How to Save Money on the Next Trip you Take

We all want the luxury of being able to travel for half the price. And with the vaccine rollout combating the COVID-19 pandemic, travel is hopefully picking up again. In addition to some of the drops in prices in hotels and other rentals because of the pandemic, here are some tried and true ways to save money while traveling.

Be flexible on flight dates

A little research on flying can go a long way. Set up notifications to track flights on Google, so you’ll get a notification when the price on a flight you want changes. If you can be flexible on the dates of your trip, that could substantially impact how much you pay for flights. Flights are typically cheaper on some days of the week than others.

Car sharing

Planning what you’re going to do for specific days on your trip can also help save you money. If you know you’ll only need to drive to certain places, plan on doing those back to back and renting a car for only the time you need it. Car sharing Phoenix is a perfect example. Timing the rental, so you can cut down on the amount of time you need can shave off added expense, and car-sharing options may be cheaper than renting a car from a traditional car rental place.

Stay with family or friends

It may not be the vacation of your dreams, but staying with your aunt who retired in Florida could still allow for a great trip with lots of beach time. One of the biggest costs of your trip will be paying for a place to stay. Cutting that out can help you save almost half the cost of a trip and score some points with your family for visiting your aunt you never see.

Decide what’s important

Is shopping in Manhattan really the most important part of visiting New York City? Maybe. But probably not if you’re trying to save a little money. Other than simply spending less money on things you don’t need and taking more pictures instead, deciding what you want out of a trip before you go can help you realize your goals and stay on target with what you want to spend. If you value trying food from local establishments, budget more for that and less for some of the most touristy attractions. Some of the biggest tourist traps aren’t worth the money. Identifying which ones you’d be OK with skipping ahead of time will help set the tone for your trip and as you see hoards of people flocking to those attractions, you will feel less like you’re missing out.

While trying to save money while traveling is very far from glamorous, it can certainly be a lot of fun. Saving money by staying in a hostel or other shared rental can allow for meeting cool people along the way. And eating at the cheaper places will often give you the true local experience. How you save the money is up to you, but thinking it through ahead of time will pay off.