Hi, I'm Cassandra. I trade options, travel with my family, and document it along the way — the good, the salty, and the real.

I'm a San Diego mom navigating that particular season of family life where the kids are old enough to have strong opinions, young enough to still actually want to come with us, and just honest enough to tell me exactly what they think about every single trip we take.

My husband Joe travels with us too — and he has his own very clear ideas about how a trip should go. Which means every family adventure is a four-way negotiation between completely different travelers. Somehow we always figure it out. Mostly.

Here's the part most travel pages won't tell you: the trips don't just happen. I have a good career and retirement accounts, two kids who need college funded, and a 100-year-old house that's not a money pit, exactly, but the old gal needs her monthly Botox. I read about options almost twenty years ago and thought the idea was fascinating, but I didn't touch them for years. Every financial advisor I asked said the same thing — too risky, save more instead. Then I found a woman online who actually traded them, and I — I'll just say it — stalked her until she walked me through my first trade. That's when I realized something that changed everything: it doesn't matter what the stock market is doing. If you know how to trade, you can always make premium.

That's what funds our adventures. I favor five to ten stocks a year, get to know them, and keep it under 30 minutes a day. No day-trading chaos, no get-rich-quick promises — just a strategy that works quietly in the background while I live my actual life.

Those trades are what allow us to travel, to explore, and to say yes to the experiences I believe are fundamental to a full life.

If you’re looking for travel recommendations with kids of any age, or you want more detail about how to fund the lifestyle you’re after, you’re in the right place.

Follow along on Instagram @saltyandthecity or start exploring our destinations.