6 simple tips on how to travel and love life {on a budget}

So.

I like to travel. Mark likes to travel. We both like to travel. Here's the problem: we're kind of frugal with our money. We don't like wasting it and we don't like spending a paycheck just to stay at a hotel for a couple days. We've done a bit of traveling since we've been together and plan to do more in the future and here's the thing : we always plan it to where we are comfortable with what we're spending and are happy with what the activities we are or aren't doing. We don't like feeling stretched for money or for time. We have it down pretty good, so I wanted to share our tips and travel philosophy here. I know it's super long and there are lots of pictures, but I wanted to be transparent and share as much advice as I could. I hope you find something useful!

(Psst. I decided to write this novel of a blog post because I recently blogged about our latest trip to California, and we did quite a bit of budget for this one. Read my recaps linked below!)

California day one

California day two

California day three

California day four

I've compiled the major factors we consider when traveling into six helpful tips. Get out a pen and paper, here they are:

Hawaii 2012

 {Plan ahead}

-plan your time
-plan your finances

    We typically plan our stateside vacations about 3 months in advance. If you're going overseas, you'll need to plan much sooner than this! While we decide on our destination 3 months out, we are always thinking and saving for our next trip way before that. The best part about our trip to California is that we had been saving for about 2 years before taking the trip. When we got married, Mark carried a credit card that he paid off monthly. It was great to build his credit, but turns out he wasn't getting any reward or bonus back from the card. These days, almost every credit card has a reward attached to it. So, back in December 2012, we had the discussion to get the Chase Freedom credit card through our bank. The Freedom card allows 5% cash back on qualifying purchases on a quarterly basis along with 1% cash back on every purchase, every day. We decided at that time to put the majority of our purchases on the credit card and pay it off monthly to avoid any interest fees. When we got the card, they had the bonus of $100 in 'points', so that was a major boost to our points savings. After those started to accrue, we decided to just keep them where they were and save them for a rainy day or vacation. Chase offers the 5% cash back for 6 months on gas purchases and at Amazon for the months leading up for Christmas. A little smart shopping and we started racking up the points! Less than two years later, we had almost $800 to use for vacation. We used that "free" money for our vacation!

Florida 2011

Colorado 2011

Hawaii 2012

{Be flexible}

-have a large selection of travel dates
-try to travel during 'off-peak' months and days of the week

    My parents do a lot of traveling and they have figured out that September is a good time to travel. Mark and I got married in November and went to Hawaii for our honeymoon (recap coming some time on that!) where we asked the hotel staff about their busy and quiet months. They agreed that September and November are both pretty slow.

   It makes sense - most people travel in the summer when the kids are off school, work is slower, and the weather is warm. School starts back up at the end of August or early September and everyone is back to work, heads down. Most people don't go on vacation immediately after having all that time off, so September sees a lag in travel before it picks up again for the holiday season. Less people traveling means discounts on hotel, cars, and flights because they are more desperate to get your business! We tried this when we went to Florida back in 2011 and snagged a flight and 3 nights in a 2 room suite at the Hyatt for $400 a person. We asked for an upgrade at the hotel desk and they said yes!

   That being said, when you're searching for hotel and flight deals, be flexible. Look up the rates for multiple different days and combinations. It's typically best to fly on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Tuesday avoids the Monday business rush, and on Saturdays people are usually at their destination for the weekend.

Hawaii 2012

California 2014

Hawaii 2012

{Do your research}

-be open to a variety of locations
-search, search, and search again
-check reviews and compare prices
-sign up for travel deals and discounts

    Saving money isn't an easy job. If it were easy, everyone would do it! When you're looking for somewhere to go, do your research! Be open minded. Mark and I had no idea where we wanted to go and we thought about Europe, New York, Canada, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, and Colorado. I found good deals in many of those places, but we were able to narrow it down due to some specific factors, like the fact that we were generously gifted with stand-by tickets by our friend that works for an airline, so we could only fly during non-peak hours. Once we got it narrowed down to California, I had really wanted to stay in Santa Barbara and almost booked a hotel there. When I called to make the reservation, they had just sold out for one of the weekend nights. Fate!

