How We Can Afford to Travel So Much, and How You Can, too!
"How can you afford to travel so much?” is one of the questions I got asked frequently. Here are a few tricks that I personally do, maybe you will find them helpful, too.
Finding Steals: I don’t have millions of dollars to spend, so I do my research and look for bargains to save on accommodations and transport. My favorite app to look for hotel steals is HotelTonight. This is one app that really works thanks to its genius business model (you can google it yourself to see how they work). They basically find all the last-minute deals and present them on a silver plate (their app) to you. For example, the amazing hotel Palihouse we stayed this weekend in Santa Monica, LA, was found and booked via HotelTonight.
Be creative/smart with how you spend your money. We all buy gifts for the people we love. How about giving the person an experience of traveling with you, instead of buying something you are not even sure if they actually need. Take Valentine’s day, for example, since it is around the corner, instead of buying seriously overpriced roses, chocolate and paying expensive meals, you can book your dearly beloved a romantic getaway (using the HotelTonight app, for example). Go see the world and spend quality time together. The same thing goes for your best friends and families, for their birthdays or Christmas presents. What could be better than seeing the most beautiful places with your favorite person? Remember, happiness is only real when shared!
Do more road trips and be willing to get up early and drive far. Road trips are less expensive than flying to the destinations, esp. when you have a family. We often do weekend trips, which allow us to explore the new place for two days with only one overnight accommodation. We drove to LA from SF this weekend and spent a good 11 hours on the road. Not everyone wants to make such a trip over two days. Since my family and I love traveling, we find it rather fun!
Make the most of your trip and then move on! I do a lot of research on locations, activities, and restaurants before we travel, using Instagram, painters, and magazines. So when we are there, we explore and experience as much as can in a short period time. Then next time, we go somewhere else. We try to go to different places every time we travel. Over time, you will tick off the places on your bucket list.
Here are just some of my travel tips and tricks . I would be happy to share more on this topic in the future. Do you have some tips and tricks, too, on how to travel on a budget? Do let us know!
*This post is sponsored by HotelTonight to share my travel insights and tips.
