The Spendthrift"s Guide to Traveling on the Cheap - Tip #1
This economy has forced most of us to step back and re-evaluate our finances, particularly when it comes to discretionary spending.
Most of us have been forced to tighten our belts and carefully consider every dollar that leaves our bank accounts.
However, there is still a way to be fiscally responsible and satisfy your wanderlust.
In the coming weeks, I will be sharing tried and true tips that will help you to get the biggest bang for your traveling buck.
Feel free to add your own suggestions as well.
Plan ahead! The sooner that you decide where you want to go, the more likely you are to realize your best deals.
Visit travel oriented websites like Frommers, Fodors, Priceline, Virtual Tourist, Igougo and Rick Steves among others to get solid ideas of where you want to travel.
Once that has been established, start looking for airfare and hotel deals to the destination.
The further out you plan your itinerary, the more lead-time you will have to locate deals, especially during that destination's off-season.
While there are last minute deals to be had via sites like Site 59 or Last Minute Travel, it's prudent to take a proactive approach and plan early.
Once, I missed out on a great deal to Paris because I had not decided if I really wanted to go there until much later, which meant that I had missed an opportunity to save a lot of money because I was not decisive.
If you take nothing else from this tip, just remember that you must be ready to pull the trigger once a cheap fare or cheap hotel rates comes along, because you will never know when a great deal will come your way.
Most of us have been forced to tighten our belts and carefully consider every dollar that leaves our bank accounts.
However, there is still a way to be fiscally responsible and satisfy your wanderlust.
In the coming weeks, I will be sharing tried and true tips that will help you to get the biggest bang for your traveling buck.
Feel free to add your own suggestions as well.
Plan ahead! The sooner that you decide where you want to go, the more likely you are to realize your best deals.
Visit travel oriented websites like Frommers, Fodors, Priceline, Virtual Tourist, Igougo and Rick Steves among others to get solid ideas of where you want to travel.
Once that has been established, start looking for airfare and hotel deals to the destination.
The further out you plan your itinerary, the more lead-time you will have to locate deals, especially during that destination's off-season.
While there are last minute deals to be had via sites like Site 59 or Last Minute Travel, it's prudent to take a proactive approach and plan early.
Once, I missed out on a great deal to Paris because I had not decided if I really wanted to go there until much later, which meant that I had missed an opportunity to save a lot of money because I was not decisive.
If you take nothing else from this tip, just remember that you must be ready to pull the trigger once a cheap fare or cheap hotel rates comes along, because you will never know when a great deal will come your way.
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