With all of the costs of getting to wherever you are going, wouldn’t it be nice to actually learn how to save money when you’re there? Besides hunting for the best tickets and times to travel, you also need to learn about how to make the most of every dollar/rupee/yen/euro/etc. when you’re actually there.
1. Learn the exchange rate – This seems like common sense, but knowing the exchange rate will allow you to tell when you’re paying too much or at least more than you want to be spending.
2. Make a budget – By just setting yourself a limit on what you can spend each day, you’ll start to subconsciously limit yourself.
3. Make it a game – If you’re traveling with someone, try to make it a game to see who can spend the least amount of money. You’ll be surprised at what you can do.
4. Walk – Instead of paying for transportation and taxis, why not get a little exercise and save money at the same time? Or, you can always walk part of the way and pay for the rest – at a much lesser fee than you would have with the whole route.
5. Eat where the locals eat – Think about it. When you’re at home, you have
certain places that you eat because they’re good and they’re cheap. So do people in other countries.
6. Take some risks – Head into the smaller stores that you find but aren’t all that crowded. You will find beautiful things at lower prices because they’re not catering to the tourists that are going to be there.
7. Talk to locals – When you’re interested in something, talk to the locals about where you might be able to find it. You will learn things that you wouldn’t get out of your guidebook as well as where these activities are cheaper.
8. Don’t drink your money away – Try to limit your alcohol wherever you can or save it for a few special days. It’s easy to spend too much.
9. Choose one thing – And then spend a lot of money on that. If you’re heading to Italy, for example, you might want to save your money up for a day of shopping, but be thrifty the rest of the time.
10. You only live once – When all else fails, just spend a little more than you thought that you would. You aren’t going to be there everyday, so why not make the most of it when you are?
About The Author: Matt Reider is the manager of http://www.CanuckAbroad.com, a site for finding cheap flights, talking with other budget travelers and finding out everything you need to know before going abroad.
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