   Use websites like priceline.com (my favorite) or hotels.com to find the best deals. Broaden your search! Once I couldn't find a deal in Santa Barbara, I opened up the map and started searching for places up and down the coast that would provide the California experience without the high cost. I stumbled upon a great deal in Oxnard and the hotel looked awesome! I originally found it on Priceline and then went to tripadvisor.com to look at reviews and visitor pictures. Reviews tell you a LOT. Make sure you read them! I knew from experience that Priceline has some rules I'd rather avoid (like no cancellation - sometimes) so I went directly to the Embassy Suites website and the price was the same there, plus we could cancel up to a week in advance of our stay, if needed. That meant we weren't locked in if something happened and we couldn't go. Plus, we were able to use Mark's AAA discount for a cheaper rate and request an upgrade to the ocean view without any hassles. 

Also - sign up for the hotel rewards! It's free and if the emails bug you, opt out of them. You'll still be signed up! Even if you don't have tons of points, hotels will see that on your profile and if you ask to upgrade (ALWAYS ASK TO UPGRADE!) they might do it because they see you are a loyal customer.

California 2014

Hawaii 2012

{Know your budget}

-be aware of what you want to spend
-plan your days based on what your budget can afford

   Mark and I got really lucky with this trip because of our savings and because of our free flights. We had an idea of what we wanted to spend outside of that savings, and we stuck to it! Here is the breakdown:

Flights - free (thanks to our friend!!!)

Hotel - $161 per night with upgraded ocean view, king bed suite, AAA discount

Rental Car - $175

Food - $180

Entertainment - $118, ferry ride to Santa Cruz island

Transportation - $75, rental car gas and parking at the Dallas airport (use the Parking Spot!!! They have coupons and a AAA discount!)

Total out of pocket: $371

We were able to easily keep track of all of this through mint.com, which I wrote about extensively here. We moved our points to our checking account about a week before our trip and I assigned them to our "Cali trip" budget in advance so we started out at -$700. As the hotel charge and car charge came in, they pushed our spending to around $0, so we know what our overage was on food, etc.

New York 2013

New Orleans 2013

Florida 2011

 {Be creative}

-search for activities outside of the norm
-just explore the area - it's free!
-take advantage of coupons, deals, and freebies

    Under $400 for a 4 day trip for two people at the beach is pretty good, in my opinion. We didn't approach this as a super frugal trip, otherwise I think we could have cut that in half, at least. We got creative with our plans and saved money in these ways:

-We only planned one 'activity' that was paid, which was the ferry ride to Santa Cruz Island. It came with the added bonus of time on the water and dolphin, sea lion, and whale watching. Everything that we did ON the island was free. We brought our lunch and only bought water and sandwiches at the store before going; I brought along granola bars and other snacks from home.

-We didn't try and go to the most expensive or 'best' restaurants, but instead looked for places with good reviews. Even then, we didn't hold back! Mark's meal at the Brazilian place was well over $20.

-We think we scored on our hotel choice. Not only was the hotel beautiful and right on the beach, it offered a free FULL breakfast (I'm talking omelets cooked to order, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, pancakes, oatmeal, bagels, pastry, cereal, EVERYTHING!) and a free manager's happy hour every night with drinks and snacks. Mark and I estimated we could have ended up spending about $45 per day if we had gotten the same amount of food elsewhere.

-We got creative with our activities. A free day-long hike on the island, a stroll around Santa Barbara and a tour of the amazing courthouse, two separate driving tours around UC Santa Barbara as well as UCLA, all free! (We are weirdos and get a kick out of seeing college campuses for no reason at all) There were museums and paid tours and kayaking that we could have paid to do, but we weighed our options in each situation and decided what we REALLY wanted to do, which was to explore California like a local and have the luxury of free time and doing what we pleased without worrying about what we might be missing out on. We didn't regret it, either!

Hawaii 2012

New Orleans 2013

Florida 2011

{Enjoy yourself!}

   If the money and time is right, do yourself a favor and enjoy yourself! After all, you ARE on vacation! I encouraged Mark to try something at the Brazilian restaurant that was one of the pricey items on the menu, but it was only $4-6 more than what he was considering. In those cases, go for it, for the experience! You won't feel those few dollars. We saved on not taking guided tours or going to museums in Santa Barbara, but we splurged and shared a $6 ice cream cone at the wharf. Have fun, relax, and really find what is going to make you happy and make you remember your trip.

New Orleans 2013

Colorado 2011

Happy travels!!!