Travelling and experiencing novel adventure is a great way to escape your daily routine and expand your perspective in life. Boosting your mental health, reconnecting with loved ones, or discovering a new and exciting culture are just few reasons to set aside time to travel. However, taking a vacation can also be a very expensive pursuit. Along with the added costs of travel, you will also be missing out on wages that you'd normally be earning. As a result, it may leave you more stressed out than relieved.
That's why learning how to travel smarter and make your money go further, is essential. In this article, we'll detail a few money saving travel tips that will help relieve your wallet.
Credit Card Airline Miles
Want to fly for free for your next vacation? Of course you do, but you think "what's the catch?" No catch, just a little spending discipline and responsible planning and you can cut your flying costs significantly. By signing up for an airline credit card, and using it to pay for all of your regular monthly expenses, you can accrue airline miles to cover your travel costs.
For instance, if you spend $1000 within the first 3 months of signing up, you will earn x amount of points. These points can be used in exchange for free air travel. You just want to be sure to stick to two rules. To pay off your credit card's balance each month and avoid impulse buying. That way, you're not stuck with any of the late fees or spending any more than you would have regularly. As long as you stick to these two rules, you will reap the benefits of having an airline credit card, while avoiding the interest rate pitfalls.
Affordable Fuel and Vehicle Maintenance
Whether you are taking a cross country road trip or flying out and renting an RV, finding the most affordable gas along with your route will go a long way in cutting your travel expenses. Finding the best gas prices in your area is a lot easier since the smartphone came along. The GasBuddy app is an amazing tool that is free to download and will show you all of the available gas station prices within your area. Using this along with making sure that your vehicle is properly maintained, will ensure that you spend less on fuel and more on fun. A few items to be aware of for better fuel economy are:
That's why learning how to travel smarter and make your money go further, is essential. In this article, we'll detail a few money saving travel tips that will help relieve your wallet.
Credit Card Airline Miles
Want to fly for free for your next vacation? Of course you do, but you think "what's the catch?" No catch, just a little spending discipline and responsible planning and you can cut your flying costs significantly. By signing up for an airline credit card, and using it to pay for all of your regular monthly expenses, you can accrue airline miles to cover your travel costs.
For instance, if you spend $1000 within the first 3 months of signing up, you will earn x amount of points. These points can be used in exchange for free air travel. You just want to be sure to stick to two rules. To pay off your credit card's balance each month and avoid impulse buying. That way, you're not stuck with any of the late fees or spending any more than you would have regularly. As long as you stick to these two rules, you will reap the benefits of having an airline credit card, while avoiding the interest rate pitfalls.
Affordable Fuel and Vehicle Maintenance
Whether you are taking a cross country road trip or flying out and renting an RV, finding the most affordable gas along with your route will go a long way in cutting your travel expenses. Finding the best gas prices in your area is a lot easier since the smartphone came along. The GasBuddy app is an amazing tool that is free to download and will show you all of the available gas station prices within your area. Using this along with making sure that your vehicle is properly maintained, will ensure that you spend less on fuel and more on fun. A few items to be aware of for better fuel economy are:
- Fill your tires with the correct air pressure as noted in your manual
- Replace your air filters regularly
- Check that your oil levels are full
- Avoid prolonged idling (This uses up to almost a gallon of fuel every hour)
- Roll down your windows and avoid using AC while stop-and-go driving, and roll up the windows and use AC while driving on the highway (This will cut down on the air drag of the vehicle at high speeds)
- Leave your lead foot at home (Sudden acceleration and braking burns more fuel no matter what vehicle you're driving).
Avoid Expensive Food
Eating out is both one of travels most enjoyable experiences and expensive costs. The way to get the best of both worlds, is to visit the local grocery store and stock up on food for your trip. Then decide on a few different restaurants that are within your budget that you'd like to savor. By doing this, you free up more of your budget to spend on fun activities and you will really appreciate the few meals that you did decide to splurge on during your vacation.
Plan Your Activities In Advance
One of the best tips for saving money on your vacation, is to plan things out in advance. Every city has free or low cost activities that are worth the visit. Before your vacation arrives, be sure to research the place you plan to stop at and see what the low cost activities there are for you. Museums, free park concerts, art festivals, hiking trails, and brewery tours are few things that cost next to nothing to enjoy.
Another online gold mine for savings are sites like Groupon or Living Social. You can find great deals for almost any activity that you can imagine on these sites. I've found that spending a bit more time looking through these sites for offers, will save me half of what I would have spent otherwise.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to save money while travelling. These are just a few tips to help you get the most out of your vacation without leaving you stressed about finances, once you arrive back home.
What money saving travel tips have you used to spend less and enjoy more while travelling around the world? Let us know in the comment section.
Author's Bio
Kyle Doran is a writer for B&B RV Inc, an RV sales and rental dealership in Denver, Colorado. He loves travelling to new and interesting places and spends most of his time exploring the wild outdoors that Colorado has to offer. When he isn't writing content, you can find him mountain biking, hiking trails and finding any excuse to soak up the sun.
One of the best tips for saving money on your vacation, is to plan things out in advance. Every city has free or low cost activities that are worth the visit. Before your vacation arrives, be sure to research the place you plan to stop at and see what the low cost activities there are for you. Museums, free park concerts, art festivals, hiking trails, and brewery tours are few things that cost next to nothing to enjoy.
Another online gold mine for savings are sites like Groupon or Living Social. You can find great deals for almost any activity that you can imagine on these sites. I've found that spending a bit more time looking through these sites for offers, will save me half of what I would have spent otherwise.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to save money while travelling. These are just a few tips to help you get the most out of your vacation without leaving you stressed about finances, once you arrive back home.
What money saving travel tips have you used to spend less and enjoy more while travelling around the world? Let us know in the comment section.
Author's Bio
Kyle Doran is a writer for B&B RV Inc, an RV sales and rental dealership in Denver, Colorado. He loves travelling to new and interesting places and spends most of his time exploring the wild outdoors that Colorado has to offer. When he isn't writing content, you can find him mountain biking, hiking trails and finding any excuse to soak up the sun.
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