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Foreign travel costs in the US have jumped nearly 20% since 2019, and everyone is feeling it where the sun don't shine the inside of their wallet. What? It's dark. It's dark in there. That's all I'm saying. Gosh. So in this video, I'll be sharing nine ways that frugal people cut costs when they travel, and I've personally used every one of these hacks and they will help you save money. Whether you're heading to the beach for summer vacation, a weekend in the mountains, or you're just trying to rent, Reignite the spark in a lukewarm marriage. Because nothing heats up a lukewarm marriage like a hot tub in Gatlinburg. Let's get into it. Tip number one Be flexible with travel dates, won't you? If you're determined to fly on a particular day, you are stuck with whatever rate the airline offers you. But if you can be flexible and don't mind moving around your schedule by a couple of days or even a couple of weeks, you could find big time savings. Potentially enough to afford a $7 bottle of water at the airport. For example, Friday, Saturday, Sunday flights are usually a bit more expensive, so consider shifting your trip to weekdays, like Tuesday or Wednesday, when demand is lower. Maybe you fly in on a Wednesday, you come back on a Monday. Bada bing, bada boom. Great trip. And keep holidays in mind too. Memorial Day weekend may be pricey, but the weekend before or after should be a better deal. You're likely safe, though, if you're planning to fly on Arbor Day, World Vegetarian Day, or Groundhog Day. Why are those on my why Apple? Why do I want to know why? Why, why? Tip number two Travel during off seasons. The times of year when everyone's rushing to the airport will always be more expensive. We call these peak seasons in the biz. We're talking summer vacation, which is mid June to August, Christmas and New Year's, Spring break and Thanksgiving. Basically, prices are out of control if kids are out of school. It's like surge pricing for Capri sun and Crocs with Jibbitz. So avoid them and instead fly during less busy times of year if you can help it. Like mid January to early March, late April to mid May, and September to mid November. That's when airports are quieter, prices are cheaper, and TSA agents are slightly less dead inside. I told you guys we are not doing lotion. No lotion in the bag. Tip number 3 use price comparison websites. Don't just go to your favorite airline's website and settle for whatever prices they're offering. Instead, go the extra mile and research the competition. That's how you make sure you're getting the best deal. Now, luckily, this is pretty easy these days, thanks to price comparison websites that do the heavy lifting for you. And if you want to know some of my favorites, you've got Skyscanner, which aggregates prices from airlines, hotels and car rental companies and lets you compare options. You have Google Flights, which has great filters for finding and comparing airline prices, schedules and travel times. And Costco Travel, which is a members only service that offers vacation packages, cruises, rental cars and hotel bookings, often bundled with added perks and discounts. So a few extra minutes of searching can lead to hundreds of dollars in savings. Now, along this line, tip number four, use Travel Arrow with Priceline Express. Now, Priceline Express offers huge discounts on hotels, but there's a catch here. They don't reveal the name of the hotel. They'll give you the rating, show you the general locations, some features, but not the hotel name. And that makes some people nervous, understandably. And I am one of those people, because I don't want to end up in a sketchy roadside motel with the outline of a body taped on the floor. Now, luckily, there's a way around it. You just need to download a browser extension, Travel Arrow, which sees through Priceline's magic cloak of invisibility and reveals exactly what hotel you're about to book. Now, if all that sounds gobbledygook to you, find your nearest millennial or Gen zer. They will show you how to download a browser extension, MeMaw.
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Wait a minute, I'll read it. Okay, what is it? Say wait a minute. I read it. Okay, who read it?
