Uncensored Money Season Three: Travel Tips to Save You Cash
Melissa Browne: Ex-Accountant, Ex-Financial Advisor, Ex-Working Till I Drop, Now Serial Entrepreneur & Author, Financial Wellness Advocate, Living a Life by Design | 20/07/2022
Show Notes
The world has opened up post-Covid and Aussies are planning to travel, and spend more on travel, than in previous years.
In this episode, Mel and Lawsie share 18 travel tips that will save you so you can enjoy your holidays without a financial hangover.
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Transcript
Mel: Before COVID spoiled the party Aussie's spent approximately $65 billion on overseas trips in the year ending March, 2020. Yeah. 65 billion. I feel like I need a white cat, and stroking it. So that was an increase of over 2 billion from the previous year. And if you are thinking that's just monopoly money, what does that actually mean for me? Well, if we wanna break it down further, that's just over three grand a person. So you might say we kind of love travel. Now that the world has opened up to us again, holidays on the top of the to-do list for many people, whether it's going home to see family that you haven't seen for two or three years, or simply escaping because you can.
Lawsie: Hell. Yeah.
Mel: And we're spending more than ever before. So data from a recent ComBank Household Spending Intentions Index shows that Aussie's are planning to spend not $3,000 like pre COVID, but $5,072 on travel in 2022. My concern, however, is that because we are so desperate to just go and enjoy life and have experiences again, that much of that cost will be popped onto credit, which would make a very expensive holiday.
Mel: Now Lawsie and I are two of the many people headed off to catch a piece of European summer this year. I have quite literally just put my husband on a plane. Uh, he's not so much going on a summer vacation, although I'm meeting him there for a few weeks, he's going to work, but certainly we're all headed over there.
Lawsie: To the sun and the warmth.
Mel: Ah, I can't wait, please don't hate us. So we thought we'd spend this episode sharing ways that you can make sure you still enjoy travel, if that's your thing, without the financial hangover, when you get back. So we have 18 tips that doesn't matter if you're going abroad or you're staying local if you are intending to travel in the next, who knows how long this is going to save you cash. So Lawsie, take it away.
Lawsie: Our first one, you'll be very surprised to know is save for the trip and don't put it on credit. So we are talking delayed gratification here and not just suddenly going, oh, I'm so sick of being in lockdowns and all those kind of things I'm booking that first deal. And I'll worry about it when I get back.
Please make sure you've saved for it. Don't put it on credit. Make sure you've got enough money for spending when you're over there. So again, when you're back, it's not sitting on credit card and then you're stuck paying off something with interest for that time that you had a few months ago that will fast become a distant memory.
Mel: And it's not even something that you have something for. I remember pre COVID there used to be this mentality that if I spend on a handbag or shoes or stuff, that's very materialistic and not okay. But if I spend on experiences, then that's totally okay. And actually that's not just, okay. That is good.
Lawsie: That's what life is.
Mel: That's what life is and you know what? None of those two is good. None of those two is bad. It is simply what do you value? And then being really aware of how you can pay for that. So spending money on adventures is still negative if it's going on credit. Spending on things is negative if you're spending it on credit. It's figuring out what's important to me. How can I pay that and enjoy now and still looking after my future self?
And if you're looking for ways, maybe head back to our episode that we did last week, where we looked at ways to find more income and maybe be creative around, you know, if your friends have said to you, oh, we've got this great deal. We wanna go to Bali in two months and you are going, oh, I didn't have that in my budget, head back to that episode. And figure out, challenge yourself, how can you find that cash? Don't just say yes and put it on credit. I've seen way too many people and myself included who did that trip when you were younger. So for me, I saved for the trip. And I also saved for, you know, I intended to have X amount per day, cause I really didn't have a lot of money, but I also got a credit card just in case cause I was really worried. And then, because I had a credit card and I wasn't used to credit, I put stuff on credit for things I wouldn't normally, and then came back to a credit card bill.
Mel: And they're just things that you then have to then try and figure out how to pay over the next six or 12 months. And that holiday, you know, starts to become a bit bitter because you're paying interest and rather than it being this beautiful memory that you had. So save, don't put it on credit.
Mel: But number two is to figure out what you want to spend before you start and stick to that amount.
