7 Tips For Saving Money on Travel

Posted: 16 Jun 2008 | Categories: Personal Finance

With gas prices and airfares rising, you can still plan budget vacations with these 7 tips for saving money on travel.

Use Reward Points. Use to book your travel or at least reduce your travel costs. This is the time to redeem your points. You can use your points for air travel or some hotel chains offer a points and cash scheme to reduce your hotel costs. Look for the best value for your points in every instance.
Choose to Travel in the Off Season. Visit places like Whistler, BC, Canada in the summer, or take your dream vacation to Australia in July and August, during their winter. Cruises in the summer months are always good value for the price. Many Caribbean destinations are also good value in the summer, but be careful of hurricanes and other weather in the late summer and fall.
Book Last Minute. Book off your holiday time and book your budget vacations about a week before you are due to leave. Watch the discount travel houses for their specials for the few weeks before you want to travel to get an idea of what you are looking for. If you are looking for a relaxing beach vacation or all inclusive but don’t really care where, then you can book it last minute. Sometimes you can even get 5 star resorts for half the price.
Avoid One Meal a Day in a Restaurant. No don’t starve yourself, but be creative with your meals. If your hotel offers a free breakfast, take it. You can also buy continental type breakfasts from a supermarket and eat in your hotel room each morning. For lunch to the local market and buy what you need for a picnic and take it to a local park.
Rent a Bike or Take one with You. If you are going to a beach destination, or a city that is bike friendly, rent or take your bike with you. It will save on transportation costs while visiting the destination and it will also add to the experience of your vacation.
Seek out Free Attractions. Do your research before you leave home for recommended free attractions. Could be a park, or a free show (like in Las Vegas), or maybe it is just visiting recommended neighborhoods filled with charm. One of the best attractions in the world is free - visiting Central Park in New York City, or High Park in London England.
Check your Credit Card Companies Perks. If you book your travel with certain credit card companies, they include a lot of the insurance you need while travelling. This could include insurance required for car rentals, or baggage claims. Also check your company health insurance policy, which sometimes covers travel insurance. Make sure you are adequately covered. While planning your budget vacations, don’t skip out on travel insurance. It will soon be an expensive vacation if you need insurance and don’t have any.

It just takes a little planning and research to save money while planning your travel requirements.

For more ideas on planning your budget vacations check out Frugal Travel Tips at Transform Your Money.com

Melanie Fine, CPA, founded Transform Your Money after working with people as a Certified Public Accountant for many years. Melanie realized that working with the numbers was interesting but her real passion came when she worked with people one on one, or in groups, and showed them just how easy and fun it is to have power and freedom around their money. She saw the excitement that people had when they got how easy it is, and what is possible for their lives once they saw what was real about their money, accepted it, and then empowered themselves to live a life that they choose.

Melanie’s approach is one of inspiration and empowerment. She is a visionary, sees the potential in EVERYONE and really looks at what it is the client wants and/or needs. She is warm, yet direct and will teach you the skills you need to work out whatever your financial issues are.

Check out the Transform Your Money at http://www.transformyourmoney.com and sign up for our FREE newsletter and get your FREE gift!

Article Author :Melanie_Fine

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