Spring Break is quickly approaching, and many people may be traveling to the beach, the mountains, or to some really cool, exotic place. During the month of March, many businesses tend to increase the prices of their goods since they know they will be in high demand. Traveling is so exciting but can be very frustrating when you spend more money than you should (or, in my case, more money than you have). These tips are some that I have learned throughout the years and have helped save me time, money, and frustration!
- Go Incognito
When you are on the internet searching for a hotel, flights, or anything travel related, use an incognito window. When you browse the internet in incognito mode, the web browser cannot save your activity once you finish a browsing session. It also prevents cookies—which are small files that are stored on a computer—to track your browsing history and send you targeted ads based on what you’ve searched. This helped me significantly! Not only did it stop the targeted ads, but it also kept the prices low on all things travel related instead of raising the price.
2. Go Shopping (Grocery Shopping that is)
This may seem super simple, but you would be very surprised at how often my friends and I went out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. On the trips where we would eat out most meals, I would have blown my trip budget by day three of our five-day trip. My mom told me that it would be better to spend money on groceries and eat out a couple of times during the trip. My friends and I discovered that (surprise, surprise) she was right. But let’s face it, moms are always right! We bought groceries for breakfast and lunch and ate out for dinner; however, on the nights we were too tired or too sunburnt to go out we went to the grocery store and cooked a simple meal.
3. Stay Off the Beaten Path
Whenever I go to a place I’ve never been to before, I love to explore! There’s so much to see and I just want to see all of it! However, a lot of these things may be tourist attractions which means that they are typically a little pricey. Since I don’t have millions of dollars to throw away, it was hard for me to come to terms with the fact that I may not be able to see everything. When I was in San Juan, Puerto Rico over the summer, there was a lot that I wanted to see but it was more than I wanted to spend. Instead of doing a mainstream tour, my family and I went on our own tour of Old San Juan and it was incredible! We asked several locals where their favorite spots where and we found some absolute gems! We never would have found those places if we would have taken a guided tour. While I have nothing against guided tours, I highly recommend walking around yourself because you never know what you could stumble upon.
Pro Tip: Before you just start walking around, do a little research of the area. You don’t want to end up in an unsafe area for tourists.
4. You Don’t Have to Pack Your Entire Closet
Everyone’s heard of the saying, “It’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.” While I do think this applies for some things, I do not think this is a rule to go by when you are packing for your trip. Because more often than not, you will pack more than you actually need which can be a bad thing, especially if you are flying. I recommend packing enough undergarments for your entire trip plus a day (because you just never know what could happen). However, you should pack a mini capsule wardrobe for your trip. Typically, I re-wear things on vacation, so I discovered that packing my favorite pieces for whatever climate I’m going to be in saved me time and space. Also, most places have a washer and dryer, so you can wash your clothes before you re-wear them.
Pro Tip: If you are going sightseeing during your trip, bring a comfortable pair of shoes! You will most likely be walking around for miles and having blisters on your feet will ruin the rest of your trip (trust me, I know!).