Mel: So I'm a big fan of sitting down and going, right. We really wanna do X, Y, Z. Um, and just so you sat down and did it all, and you've got three kids and you're like, that's gonna cost 20 grand, crap. Then I'd say to you, okay, can you reduce that? And if you looked at it and went well, airfares are simply gonna be X amount. We wanna go for this period of time. You've got two choices. One is you can reduce the amount of time you go. You might change where you go. And we'll talk about that today. But two is, you might say, I can't actually afford to do that this year or next year, but I'm going to do it in 2024 and I'm gonna set up an account called travel. I'm going to start transferring that money. I'm gonna figure out how much every fortnight to transfer to it and that's when I'm gonna go. But even when you go, I'm a fan of working out what's your daily spend and then sticking to that amount or, and that might be, so my daily spend might be one or 200 bucks a day. So if I'm going for two weeks, that's either gonna be 1400 or 2,800 and then sticking to it. So some days you might go to the market and eat a French stick and get cheese and a bottle of wine from the supermarket and that day and go to free stuff and that day might cost you 20 bucks. And that means you can go to the fancy meal or the cocktail for the next day, but it's making sure that you're not doing that expensive thing every day and having that cost blow out. So figure out what you wanna stand before you start and stick to that amount. And if you're worried you're gonna go over, maybe set up a debit card or put it in a separate account so that you are limited, so that you've got that amount, you can watch it go down and you tell yourself it's that and no more.
Lawsie: Yeah. The other thing I would say with that as well is I think particularly, um, cause I know some people who've got flights and things that they've already booked, but they're not traveling for a long period of time. Like any of those things that you're booking in advance, that actually does form part of your holiday cost. I think too often people go, oh, it's a sunk cost. I've already paid for it. And they're only thinking of the cost of their holiday for their daily spend and their experiences. And so what I would just add to that if you're not in a position to really plan out the cost for your holiday before you start booking things, just make sure you factor that all in. So suddenly not you're going, oh, I've only spent a thousand bucks on this holiday when really you've had two grand in airfares and two grand in accommodation already. And just making sure that, that portion of your income for the year or however you manage your finances that you're spending on holidays is something again that you're happy with. And not something that you'll look at and go, oh, yikes. Like I didn't account for that. And as a result, some of my other things that I wanna achieve financially, I haven't been able to do.
Mel: That's such a great point. And I would layer into that, a lot of people are using vouchers at the moment from holidays or airfares that they cancelled. And what I'm seeing is they're again, exactly as you said, they're forgetting that that's a cost or they're going, oh my gosh, look at all that money. It's a free holiday, which it's not, or I'll just upgrade. I'll treat myself to business class instead of thinking, gee, maybe I could use half of it now and then half of it when I go again next year. So just don't think of that voucher is free money. You paid for.
Lawsie: You did pay for it. And you've waited a long time to use it. So make it worthwhile.
Mel: Such a smart point. Yeah. Yeah
Lawsie: Um, the next one is if you've got kids use this as an opportunity to educate them about their finances as well. Let them know what's is on and off the cards and don't just be the person go yeah, yeah, yeah, to everything that they want. Um, and so that way they're not gonna be disappointed. They're not gonna be nagging around things if they understand what you can and can't do in the holiday. And it also just teaches them that they can't have everything, which is a bonus.
Mel: And I've had families where they've said, oh, if I go to Queensland, we have to go to a theme park. And I used to say to them really? Like, who's in charge? Why do you have to go to the theme park? I remember as kids, we would go to Queensland and we understood, we couldn't afford to go to the theme park. So we didn't ask
Lawsie: We went to the beach.
Mel: Yeah,
Lawsie: like, that's what we did.
Mel: So I think it's, who's in charge? Um, and, and asking that question, but we also knew as kids, if we went somewhere, we weren't gonna go to a cafe. We weren't go to a restaurant. Like we would go to the supermarket and find stuff. So if you're a family and you're finding that cost is expensive, cause it's the food cost as well as the holiday cost, we are gonna give you tips here for how to get that down as well, but definitely include the kids in the conversation. If the kids really wanna do something, and if you are going on holidays in say six months, encourage them to a get a job if they're old enough so they can pay or maybe get them to do jobs around the house or something and have them figure out a way to pay for it. And that's gonna teach them that things aren't free.
