Seven Holiday Travel Hacks

Holiday time… this time of year is my FAVORITE! The holiday spirit combined with the amazing food, gifts, and family time mean this time of the year just can’t be beat. However, if you are traveling during the months of December and January, it can get pretty pricey (regardless if you are flying or driving). The hotels, food, transportation, and other expenses definitely add up. Here are seven ways to save on traveling during these holiday months!

1. If flying, ship gifts instead of packing them. Packing gifts often times forces you to check bags at the airport, which can be pricey. Instead, look at sending gifts out as early as possible so that you skip the sending rush fee.
2. Use a flight comparison search tool to find the cheapest days to fly. Websites such as Google Flights and Skyscanner compare many airlines and flights and show you the differences in price. This can help you find your cheapest option if you are flying.
3. Fly on the cheapest day of the holiday season. The actual holiday! Prices generally drop on these days because generally people don’t want to fly then. If you can find an early flight on these days, you probably won’t miss much and it can save you some serious cash!
4. If flying, see if a friend/relative can take you to the airport and pick you up. This can save you from paying for an Uber or having to park your car at the airport for a marked up fee. If you are in the position that you need to park your car at the airport, look for airport parking that may be right outside of the airport. This tends to be a lot cheaper, and there are shuttles that get you to the airport in a quick amount of time.
5. Pack food and snacks while traveling, especially if you are driving. This will save you time as well as money. You won’t have to stop for food and you will keep that money you would have spent on junk food in your wallet.
6. Create a savings fund prior to your trip and put any extra money you have towards this fund. Most banks will let you set up an automatic travel savings account for free. Set it up so that you are not able to access this account online, so you don’t succumb to the urge of transferring money from your savings to your checking account. If you have already saved some funds up, you holiday travel won’t affect your ability to pay bills in the New Year and you will avoid the stress that comes with overspending.
7. Look for holiday sales when planning fun things to do! Most places have holiday pricing which can make activities more expensive than usual, but you can get around that by finding coupons (available online most of the time) for these activities.

Whether you are traveling across the country or just an hour from your hometown, make sure that you are planning ways to save before your trip starts. Just think, you can spend all that money you saved on gifts for your loved ones instead! What are your best holiday travel hacks? Let me know in the comments!