You often hear us talking about budgeting and cutting our unnecessary spending, focusing on things that bring us value and joy. Well, one thing we do always splurge for is a photobook of our trip. A tangible, printed version of some of the most unbelievable experiences, the surreal landscapes, and little moments that we will look back on and smile.
Though this is hardly a splurge to most, in the budgeting world this may be considered unnecessary. After all, it’s just something to sit around and collect dust. That couldn’t be further from the true. Over the years of printing our photobooks, documenting each adventure, I’ve come to see them as much much more than just a souvenir. They are a lasting memory of a trip that we said “we will never forget” but with time many details would be lost without them. They are a way for us to show our daughter the things that she did when she was too small to remember like hiking mountains in Norway, touring wineries in Blueridge strapped to mommy, and many other adventures. They are nostalgic items that we, as a family, can sit around and turn page after page reliving experiences and reminiscing for years to come. And, if made correctly, they are family heirlooms that can be passed down to our children and grandchildren.
Budgeting is all about CHOOSING what you spend your money on. It’s not a one size fits all plan, and it surely doesn’t mean giving up the things that you love. In fact, that IS the whole point of budgeting, to find the things that bring you value, joy and happiness and focus on those! For us this meant travel.
We may travel to amazing places, see incredible things, visit other countries and have grandiose experiences, BUT we focus on those things. We do not buy trinkets, pay for top dollar tours we could do ourselves, or ever pay full price for a trip. We make the experience the focus, and though it might be hard to resist shopping in Milan or buying discount jewelry on a cruise, that is our “sacrifice” for being able to take these trips. Take nothing but a memory – and maybe some wine or Italian olive oil…but they add value to our lives! Wine always adds value.
Photobooks have been our way of preserving that memory. As time goes on you so easily forget the little details that made your trip unforgettable. The time you met that crazy foreign family and seemingly adopted their daughter for the trip, the time your little girl saw an aquarium for the first time and the way her face lit up, the time you randomly ended up on an old, Italian couple’s farm and they invited you in for lunch. Those are the memories that you never want to forget! Of course you’re going to remember you went to a cabin for your husband’s 27th birthday, or was it his 28th? Or was it your birthday? THIS IS WHY I MAKE PHOTOBOOKS FOR EVERY ADVENTURE!! Your brain can only hold so much information and then it seems to blur together. Photobooks are our way of never letting our travels fade off.
Top Reasons We Print a Photobook for Every Adventure
Technology Fails.
These days technology is everything. I have absolutely nothing against it. In fact, I LOVE that with one tiny device I can have access to the internet, GPS, my calendar, take photos, send photos, store photos, etc. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it. But…the 5,000 photos currently on your phone can so easily be lost or even just forgotten somewhere in cyberspace.
“Being able to take & upload an unlimited number of pictures to friends and family with the push of a button is incredible, but there is something special about a printed, tangible photobook.”
While most of us upload our photos to social media such as Facebook or even a photo share site, and some may even back their photos up to a hard drive, very few people have tangible copies of their precious memories.
Ok, so you have backups on SD cards, flashdrives, or in “the cloud”. You’re telling me you believe that NOTHING is going to happen to those either? No chance? I can’t tell you how many times when I was in in college I’ve gone to pull my homework off my SD card only to find that it wasn’t there. Maybe, just maybe a few of those were unrelated to technology fails, but, regardless, technology is simply not something that can be relied on 100%. It fails. Simple as that.
Oh, and here’s a fun fact. The more you open a JPG, the more it reduces the quality of the image. Mind blown! Did you know that JPGs deteriorate? I certainly didn’t!
They Spark Conversation.
We keep our photobooks in various places. Sometimes we rotate them, some may get stored away, but the most recent adventures are ALWAYS somewhere visible whether it’s on our coffee table or on a bookshelf.
When friends and family come over they seem to gravitate towards them. They may see the photos posted to social media, but there’s always silly little bloopers that are in the photobooks that didn’t make the social media cut or a picture that they wanted to know more about.
It’s not only for guests. My hubby and I often find ourselves flipping through the pages talking about our favorite parts, the silly things that may have happened, and planning where we would like to go next.
“It gets you talking, and that’s something that I think is getting lost these days. Just connecting with people.”
They Are a Family Heirloom.
If made correctly, a photobook will stand the test of time. Imagine 25 years from now. You’re sitting around the living room and your children are home for the holidays. There are photos and photobooks piled on the coffee table, strewn on the floor, and everyone is passing them around reminiscing about their favorite adventure, laughing at dad’s silly 2018 style (one day we’ll be the shorty shorts of the 80’s and porn mustaches of the 70’s), and just being with one another. The same nostalgic moment just wouldn’t be the same with everyone gathered around the computer screen or flipping through their phones.
When creating your photobook there are seemingly endless options. Hard cover, soft cover, paper cover, thick pages, paper thickness pages, premium print, glossy, matte, etc. Most of it is personal preference and some depends on whether this is just a fun little print out or if it’s meant to be kept.
Please, don’t waste your money on the thin, paper covered print outs. These would work if you want to make a quick memory book to share with a friend, but this is not the type of photobook that you will keep forever.
Very few upgrades are necessary, but always opt for the hard cover. The hard cover will provide some protection and just keep everything organized, crisp and clean. You’re also going to want to upgrade the quality of the photo print if available. Thought the basic isn’t a bad choice, by upgrading the quality of the photos it has been proven to extend the life of the photobooks even longer.