Mel: Number four is you don't need a credit card to travel. A lot of people I know a lot of people think you need a credit card to travel and then that trips them up when they're over there. So if you don't have credit, you can use debit. So you've gotta let your bank know you're going, uh, because otherwise they may not allow you. You need to do that for credit anyway. So you gotta let your bank know you can go, or what you can also do is you can use a preloaded visa to travel with. So it's exactly like having a credit card except you load it up and that's that beautiful way. You load it up with how much you wanna spend. And then when it's gone...
Lawsie: It's gone.
Mel: That's it. So it's kind of similar to a prepaid phone. The other thing you can use is a travel money card, and what's neat about a travel money card is you can load it up with foreign currency or cash as you go and you can use it for multiple currencies. So that can be another beautiful way. And sometimes those cards are cheaper than using visa or a debit card because you don't have the currency exchanges aren't such a big thing. So you do not need to use credit to travel.
Lawsie: Yes exactly right.
Lawsie: The next one is to not get charged, uh, or stung with mobile phone charges when you're over there. So I think most of us are aware now that if we turn our phones on overseas, we get the lovely roaming charges. And while some of them might seem a good deal of, oh, I've got unlimited calls and texts in particular areas. I think most of us are using the data and the data is where we get caught. So I think ways to get around that is to look at eSIMS and again, Mel and I aren't techie people, but it is certainly the way that I'm going, um, for going overseas, cause I'm not really going to be calling anyone. If I had to, I know that, you know, I can cover that.
But for me it's just about having the data and being able find my way around cause I'm directionally challenged and you know, being able to find out what places and things are great there, cause there's just something about having the internet. Obviously it's a very useful tool. Um, and even the other option is if you are thinking you to make calls or if you just like the safety, I guess, of that, you can make calls and send texts and all that stuff, as well as having data, just consider getting a prepaid SIM when you get to the airport or when you're in town, in whatever country you're in. And then that way on their local network so the same dealers you'd be doing here. But it's just without having to use your own home number, um, which is gonna attract those higher fees. And particularly if you are not watching it and data is gonna be the killer, um, you don't wanna be coming home to that huge bill and going really. I didn't need to spend all my time in that cafe flicking on Instagram, knowing that it's now cost me this much. So just be really careful of that.
Mel: And there's a massive delay in you being told. And you know, this is a huge mistake. And I know you said at the beginning, oh, you know, I know everyone knows this. I did this two years ago. So just before COVID I was in Hong KongI did the $10 a day Optus thing where it was unlimited calls and texts and a teeny bit of data. Hadn't used much data over there. And we were sitting in a jazz club and there was the most incredible ska band. And I'm like, oh my God, these guys are awesome. I've Googled them, found their album and thought I'll just download it while I'm here I'll forget. $900 later. Uhhuh.
Lawsie: Really?
Mel: I think I downloaded four of their albums cause I just went bang, bang, bang, that's what I do here. You don't even think about it. I'm sure it was 900 bucks. It was something horrific. And of course the boys are going, what are you doing? And I'm like, they're going, that's data. I'm like, oh shit. We just don't think data. Cause we're just on these freaking phones all the time.
Lawsie: Because you do it all the time.
Mel: Yeah. But that's why now I'm eSIM. Uh, prepaid and that way I can just keep charging it over and over again. And worst case, I might pay 300 bucks for the month I'm over there. Super happy, cause I've gotta work over there. So, and it means I can keep my Aussie number as well.
Lawsie: Hope you still listen to those albums.
Mel: I love them. I must admit. But every time I listen to them, it hurts a little, I die a little inside. But it goes to show that we both go, oh yeah, everyone knows this. I did this three years ago. Cause I don't travel much. And I just don't think, you just don't think, oh, that's not data cause you do it all the freaking time.
Lawsie: Oh yeah. And whereas normally I would just go and I just buy a SIM card when I'm there. Like without even thinking about it, but it is also different, cause I don't necessarily need to be contactable with my number where, which is very different for you.
Mel: mm-hmm
Lawsie: Go the nice phone bill
Mel: Oh my gosh. I was so cranky and I just kept getting over the next day, I kept getting these, you've now reached this. You've now gone over by this you've... I'm like, damn you, I should Tone the first two. And then I'm like, I'm not showing you.
