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The Packing List | Kevin Payne

Making travel easier, one trip at a time.

The Packing List is a weekly travel newsletter that helps you plan smarter, spend less, and explore more. Each issue delivers practical tips, destination ideas, and tools real travelers use to make every trip easier.

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Featured Post

How early should you book your next trip

Hey Reader, Because my wife teaches and our kids attended public schools, we’ve always been tied to school breaks for travel. Traveling during peak season taught me how much timing matters when it comes to booking and budgeting. Here is a quick guide to when it usually makes sense to start planning and booking your next trip. Book early ✈ Flights: About 1 to 3 months ahead for domestic trips and 2 to 8 months for international or peak season travel.🏨 Hotels: Around 3 to 5 months ahead for...

2 days ago • 1 min read

Hey Reader, I shared a post on Instagram this week about something I’ve been working through. It’s about a recent health issue, how it affected me physically and mentally, and what’s helped me move forward again. If you’re curious, you can read the full post here. But this email isn’t really about the post. It’s about the bigger takeaway: Sometimes what’s best for you is what actually works for you. Not what’s trending, not what’s optimal, and not what everyone else is doing. For me, getting...

6 months ago • 2 min read

Hey Reader, Ever notice how the way you travel or handle money often feels pre-programmed? It might be that your family’s traditions laid the groundwork for your habits. For many of us, our earliest travel memories of road trips, family vacations, and even the quiet moments of planning set the stage for a lifelong love of exploration. At the same time, when it comes to finances, many of us never saw our parents talk about money or budgeting, leaving us to figure it out on our own. I have...

7 months ago • 3 min read