Tipster Time
Preparing to book your flight? Night owls won’t like this, but booking the first flight of the day is often your best bet. There are less chances of it being delayed, because most likely the plane has been at the airport overnight. This means no late departures due to tardy incoming aircraft. Plus, if for some reason your flight is delayed, there should be more options for you to depart the same day. The first flight also gives you more flexibility should you need to change flights mid-trip.
Budget your trip before you leave. This can be difficult as you often don’t know exactly how much everything is going to cost, but you can get a rough figure. We discussed this last month. But figure out how much spending money you are willing to spend for the entire trip. This is for items like food, souvenirs, entry fees, etc., NOT hotel or airfare. Say you want to spend 500 USD for your 5 day holiday. That’s 100 USD a day. Put that hundred bucks where it is easily accessible and put the rest of your money out of sight. When the 100 USD is gone, you are done for the day. Have extra at the end of the night? Congratulations, you can splurge the next day OR bring home a little extra.
On a related note – you can help yourself budget for your next holiday, this holiday. Save the receipts for EVERYTHING you buy; even if it’s just a bottle of water or quick snack. Write down what you bought ON the receipt. Even if it seems clear to you at the time, by the time you get home and start looking at your pile of papers; it won’t seem so simple. If you don’t get a receipt, carry a small notebook to write down what you bought, or write it down on the back of another receipt. When you get home, you can go through all the receipts and identify your buying habits. Knowing how much you spent on one trip, and knowing WHAT you spent the money on, will help you to budget for the next holiday.
Photo Credit: thothe92@Flickr
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