Lawsie: I'm hiding it now.
Mel: They've already given me enough grief.
Mel: Um, number six is avoid peak holiday times. Now this might be hard if you've got kids, but if, if you've got young kids where they might be in primary school, and really, it doesn't matter if you pull them out midterm. Teachers, please don't send us hate. Although some, a lot of teachers agree with that.
Lawsie: The Department of Education have issue with us.
Mel: Um, but certainly if you DINKs, like us, not going during school holidays or middle of summer just makes such a difference uh, when it comes to prices, when it comes to accommodation at cost, all of it.
Lawsie: People being around.
Mel: yeah. Avoid peak holiday times.
Lawsie: Definitely. And I think in similar vein too, our next tip is stay the next town over or do you have to stay in the center of a particular city? Can you stay on the outskirts, um, or stay in the center for a couple of days and then move to the outskirts? Just be a little bit flexible with where you're staying and why you're staying there because you know, it's obviously much more expensive to stay a couple of nights in Sydney than it is if you're trying to book somewhere in the Western Suburbs. And it's not to say that you can't have that, but just being mindful of it, that particularly trying to control the cost of your holidays, choosing where you stay and why you stay there can make a big difference.
Mel: We see a lot of people over on the Italian coast at the moment or Greece, and they're often, and don't ask me the names of the towns they are, but I know that there might be two towns that are the place everyone's going to, you know, the Eastern Suburbs there, which is, you know, it's a reason for me not to want to be there, but... sorry to anyone from the Eastern suburbs, but you know what I mean? I don't wanna be surrounded by Sydneysiders when I'm on holidays.
Lawsie: We're going overseas to escape.
Mel: To be. Exactly. So for some people they wanna be there to be seen. And I've got a good friend that is exactly that. He wants to go to the town that everyone's going to so that he can say he also went there. But if you go to two towns over or the next town, it is just as beautiful. It is just as Instagramable and it's full of locals. It doesn't have the lines, so, and it's so much cheaper. So it's realizing that if it's Italy, if it's Greece, sure, there'll be the ones that everyone talks about, but do some research and you'll find that one's around it either yet to be discovered, or you can even come back and say, oh yeah, everyone's going there. I discovered this gorgeous little and you then look like the, the, a fated traveller.
Mel: Number eight is to compare flights as well as airlines. So I travel a lot for business, so I am, I have to confess I'm very loyal to Qantas. It just, what is what it is. Um, so I will book Qantas if I'm going overseas. However my husband not so much, so if he was going on a holiday, or if he's traveling by himself, he's gonna look on every airline and he's gonna find the cheapest cause for him status points and and Qantas points aren't relevant. But for me, knowing that I was looking at just the one airline, I looked at, okay, well, let's just compare when. So I really wanted to leave on the Friday or the Saturday, cause then I was gonna be over there a couple of days before you went acclimatised. It was, I think it was about 25% to a third more expensive than if I left on the Monday. And of course I just couldn't palate it. I'm like, I'm gonna be paying a third more in airfares and I'm gonna pay two nights accommodation. You can just cope with me jet lagged.
Lawsie: Yeah
Mel: Hopefully I'll be excited enough that I'll be fine. So yes, compare flights, but also as well as airlines, but compare days as well. Cause as I said, in my experience and I noticed it coming back as well, flying back on the Monday was so much cheaper than Thursday to Sunday.
Lawsie: Yeah, which makes sense when you go, most of us work when you think of our typical work week, um. Something else that I discovered, um, recently as well is yes, we know of the different comparison apps, like Sky Scanner and, Web Jet and all those kind of ones. There was an interesting one that came up, um, Hopper. So H O double P E R, and hopper. Um, and what it is also like a bit of a comparison side, with a particular spin on the flights part that it does. You put in the dates and usually goes up to about a 12 month window. Um, and it'll tell you what it thinks the flight costs are going to be
Mel: Ah, that that's cool.
Lawsie: that, um, with the dates that you are thinking, and it's apparently 95% accurate. I haven't actually tested it myself, but it will also tell you if you're gonna get like, is now the best time to buy that flight or wait a bit, which is actually just a really interesting thing. Like I think so many people have just been jumping on planes and understandably at the moment, but if you are someone that's looking in advance and you're going okay, now I'm gonna have these flight costs.
