Today, I decided that my post should focused on traveling. With the warmer weather and summer months approaching, the planning process needs to start. Here are two of the sites that are my go-to when it is time for me to go:
Flying:
Insanely Cheap Flights I once used to fall victim to looking at sites like Kayak.com, Orbitz.com, or other search engines to find the lowest airfare. I am not knocking these sites as they do show a variety of other websites for flights and compare their prices for me, which is wonderful and time saving. However, their prices pale in comparison to the flights that I have seen on Insanelycheapflights.com.
My girlfriends and I have an annual out of state/country trip to celebrate each other's birthdays. There are 6 of us girls and our birthdays are all scattered throughout the year. With destinations such as Florida and Puerto Rico, it is important that we find good prices on our flights. Insanelycheapflights.com gives us just that. The lowest flight that we found last year for Orlando on Kayak.com was $342 with one stop. We ended up going for $237! And this is not a one-time happening. I am always finding super low deals on all airlines.
Also, consider the airline that you use in regards to their carry-on regulations. You may be able to get away with fudging the rules by bringing on a carry-on that is large and stowing it as an oversized carry-on. They take the bag at the end of the on-ramp before you board the plane and it is available plane side when you land. They do this at each stop so if you have a connecting flight, no need to worry if your luggage will meet you at your final destination as you will have it with you to take to the next plane. Down side: you must abide by carry-on rules such as the amount of liquids that you can bring with you. Up side: you save up to $50 per bag by not checking your luggage.
Also, consider the airline that you use in regards to their carry-on regulations. You may be able to get away with fudging the rules by bringing on a carry-on that is large and stowing it as an oversized carry-on. They take the bag at the end of the on-ramp before you board the plane and it is available plane side when you land. They do this at each stop so if you have a connecting flight, no need to worry if your luggage will meet you at your final destination as you will have it with you to take to the next plane. Down side: you must abide by carry-on rules such as the amount of liquids that you can bring with you. Up side: you save up to $50 per bag by not checking your luggage.
Driving:
Its not extremely cheap to use any form of transportation as they are all increasing in price to compensate for rising fuel prices. However you can save a bit by using coupons through your car insurance company. I am an Allstate member and I receive coupons every six months when I renew my membership. They are from almost every car rental service such as Alamo and Enterprise, offering such discounts as getting a day free with a two day rental, a free upgrade, or a weekend day for the price of a weekday.
Busing:
My friends probably think that I am a spokeswoman for Megabus or have stock in the company as much as I talk about it. As a fairly new company (being around the East coast since 2008 although it began in California in 2006), Megabus is steadily growing in popularity.
This past October was packed with weddings; 4 to be exact. And I am a firm believer of attending as many weddings and baby births as possible. So I was able to make three out of the four. Let me back pedal a bit. During this time, I was also working three jobs trying to make ends meet while my husband was still unemployed? Oh, and did I mention that while I live in Northern Virginia, just 25 minutes away from DC and the weddings were in Tennessee, Roanoke, Va, and Indiana? I flew to Indiana, drove to Roanoke and took Megabus to Tennessee!
I know these aren't a huge amount of tips but this is what I usually go through to help keep more money in my pocket.
This past October was packed with weddings; 4 to be exact. And I am a firm believer of attending as many weddings and baby births as possible. So I was able to make three out of the four. Let me back pedal a bit. During this time, I was also working three jobs trying to make ends meet while my husband was still unemployed? Oh, and did I mention that while I live in Northern Virginia, just 25 minutes away from DC and the weddings were in Tennessee, Roanoke, Va, and Indiana? I flew to Indiana, drove to Roanoke and took Megabus to Tennessee!
I know these aren't a huge amount of tips but this is what I usually go through to help keep more money in my pocket.
