Travel is usually perceived as a luxury, mainly because of the expense it entails. On my last trip abroad, I am proud to report that I have 100% resisted the temptation of over spending - woot woot! Let me indulge for a second here when I say: I'm feeling like a budget ninja!
Can you imagine the nightmare of being greeted by fat bills after coming home from a trip? Sure, you probably thought you spent that money wisely whilst fine dining in a place where no one knew your name. But now that the vacay's over, it's not turning out to be the smoothest financial decision. No amount of Instagram likes will bring that money back.
Let me share with you some things I did to avoid racking up my travel expenses:
Travel off-season
Let me share with you some things I did to avoid racking up my travel expenses:
Travel off-season
In case you didn't get the memo, that's how you score cheap airfare. Plus, off-season means less people in touristy areas, marked down hotel rates, shorter lines in theme parks and sometimes, deeper discounts when shopping.
My first day in Shanghai was a Sunday. Nanjing road was an absolute mess and I didn't get to buy anything. The next day, I went out to visit the same stores, and found a few items on better deals.
Avoid credit
Don't use your credit card -- unless there's an emergency. Okay, a 70% off markdown doesn't count as an emergency. It's pretty easy to overspend with plastic money because you don't see cash exit your wallet until you receive your bill - which, let me add, might be higher than you expected because of your bank's conversion rate.
For this trip, I feel like I deserve an award for successfully keeping my credit card swipe-free. Well, okay, I did sort of use it - but only to purchase additional check-in baggage.
There's a tendency to use up all your remaining foreign currency at the airport -- panic-buying overpriced food and useless stuff instead of converting the money back to your home currency. That's how you end up getting short on cash after your trip.
Eat where the locals eat
I learned this lesson early on during a trip to Hong Kong with my parents. We were so hungry we didn't want to join the dinner crowd, so went out and ate at this empty Thai restaurant near our hotel. To cut to the chase, we couldn't eat the food and our bill was way too much than what we anticipated. We ended up paying twice for dinner (we later ate at a cheap noodle joint - and left satisfied).
Go and explore local food; even street food. Those will always turn out to be cheaper and is a fun experience in itself. Even the fastfood place you know very well back home might have something unusual on the foreign menu - picture Basmati rice and 3 levels of spicy chicken in KFC Malaysia.
Skip the souvenirs
It's so easy to be amazed by local crafts and novelty souvenir items but you gotta be practical when buying stuff. Souvenirs are made for tourists and are, of course, offered at touristy prices - if you know what i mean.
Why not opt for other more meaningful souvenirs like boarding passes (free), ticket stubs, photos and Instax prints. Luckily, I didn't succumb into joining the ref magnet club.
Skip duty free
Don't use your credit card -- unless there's an emergency. Okay, a 70% off markdown doesn't count as an emergency. It's pretty easy to overspend with plastic money because you don't see cash exit your wallet until you receive your bill - which, let me add, might be higher than you expected because of your bank's conversion rate.
For this trip, I feel like I deserve an award for successfully keeping my credit card swipe-free. Well, okay, I did sort of use it - but only to purchase additional check-in baggage.
There's a tendency to use up all your remaining foreign currency at the airport -- panic-buying overpriced food and useless stuff instead of converting the money back to your home currency. That's how you end up getting short on cash after your trip.
Eat where the locals eat
I learned this lesson early on during a trip to Hong Kong with my parents. We were so hungry we didn't want to join the dinner crowd, so went out and ate at this empty Thai restaurant near our hotel. To cut to the chase, we couldn't eat the food and our bill was way too much than what we anticipated. We ended up paying twice for dinner (we later ate at a cheap noodle joint - and left satisfied).
Go and explore local food; even street food. Those will always turn out to be cheaper and is a fun experience in itself. Even the fastfood place you know very well back home might have something unusual on the foreign menu - picture Basmati rice and 3 levels of spicy chicken in KFC Malaysia.
Skip the souvenirs
It's so easy to be amazed by local crafts and novelty souvenir items but you gotta be practical when buying stuff. Souvenirs are made for tourists and are, of course, offered at touristy prices - if you know what i mean.
Why not opt for other more meaningful souvenirs like boarding passes (free), ticket stubs, photos and Instax prints. Luckily, I didn't succumb into joining the ref magnet club.
Skip duty free
Based on experience, I've spent way less buying clearance items than buying stuff from duty free. It's a fact that duty free goods are mostly expensive items to begin with. Besides, some of those items might probably be available in your home country anyway.
Split and share
This is a common practice for group travelers. That's how they get the best per-head rates on hotels or save on transportation costs. It's how I go to try more dishes from the IKEA canteen.
If you're traveling alone, it can be more difficult, but not impossible. You just gotta be friendly enough to win short-term companions.
Always remember, if you're travelling on a budget, make sure your money goes to meaningful experiences - not just for the sake of social media brag. Got more budget travel tips to share? Leave a comment below :)
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