We know that sometimes I think flight prices bounce around more than the share market. Um, so it was kind of being able to use the technology and stuff that they've got for this app, it was just a really interesting thing to look at. So, like I said, I haven't played with it. I don't know it's just one of those ones that I came across recently, but in terms of trying to save flights, cause flights, obviously if we're going overseas generally is such a big part of our travel budget, that could be a really nice way to save some dollars too.
Mel: I love that. And cause you know, I know I'll be going overseas for the next two years cause Tony's working over there. I wanna see him sometime in the three and a half months that he'll be over there. And I don't know when is the best time to book. So that's, Ooh, I've written that one down. I love that.
Lawsie: Yeah.
Lawsie: Then consider home stays or house swap websites. So I know we spoke about that a little bit in last week's episode, but it's all just about trying to… accommodation is yet another really expensive part of your holiday generally, unless you like living in a tent like I do.
Mel: And I'm gonna look at that.
Lawsie: oh, what? Living in a tent.
Mel: oh, I was gonna swear
Lawsie: I know I was like…
Mel: Sweet baby Jesus. No, the, um, house swap because I wanting to stay in probably Paris or London for six weeks to two months next year. We've got an apartment in the middle of the CBD. That would be the perfect house swap. So I will totally be looking at that for next year, but also there's other things.
Lawsie: Yeah, definitely. I mean, even if you just wanted to Airbnb at your house, you don't necessarily have to swap with someone, but you could list your place for someone to come in and stay in that. The other thing too with that is if you've got a house, then you've got a kitchen and then that can be a way that you can save on food. So I know earlier on in this episode we were just talking about particularly if you've got kids or if you're just trying to find ways to save, having a kitchen is super important. I know for me, or for us both, actually it is like, non-negotiable like, it's, I don't wanna eat out three meals a day, um, period, let alone the cost and stuff associated with that. So just, you might pay a little bit more to get that kitchen, but generally speaking, you're gonna find that you're still gonna save money compared to eating out every meal, depending obviously on the type of holiday.
Mel: And I'm the sort of person that safety is paramount. It has to be safe, but also, I don't wanna stay somewhere manky. So I've gotta be honest, Airbnb scares me. Um, cause anyone could just list their place and unless you've had a bad review, I don't think they really kick you off. So we've used Plum Guide to book both Paris and my London accommodation. I'll be talking about what I think of them later on, cause I've never used them before, but they vet. They're much harder than Airbnb. And according to them, I think they said they only take, you know, one in a hundred because it's gotta tick all these boxes.
And then they show heaps more photos that are all the same quality so it's consistent. And they also then tell you what they like about the property, but also what they don't like. So for example, I looked at one and they said, add this property is north facing so it can get really hot, cause there's no air conditioning. There was another one where it said it's in a really busy street so if you don't like road noise or, um, crowd noise, this may not be right for you. Like I loved that extra feature. Um, so looking at if you like this, but you're a bit like me and you're like, oh, I dunno, I'm nervous. There's more and more services that are available to kind of help us. It will cost that might cost a little bit more, but I don't think so. When I compare Plum Guide to Airbnb, it's more that it's picky rather than it's gonna cost you more.
Mel: 10, uh, is go somewhere less popular. And I know we said that to stay the next time over, but I'm a sucker for Paris, you know, I'm dragging you there this year, uh, as I'm taking…
Lawsie: Dragging it makes it sound like such an ordeal.
Mel: Cause you're not a city person and I'm like, I love Paris, but also consider other less popular destinations. We went to Arras, uh, last time that we travelled about five years ago. My husband and I nerd out on history. So we stayed there cause it was close to battlefields. It was the most beautiful town. I would go back there in heartbeat. We never would've known that. And it was maybe an hour outside of Paris or 40 minutes. So it is figuring out what's less popular because it's going to be cheaper. So it is it's more than that next town over. It's what's less popular, but still will give you amazing bang for your buck? There were so many things to do in Arras. I think we spent four or five days there and still didn't get done everything we wanted to. So consider the less popular destinations, cause they're going to be cheaper, but also they're gonna be less crowded.
