Travel Budget Friendly Hacks

If you’re planning a dream getaway, you don’t have to plan on spending a boatload of money. An easy way to bring down costs while still enjoying the vacation of a lifetime is to be flexible with your vacation date. Let’s take a look at why your vacation date has such a strong impact on prices and how to be flexible with your travel plans. 

Why flexibility matters-

If your vacation dates are rigid, your flight and lodging choices will be limited. In fact, you may be paying an artificially inflated price just to travel during that time. 

Airline tickets, hotel stays and other vacation costs are established according to these economic variables:

• Supply
• Demand
• Randomness
• Number of options

If your plans include specific dates, you instantly constrain the last variable, making the costs dependent on the first three, which are all out of your control. You’ll have no choice but to pay whatever the cost is to travel during the time you chose. 

Of course, you can still luck out and find cheap tickets or next-to-nothing hotel stays during your chosen dates, but your chances for that happening are a lot lower than they’d be if you were flexible with your vacation timing. 

For a quick way to see how flexibility with your travel dates can bring down the price of your vacation, try a simple Google Flight Explore search. Input the locations for your departure and destination, and then provide the search engine with specific dates. You’ll likely be provided with several choices. Now, try the same search, but instead of giving the search tool specific dates, provide only a vague description of your travel date. For example, you can write “within the next three months” or even “in the next year” and see what Google returns to you. Now, compare your choices. How much can you save by being flexible with your travel dates?

Tech tools 

Of course, you don’t have to find those elusive airfare deals on your own. As mentioned, Google’s Flight Explore is an excellent way to find low-cost airline tickets for the time you want to travel. Check out other travel apps like Kayak, Orbitz and Hopper for exclusive deals on airfare. Some apps offer the option of signing up for alerts, which is a great way to ensure you don’t miss out on any fabulous price drops. 

Saving on vacation costs can be as simple as being flexible with your travel dates. Happy travels!