While those 3-ring bingers that mom put together in our childhood, you know the ones where you slip the 4×6 photos in? These are just as fun to sift through, but most of them are a bit of a disheveled mess at this point. Sticky little fingers have ripped a few pages, rearranged the order of the photos and tore through the 3-ring holes of nearly every page. While this does not deter from the quality of the memories, it does decrease the life of the family heirloom.
Be Proud of the Photos You’ve Taken.
While the fun part about technology is that you can have literally thousands of photos of the same trip, this can also be it’s downfall. Remember when you had a disposable camera or a roll of film? Maybe not… But the limited number of pictures you could take made you focus on the most memorable and important events and activities. That’s kind of how creating a photobook is.
With printing you’ll choose the best of the photos you’ve taken. You create a photobook that condenses those hundreds, even thousands, of photos you’ve taken and create a book filled with memories that mean the most to you. It’s quality over quantity that creates the best photobooks.
Holding the photobook in your hand, flipping through the pages and admiring not only the photos, but the creativity of the layout and notes you incorporated give you an unbelievable sense of accomplishment. It gives you tangible proof of the incredible experiences you’ve captured.
It’s a Splurge You CAN Afford.
This may be the portion you’ve been waiting for. If you look online at first glance the photobooks can be a bit pricey, upwards of $60 for a basic hard cover 8×11 easily. I have NEVER created or purchased a photobook at full price. There is always some sort of sale, deal, coupon, or my personal favorite, Groupon.
So how much do I spend? It varies, but on average about $25 for a quality, hard cover photobook with high resolution printed images and even extra pages. That price includes shipping and any other taxes or fees that may be added. I tend to purchase the Groupons in multiples if I know we have trips or adventures coming up and that gives me the best price.
For example: I recently purchased three hard cover photobooks – 8.5″x11″ – with up to 40 pages of content for $14.99 which is a 91% savings. Keep in mind that you will have to pay shipping so if it’s possible to print all three at the same time this will save you money one the shipping fee.
Over the years I have gone to nearly every printing site there is out there, simply choosing the one with the best offer at the time. This has done a few things. It’s given me a sense of which site gives you the most for your money, which site creates the best quality photobooks, which site offers the best discounts, which sites always end up costing more, and which sites are frequently featured on Groupon.
While the majority of the major brands will give you a great product, my favorites have been PicMonkey, Collage.com and Printerpix.
These three are FREQUENTLY featured on Groupon, provide a hassle free way to download your photos and will automatically fill in the book for you if you like. It’s rare that you will come out of your order paying more than the shipping costs after applying your Groupon code too which I think is a big plus.
Some close runner ups are Shutterfly and SnapFish. They are the ones that seem to have the most frequent site sales and you can often walk away with a quality, hard covered photobook for around $30.
Being honest, even if I had to pay $50 or $60 for a photobook it would be worth it to me. These are memories that will last a lifetime. We budget the expense in to every vacation and they have become a necessity. While some may not see it this way, that’s ok. That’s the beauty of budgeting. Focus on what makes YOU happy, on what brings YOU joy. For us that is traveling and creating photobooks that will keep those adventures alive for years to come.
I’ll be posting a little “how to” for creating these photoooks in the following week. Until then check out some of our other travel posts and start sifting through those photos! A big tip is to create a folder soon after the trip. That way it’s already organized and you can easily transfer it over to the printing site without wasting your time sifting through hundreds of other photos.
*This post contains affiliate links. We only support products we use and love and want to share with our readers. See our full disclosure policy here.
Other Great Travel Posts:
- Surviving and Loving Traveling with Kids
- MUST HAVE Items for Traveling with Baby/Toddler
- Easy Vacation with a Baby: Farm Adventure
- Packing a Carry on for You and Baby
Want more from Living Life Loving Us? Sign up below for free updates and tips!
I learned about JPG deterioration a few years ago and it blew my mind!
I’m usually underwhelmed by photobook quality but I still stand by them, there’s something about a curated hard copy that can’t be beat. And there are so many frequent deals it’s easy to never pay full price.
What Photobook sites are you using that the quality is poor? I was surprisingly impressed by the last few I’ve made. Kind of the luck of the draw when we’re shopping the Groupons and such.
Have you tried paying that little extra for better quality prints or the thicker pages? I found it can make a huge difference. I do that for really important books like anniversaries or babes’ 1st birthday.
I’ve never made a photo book using an online service, but after reading this post I’m motivated to create one! Years ago I thought I’d get all of my print photos into photo albums, but after awhile, I ended up with boxes of photos and don’t always remember when or where they were taken. Digital photos have many advantages, but as you mentioned, they are not readily accessible for a group to enjoy. I was just at a wedding and guests enjoyed looking through family wedding photo books during the wait between the ceremony and the reception.
Kathy,
I’m so glad we were your inspiration to make a photobook. I promise you won’t regret it. The first one may feel a little tricky with getting the photos you want together, but once you get the hang of it it’s a breeze. It takes me about 30 minutes or so to make one after a little practice. I’m going to make a whole little “how to” post, but the biggest tip I can give you is put your photos in their own folder on your phone first. That makes finding them SO MUCH easier!
Like!! I blog quite often and I genuinely thank you for your information. The article has truly peaked my interest.