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| Saas-Fee, Switzerland. Yes, there will be a full post on this magical place. |
I am not a wealthy person. I have an income that comes from my free-lancing but I live on a pretty fixed budget that doesn't allow for extravagance. For those who have been following me, I know that you might be slightly incredulous. I travel. A lot. Traveling is one of those things that just seems to ooze privilege and imply a trust fund (especially for young twenties). I don't have a trust fund and while I know my parents are my safety net, I try not to risk a fall.
The big secret is that travel is no more expensive than many other hobbies/interests. It all depends on where your priorities lie. If you own a car, a house or that new expensive gadget, then that is where your money goes. If you decide you need that designer bag/dress/pair of shoes, then you budget for it and you spend big bucks on what makes you happy.
I use my money on travel. Anything that I have left over is spent on flights, hotels and activities. That is how I was raised and how I have continued to live my life. Growing up I never had the biggest TVs or the most expensive cars. Instead I went windsurfing in Bali. I saw Komodo dragons on Komodo Island in Indonesia. I went on vacations to Hong Kong and took a family trip around Europe. I don't buy designer stuff, I don't own a car (or need to pay for gas or car insurance) and I don't have a house. I don't go out drinking or partying at all and so none of my money goes to expensive bar alcohol. I don't have a monthly cable bill. I don't have an animal (although hopefully next year!) and I don't need to make vet payments. I don't have the newest phone. I actually have a trusty Nokia that I've had for years. Even with this phone, I don't pay a monthly fee. I do pay as you go. Little secret, the US is one of the most expensive places in the world to have a phone plan. It is ridiculous how much they charge you. I don't go out to eat. I buy local produce and cook at home to save money. That extra saved money goes right into my travel fund.
The other way that I skimp and save is that I use the following sites to help me plan trips:
1. Booking Buddy is my standby. It is reliable and it checks multiple sites. When the other window pops up I always choose either CheapOAir and OneTravel. These tend to have the lowest fares out of anything else that I have found. The one caveat is that they are non-refundable. I don't use Booking Buddy for hotels or anything, just flights.
2. Sky Scanner is a new favourite that I recently discovered in the last couple of months. It has some really great deals for when you search for specific dates since it scans every travel site and redirects you. Another handy way to use Sky Scanner if you don't have a specific date in mind is to enter in a starting city and then click ______________ to anywhere. It will then come up with a list of places/prices. I found a $200 roundtrip ticket to Egypt this way. Alas I can't go since I have reached my travel quota for a bit, but it was an awfully tempting price...
3. I was just introduced to Travel Zoo by a friend who found roundtrip tickets from DC to Istanbul for $399. This is a great site if you don't have any dates in mind and can pick up and go if you find a good price. They have all sorts of deals that you can browse if you sign up. It's a pretty easy sign up and so far I haven't been bothered by annoying spam emails from them. You can also give Flight Matrix a go, although I haven't personally used it.
4. Once I have booked my tickets, I head over to either Hostel World or Hostel Bookers and scope out some hostels/hotels. I tend to use Hostel World more but they both work fine. Watch out for the prices because they can mean per person and not per room. It is also worth checking out Hotels.com since they have served me well in the past. If you find a good price, it might also be worth calling the hotel/hostel themselves to see what kind of deal they offer over the phone. I have found them to be cheaper in Turkey when I have contacted them directly.
5. I am quite wary of local travel agents that you meet on site. I know for a fact that New Delhi is a haven for scammers and you really need to watch out for what money you put down. A couple of my friends were quite lucky backpacking around Turkey and finding reputable companies to book them for cheaper all-inclusive rates. Be smart about where you are and ALWAYS research where they are going to put you.
In terms of booking tickets and such for exact dates, I always aim to schedule arriving in the middle of the week. Prices shoot up when you aim to arrive Friday or Saturday. I also try to book on Sundays-Wednesdays since prices have seemed cheaper then. A rule of thumb I heard for booking was three months in advance for international and one month for domestic. If you are pretty flexible, then just try your luck with Travel Zoo and Sky Scanner for random deals.
This is just the tip of the iceberg for what I do when I plan a trip, so I will try to do a series of posts on this topic. I hope that this has been a helpful introduction!