Lawsie: I mean generally someone that goes more towards off the beaten track places. But I also couldn't agree more and I think, you know, even when we went to London, whenever that was, or the UK, I should say a few years ago, that now seems almost a lifetime ago, but it was the same thing we like, okay. There's so much we wanna see in London, you know, neither of us had been there before. So we're like, we'll do the five days in London, check out all the boxes and then we were out and then just looking for all of the other, the smaller less known places and stuff and enjoyed life. Loved it because it was that perfect blend for us. We know we're paying a lot for our London accommodation, but we know it's also gonna be balanced out with all these other places that we wanna see. And we're not gonna stay just on the main tourist route.
Mel: Yeah, love it.
Lawsie: The next one was to eat like a local, including using their supermarkets, going to local markets, having picnics, like just, you don't have to eat out all the time. And to actually just experience life, particularly when you're living overseas as a local person would. So I mean, I've bought some random stuff in some random countries when you just go in and you are guessing it's like, I have no idea what this says but hey, let's give it a crack.
Mel: And often times the fruit, the food is fresher because you're getting it straight from the source. I've done that. So I've figured out and both the markets streets to go to when we are in Paris, so that when we are there, we can go there and do our initial shop, but also the markets, uh, where you can go to that are massive food market. So you can go and buy them from stalls. So, and then that's an experience as well as it's saving you food, uh, on that massive food costs. Plus, you know, our intention is on our first day in Paris, we're gonna go get a picnic and sit at the base of the Eiffel tower after we've climbed it, cause that's gonna get us some melatonin. It's gonna help a climatise. And yes, we could sit in a cafe and pay $12 for a coffee nearby. Or we could have probably spend that on our whole picnic by going and buying it. And I tell you what we are probably gonna have a much better time..
Lawsie: Yeah.
Mel: ..doing that. Um, number 12 is a big one for me to go big at lunch.
Mel: So I'm a fan. If I'm staying at a hotel, I'll have a big breakfast and then I'll pocket a banana or an apple or something like that. So I've got snacks. So I'm that person. My husband now just accepts it. He doesn't laugh at me anymore. So I've got mandarins, I've got apples, I've got bananas so that we are good to go.
And often if we're staying at a hotel, we'll have a massive breakfast, I'll have taken the snacks and then we'll have dinner. But otherwise I'm such a fan of going big at lunch because that's cheaper. So, and often there's great lunch deals in places. So you get this big nutritious meal. That way you can walk around and you're not feeling Ugh at the end of the day, but it's so much cheaper than dinner generally.
Lawsie: Who doesn't love a big lunch? I just think, I mean, not when I'm working, if there's nothing worse than having a big lunch and trying to back up for an afternoon of work, but I've yeah, done very similar things where it's yeah. A big breakfast just to keep you going and then having that early dinner to see you through or a big lunch and then, you know, snacks for dinner. So it's a good one.
Um, the next one is to look at public transport and ways that you can save with your transport. Like you don't just have to hire a car, you know, can you jump on the local? Yeah. All of those things. If you wanna be mindful of where you are and the safety and you know, all of those things, but, um, public transport can absolutely save you some dollars.
Mel: And it can be really easy to live in Australia and go, oh, but public transport's shocking. Trust me that overseas it's often not. Um, certainly, we've navigated London, we've navigated Europe. So freaking easy. Hong Kong, there's no way I would get in a car. it's just so much easier on the Metro. It comes every six minutes. Like it's just so easy to navigate or walk. We walk everywhere because you are gonna see more. Um, I mean, if you have little kids, sure. It's gonna be tricky, but public transport then for little kids, it's not hard. Like your first couple of times you'll go, oh God. But after that, that's an adventure too.
Mel: So. Yeah, 14, consider renting out your home when you're gone. So if you are gone for a couple of weeks, uh, then you might consider renting out your home. If you're gone for a couple of months, certainly you'd consider renting it out and that might then help to pay for the cost of your holiday. So that's simple, easy, and there's lots of places you can list that. You just would wanna check your insurance, cause while you're renting it out, you just wanna make sure that you update your insurance.
