My husband and I really love to travel – me more than him, but it’s growing on him – and because I like to do it so often, I’ve had to find travel tips that make it more affordable during the times that we do go. It’s also very important that we honor God with our money.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
We don’t want to go into debt because of a vacation nor do we want to put that as priority above our responsibilities at home.
We have a house payment, two young boys at home, property investments, etc. and my husband works full-time while I work part-time from home.
But we have simply incorporated these practical travel tips to help us save money.
I hope they help you as well!
If you would prefer to listen rather than read, I shared all of these travel tips on our podcast in even more detail!
1. Save Money on Your Stay
- AirBnB Referral Code
One of the best decisions that I’ve ever made in regards to traveling is to share my Airbnb referral code with literally everyone I come in contact with.
This code is a win-win for both parties: It’s a $40 off coupon for the person you refer and $20 toward an AirBnB for you. Twenty dollars here and there can add up really quickly and, ultimately, pay for your entire stay!
If you want to get $40 off of YOUR next AirBnB, use this code as my gift to you!
Send your own code to your personal email list, to your co-workers and post it on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can even have your spouse send it to their coworkers! Who doesn’t want $40 off of a stay?! The only caveat is that it has to be the first time the person using your code has signed up to AirBnB with that email address.
How to get your own referral code: Go to the Airbnb website, log in to your account, click your profile in the top right and go to ‘Invite Friends’. On that page, you will see a box that includes your own Invite Link.
- List Your Own Home with AirBnB
AirBnB offers you the option to list your own home or room while you’re away!
If this is something that might work for you in your season of life, it can replace the cost of your stay entirely. You have the option to charge the same amount of money (or more) for your own home as you are paying per night on vacation.
If you do this, your trip can be completely covered!
2. Save on Your Flights
- Kids Fly Free
This is huge for families! Frontier Airlines announced that kids 14 and under will fly completely FREE!
This is an admirable act from the airline and will be such a blessing to families. There are some rules set in place, but where there’s a will, there’s a way!
- Buy Flights with Points or Miles
This is one of the best travel tips I can give to you!
Jesse and I have been married for seven years and we travel very often.
Guess what? We have yet to pay for even ONE flight in our entire time of marriage.
Credit cards offer so many point systems and enrollment bonuses that (as long as you have self-control to stay out of debt) they are the greatest benefit when it comes to traveling.
We use the Southwest Airlines Credit Card and we absolutely LOVE it. This card offers 30,000 points at sign up if you spend only $1,000 in the first 3 months! For most people, this is really easy to do!
Use your card for bills, groceries and eating out and you’re likely to reach that goal without a problem. You’ll receive free flights for money that you had planned to spend anyways!
The Southwest Airlines card charges a $100 annual fee, but that is all that you will pay! Their points don’t expire and they don’t have any blackout dates.
Scott’s Cheap Flights researches the best flights at the most affordable price and emails you with that information. My mom used them to fly to Italy and saved 50% on her flights! This is a great resource for international flights. It’s a $40 annual fee ($3.33 per month) and the amount of money that it will save you is worth every penny.
3. Travel During the Off Season
Traveling during the off-season will help you save money on every aspect of your vacation. Flights will be much more affordable, rental cars are cheaper, activities are cheaper when they aren’t in high demand and lines for events or rides are shorter.
We recently went to Disney World in April and had perfect weather and only 10-15 minute lines for all of the rides. I know that traveling during the off-season isn’t as easy when you have kids in school, but planning in advance and discussing with the teachers can be very beneficial!
