Many people are additionally making sacrifices to afford our trip plans. Forty one per cent of Canadians reduce on their grocery spending to afford journey, in line with a survey by FlightHub Group. Plus, over one in 4 (28%) Canadians who can’t afford journey have taken on bank card debt to finance their journeys, the survey discovered.
No person desires to return residence from a calming vacation solely to face a large bank card invoice. (Yup, I’ve been there myself, and whereas I’m not proud, I’m not afraid to confess it.) As an alternative of taking up debt to pay for journey, strive a mix of money-saving methods and intelligent journey hacks from the specialists. Right here’s easy methods to get began.
3 methods to save cash on journey for Canadians
1. Select an reasonably priced vacation spot
The place you go could make an enormous distinction in price. Danica Nelson is a private finance influencer and avid traveller who’s visited 25 international locations. When she’s not border-hopping, she maintains a house base in Toronto. Nelson says that selecting reasonably priced locations the place she will stretch her Canadian greenback additional—like Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, to call a number of—has been key.
“In Vietnam, I may keep in a five-star lodge for as little as $55 Canadian per night time. In Da Nang, you could possibly get the freshest seafood out there and a beer for $5 Canadian, or a banh mi sandwich for about $1 Canadian,” Nelson says. She’s even gotten a flower tub and one-hour therapeutic massage for $60 Canadian in Bali. (FOMO-inducing, I do know.) For extra inspiration, take a look at 4 Canadian digital nomads who journey to, or dwell year-round in, reasonably priced locations like Panama, Costa Rica, Greece and extra.
2. Use a journey bank card to save cash and earn extra journey factors
Reserving with a travel credit card generally is a cheaper approach to journey, because you could possibly get cheaper pricing on flights, lodges and rental automobiles by means of your bank card’s rewards program. With my co-branded CIBC Aeroplan Visa card, for instance, I earn Aeroplan factors on my purchases, and I can get most well-liked pricing on Air Canada flights. This implies I can use fewer Aeroplan rewards factors than the quantity usually required to guide flights.
Nelson provides that utilizing a journey card may enable you keep away from foreign transaction fees (usually round 2% to three%) when you’re overseas, and earn extra factors to redeem in direction of lodges or flights for future journeys.
3. Change to carry-on baggage
Switching out your suitcase for a carry-on bag might help you save time and cash on the airport. “Travelling with solely a carry-on- has been a approach that individuals have discovered to avoid wasting some huge cash by not having to pay for checked baggage charges,” Nelson says. She recommends investing in a small suitcase that matches the airline carry-on baggage measurement necessities and one private merchandise like a backpack, purse or tote bag. Test forward of time whether or not your flight service costs for checked baggage, as in some circumstances, you could possibly get a stowed suitcase totally free along with your ticket.
Personally, I’ve modified over to a small carry-on suitcase, and it’s saved me the trouble and price of checked baggage. Another hacks I exploit to save cash on journey: I purchase groceries for lunches and breakfasts. I additionally price range for dinners out forward of time, and every other prices like coffees or treats right here and there.
