Traveling is not cheap. A simple flight can easily eat away your entire travel budget and restrict activities you would otherwise be able to enjoy. I am a huge bargain shopper, and I am GOOD at it. It is like my personal heroine, I get a high when I get a good deal. Lets face it, I am a teacher (and my husband is a school bus driver)and able to take 3+ week long vacations a year (last year I took 5!), I am doing something right. Here are a few travel tricks to use so that you get get the BEST deals.

1. When booking ANY travel detail use Rakuten. Formerly Ebates, this website will give you cash back on thousands of websites. All you have to do is log in and click the site that you want to shop at, it will direct you there and then automatically detect any purchase and give you cash back. I have over $65 I have saved in under a year. Free money! Bonus tip: use the Rakuten Button! It will automatically detect you’re on a site with cash back and keep you from forgetting to use Rakuten. It has never caused me any issues, but it has saved me LOTS of money!
2. Check Groupon! I scored a beautiful suite in Brian Head, Utah for $100 a night. The same dates were showing $400 on Expedia and like sites. It is also amazing for activities. I have used Groupon for years and I have never ran into an issue, so I HIGHLY recommend it. Visit the travel area and check out places to stay, they even have guided international trips. If you have already planned a trip make sure you look there to see if there are any activities that you would like to do. I easily save 25-50% on each one.
3. Subscribe to Scott’s Cheap Flights if you are even considering an international trip. They notify you of any low rates or glitches. They send out a couple of emails a week and the deals are always awesome. I received one today with Switzerland tickets as low as $350. They are normally over $1,000 from my airport (Cincinnati). WHOA! If you are serious about going, I highly recommend subscribing for their premium deals, which is $39 a year, but well worth it if you travel just once.
4. Learn how to use Google Flights. While Scott’s Cheap Flights is great for international deals, you still have to know how to efficiently search for deals that are domestic. Last year it worked out that if I extended my trip 2 days, I saved $200 on airfare. This meant that I got an extra two days of vacation for no extra money, as my room was under $100 a night. Woo hoo! Here is a whole tutorial I made on how to operate the site. Do your homework, it can really pay off!
5. Download the Hopper app on your phone. The Hopper will tell you WHEN to buy your flight. Use Google Flights to find the best airport and travel dates, then, plug that into Hopper and “watch” the flight to grab the best deal. Everyone who books flights should use Hopper. There is a tutorial on Hopper here.
6. Don’t forget to check all websites for places. If I stay longer than a night or two, I prefer a room with a kitchen. Lets face it, eating out costs a fortune, I can usually save more money by getting a nicer place and eating home cooked food. VRBO, Homeaway, and airbnb are great for booking a condo or home. Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity are great for hotels. If you’re looking for a resort, check with friends to see if anyone can score you a deal through RCI (timeshare owners). It doesn’t cost them anything and if you are traveling within 6 weeks you can often find places under $400 for the week.
7. Travel agents are not that bad. I have used them to travel a few times (international and cruises) and I have been pleasantly surprised at the deals they offer. I was able to get a balcony unit during a cruise at the same rate that the interior rooms were online.
8. Lastly, stay local if you need to. I am a huge fan of the Kentucky State Parks. They often offer weekend deals where you pay around $150-300 and get a 2 night stay, dinner, breakfast, and a show. As a state employee I am eligible to stay for $49/night. It is quite fun, and the parks are awesome. I am sure your state offers similar deals, but you have to search. “Like” them on Facebook and see what they are posting about. Call and check if you are state employee about deals, or if you are a AAA member or even a senior!

Traveling on a budget boils down to 1 thing. Time. You have to dig for deals, continuously watch for them, and yes, this means hours scouring the internet. If you don’t put the work into it you will end up spending the same amount of money on a 3 day trip in a hotel to Pigeon Forge, TN as you would a week in a New York condo. The choice is yours.