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Okay, now here's an example of how this worked for me. A few years ago, I was going to New York City and I wanted to stay at the Kimpton Eventi Hotel, but I didn't want to pay 400 bucks a night. So I got Trav Arrow to help me find the Kimpton Eventi on price on Express and locked in a deal I knew was at that specific hotel. And by the way, this is not sponsored. All the names and things I'm throwing out there are not sponsors. Trust me, you'll know when we get to the sponsor. Travel Arrow has just saved me money before, and I want to spread the wealth with you. That's it. Next, tip number five, Rent a car with Turo. Turo is basically Airbnb for cars, except instead of sleeping in a stranger's bed, you are driving their Toyota Corolla. Turo connects car owners with people who want to rent cars, so it allows users to book vehicles directly from local car owners via Turo's website or app. Instead of renting from a traditional car rental company, which, if you've experienced one of those lately, not a great experience, you can browse a wide selection of vehicles from budget sedans to luxury cars. You choose location, date, car preferences. You pick up the car for turn at the end of the rental period. Very simple and it's typically a lot cheaper than traditional car rental companies and gives you more flexibility with better vehicle options. And my favorite part personally? You get to skip the part where a guy wearing a golf polo and way too much hair gel tries to upsell you the WI FI hotspot or insurance package. No thank you. My car insurance covers it, bro. You're not gonna fool me. Tip number six, Pack light. You wanna run up an airline bill super fast? Pack a bunch of useless crap you don't need in a giant suitcase. I mean, these days even Southwest is now charging for checking a bag. But carry ons are still pretty much free everywhere except for the budget a la carte airlines like Spirit and and Allegiant. I wouldn't be surprised if they start charging extra for your plane to actually fly. Like a new premium seat tier called guaranteed takeoff. I would. I would pay for that though. Worth it. Bottom line, stick with the carry on. Plenty big to handle your needs. Unless you're going on some crazy trip and be choosy when you're packing, there's no sense in bringing three pairs of shoes, a backup curling iron, or your Britney Spears karaoke mic. It's time to give up the dream, Beth. You're not getting discovered on a Spirit flight, but you might discover Jesus. Not that you'll get evangelized on the plane, just that you might die and go to heaven. I just want to make that clear. Oh yeah, clear as mud. Now, I am all about helping you avoid the traps. And the next tip on here is a trap that tourists fall for every day. But first, let me tell you about another trap you need to avoid. And that's letting your personal data fall into the wrong hands. And that's why I use Delete Me. The sponsor of today's video Deleteme, keeps your digital footprint clean by removing your personal info from these shady data broker sites and and making sure it doesn't get sold to unscrupulous spammers and scammers. Deleteme will also send you a customer report every few months, recapping exactly what they've done and how much time they've saved you. And let me tell you, it's a real lifesaver and time saver. And right now you can get 20% off their annual plans, which comes out to just nine bucks a month. So go to JoinDeleteMe.com George to get the deal or click the link in the description below. Okay, back to the list. Tip number 7 Avoid currency exchange traps it's one of the easiest ways to lose money while traveling. Airport kiosks and tourist area exchanges often promote no commission, but they usually offer really poor exchange rates that leave you with less local currency. Basically, it's like a restaurant offering free sandwiches with a $10 bread fee. You should also watch out for foreign transaction fees on your debit card. Many banks charge 1 to 3% on every purchase made abroad, and a great way to avoid this is withdrawing cash from an ATM once you arrive overseas. And and make sure to use a bank that doesn't charge any ATM or foreign transaction fees, or at least reimburses them. And when you're paying for stuff abroad, always do it in a local currency rather than your home currency. This avoids dynamic currency conversion, which typically includes a hidden markup. Making these small adjustments and tweaks will help you travel more frugally without sacrificing comfort. Tip number eight Check prices even after you book Picture this. You book your dream vacay and then a week later the airline announces a huge promotion that would have saved you a ton on your tickets. A free ride when you've already already paid. Isn't it ironic? But with some airlines, including Southwest, for now, you don't have to sweat it because you can still get that discount. I made a short explaining exactly how to do it. Let's roll the beautiful Bean footage Travel Hack how to save money on flights you've already booked let's do this with Southwest. So I'm going to select my flight I've already booked. We're going to go to change and we're just going to rebook that same flight to see if we can get some money back. So you'll see here I'm going to select my return flight from Boston to Nashville. Hit. Continue. Hit. Find flights. It's going to give us a list of all the flights available, but I just want the one I already booked, that 1245. So let's scroll down and see where that 1245 flight is at and you'll see, it's $29 cheaper per person. So I'm going to rebook that same flight, tap on that, and we're going to confirm the changes and watch what happens. For two people, we just got 5,750 back in our account. Let's go baby. Make those changes. I'll see you guys in Nashville. Come on. Who would have thought? It figures. Also, the reason I was a little coy with that Southwest line there is because they may be making changes to where you basically have to book a one way flight in order for this to work. Cause otherwise you have to cancel your whole round trip flight and rebook. And one leg of the flight could be more expensive. Yada yada, nerd stuff. Just book one way instead of round trip flights. Book two one way flights instead of a round trip flight. I'm not advocating that you never come back home. Let me make that very clear. Come back home. We need you.
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I really needed to hear that.
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And finally, tip number nine. Sign up for flight deal alerts and mistake fares. One site that I've used in the past is called Going, which is a lot like a friend who somehow always finds $10 concert tickets. It helps you find and book cheap flights by sending alerts based on your criteria. We're talking up to 90% off here. And it's ideal for flexible travelers who want to save money without constantly searching for deals. Which takes us back to our earlier tip of being flexible. So there you have it. 9 Ways to Stay frugal on your next big trip. And now I'm curious. Have you used any of these tips to save money? Which one's your favorite? Did I miss one that you love? Leave a comment down below, let me know. Do not gatekeep. We need less gatekeepers. We need more vulnerability, more authenticity. And if you want even more money saving tips, be sure to check out this video where I break down 12 rules for frugal living that will help you make smarter financial decisions. Click it to keep watching for free or use the link in the description. That's it for today. Be sure to hit like on this video and share it with a friend who is searching for that Gatlinburg hot tub and some hope for their marriage. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.