When people are about to die, the number one regret they have is spending too much time at the office. So everyone should go travel right now. It is also said that people are more genuinely happy through experiences rather than things, so pick your ultimate travel location and go! I'll show you how to do it for the most bang on a budget. Did you think of where you wanted to go? Did it pop in your head? Book it boo! Make sure you have the money first. I'll show you how.
There are ways to save TONS of money by being a great online flight shopper and ways to save more money like putting your cable and gym on hold for a month or two. Don't buy a huge amount of groceries before you leave either. They'll all go to waste so eat down your cupboard.
Here are all the ways I save on travel and save to go travel. Remember, any money I can save here I can spend on sangria or martinis!
Buying flights: Go to your local travel agent and see if they have any great deals. Then take the same dates and go see if you can get them cheaper online. This is the part when I have 800 windows open and I'm checking every flight for the best rate for the least amount of travel time. Sometimes the actual airlines have better flights than the travel sites, so check them all out.
Loyalty points: Check all of your point cards and see if you can get a free flight. If you have points on a bunch of different airlines you can go to points.com and convert them to the points you need. You can also buy points if you need more and it should be cheaper than buying the flight outright. Use your points!
Hotels and flights: If you need a hotel and a flight, click the "Flight and Hotel" button and see if it's cheaper to book both on travel sites like Expedia and Travelocity. Generally, it is cheaper than booking separately because the hotels pay some of your way and you get the fly bigger airlines that normally land in the closer airports unlike sleazyjet, Ryan Air, etc.
Hotels promo codes: When you find your favourite boutique hotel that's on a budget then search for promo codes for that hotel. Sometimes you'll find one that works on their own site and you'll save a bunch! I love staying in five stars but only paying $5! Look for boutique hotels in a cool area versus a tourist area.
Hipster areas: When looking for a place to stay or places to party or dine, be sure to go off the beaten track. Stay in the current hipster area and EVERYTHING will be cheaper, cooler and more genuine to that city. Those are all big things for me when I travel like a tramp. You can go see the sites but day to day you want to be with the local beautiful and trendy people.
Eat at grocery stores: I love eating local cuisine when I'm away and the best way is to go to the local markets and shops. Everything will be market fresh, authentic and you can eat it overlooking whatever local scenery floats your boat. If the locals are shopping there -- that is what they eat. Ask them what's awesome. It'll also save you a ton from restaurants three times a day. Make a picnic and eat in a park or public space. It'll be cheap and cheerful.
Save for your trip on AUTO PILOT: Cost out how much you need for your trip and divide it amongst your pay cheques. If you need $2,400 to go away and you get paid twice a month -- auto save $100 a pay cheque. You'll be on your way in no time and won't even miss the $100 a month. Ask your bank to auto save it into a high interest savings account and it'll take zero effort.
Use wifi: When you leave on your trip be sure to get a travel pack from your cell company. It'll save you tons on texts, data etc. Put on your wifi-scanning feature and pop into any coffee shop to take advantage of the free service. Only turn on your data if you need it or you have a good plan. It's EXPENSIVE when abroad. I do all of my searching at night in the hotel for free and then load up my itinerary for the next day. Google maps will work without data and will give you a sense of where you are if you set it when you have wifi. Just turn the data off and go. It works!
My new book From Middle Class to Millionaire has even more of my travel tips and more money saving ideas. Check it out.
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