Travel

How To Save Money On Travel

Some would have you believe travel is a luxury afforded only to the rich. But while having money obviously opens doors, you don’t need to be loaded to see the world. Here are a couple ways to satiate your wanderlust without going broke (or broker). We’ll start with a few basic tips for hedging travel expenses, then move on to some more adventurous methods for extreme travelers.

Short-term trip tips

Saving money on short trips means getting creative. Your two biggest expenses will almost always be transportation and lodging. Flying is expensive. Gas is expensive. Train, boat and bus tickets are expensive. If you want to get from here to there, you’re going to have to pay. Aside from hitchhiking, biking, or walking (all of which we’ll get to later), travel is rarely free.

Transportation: the insurmountable obstacle

Gas expenses are pretty straightforward. If you want to drive, you will have to buy gas. Obviously, a car with good gas mileage is preferable, though not always attainable. About the only way to save a little cash on gas is to earn rewards either through a store rewards card or gas credit card. Alternatively, you can try to get a carpool going with Internet ads in the hopes someone will be travelling in the same direction and will be willing to split the cost.

Flights are similar to the extent that the cost is difficult to dodge. If you want to fly, your wallet will take a hit. You can lower the cost, but it will be near impossible to eliminate entirely. If possible, try to travel during off-peak seasons (i.e. not Christmas time). Demand will be lower and prices will be more affordable. Book your flights as far in advance as possible. The closer it gets to the date of your flight, the more expensive tickets will be. Also, remain flexible with your departure dates. Flying on the weekends can cost a lot more than flying in the middle of the week. And rather than flying directly into your destination, try flying into a nearby city instead and grabbing a cab for the remainder of the journey. Often, this will be considerably cheaper than flying directly into a big busy airport. Additionally, find yourself a good travel credit card. Many offer free flights just for signing up.

Creative lodging

As far as lodging goes, your options span a slightly wider range. You can stay in hotels, using a rewards credit card to earn free stays and upgrades. But if you really want to save money, don’t limit yourself to big international hotel chains. Check out local motels and see if the paper-thin walls and vaguely musty sheets are worth the ultra low cost. If you’re comfortable deviating from established businesses, hop on Craigslist and peruse sublets in your desired destination. People rent out their living spaces anywhere from a few days to a few months. Temporary sublets can be a lot cheaper and more private than chain hotels. Also, take a look at CouchSurfing.org, a website that allows people looking for free lodging and people offering free lodging to connect. It may sound a little suspect, but they take precautions to ensure the safety of their couch surfers.

Extended travels

If you’re interested in travelling for long periods of time, you’ll have more opportunities to travel without dropping a dime. However, you’ll need to make sure you’re committed. Otherwise, you could end up stuck halfway around the globe without a feasible escape route.

Volunteer programs

If you want to travel far and long, check out some of the volunteer opportunities available to you. Devoting your time to a worthwhile project overseas is a smart way to get out of country and earn an extended stay far away from home. There are plenty of programs to choose from with a variety of time commitments depending on how long you want to make your trip. The Peace Corps is the most famous option. While it offers all-expenses-paid programs, the commitment is two years, which is a pretty serious chunk of time. Alternatively, you may want to check out the Volunteers for Prosperity. It’s a similar program but assignment lengths vary from just a few weeks to several years.

Going beyond the obvious, there are actually quite a few volunteer programs available to people with particular skill sets. Do some research to see if your abilities and experience qualify you for any specialized volunteer options. These are programs like the ArtCorps for professional artists or Geekcorps for IT experts. Many of these demand shorter time commitments and may be a more viable choice for people who don’t want to devote too much time to a single location.

Travel blogging

If you’re ambitious, smart and creative, you can fund your travels just by telling other people about them. By starting and maintaining a travel blog, you can earn more than enough cash to fund your travels. It sounds easy, but getting started will take a lot of creativity and hard work.

To make money, you need to lure people to your site and monetise with ads. Getting visitors is the toughest part. With thousands of established travel blogs already sucking in potential visits, your blog must offer content that is both quality and unique. Without exceptional writing and/or photography skills, you won’t get very far. Find a niche, produce great content, and network like crazy.

However, travel blogging is not the only way to make money while traveling the world. Here are 4 other ideas.

Vagabonding

If travel is truly your ultimate goal, you don’t need much to make it happen. In fact, the less you have, the easier it will be. Sell your possessions and start walking. If you make an honest effort, you can obtain everything you need free of cost. When traveling, take your time. If you’re planning to be on the road for years at a time, what’s the rush? See where your feet can take you. While hitchhiking and train hopping are illegal, they remain plausible for many audacious vagabonds. Shelter can be difficult to find, but if you’re determined, people may surprise you with their willingness to open their homes to travelers. Learning a desirable skill or trade to swap for lodging is not a bad idea either. The ability to see the world free of charge is not impossible, though it’s certainly not for everyone.

About the Author: Stephen Vanderpool is writer and blogger at NerdWallet.com, a personal finance site that helps you find the best gas, hotel and travel credit cards out there.

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