts of data, often involving a daily charge.
Sometimes the provider you're with doesn't have great signal coverage in the country/ area you're traveling to.
Sometimes you're going to need more than the given amount of data including in your package.
Perhaps you're planning to travel for more than the allowed/allocated days abroad and need the longevity of a different deal.
Many travel websites will tell you to wait until you have reached your final destination and to buy a sim card there. While this might be your best value option, I would only advise it for those who are on extended trips, those with multi-sim phones, and those who know they're going to need a local number while traveling in that location. Watch out for hidden costs.
What if you're planning to travel to more than one destination? Will you need to go and buy a SIM card in every local place? While it's one option, I have another couple of options for you.
I decided to use Airalo; an app where you can buy E-sims. You can use my code EDEN9972 for 3$ towards your first data package.
What is an e-sim?
An e-sim is a downloadable sim. You buy it through the app or online on a website. It takes you through the steps of how to activate it on your phone in the settings, and once activated you can use data on your phone as normal.
Does an e-sim give you a new number?
No, an e-sim doesn't give you a new number. You will only be able to be contacted using data apps such as Facebook Instagram Whatsapp etc. You will need to turn off your home country sim if you don't want to be charged if someone tries to call you as well as data roaming.
How long can I get an e-sim package for?
Airalo offers various data package options from 1GB to 20GB for a few days or a month. It is very easy to top these up and each time you purchase an e-sim on Airalo, you earn credit towards your next sim or top-up.
Where in the world can I use my Airalo sim?
Airalo offers SIMs that work across groups of countries as well as country specific data e-sims in almost every country around the world.
Get $3 credit when you sign up using my code
EDEN9972
I’m always on the lookout for more useful resources, so if you have any recommendations or want to share your own site, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
TheSkiNomad
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