Six Travel Budget Busters to Avoid
When you are traveling, you want all things to go according to plan. There’s no accounting for emergencies, but there are ways you can save money and transfer them over to things that matter.
Whether you’ve planned a family trip, decided to couch surf around the world or try backpacking, you’re likely to have prepared a budget and consulted a travel planner. Either way, there is still much to learn.
No need to work yourself up with tiny details, you are free to work around problems by using the experience of others. Students in search of the best paper writing company do so. And in a way, you’re doing the same thing since you’re actually here.
Time for cheapskates to rejoice, you can save money on your tours with straightforward travel tips. Keep these simple, economically wise things in mind.
1) Popular Destinations, Seasonal Travel, and Hotels
Nothing drives airfare prices and cost of accommodations as seasonal travel. Why? The simple concept of supply and demand.
By picking a more obscure (or lesser known) destination you can still enjoy yourself as you normally would, but you won’t have to pay a premium for it. Even if you choose a popular location, there are still ways to go about it on a strict budget. Like, you can do a lot more than simply sunbathing in Miami. This idea carries over to major tourist attractions like Paris and London as well.
Either way, you should travel off-season. And unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket, you should also stay in hostels or surf couches, but not hotels.
2) Tickets and Transportation
We established that traveling during tourist season is never a good idea, and so is buying the ticket a couple of days before departure. Planning your trips on short-notice will cost you an arm and a leg, so figure out the relevant details beforehand.
Book tickets in advance, it’ll be cheaper, and you’ll have some leeway in case you need to return them.
Contrary to popular belief, cheap travel is still possible. Airfare trackers exist just for that reason alone, to give you the opportunity to get the most out of your trips. Use them to their fullest extent. “Plan My Trip” flights search is a wonderful example of such a tool.
3) Duty-Free and Airport Purchases
Can’t argue with the convenience factor of airport stores, but once your flight gets delayed for some reason, or you’re flying indirectly, your mind might start wandering. You’ll want to find stuff to do. And, oh my! There’s so much stuff to buy at the airport!
Duty-free stores are exempt from paying local fees or taxes on products. Important to note that prices fluctuate between duty-free sections in each airport, so the same bottle of wine in different locales will likely have a different price tag.
Airport boredom can get the best of you, and before you know it, you’ll spend a large portion of your cash at shops inside the terminal. Pretty much everything there is designed to part you with your money, in sneaky and subtle ways.
Airport exchange rates are inflated to the point of being daytime robbery. So exchange currency beforehand at regular rates and save yourself the headache.
Bring everything vital to your mental well-being (and sanity) along with you. Bottled water, headphones (for onboard entertainment or music), snacks, magazines, books or other printed materials. It might be a long flight, so come prepared.
4) Shopping in Expensive Malls and Buying Stuff at Inflated Rates
This is the classical dilemma of comfort vs. economy & convenience vs. foresight.
Fight the urge to buy overpriced stuff you don’t really need. Well, at least not all of it.
Souvenirs are great, but they’re also a major marketing ploy. Limit your trinket purchases, or omit them altogether.
Just imagine you’re still at the airport and can’t buy anything. It’s the same concept.
5) Fun, Entertainment, Activities and Expenses
Travel apps are a godsend. They’re perfect for navigation, trip suggestions, interacting with locals, and, of course, increasing your social media outreach. Download the ones you need.
- When possible, buy Wi-Fi flight passes in advance.
- Turn off your mobile data before leaving.
- Wireless connections are plentiful abroad.
- Buy a local SIM card when you land, or before you set out. Bonus points if you manage to pick up a card with global roaming enabled.
6) Eating Out. Restaurants, Cafe Meals and Fast Food
Food may be the biggest budget buster here. Having three healthy meals is good and all, but let’s think outside the box here.
Convenience is a luxury. Main courses, coffee, tea, lattes, cappuccinos, juices, alcohol will surely put a dent in your pockets. Food places usually tend to drive prices up, since eating out is popular among tourists and locals alike.
Think of these places as a luxury commodity. And you can easily do without them, unless you’re a terrible cook… Then, yikes.
And as an extra, the lack of a reserve fund needs to be addressed.
Having financial flexibility goes a long way, and you can’t really account for emergencies and the unexpected. The least we could do is to have enough premonition to come prepared, and hope for the best.
So, to reiterate, always read the fine print and look for hidden expenses. Sometimes, you don’t even know what you’re paying for. Even though these kinds of expenses might not be that pricey when it’s an isolated incident, they will still spiral out of control. Being frugal is never a bad idea.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Robert Everett: I am a freelance writer currently based in Chicago. Solving students career and university problems. Having an interest in marketing and business.
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