Does it feel like you’re always waiting on your bank account to catch up to your travel dreams? When you set an achievable budget, make savvy travel choices, and add dash of prior planning, your trip of a lifetime is closer than you think!
Be deal-savvy
If you plan to eat or drink out, scout out local happy hours and meal deals. You’ll find that many venues advertise special deals online, so if you have internet access, plan your meals in advance to save the hassle of scouring the streets for a bargain!
Cook
While exploring exotic corners of our vast country, local cuisines and gastronomic rites of passage will tempt you at every stop. Having said that, cooking yourself is a much cheaper – and often healthier – option. Seeking inspiration? Have a look at our tips for cooking on the road article!
Get off the beaten track
No doubt you have some bucket list items that you just aren’t willing to budge on, but we’re lucky here in Australia, in that many wondrous sights are just off the tourist honey pots. Our tip: get to know locals and trust their advice when it comes to places that are worth your time (and money).
Forget material things
You’re on the trip of a lifetime, and naturally, you want to savour and remember every moment. But accumulating bundles of knick-knacks and trinkets is a sure-fire way to blow your budget, and end up swamped with things you have neither space nor need for. At the end of your trip, you want to remember how you felt and not what you bought!
Strategise your timing
How important is it that you visit Bondi in the height of summer? Consider scheduling your stops so that you’re always just shy of peak season. Doing so will make for better prices and fewer crowds! It’s a good idea to investigate major events that might interfere with your travel plans, too.
Be opportunistic and adaptable
Being budget-savvy means that you have to expect the unexpected. As long as you embrace last-minute changes of plans and roll with the uncertainty, you can save oodles, and you might well happen upon opportunities you never could have designed yourself!
Plan ahead
When you do your research and have a sense of the lie of the land, you know what to expect money-wise from any given destination. Formulate a reasonable daily or weekly budget, and try to anticipate the miscellaneous expenses you might encounter. Before latching onto a deal, shop around and assess how much value it really represents!
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