Over the last few years, I haven’t had a time without a flight or road trip coming up on the calendar. I love being able to spend time with family and friends who are far away, whether it’s for a major life event like a wedding or just a quick weekend visit to hang out.
But I’m not rich—far from it. In fact, I’m self-employed, which means I pay a lot more than the average person for things like taxes and insurance. Because of this, I stick to a pretty strict budget every month. But somehow I always make room in that budget for travel.
Through the years I’ve picked up a few tips to afford travel on a small budget, and I wanted to share them with you to show that you don’t have to have a ton of money to experience lots of different places and visit the people you love frequently.
1. Move Away From Chains
Aside from airfare, lodging is the most expensive part of traveling, so one of the easiest ways to make a trip cheaper is to stay somewhere cheaper. I mean, duh, but I’m always surprised by how many people pick a chain hotel as their first choice when planning a trip. Alternate options like AirBnbs, independent hotels and hostels can be so much more affordable!
My husband and I recently visited Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Instead of staying at a Hilton or Marriot, we stayed at the Silver Spruce Inn, a local motel. I know the very word motel makes some people squeamish, but that’s totally silly. This place was perfectly clean, had all the basic necessities and cost about half of what the chain hotels on the exact same block did.
I’m not saying you have to stay in a shithole, but think about it: how much time do you really spend in the room when you go somewhere? Probably not a whole lot, other than sleeping and getting ready. I’d rather take that money and use it toward an experience.
Related: 7 Awesome AirBnbs That Blow Hotel Rooms Out Of The Water
2. Think Carefully About Transportation
With Uber available basically everywhere, it’s easy not to think about transportation until you get to where you’re going. This is an expensive mistake.
All those quick Uber rides add up faster than Donald Trump’s list of paid-off porn stars. Being able to use public transit will save you a ton on transportation costs.
When I visited Boston last fall, I booked my AirBnb within walking distance of the Red Line so I could use the train instead of cabs to get around. Over the course of the weeklong conference, I easily saved over $200 on transportation by buying a single $21 weeklong train pass.
Don’t count out using a rental car, either. Depending how much you’ll need to get around, this can also be a more cost-effective means of transportation.
The more conscientious you are with your spending, the more you’ll have for experiences when you travel
3. Use A Mileage Credit Card
I’m so irritated I didn’t open a mileage rewards card sooner! Johnny and I opened one together when we got married and started using it for all our joint expenses, and we already have enough points for a free flight. If you travel a lot, it’s crazy not to use one (or more than one, which I’ve seen a lot of “travel hackers” do by stacking multiple benefits from multiple cards).
There are two things you have to do to make a mileage card work. First, you have to be sure you can pay it off every month (credit card 101). The interest rates on these things can be insane, and if it gets away from you you’ll be in a worse place than when you started.
Second, you need to pick a card with an airline that makes the most sense for you. Look at your local airport and see who flies there, as well as where they fly. If you’re in a major city, it makes sense to pick an airline with a hub there. If not, pick one that flies to a nearby hub with the best connections. The goal is to make it so that when you travel, you can use this airline as much as possible.
We opted for the Blue Delta SkyMiles card from American Express.
I love this card. Here are some of the reasons I picked it:
- No annual fee <– this was a huge one! Many other rewards cards charge a fee of anywhere from $50-$500 a year
- 2x miles when you use the card at restaurants and on travel, two of my biggest “splurge” expenses
- Free Shoprunner membership, which gives you free 2-day shipping and returns to a ton of my favorite stores, including Express
- Promotional cashback offers each month, for example right now there’s an offer for $20 off every $100 you spend at Crate & Barrel
If you’re just getting started with travel rewards cards, the Blue Delta SkyMiles Card is a great one to choose. If you want to give it a shot, use my link to apply and you’ll receive 10,000 bonus miles once you start using the card.
4. Opt Into Rewards Programs And Use The Crap Out Of Them
So you’ve got your miles credit card, that’s great. But you won’t get rewards on everything, and you won’t always be able to fly with your preferred airline. That’s why it’s important to opt into and use other rewards programs whenever possible, too.
For example, sometimes I use Expedia to book a hotel room or rental car because they’ll have the lowest price. I’m a member of the Expedia Rewards program, so I get points on every booking. The great thing about Expedia Rewards is that you don’t have to accumulate a certain number of points to use them; you can use them piecemeal to take a few dollars off your next purchase, or save them up to cover an entire booking. I almost always get $10 or $20 off when I book on Expedia simply because of this program—every little bit adds up!
I’m also a member of several rental car and restaurant rewards programs.
Almost all travel sites have a program like this nowadays, and joining is usually as simple as creating a user name and password.
*One caveat—I only opt into rewards programs if they’re free to join and have no annual fee.
5. Cut Your Wardrobe Spending
I’m about to make a big generalization here, so don’t sue me: women spend a lot of money on clothes.
I never realized just how much until I started working from home and having nice clothes for work was no longer a concern. I was saving so much each month just by cutting out those random lunch hour strolls through Banana Republic (shoutout to the CityPlace BR for taking my paycheck straight out of my pocket!).
I know most people still have to get dressed up each day for work, and besides that, it’s still fun to buy cute stuff to wear outside of work. But you have to prioritize. If traveling is important to you, get comfortable with buying fewer pieces of clothing much less frequently. Now I buy a handful of new things at the start of each season, and that’s it.
Here’s another interesting thing that I’ve noticed about clothing. The less you own, the less stressful it is to get dressed. I’ve moved a few times in the past few years, and each time I’ve offloaded a chunk of clothes in the process. Our most recent move to Long Island was probably my biggest clothing cleanse.
I own fewer clothing items than I ever have—and it still seems like a lot!—but I spend far less time worrying about what to wear. It’s true what they say, most of us wear the same few items over and over. Might as well buy a few things you really love and put the rest of that budget toward seeing the world.
My itty bitty closet
6. Curb Your Enthusiasm (For Big Meals)
I swear this isn’t an endorsement for starving yourself to save money.
What I mean is, your eyes are bigger than your stomach, and realizing than can save you a lot of money on food when you’re traveling. How many times have you stuffed yourself at a meal and then not felt like doing anything afterward?
Instead of having an entire sit-down lunch at a restaurant, grab something small from a café or pack a banana and a pastry from your hotel’s breakfast spread. Split an entrée at dinner instead of trying to tackle the entire thing by yourself. I promise you’ll still get full and you’ll spend about half as much on food.
7. Budget!
I saved this one for last because it’s the most important tip no matter what your financial goal is. You can’t save money for anything if you don’t have a good handle on what you’re spending!
I’ve kept a strict record of my spending every month for the last eight years. During this time I’ve been able to pay off more than $5,000 in credit card debt, quit my office job to work from home, and fund several major purchases (car, house, etc.). None of it would have been possible if I hadn’t started budgeting.
I go through good periods and not-so-good periods with my spending, but having a budget means I at least know where I stand and can correct course when I screw up. If you really want to travel more, you’ve got to set a budget for your monthly expenses, stat. Maybe I’ll dedicate an entire post to this in the future—if you think that would be helpful, leave me a comment and let me know.
