Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Not that I care the slightest about keeping up with how much attention I get on social media, but I did notice that my most shared post ever was my birthday freebies post from last year, which,
Really, guys, means the world that you remembered because nobody else did. But a close runner up to that viral post was my travel hack about saving money on your Southwest flights, which tells me two things you and I have in common. We love to travel and we hate wasting money. Or I guess we love saving money. I know they're kind of the same thing, but they feel different. You know what I mean? And travel abounds with opportunities to waste money.
Let's be honest. More often than not, an affordable vacation seems as impossible as relaxing on the beach with a toddler. Why? Why must they eat sand and sunscreen? You have a Go-Gurt and cheese that's at your disposal. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
But there are ways to beat the system, and today I'm going to share with you the top hacks that I personally use to go on great vacations without breaking the bank and without resorting to debt. But first, why don't you take a trip over to that like and subscribe button and give it a little clicky click. Go on, it's free. I won't even charge you baggage fees. And while you're at it, hit the share button and send it to a friend you want to go on a trip with. And if you don't have friends, send it to yourself. We love a solo trip. You're traveling alone and he's traveling alone, Denver, so that's splendid.
All right, let's talk about an inconvenient truth about the hospitality industry. Airlines, hotels, entertainment, pretty much anything else you can enjoy on a vacation, they're all trying to make as much money off of you as they can, which means you've got to be really intentional about the costs on the front end before your trip even starts. So my first tip is this, shop airfare early.
Industry experts recommend booking your ticket anywhere from three weeks out to three and a half months out, unless you're going to a super popular or an international destination, in which case go with the longer lead time. Now, a little known fact, the cheapest air travel days are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Now, I've known about that hack for years thanks to the 2014 hit rap song, Tuesday. Now,
Now, Friday and Sunday are typically the most expensive and can cost hundreds of dollars more than the days I mentioned. And a recent airfare study found that you'll save about a hundred bucks by flying on a Tuesday or Wednesday instead of Sunday. Now saving a hundred bucks on a one-way flight might not seem like a deal breaker, but if you're buying for a family of four,
That's an extra $800 round trip back in your pocket, just for picking a different day of the week. Also, you may want to consider traveling during shoulder season to get lower rates, which is typically April through May up to early June, and then September through October in most areas of the world. Now, why do they call it shoulder season? But seriously, I tried to Google it, and there is no good answer. This is a case for Wishbone. Snack time, Wishbone. Oh, perfect timing!
Another tip is to utilize technology in this process. And no, I'm not talking about an inflatable neck pillow, although those are game changers on long flights and I will not be ashamed. I will not be harangued in front of my fellow travelers because I choose to ride in comfort. I'm talking about using travel apps and websites that are designed to help save you money. Some of the best ones out there that I use personally are Google Flights, Going, previously known as Scott's Cheap Flights, Next Vacay, Hopper, and Skyscanner.
Skyscanner's pretty cool. They scan 1,200 travel sites to find you the best deal, and they won't track your data, which, if you haven't noticed, the airlines can use against you. They'll jack up the price of a flight just because they know you've been looking rude. I don't like that at all. All right.
On to the next tip. Now that you've got a great deal on travel, you can save big during the flight by bringing a carry-on instead of a checked bag. Now, most airlines charge baggage fees for checked bags, but we'll let you bring one free carry-on bag along with a personal item, like a large purse or backpack or a murse for you dudes out there. Hey, they're back in style. This is where I keep all my things. I get a lot of compliments on this.
You can save anywhere from 25 bucks to 50 bucks per bag by doing this. And if you must check a bag because you're traveling home from Boston with a metric ton of Mama Camel's hummus, be smart about it. Choose airlines that include free check bags, like Southwest, for example, which includes two free check bags that weigh up to 50 pounds each. And if you're traveling with your spouse or your kids, think about sharing one big check bag.
You might risk a huge marital fight, but hey, 50 bucks is 50 bucks. Huh? That's a lot of money. I personally use packing cubes to do this right. They're a genius tool that makes packing easier, and you can get a set on Amazon for about 25 bucks. So you spend that money once, but you're going to save 25 to 50 bucks on checked baggage for future flights. So the ROI here is a no-brainer.
Now our next tip is for your departure process. When you're going through airport security, head toward the lines on the left. I actually got this advice from Queen Bee. ♪ To the left, to the left ♪ Or was it Cupid? ♪ To the left ♪ Lot of people giving advice to the left. He also says to the, which one is it Cupid? For some psychological reason, people typically turn to the right when it's their turn to enter the security gates, which I've nicknamed LTS.
Left Turn Syndrome. So make a B line for the left. That's usually where the faster lines are. You're welcome. Next tip: If you're traveling internationally, do not exchange money at the airport. It is one of the most expensive ways to trade your US dollars for yen, yuan, kip, pesos, franc, rupee, and any other kind of foreign currency. Instead, here's what you do: order currency at your bank or credit union before your trip. Or you could just use a debit card, like a normal 21st century human.
And there's a few out there that have no foreign transaction fees or ATM fees. Sweet deal. But you do need to call your debit card company to authorize use for foreign travel so that it doesn't get frozen when you try to buy everyone around a Guinness on your little trip to Ireland.
