Tips to Save Money for Travel
Most of us can’t just pick up and go on a vacation without
going into some serious debt. So I’ve decided to pass along to you the things
I’ve learned over the years to stretch a dollar, save a dollar and spend a
dollar wisely.
Discount websites
Sometimes I feel that these are the most obvious choices and
that is why they are often overlooked. We have saved countless dollars and have
experienced many new adventures because of sites like Groupon and Living Social.
We’ve discovered things we never even knew existed! I love the restaurant
options that are also available; however, I always double check the reviews on
Yelp to make sure it’s a decent restaurant.
Sign up for
specific e-mail lists
When we decided to book a trip to Denver this past Spring I went online to find
things that would be fun for the family. I came across the Denver Aquarium so I
went onto their website, signed up to receive e-mail updates and event
notifications and within minutes I had a coupon in my inbox for half off an
admission ticket. YES! Instant money saved for something I was already planning
to do. Once we returned from vacation I simply unsubscribed and keep my inbox
free of promotions that I no longer need.
“GO” passes and
city cards
If you plan to be somewhere for a couple of days and do all
the major touristy things then the Go passes could be for you. Look at the list
on the website of places the card will cover and choose things you want to do.
Check the prices of tickets if you buy direct from each activity (sometimes there
are specials, seasonal promotions, military discounts etc that will add up to
huge savings) add it all up and make sure it’s not cheaper than the card itself.
Program discounts
Most places will offer student discounts, military discounts
and senior discounts. You’d be surprised how many discounts you can get just by
being a member of Costco, AAA or AARP. Be sure to ask when you purchase or
reserve anything.
Put
that annoying pocket change to work
Most of us can’t stand that jingle
of change in our pockets or the additional weight of it being in our purses so I
found the perfect solution! Don’t count it out on your next $3.52 transaction
just put it in a big jar or box at home and save it. In an average year our
family saves around $1,000 just in loose coins! We cash it in before vacation
and either pay for someone’s airfare with it or use it as spending money while
traveling.
Reloadable
cards and gift cards
Before going to Disneyland
I went down to my local Disney store and started a gift card with $20. Every
paycheck I would budget anywhere from $20-$80 and put it on the card. Over a
years period I was able to put enough money on the Disney card to purchase 3
tickets for a 3 day period and have a little extra spending money to use in the
park while we were there. It doesn’t have to be a specific retailer card, you
can purchase a reloadable Visa card and budget for it each pay period.
Teaching
kids to save
Who says saving for vacation is the
adults job? Our 6 year old son has a money box that he keeps for his spending
money to use while on vacation. He never gets paid for doing his normal chores
(cleaning his room, making his bed, putting his clothes away etc) but when he
goes above and beyond to help out around the house he makes a few extra dollars.
He puts that money away and saves it so he can buy what he wants while on
vacation. Mommy and daddy take care of all the food and major expenses but it
helps him to decide if a toy, a shirt featuring our destination or that snow
cone is worth his hard earned money.
Search
engines
I like to use search engines for
general inquiries about local coupons. I will type in things like Valpak coupons and the zip code of our
destination. You'd be surprised at how many offers and discounts there are. If
there is a particular restaurant or experience we want to go to I will type in
the name of it along with coupons in
the search box to find any current discounts that may be out.
Credit
card points
There are so many amazing reward
based credit cards out there nowadays. Not only can your rewards help pay for
travel purchases but just being a cardholder of certain cards will get you into
airport lounges, give you free upgrades at hotels and much more. Before you
apply for a card do a general search as to which card is best for travel perks
and make sure you read thoroughly everything included with your card when you
get approved.
Coupon
It’s time to admit it, I’m one of
those crazy coupon ladies. I have an entire binder divided with tabs labeled
for each section of the store with hundreds of grocery coupons organized in it.
I love to coupon! I’ve had times where I’ve gotten $170 worth of groceries for
$62!! Now, that’s not every week. Some weeks I save $11 some weeks I save $100.
Budget a certain amount of dollars each week for groceries and whatever you
save in coupons put into a “travel” envelope in a drawer somewhere. The money
was already budgeted for anyway so you won’t even miss it.
Reward
sites
One of my favorite sites is Swagbucks. You search it just like you would
Google but you get rewarded for it.
They also offer the opportunity to take surveys for extra Swag bucks and even
print coupons you can earn bucks on once you use them at the store. You can
cash your bucks in for real cash with Paypal
or pick up some gift cards for places like Expedia.
A
separate savings account
It's all too easy to transfer money
over from savings to checking, especially when the accounts are at the same
bank. Go to a different bank, or better yet a credit union and open a separate
savings account (be sure it's savings so you can gain some interest and not pay
the fees or worry about the direct deposit required for most checking
accounts). Transfer some money over every pay check and watch the savings grow.
Before you know it you'll be sitting on a beach somewhere, drink in hand and
blue ocean as far as you can see.
Travel
in the off season
My family rarely travels during busy
and high traffic seasons. In fact, I plan our vacations around off season
travel. The discounts are deep, the crowds are few and coupons come out of
hiding. I never see more coupons for businesses than in the off seasons of
travel. Take advantage of those savings!
Cut
back on the luxuries in life
Lets face it, do we really need satellite? With options like Netflix and Hulu it's not really necessary anymore. Do we really need to go out to eat as often as we do?
There are so many great quick and easy clean up recipes out there on the
internet we can simply make at home and save that extra money. Have a movie night
in instead of going out (the popcorn is better anyway).
Sell
it all
You knew this one was coming. Have a
garage sale and get rid of all that junk. You can set up in front of your
house, sell on ebay, Facebook groups or Craigslist. Look into different consignment options. We have an
amazing consignment program where I live where twice a year we sell all of our
kids old things. Kid clothes, baby gear and furniture all go up for sale for
one big consignment weekend. I make 70% profit off of every item sold. One
event I made over $300 in 3 days. Look around your local area to see if there
are any consignment events you can join in on.
Tax
refund vacation
Sometimes tax refunds are so big it
can pay for a trip somewhere. A few thousand goes a long way in Mexico or larger cities around the U.S. I've
adjusted our W4 to take out the maximum taxes possible every pay period. It's
less every pay but we get one big check at tax time. It's almost like good ole'
Uncle Sam is guarding a savings account for us.
Make your dream trip a reality by
sacrificing a little now for fun later. Wouldn't you rather be dining out at
your dream destination anyway than at the pizza shop down the street?
