Moola and how to keep it in your pocket - Travel
So, I don't know if anyone is interested in this, but there are certain things I'm pretty good at spending VERY little money on (and we won't talk about the things I'm not, LOL) so I thought I'd share a few tips and maybe you can give me yours? I am descended from Scotsmen, after all, the notorious cheapskates of the world. Plus a lot of you are students with NO money. I'll start with travel and if you are interested will post later about textbooks and clothes and so on.
Travel
I'm a travel FREAK. Love love love to travel. But ... apparently you need money for that. Really, I think the government should fund my travel excursions. But since they haven't stepped up to the plate, here are my favorite cheapie ways to get where I want to go.
Kayak.com - Forget Expedia and Orbitz and all that. Kayak.com searches a bunch of airline sites and consistently finds the best deals, in my humble opinion.
Travelzoo.com - Two years ago I found a round trip ticket from Los Angeles to Frankfurt, Germany for $250. With airport taxes, the total turned out to be about $400. Still, that's pretty damn good for a roundtrip ticket to Germany!!! It was in February, the low season for traveling to Europe due to the cold. We had a great time, though. The crowds were pretty nonexistent and the weather, while cold, wasn't a problem. Anyhow, to use travelzoo you just sign up for their weekly emails. If you see something that you want to do, jump right on it, because deals are usually limited.
Hotwire.com - I've had good luck at this site with finding cheap hotel rooms. It's kind of hit and miss, but worth a look.
HospitalityClub.org - This site is mostly big in Europe and amongst college age folks. But it's fricking AWESOME. Basically, you sign up and search for offers in the place you want to go--anywhere in the world. People offer their couch, extra bed, dinner, whatever, for FREE to travelers. The idea is that it fosters great relationships between countries. And it does. We stayed in a German frat house in Heidelburg. LOL - quite the fun! Especially since I had my daughter and mother-in-law along. Anyhow, if you're open-minded and friendly, this is so much fun. You get to meet the locals, something that's sometimes hard to do when you stay in the touristy places only. The guy we stayed with in Heidelburg showed us around and everything.
Southwest Airlines - I don't always have time to sleuth out the best travel deals, but I know that Southwest is always going to be near to the bottom of the price ladder for airline tickets. Plus, their frequent flyer program is great - very easy to use. You'll get the best deal if you are flexible with your travel dates and search for airfares that way.
Thorn Tree Forum - This is on the Lonely Planet website. In my experience, it's the best place to find information on cheap travel. People are really friendly and helpful, and can give you lots of ideas. I found out about taking the state ferry system up the Alaskan Coast rather than a cruise ship here, and we had the BEST time on that trip. Very laid back and we were able to go down waterways that cruise ships couldn't because of their immense size.
Craigslist - This forum is also a great place to find out info when you're planning a trip. Best places, cheapest ways to go, etc., etc. Of course since it's craigslist you have to deal with the not-so-occasional idiotic postings, but it's well worth your time to scan around here when you're thinking of going somewhere. Especially cheap-like.
Frequent Flyer Miles - I can't claim to know everything about these, but my daughter and I got two round trip tickets from Los Angeles to Istanbul for about $500 (cost of the airport taxes) last year. How? I signed up for a British Airways Visa card, which gave me 25,000 free miles, and then charged EVERYTHING rather than paying it from my checking account - gas, food, etc. Then we would pay the charges off the next month. Eventually we earned enough miles to get a couple of free tickets. Yeah, it was somewhat of a hassle. And I'm not sure I'd do it again. But traveling to Turkey was AWESOME.
This is all I can think of for now. Anyone have any ideas to add? I'm always up for the CHEAP!
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ETA - Additions from y'all!
counteragent says - Also, when you DO get to where you're going, get a hotel that offers free breakfast and/or buy food from a store to replace one meal a day. Much cheaper than eating out the whole time.
Wow! inanna_ishtar has some GREAT tips in the comments for cheap hostel and farm staying, as well as New Zealand cheapnesses!
Travel
I'm a travel FREAK. Love love love to travel. But ... apparently you need money for that. Really, I think the government should fund my travel excursions. But since they haven't stepped up to the plate, here are my favorite cheapie ways to get where I want to go.
Kayak.com - Forget Expedia and Orbitz and all that. Kayak.com searches a bunch of airline sites and consistently finds the best deals, in my humble opinion.
Travelzoo.com - Two years ago I found a round trip ticket from Los Angeles to Frankfurt, Germany for $250. With airport taxes, the total turned out to be about $400. Still, that's pretty damn good for a roundtrip ticket to Germany!!! It was in February, the low season for traveling to Europe due to the cold. We had a great time, though. The crowds were pretty nonexistent and the weather, while cold, wasn't a problem. Anyhow, to use travelzoo you just sign up for their weekly emails. If you see something that you want to do, jump right on it, because deals are usually limited.
Hotwire.com - I've had good luck at this site with finding cheap hotel rooms. It's kind of hit and miss, but worth a look.
HospitalityClub.org - This site is mostly big in Europe and amongst college age folks. But it's fricking AWESOME. Basically, you sign up and search for offers in the place you want to go--anywhere in the world. People offer their couch, extra bed, dinner, whatever, for FREE to travelers. The idea is that it fosters great relationships between countries. And it does. We stayed in a German frat house in Heidelburg. LOL - quite the fun! Especially since I had my daughter and mother-in-law along. Anyhow, if you're open-minded and friendly, this is so much fun. You get to meet the locals, something that's sometimes hard to do when you stay in the touristy places only. The guy we stayed with in Heidelburg showed us around and everything.
Southwest Airlines - I don't always have time to sleuth out the best travel deals, but I know that Southwest is always going to be near to the bottom of the price ladder for airline tickets. Plus, their frequent flyer program is great - very easy to use. You'll get the best deal if you are flexible with your travel dates and search for airfares that way.
Thorn Tree Forum - This is on the Lonely Planet website. In my experience, it's the best place to find information on cheap travel. People are really friendly and helpful, and can give you lots of ideas. I found out about taking the state ferry system up the Alaskan Coast rather than a cruise ship here, and we had the BEST time on that trip. Very laid back and we were able to go down waterways that cruise ships couldn't because of their immense size.
Craigslist - This forum is also a great place to find out info when you're planning a trip. Best places, cheapest ways to go, etc., etc. Of course since it's craigslist you have to deal with the not-so-occasional idiotic postings, but it's well worth your time to scan around here when you're thinking of going somewhere. Especially cheap-like.
Frequent Flyer Miles - I can't claim to know everything about these, but my daughter and I got two round trip tickets from Los Angeles to Istanbul for about $500 (cost of the airport taxes) last year. How? I signed up for a British Airways Visa card, which gave me 25,000 free miles, and then charged EVERYTHING rather than paying it from my checking account - gas, food, etc. Then we would pay the charges off the next month. Eventually we earned enough miles to get a couple of free tickets. Yeah, it was somewhat of a hassle. And I'm not sure I'd do it again. But traveling to Turkey was AWESOME.
This is all I can think of for now. Anyone have any ideas to add? I'm always up for the CHEAP!
-----------
ETA - Additions from y'all!
counteragent says - Also, when you DO get to where you're going, get a hotel that offers free breakfast and/or buy food from a store to replace one meal a day. Much cheaper than eating out the whole time.
Wow! inanna_ishtar has some GREAT tips in the comments for cheap hostel and farm staying, as well as New Zealand cheapnesses!