Brilliant! Brilliant! Now for our next tip, here's a hack that I think is totally worth the investment. TSA PreCheck. If waiting in long lines behind people who've taken their shoes off is not your favorite pastime, sign up for TSA PreCheck. For about $78, you can skip these long security lines for five years straight.
and you'll be zipping through faster, easier security screening to get on your merry way. Highly recommend. And honestly, it's worth it just to never be barefoot on that filthy airport floor ever again. Why do we pretend that it's okay to be barefoot on those? That's disgusting. I don't want to see those gargoyle toes. Put them away.
Next tip, take the time to find hotel deals online. We've covered some travel, we gotta hit lodging. I like to start with hotels.com just to see what's out there and check out some reviews. They've got a great app as well that's super intuitive. Another place to go is TripAdvisor. You can read reviews, complete with travelers, submitted photos that show you what the hotel is really like in case you're curious about what's growing under that coffee maker.
For being honest, I got trust issues with hotel coffee makers. Now, once I've done my hotel research, I go to the hotel's website so I can compare rates to make sure I've got a good deal. Another trick is to call the hotel directly and see if they'll compete with and negotiate against the rates that you found online. They're usually happy to match prices you found online to get you to book directly with them, which
keeps more money in their pocket. Now, if you want to get an even better deal, you can check out Pricelines Express Deals or Hotwire's Hot Rates to get a cheaper price on a hotel within your preferred star rating range. Now, the only catch is you don't know exactly what hotel you're staying at until you book it. It's basically the love is blind of the tourism industry. But here's a bonus hack for you. Check out a Chrome browser extension called Travel Arrow that will decipher exactly what hotel you're secretly looking at. You didn't hear it from me.
And here's another sneaky loophole you can use if you have no clue what a browser extension is. You can use Google Images to upload and search the sample photo on these sites to figure out what hotel you'd be booking. Now, the key here is flexibility. The more flexible you are, the better deal you'll be able to find. Even on luxury hotels where you can get room service ice cream. Two scoops, sir.
Two. Make it three. I'm not driving. All right, we've covered travel, we've covered lodging, so our next tip is all about transportation. Find deals on rental cars. If you need to rent a car, there's some great ways to save money. And one of my favorite ways is through Costco travel. Shout out to Costco for always being there for me. You had me at the 150 hot dog combo. Now, a side note here, some rental car companies can make it slightly more difficult to rent with a debit card.
But do not fear. Just do your due diligence and research on the debit card policy for that specific company that you're booking through. Some of them may require some extra documentation, your flight information, or an extra deposit or a hold. But it is worth it to not go into debt and not swipe that stupid credit card just to travel. But don't fall for all the extras and upsells they throw at you. Most of the time, your normal car insurance covers your rental car insurance, so you don't have to pay extra.
Now, another great option to rent a car with a debit card is using an app called Turo. Turo is a peer-to-peer car sharing company that allows car owners to make extra cash by renting out their personal vehicles to travelers like you. Kind of like Airbnb for cars. It's pretty cool. All right, let's keep this train moving. Next tip, once you get to where you're going, you might be able to save some money by getting a city travel card or a transport pass for a discount on attractions and transportation.
Lots of cities offer a culture pass that gives you access to a whole bunch of museums and attractions for a fraction of the cost of individual tickets. Take the Big Apple, for example. A city pass gives you access to five attractions like the Empire State Building, American Museum of Natural History, a ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty in Ellis Island, 9-11 Museum Memorial, and the Guggenheim.
Now, all in all, a city pass saves you close to $100 per pass compared to what the box office price of those attractions would add up to. Now, let's be clear. These are only worth it if you plan to maximize your tourism. So make sure to do the math before you drop that coin. Now, this last tip has less to do with saving money and more to do with making flights more comfortable.
Okay, self-care is everything. So be sure to pack some moisturizer, hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes for those nasty seat trays, a sleep mask, maybe some earplugs, AirPods Pro if you're an Apple fan, USB phone charger, and the ultimate flex, the Flight Flap phone and tablet holder. I'm telling you, that will change the way you travel. Now, the real trick to affording travel and doing this right is budgeting for it in full before you travel.
So before you hit the road, fly the friendly skies, camp the backcountry, or glamp on your California king-size self-inflating air mattress, start saving money in a sinking fund where you put aside a little bit every month until you hit your goal. My favorite way to do this is with a budgeting app called EveryDollar that makes sinking funds super easy to set up and track.
I'll drop a link below if you want to check that out. So that's all the travel tips I'll share with you today. It's not all of them, but some of my favorites. And I know you guys have some great ones too. So please drop some of your favorite travel tips and hacks in the comments below, and maybe I'll react to them on a future video.
Who knows? Hope you guys enjoyed this video. If you did, please be sure to like it, hit the subscribe button, and share this with your favorite travel buddy. It might be the start of your next great adventure. Who knows? And if you want to dig deeper on all the stuff I'm talking about, like getting out of debt, budgeting, building wealth for the future, check out the Financial Peace University class I'm leading this summer, where you're going to learn how to take control of your money for good. It's a virtual class that meets over Zoom, so you can join from the comfort of wherever you're watching this right now.
Don't miss that. I'll drop the link below if you want to sign up. All right, guys, that's it for today. Thanks for watching. I'll see you next time.