Lawsie: Definitely. The next one is just, it comes down to being organised and booking activities ahead of time when you can, and you'll often get a discount for those, and that can even be for train, travel and things. I know when I went to Norway, I was super excited about the fact we were going. And then I was horrified with how much their obviously their cost of living is so much more more than ours. And it is one of the most expensive places in the world, but even the amount of money that we saved by booking our train fares to get around places in advance was huge. And just even knowing then, cause you had that certainty, we won't just fly by the seat of our pants. It's like, cool. If we're going to this place, let's actually book our tickets for that and we would absolutely saving money. So I think if you can be organised and able to book things in advance and pick up the discounts and that's perfect.
Mel: And a lot of places, particularly if you wanna go tick off a few things, you can often buy attraction passes, where it'll get you entry so you can skip the line, but it also give you entry into multiple places. It might be museum passes, so yeah, that can give you that bundle discount as well. And maybe get you entry into something that you hadn't considered.
Mel: Um, walk. So I know I already said it. So walk, a) means that you're getting your steps up when you're overseas. But also there's so much, you can see that you didn't before. Tony and I are such fans of just walking everywhere because the number of stories we come back with of things that we've seen, or places that we end up going and eating, because we're like, oh my God, that is full of locals. We so have to try there, or people we've followed or, weddings we've seen that we've just then hung around and been part of or movie sets we've stumbled onto. Mission Impossible, still one of my greatest holiday moments ever. Um, but walking, but all on top of that, there's often free walking tours. So most places that you stay we will have a student or a volunteer that will run free walking tours in that city or that place. And they'll teach you the history. They'll talk to you and it's seeing that city in a different light, but also it's free, or it's a donation that you give at the end. So that could be a beautiful way of, especially if you do that early on of getting tips and tricks and actually understanding where you're.
Lawsie: The next one is to look up free admission days for galleries and museums and stuff. So you see this often it's a Sunday they'll go that it's a free day or it's half price and things like that. So just being aware of, you know, the days that you're gonna be in certain places. And if there's things you wanna see, can you get into them for free or rearrange your schedule a little bit, so you can take advantage of those free or reduced admission days. And same too, even for us here, Sunday, travel is cheaper on public transport, so it's just being aware of those things. And when you can factoring that in, or just to save you some dollars,
Mel: Yeah. And the last one is, actually second last one, cause I've, I've thought of another sneaky one, is travel insurance. So sure, it might not cover you for COVID, although I think some policies do. You wanna look into it, but it's just being aware of what do you want to be covered for? Um, I would caution people against taking valuables over.
Mel: I'll wear my wedding ring, but that's it. But I've got travel insurance which will cover me if I get ill or injured, but also cover me if something happens over there, cause the cost of if you hurt yourself over there is often the big thing. But also my wedding ring…that's something I don't wanna leave behind. So I have that insured as well, so that if something was to happen or if that was to be lost or stolen, that particular thing is also insured. So travel insurance, I think is, can be a really important part of your trip, but the other part of insurance, uh, that we, that you might not consider as an insurance, but you and I have just gone and bought, and again, this is not an ad for them. We went and bought Air Tags, because with luggage being lost all the time now or there being delays, we just thought it just made sense to understand where that was. So part of that insurance was buying Air Tags, so we could track where they were.
Lawsie: Yeah.
Mel: And also, so I've planted them on Tony so I can track where he is.
Mel: The final one that I said that I had the bonus tip is to have everything in the one spot. So if you're a spreadsheet person like us, that might be a spreadsheet. I've actually created a Monday board. So Monday is just a project software that you can use where I've got everything in the one place.
Mel: So I've got both the things that I wanna do, as well as I've put links to markets, I've put links to things to go to. Every time I book something, I can save the ticket in there. So it's all in the one spot. I can put the dates. For someone that just needs control, it's beautiful. But instead of going, oh, I need to, I need to print it all out. Or I need to find that email or do whatever, it is having it all on the one board. Cause I think being organised saves you money. And everything we've talked about today is being organized. So if you kind of want the cherry on top having the Excel spreadsheet, having the printed folder, or my preference is the Monday board or your version of the Monday board, there's lots of different project apps that you can use, but it can be a beautiful way. You have the app on your phone and you can just bring stuff up when you need.
So they are our tips. Wherever you are intending to travel, enjoy yourself, but enjoy yourself in a way that you don't come back with a financial hangover. And when you listen to this, we'll be overseas as well. So come along and play on Insta at @moremoneyforshoes. And we've got all sorts of good stuff. We will shower you with, but we promise not to be too obnoxious.
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