Plight Plan: Why Traveling Can Cost Your Budget Big Time

If you’re someone who travels for their job and your company graciously picks up the tab for this expense, you might not be quite as apt to find the very best deal.

Granted, you also aren’t going to book a deluxe sweet for a business trip either on the company’s dime, but chances are you don’t worry as much about money as you would if it was your dollar, your budget and your loss regarding saving.

Saving money or the inability to do so has quite a few pitfalls associated with it, whether you’re someone who doesn’t follow a budget or savings plan, or you can’t help but shop rather than take out a customary three to four percent of your paycheck and put it into a savings account.

But travel also is often overlooked as a necessary part of your expenses but one that doesn’t have to be entered into lightly or, worse yet, completely throwing caution to the wind as far as spending goes.

Those who spend money wisely on travel know how to bend the rules a bit to get the best pricing possible, without having to necessarily skimp on what they want. Sure, they’ll be the first group to tell you that they might not be traveling during peak season, but that doesn’t matter a whole lot given the destination choice.

For example, if you’re loving the idea of going to the beach, why not choose September over July. Not only do you miss the peak season of travel and the huge crowds, but airfare and rentals of all shapes and sizes (cars, jet skis, etc.) are at an all-time low. This is going to allow you the option of going to Hawaii, the Bahamas or Caribbean (or something within the states like Florida or California), minus the expense that you’d see on your bill in the more popular times to visit.

Also, traveling and saving money also starts with rewards, and if you’re someone who only travels sporadically, then you’re still missing out on the idea that airlines and hotels are always giving out freebies as a result of you using their particular company for your travel needs. A free flight or car rental might not sound like a lot, but if you get just one of each (flight, car, and hotel) in a year, you’ll be putting nearly $1,000 in your pocket.

Traveling shouldn’t be a fretful experience as far as money goes. The idea behind that thought is to maximize your dollar for your trip so the rest of it can wind up in your pocket when it’s all said and done.