Budget Travel for Girlfriends – Traveling On the Cheap

Guest post by Julia Rosien of GoGirlfriend.com

I love to travel but I have a confession. I travel cheap. I want my travel experiences to be big and rich and fill my bucket list with memories rather than bills. Thankfully, travel doesn’t have to be expensive to be meaningful. In fact, with a little research and some creativity you can start dipping into your bucket list without needing a defibrillator for your bank account.

At GoGirlfriend we’ve dedicated a whole month to providing budget travel tips for our readers. And we’ll let you in on a dirty little secret, traveling on the cheap is more about planning than it is about sacrificing the kind of experience you want. Having the best vacation you can dream up is possible.

Have a look at some of the budget rescuing ideas we’re sharing…

10 ways to travel cheap
Mom always said the best things in life are free. Walking barefoot on freshly cut grass, building a snowman, an afternoon with good friends – yup, she was right. But what about travel? Is it possible to jet around the world for free? Well, maybe not free – but cheap, yes. Check out our top ten ways for traveling cheap.

Hidden costs of cruising
Cruise lines serenade potential cruisers with the “all-inclusive” promise but alcohol, excursions and incidentals can add up to more than the price you paid for the cruise in the first place. Consider all at your potential expenses before leaving home and then budget for them. Your vacation will be more fun knowing a boatload of bills are waiting for you at home. Learn more about the hidden costs of cruising.

Booking cheap airline travel
We’ve all heard of outrageous flight deals and offers of discounted flights but how do you find them? Truthfully, the bargain basement seats are fleeting and scarce and usually for off-times with a gazillion restrictions. But there are ways to get great deals and it starts with research. Lots of it. Check out these tips from GoGirlfriend to help you find cheap airline travel deals.

Staying cash positive when traveling
The last thing you want while traveling is problems withdrawing money from your bank accounts. Traveler’s checks have gone the way of the dinos and most everyone relies on credit cards and ATM machines. If you make the majority of your purchases in California but are suddenly summoning charges from Nigeria, there’s a good chance your credit card will be put on hold until the charges can be confirmed or denied. Learn how to stay cash positive while traveling.

Got some budget travel tips for us? We’d love to hear you save money while following your bliss around the world. Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook – we’d love to hear your ideas!

About Julia Rosien

I’ve been getting on and off planes my whole career and made my passion for travel my online reality in 2007 when I created GoGirlfriend, a travel-based website for women. When I’m not traveling, I serve on various boards of directors and am currently the 2013 Chairman for Withit.org, a non-profit organization for women in the home and furnishings industries. I’m also co-founder of Canada’s first 140 Conference and its master of ceremonies as well as a presenter at TEDxWomen Waterloo, Impact99, Tweetstock.ca, Women in Biz Conference to name just a few. I’ve come a long way from eating stale cheesies with my brothers in the back of my dad’s station wagon as a kid – but I still love a good road trip!