Travel Leisure: How to Manage Your Travel Budget

Every single traveler's objective is to save money while travelling. However, the most of the budget is still spent on flights, accommodation, and food. Unfortunately, most travelers start thinking about saving costs when they are already on a trip. Acting spontaneously is a good idea but the best spontaneous thing is a well prepared one. So, carrying out a little research should be an integral part of your trip preparations. Take some time to search, analyze and choose the options that fit you best. Here are some good suggestions on how to save some money on flights, food, and accommodation:

1) Accommodation

Choosing an accommodation could bring you to the following options:

Hotels. This kind of accommodation is the most expensive one. However,even when staying in a hotel you could save some money if you act rationally. You should know that hotels prices can vary depending on the neighborhood and their location within the city. The hotels that are located in the central area could cost more than those a little way out of the city. So, while planning a trip go to hotels search websites (such as cheaphotels.org for example)and pick one in the right neighborhood.

Hostels. Hostels are the most common option and are not as expensive as hotels. Sure, they are less comfortable than hotels but come on - do you go on a trip to spend all time in your room? Get outside and go for sightseeing. There are plenty of hostels all over the world. Here is one good website to search them - HostelBookers.com

Apartment. At first, renting an apartment may seem to cost just as much as the hotel does. But when choosing this option, you get another advantage that you don't get in the hotel. Unlike most hotels, apartments usually come with a kitchen and other amenities. I guess all the travelers know that having meals in restaurants can be very expensive. Thus, by choosing to rent an apartment is more cost-effective - at the cost of a hotel room you get an opportunity to save on food cooking by yourself.

Free accommodation. This option is just as real as the previous ones, although at first sight it could appear to sound like a fiction. However, there is a world community that would offer such a privilege for travelers. It is one of the mottos of Couchsurfing.com that says "Give someone a home away from home". To use this option you don't need to care about your social status, age, gender and so on. It is not about you being a millionaire or a student; it is about your personality and character because Couchsurfing.com is for those who love making friends, meeting new people, and who like to give and to be given. To learn how the system works go to Couchsurfing.com.

One more tip is that when you are seeking for accommodation, besides checking a price, look at a map, too. Try to find the neighborhood that would not be too far from the places you desire to visit in order not to waste extra money on transportation. Also, be sure to check whether the neighborhood is safe.

2) Flights

The cheapest day to fly. As for saving money while buying flight tickets, the first thing you should know is that the cheapest day to fly is Wednesday. According to the flight statistics, shopping on Wednesday is the best time to buy airline tickets (but don't tell anyone, otherwise you'll help create additional demand on Wednesdays and the rates will grow. Tuesday and Saturday are also fine. Here are some extremely useful suggestions about booking tickets.

Luggage. The thing is to deal with tons of luggage. It seems that the fee for checked bags annoys travelers the most. To avoid it or to cut the number of bags you could pay for, try to put as many items as possible into a carry-on bag. For example, you should put such things as iPad, iPod, camera and keys in the jacket and keep them with you. Once I tried to fit everything I had in 1 personal bag and 1 carry-on bag. That day I got to know that I could carry my laptop separately in my hands thus leaving some space for other things in my carry-on bag. So, along with a personal bag and a carry-on bag in my hands I had a camera, a laptop, a jacket and a toy that I just bought as a souvenir. Yes, I did look like a Christmas tree at that moment but I saved $25.

3) Food

One more thing that requires a lot of money while travelling is food. Let's face it: restaurant meals are hard to resist when you are on a trip - you do want to try the local cuisine, don't you? However, if your aim is to save money while staying in a hotel, avoid asking concierges for recommendations of places to eat. Rather, consult travel guidebooks or websites for the list of the best cheap meals in a city. Also, you could read local food blogs before you go on a trip. Many restaurants sometimes offer coupons and discounts. Nevertheless, always be careful with street food. It is not always safe.

If you rent an apartment with kitchen or you enjoy cooking, there is advice for you as well. In order to save money on food, buy ingredients from small stores and cobble together your own meals. By the way, try not to buy items that require a special tool to open.

Thus, always remember to get ready before any trip.Make a list, compare the prices and sum them up. Remember you can find travel budget related information very easily online (transportation, food, hotels etc.) It may take some time for you to search but later it will save you some money - so consider that a time investment. For a start, it will take some time before you are able to develop good saving habits. So, be patient and reasonable.

We hope you find our tips useful and worth trying out. Have fun traveling and be safe.

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