By “Stupid Tax”, I mean losing money by not doing things efficiently. Of course, hindsight is 20/20.
1. Bought a $100 plane ticket in Brazil that I cannot use (Sao Paulo – Porto Alegre) because I had to change my plans for the visa application. The embassy needed proof I am leaving Brazil. I couldn’t buy a bus ticket online (Porto Alegre – Montevideo) so I bought a plane ticket out (Sao Paulo – Buenos Aires). In hindsight, I should have done more research on “onward tickets” and realized how stringent embassies can be.
2. Paid $150 to get out of Galapagos early. But I didn’t know I’d be “Galapagos-ed out”. That cruise really gave me all I wanted and I would’ve been spending $100-150 for a day or two doing day-tours or dive trips to pass time so maybe I ended up saving money.
3. Found out the $172 ticket I paid for Lima-Cusco could’ve been $92. So I lost $80 there. But I don’t know if this was because I booked it outside of Peru. I’ve read prices are lower if you are booking in Peru itself. Computer IP address tells the airline websites if I am in Peru or not. (edit: After speaking to a Peruvian Airlines rep, I don’t think there is much difference between $92 Class M and $172 Class H. Apparently there’s a little more flexibility with re-booking tickets with Class H but certainly not worth $80 more.)
Expenditures like these irk me.