How I Find Deals For Traveling

The one thing I always make room for in my budget it traveling. I have been traveling since I was 9 months old and have no plans to stop any time soon. Today I am going to go over how to save on traveling.

Airline Tickets

I use the hopper app to keep any eye on how the ticket pricing will be in the future. You just put in your desired flight and dates and then select "watch". The app will notify you when tickets are low and when you should buy.

What the app looks like in the Apple App Store

I always make sure to stay away from traveling on long holiday weekends, you end up paying 2x or 3x more on a ticket. Make sure to never book on the weekends or on days that are normally “payday” (Thursday and Friday).

Make sure to keep an eye on what type of tickets you purchase. Now many airlines have “Basic Economy”, which basically means the ticket is cheaper but you have to pay for everything! So you’re paying for your seat, carry-on, luggage and anything else they can charge you for. Look at the terms and baggage fees before booking, many times with these types of tickets and airlines you end up paying so much more. 

Other Ways to Travel

If you are on a tight budget but really want to go out of state somewhere there’s another alternative. If you have the extra vacation time a bus or train could be a great inexpensive option. When I use this type of transportation I do night travel, that way I can just sleep the entire way. You can save hundreds by traveling this way. Just download some Netflix shows and get a good book for the trip. 

Where to Stay

I am the first to say that I am a hotel snob! I love staying at 5 star resorts, adult only resorts (yay, no kids!), or anything luxurious. I am able to get good deals on rooms like that during the off season. They sell those rooms for pennies! 

I have also fallen in love with Airbnb, it’s like a home away from home. You can save so much money by making your meals at the rental or by getting tips from the owner. Make sure to check out my blog post about my first time using an Airbnb if you want to know what it is like.

 My First Time Using Airbnb

When to Travel 

You rarely see me travel in the summer; for one it’s too expensive, for two the kids are out of school. I will be honest I don’t like traveling to “kid friendly” places because if the parents are in vacation mode they don’t take care of their children and I’m not going to have misbehaved children ruin my vacation. 

I always travel during the low or shoulder season. The low season is when barely anyone goes, it is mostly because of weather or potential weather. It could be the low season due to it being cold, lots of rain or it can be hurricane/tsunami season. Shoulder season is those 3-4 weeks in between the high and low season. I end up traveling at this time period and I haven’t had a complaint yet. Just make sure to bring layers, a pancho and shoes you can get wet. 

Transportation 

Always book transportation ahead of time, unless you plan to use an Uber. They always rip you off when trying to get transportation from the train station or the airport. 

One time my boyfriend and I went to Cancun for New Years, I booked the private car a day in advance and paid $30 to the hotel some for both of us together. They were charging people $40 each to load up in a van to get to the hotel zone or had to pay more for a taxi. It’s all about the demand when it comes down to it. 

Activities 

I cannot stress this enough, book all of your activities ahead of time! This was such a life saver in Paris, the lines were so long to get into different activities. I was so happy that we booked all of our activities ahead of time, if we didn’t we would have wasted so much time waiting or just trying to get a hold of tickets. One major tip I would share is that you should pay the extra money for skip the line, trust me you will thank me later. 

Extra Ways to Save

• Always buy in vacation packages or bundles
• Use Ebates, you can get cash back for travel purchases 
• Look for coupons and promotional codes 
• Shop around at different sites, it can save you hundreds 

So there you have it, there are so many ways that you can save on travel. Stay tuned, I will be posting how to travel a week with only your carry on!

Con Amor,

Adriana 💕

Why I switched to a credit union

So if you were anything like me you weren’t too concerned about where you deposit your paycheck every week. It didn’t matter if it was a bank or a credit union, all that mattered if it was convenient. One day I was going through my Facebook feed and a friend posted the video below. I watched it and it hit me, I need to switch to a credit union. I will be pointing out reason on why I am so happy I switched.

You become a member
So at a bank you are a customer, at a credit union you become a member. Kind of like part owner of the institute. At a big bank the top people get the payouts, in a credit union you benefit from the profit. Last year my credit union divided $1 million amount their members, rather than passing it off to the CEO or other people with important titles.

Customer satisfaction
It has been proven time and time again that credit union customers are more satisfied. Since you are a member of the bank they treat you like part owner. They are not for profit, so that speaks volumes!

Early paycheck
I get my paycheck a day earlier than scheduled since I have direct deposit. This is helpful for anyone that has to pay bills right away.

Lower rates
Credit Unions have access to some of the lowest interest rates ever! For example car loans start at 1.75% and homes at 3.5%. My brother recently purchased a car and he said they were able to beat the interest rate by almost 2%! Credit card balance transfers also come with no fees and the APR is super low compared to other banks.

Better interest payback
I get a dividend payout for just being a member at my credit union, plus a high dividend every month from my savings account. If I was still at my other big bank I would only get a tiny dividend and they would profit the rest.

Socially Responsible
One of the big reasons I switched was because the two banks I had were giving money to the big corporations that were taking land away from Native Americans. Watching the news about Standing Rock would break my heart and I wanted nothing to do with anyone that was so cold hearted to support it.

Locations
So when you become a member of a credit union you become part of a huge network or different credit unions. My personal credit union is close to my work, yet I can do business at any local credit union with no issue or problem. I can use their actual credit union or their ATM with no extra charge to me.

So if you want to put your money where it will go far, you know what to do. Go to your local credit union and make the switch. You won't regret it!

Con Amor,

Adriana💕