Want To Travel Within Your Budget?

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We all want to travel more. For those who live paycheck to paycheck, it may not be feasible to go on more than one trip every once in a blue moon. Here are some handy tips on how to really make that money stretch and ensure your vacations, no matter their frequency, are as budget friendly and fun as can be.

• Get a Travel Credit Card

I’m not saying get a credit card and get into debt. You want to be able to pay off your card in a timely manner. That’s just good financial sense. But travel credit cards come with points that will help you on your next vacation.  Each time you make a purchase, you’ll earn rewards points and travel miles.

Which means you should stop using cash or debit, and put everything onto your travel credit card.  Groceries, gas, meals, everything needs to go on this card. Some travel cards turn those points into actual dollars, while others will give you airline credits so you can travel for free.

Most of these cards do come with an annual fee, however. So you’ll want to do some research on how quickly you can accumulate points, how often you’ll be able to spend them, and if it’s feasible for you to pay that fee on top of keeping your balance low.

• Stay Flexible

The cheapest times to travel are not going to be during normal school breaks and holidays. You will need to go on vacation during off-peak times. While this might not be ideal, you’ll also enjoy the benefit of smaller crowds. Take into account that if you’re traveling with children, they will need to be taken out of school. You’ll want to work with their teachers to ensure all their homework gets done and they don’t miss any important tests.

This also means that you don’t need to stay at the most expensive hotel. What do you need a fancy room for anyway? Are you planning on spending all your time in it? For those who love to travel, the whole point is getting out of the hotel room and seeing the sights. Get a clean room with a decent bed, and you should be just fine.

• Budget, Budget, Budget

Use coupons when you’re grocery shopping, only buy things on sale or in bulk, do whatever you can to cut corners off your at-home spending so you have more money to play with on vacation. If that means you have to cut out Friday night pizza, so be it. You’ll be happier in the long run.

When you’ve reached your destination, take a few moments before deciding on that souvenir.  Do you really need another snow globe? If so, maybe you can skip the tour bus and go for a walk around the sites instead. Some of the best things are off the beaten path. You never know what you’ll discover when you get lost.

Finally, be sure to take advantage of sites like allworld.com to learn travel tips and tricks from those who have really been there and done that. Experience counts when it comes to the ins and outs of traveling.