Save money on vacation with the right mindset
According to Kepnes, a general problem with saving money on vacation is the attitude of most travelers. “Most people assume that it’s expensive. That’s the first mistake. They think that when you travel you need hotels, taxis, excursions, expensive flights or have to eat out,” Business Insider quoted travel expert Kepnes as saying. This leads to people planning their budgets incorrectly and believing that a holiday requires a lot of money. However, high expenses only result because trips are approached differently than everyday life. “I always say: With cheap travel you do exactly what you do at home, just somewhere else. You wake up every day, you don’t go out onto the street and take a taxi, no matter where you want to go. Sometimes you walk even on foot. You don’t eat every meal every day at one of the most expensive restaurants in town,” Kepnes continued on Business Insider. So the fundamental key to saving is to manage the money you have as if it were a normal day. Of course, this tends to eliminate unusual activities, but this way you can do more travel. In day-to-day life, one ultimately asks oneself less whether one’s own budget is sufficient for one’s current lifestyle. The expenses of everyday life are usually adjusted to one’s own means and it should be the same when travelling. As a result, fewer trips are canceled because instead of having to save up excessive amounts of money in advance for a special vacation, you can economize on what you have and do something else at a similar cost to what you would do at home.
Breaking new ground: from working on vacation to house sitting
Creativity is also required when traveling cheaply. You have to be open to new things and sometimes get involved with unusual things. At first glance, it may seem strange to adopt a different way of thinking and possibly even step out of your comfort zone on a holiday where, after all, it is all about your own pleasure. However, on the premise of saving money, many activities can be viewed as a kind of adventure and new experience. Frugal travelers are less concerned with relaxing in luxury wellness resorts and visiting exquisite restaurants than with getting to know foreign places and getting around as much as possible.
So if you really care about travel, you should also work during the trips. On his blog, Kepnes gives many examples of how you can work on the go, for example as an au pair, bartender, waiter, language teacher, farm worker, entertainer or hotel employee. There are many ways to earn extra money abroad. You should also use the internet and social networks to save money. Information is exchanged on the relevant portals and groups as to where the cheapest places to shop and live are. Among other things, cheap rooms are offered, which, however, have to be shared with strangers. Some providers even let travelers stay overnight for free. This means you don’t have the accommodation to yourself, but it also gives you the opportunity to meet new people. Another option for a cheap or even free place to sleep is house sitting. Here you look after the house of someone who is traveling himself. The expenses you inevitably have during your tour should be paid for with a travel credit card. This means that you collect points for discounts with the costs that you have anyway and, for example, get a flight cheaper or completely free.
Nicolas Flohr / Editor finanzen.net
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