Tips for Cheap Travel

A 500 + mile roundtrip flight, under $150 dollars. Sound like a scam? How about this?That dream trip to Paris, under $500 dollars!? Perhaps this is a joke?  Flights cheaper than you’ve ever seen, car rentals for under 25 bucks a day, and no bag fees! But HOW!!?

Yes, there might be more than a few secrets at work here, but no worries, we are more than happy to share.

The most valuable lesson one could ever hope to learn is this one simple fact; travel does not have to eat you out of house and home. Life changing, right?

While sure, it is completely possible to travel and spend a life savings in seven days, the point is, it doesn’t have to be. With travel and destination living becoming more and more popular by the minute, the resources available to help those who prefer to travel on a budget are more abundant than ever.

If anything we are living proof and we are providing a few of our secrets to help ease the toll a trip, or two, or three, might take on the average, working, persons wallet.

Scanning and Tracking Down Flights

Now don’t be lazy. Perhaps the biggest and most costly mistake most people make when booking a trip, is getting lazy while booking the flights. Its like thrift shopping but with way higher stakes, you have to be willing to really dig.

Search all and every airline you might be considering and search straight from their sites. Not through the travel companies. Spirit airlines is our favorite when looking for below average prices.  Traveling internationally? Its by far worth it to join a flight scanning group or website. – These are sites with people on the other end searching for airline made mistakes or forgotten last minute tickets. Its a simple process, you just provide your trip information and start receiving updates. We belong to Scotts Cheap Flights and have also heard rave reviews about Skyscanner as well. Give them a try.

Join Rewards Programs 

This should come to most pretty easy. It pays to join certain redemption programs when travel is something that pops up on the calendar quite often. Don’t be afraid to take the extra two minutes to fill out the short forms and start collecting reward points. Check with your credit card carrier for programs and be sure to join with whatever airlines you are flying. Points can add up!

Be a Calendar Wizard 

Travel is so dependent on seasonal, and even hourly variables. Play around with your travel dates, especially pay attention to flight dates and times. Nine times out of ten somewhere in the week you are looking to book there will be a way cheaper option at a different time or day if you look ahead on the flight calendars.  Book first, request days off later.

Car Rentals 

Most people don’t think to put much time into searching for good deals when renting a car somewhere. Maybe its the panic of not having a vehicle of your own in the first place? Regardless don’t fall into the category of thinking that all car rental pricing is the same. Take the time, do the looking. Priceline can be a great start! They offer simple hassle free booking, and most usually they have the option to pay when you arrive rather than paying up front, and they offer rentals from all different kinds of rental companies. We used Next Car on our last trip and booked a full size for under 21 dollars a day! Don’t forget to ask about deals and promotions. A good traveler is never scared to heckle.

The last and final tip to keep in mind while booking trips on a budget is to,  space out the spending.  Pre-planning definitely pays off, and when you have ample time to search, and book, and plan, it means finding options that you might have possibly missed in the rush of making travel plans the first time. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty, finding deals takes time. Look for booking options that allow you to pay later. The less that is coming out of your paycheck at once, the easier it is to mindfully budget.

There are so many options out there, so many unlimited resources looking to make traveling cheaper, we know they are out there, we now challenge you to try them out.

Happy Travels !