How To Be A Frugal Traveler

Recently, I’ve been doing quite a bit of business traveling. I stay in hotels, eat out a lot, and generally seem to live out of suitcase. While some people may be pros at this, most of us are rookies and can fall into traps we wouldn’t usually fall into … if we were home.

The most notorious trap is overspending on anything and everything! Think about it. Most of us don’t stick to a budget when we travel for extended periods of time. This is especially true for people who are given a per-diem to cover “necessities.” We don’t always use cash for our purchases because we may not have our local back around. We spend too much on food because we don’t really know the local grocery store or where the best restaurant deals can be found. In short, we spend more when we’re unfamiliar with our surroundings and use it as a crutch to spend more.

Travel Savings Tips

Here are a few helpful tips for travelers:

1. Negotiate the rate for your hotel stay. While many hotels won’t lower their rates for your stay there are just as many who will.
2. Take advantage of your hotel’s services. Find hotels which offer “free” services … Like free breakfast bars, free internet access, business centers (with printers), free toiletry items, and concierge services (dry cleaning or laundry service).
3. Look for local coupons. Hotels often have coupons for local eateries which can save you substantially if you eat out.
4. Get a Sunday Paper. Just because you’re out of town it doesn’t mean the Sunday paper won’t have coupons. Most of the time your hotel is willing to give these papers or coupons to you. All you have to do is ask.
5. Have a budget. Be intentional with your money. Just because you’re out of town is no excuse not to have a budget. An extended hotel stay is the same as planning for a mortgage payment. Having a food budget while away is not different than having a food budget while home.
6. Keep “traveling” funds separate from “home” funds. If you’re a frequent enough traveler you may want to consider opening a separate checking account. Recently I did this myself. I opened a PerkStreet Cash Back Debit Account for just this reason. On top of everything I do to save I’m also earning cash back!

Weary Traveler Syndrome

One last word of caution, for many of us traveling means we work longer hours in an effort to finish sooner and get back home. But with these extended hours comes a level of exhaustion. When we’re tired we tend to make rash decisions and become careless with our money. To help keep on track force yourself to keep a spending journal. This is valuable in more ways than one. This journal will help you to continue to be intentional in your spending, but it will also make filing for company re-imbursements or tax benefits easier when the time comes.

What are some frugal traveling tips you’ve come up with? Is there a traveling pitfall you’ve fallen into? Meet us in the comments!

Photo by Sultry