What can be more pleasant than reading this article and, at the same time, having a purring cat in your lap in the middle of the summer season? Or, more stimulating than a regular stroll through the forest with a friendly and joyful Labrador to accompany you? Pet and house sitting is usually most popular during the summer since pet owners (and sitters) start making their summer travel plans. Traveling to exotic locations is not expensive, and you don’t have to be a millionaire to travel the world – not if you are a wise traveler. Plus, you can have an essay writing service to do your homework as you plan your trip. Here are some tested and trusted ways of how to go on a holiday on the cheap.
- Devise a Strategy
Freewheeling travel is good if one has the time and the money to be wasted on such a luxury. But if you are a budget traveler, the first step is always to make a plan. You do not need to have a schedule that is too specific, such that for each day, you have to know what you will be doing, but at least you should have a rough idea of how long you will be in each destination.
- Travel Out of Season
Do not plan your holidays during school term – this is the time when travel and hotel companies jack up their prices to take advantage of parents who can only travel during school holidays. Find out the appropriate time to visit the place that you have planned to visit and then go there one or two months earlier or later than the best time.
- Open a Special Travel Savings Account
To that end, it is not only possible but advantageous to design for the contingency of future events that have not yet even occurred. Some of the most frequent travelers, whom we often envy because of their thick passports, travel on their savings.
You can start very simply by using the old ‘cookie jar’ strategy. However, some people may find it effective to have a different account to save money for their traveling purposes. It can be much harder to spend the money you’re saving for travel when it’s not commingled with your other funds. However, you will also earn interest on the money you save, especially if you open a high-yield savings account.
High-yield savings accounts pay much higher interest rates than normal savings accounts; they can pay several (and sometimes many) times more. Many of the banks that offer them are Internet-based, which means that they are far more numerous than if you were to restrict your choices to the banks with physical branches in your home town. The best one is the one with high rates, no monthly fees, and no minimum balance to maintain to maximize your savings.
- Use Credit Cards Judiciously
Of course, we are not suggesting that you go on a holiday which you will have to borrow to finance. However, it is not wise to carry a lot of money with you, and having a credit card with you is useful when you are on the move, especially in an emergency.
The worst way to approach the use of credit cards, whether at home or abroad, is to charge more than one can pay on the next billing statement. Interest charges are high if you allow a balance to rise to a considerable level. Some travelers may opt to use a specialty travel credit card because of its benefits.
They include higher interest rates than normal cards and lots of limitations, but the best travel credit cards give cash back for purchases, dining, airline miles, and other benefits. However, if properly applied, they form part of a good travel savings plan. Save funds to buy essay papers online as you travel.
- Save on Activities
As people like to say, the best things in life are free, and this is most certainly the case when it comes to traveling. If you are fortunate enough to sit close to a national park or a nature preserve, you can spend some rather interesting hours there (which are often free of charge) and do so in the company of your pet.
If you take five minutes before your arrival and type ‘free things to do in’ and/or ‘pet-friendly things to do in’ in Google, your itinerary will fill up quickly. Outdoor concerts and art fairs are less risky than indoor ones at the moment, but many events will have mask-wearing.
- Use the Hop-Skip-and-a-Jump Strategy
If you are not very selective about the place, you might want to consider how many start points for incredible day trips a place has. Take a map, and you will find that an urban destination may well mean a chance to see the countryside 50 miles away.
Exchange executive hotel rooms for beds in hostels. Shrinking a room splits the costs in half, and having a bunk room gives you a chance to find someone who would be interested in exploring with you. There are also other fantastic sites, such as Airbnb and Couchsurfing, where you can book a spare bedroom in somebody’s house or a flat. It will cut the cost to half and give you a true feel of life in the city. Your host is your guide for the best restaurants and most interesting tourist attractions in that particular area. It’s possible to sleep with relatives or friends. Call someone you haven’t seen in years or go on a holiday to a place where one of your distant relatives or an old school friend now resides – this can lead you to places you may not have considered going.