Save Money – Penny Pinching While You Travel
We recently saw an article about extreme penny pinching and were intrigued by several of the ideas, however, some were clearly off the wall and well beyond what the average person would even consider. We wondered about, Penny Pinching While You Travel? We thought that a more interesting list of penny-pinching ideas that actually save you money while traveling would be interesting to a lot of people.
We put together a combination of our own list of things about penny-pinching while you travel to save money with a few of the items that were on the list of the article that we read. We tend to stay in hotels and rent condos while we travel, so our list is centered around this type of travel. Other people who go camping, travel in an RV, or stay with friends and relatives will obviously have other items to add. Please let us know your items in the comments section and we will add them to our list. Here is the list for penny-pinching while you travel and we follow up with an explanation of each later in the post.
Penny Pinching While You Travel
Saving Money While you Travel
- We belong to points clubs such as air miles and credit card points collection
- We ask for a seniors discount
- We watch for restaurant discounts for seniors
- We follow senior citizens at dinnertime
- I join birthday clubs so I can eat for free
- I hit up fast food dollar menus
- We eat at subway and share a foot-long sub
- We order one soft drink and share, refills are free
- I drink as much as I can during happy hour
- We eat appetizers during happy hour
- I pick up pennies wherever I go
- We eat a large lunch and lightly at dinner time
- Share Meals
- We stay at hotels that include breakfast and/or dinner and/or free drinks
We belong to points clubs such as air miles and credit card points collection
This is the most lucrative one for us and saves us as much as several thousand dollars in travel costs every year. We belong to every point collecting system that we can and in some cases will collect double points, once on a hotel loyalty card and secondly on a credit card that pays points for everything charged to it. We redeem the points for hotel stays, meals, rental cars, etc.
We ask for a seniors discount
Whenever we eat in a restaurant, fast food place, or check into hotels we always ask for senior discounts, CAA, AAA, AARP, Corporate, and anything else that works. We usually save a minimum of 10% on hotels and sometimes half-price on restaurants. MacDonald’s even has discounted coffee for seniors with free refills.
We watch for restaurant discounts for seniors
We watch for advertised discounts for seniors and frequent many of those restaurants to offer these discounts. Sometimes the portions are a little smaller, but that is ok too. Smaller portions protect the waistline.
We follow senior citizens at dinnertime
If we are visiting a new town, we sometimes will keep an eye on seniors groups and follow them to a restaurant. They seem to know where the discounts are!
I join birthday clubs so I can eat for free
Some places will give you a free meal once a year on your birthday. Starbucks lets you have a free drink on your birthday too, so we order a large specialty coffee and share.
I hit up fast food dollar menus
Sometimes fast food restaurants will have $1 menus to bring traffic in. These are excellent ways to save a few dollars.
We eat at subway and share a foot-long sub
Subway restaurants have excellent food. Many people have lost weight eating at Subway. Instead of ordering two 6-inch subs, we order one foot long and share it to save a few dollars.
We order one soft drink and share, refills are free
Many fast food places have free refills so why order two drinks, just get two straws and refill your drink as many times as you want.
I drink as much as I can during happy hour
Happy hours are a great bargain, often with two-for-one deals on drinks. Always make sure you order a couple before the end of happy hour to avoid paying the regular price later in the evening.
We eat appetizers during happy hour
Sometimes along with drinks, restaurants will also have happy hour appetizers for half price or at least with a major discount. You can eat out for half the price by taking advantage of these reduced prices.
I pick up pennies wherever I go
Pennies are not worth much, but every once in a while you find dollar bills and higher denomination bills. My wife once found a $50 dollar bill because she was watching for pennies on the ground.
We eat a large lunch and lightly at dinner time
Eating a large lunch at dinner time when prices are usually lower, and then eating a light supper of perhaps a salad at a restaurant means your supper time meal is much less expensive.
Share Meals
Sometimes we find that meals at restaurants are so large it is impossible to finish the meal. We either ask to take home what is left over, or we only order one meal in the first place and share the meal with each other.
We stay at hotels that include breakfast and/or dinner and/or free drinks
Many chain hotels such as Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, and Drury hotels offer free breakfast in the morning, and some such as Drury offer free drinks and appetizers in the evening. These can save you quite a bit of money on meals while traveling.
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