In Your Pocket: How to Save Money while on the Road

The benefits of travelling are numerous and have been written about many times before. You get to experience a new culture, hopefully opening up your mind to new sights, tastes, and ideals. Plus there’s nothing sexier than an accent. There’s one drawback to traveling: how darn expensive it can be to stay on the road. In light of that, here are a few tips on how to save money and help you remain on the road and enjoying all the world has to offer for longer:

Plan where you’re going
Yep, there’s a certain sense of exhilaration from not knowing where you’re going to be one day to the next, but traveling in this way can take its toll on the wallet. Do just a bit of planning beforehand and you can save quite a bit of money. You can start with the search for accommodation, such as by using discount hotel sites. It’ll save you time and money. Your time is better served enjoying the holiday, not planning it.

Make your own food
It may be tempting to try every new delicacy that you pass on the road, but soon you’ll find that your wallet is as empty as your belly is full. Eating out is a huge expense, even that pick-me-up of coffee every morning soon totters up. Try to eat out only once a day, preferably lunch — make it a big lunch, too! You can still taste the delicious local food, just not at the expense of your expenses.

Walk, Walk, and Walk
As the saying goes, “kill two birds with one stone.” When you’re in a new city, there’s no better way to get to know it than by exploring it on foot. You can take in the sights at your own pace and also find little nooks and side streets that are unavailable to passengers on a vehicle. Not only that, you get exercise (the beer and street food isn’t gonna go away by itself) and save the money that would normally be spent on public transportation.

Recreate for free
Most cities that we visit, there are too many things to do in the short amount of time we’re there, so why spend it doing activities that cost money? Of course there are the must see sights in each city, and those are worth the admission fee, but if you do a little research you might find that the museum you were planning on checking out has free admission every Wednesday. On the other hand, a holiday doesn’t have to revolve around “doing stuff.” Sometimes, the best days are ones spent getting lost in the city and enjoying good conversation with a local or two. Both cost you absolutely nothing.

As you can see, there are many ways to save money while on holiday. A little planning and cleverness goes a long way. The frugality pays off in the end, leaving you with enough money to buy that priceless souvenir that falls apart three days later.