Planning a trip? Do often find yourself returning from a trip only to feel as if you spent too much without getting anything substantial in return. Managing expenses is one of the major things you need to take care of when budgeting for the tour. Keeping more money in your pocket and enjoying the experience of the trip should be your primary focus. With that in mind, here are 5 unnecessary expenses that you need to consciously avoid while travelling.
Stop eating at expensive places
Do not eat at the upscale restaurants, particularly those that are in posh localities or in popular tourist locations where the cost of even simple meals can be exorbitantly high. Look for places that are popular with the local people because this is where you can get a good healthy meal for the fraction of the price you would pay at popular places. Instead of eating at such places, focus on getting the best value for your money. Try new cuisines and dishes that come highly recommended in local food forums – but do it within a limit. Experimenting with foods gives you a great opportunity to try out new things at the destination but while doing it be sure to stay within the limits of your health. Check local platforms and forums to get an idea of the good places to eat and bookmark them on your mapping application. If the situation permits and you can carry cooking utensils kin the motorcycle luggage boxes, then it might be a good idea to cook your meals yourself.
Mobile roaming charges
There is simply no reason why you should be spending money on mobile phone roaming charges these days. Use the mobile phone applications that let you make internet voice and video calls without incurring mobile phone tariffs. Look for places that offer free Wi-Fi connectivity and use it to make calls home. But to be on the safe side, keep a roaming plan activated on the phone so that you don’t lose connectivity completely if you can’t find a working Wi-Fi connection. Also, if one of you have a reliable connection, use it to create a hotspot and share it with everyone. Prioritize your connectivity needs, the data should be used for important jobs only and video streaming or getting on to social media platforms can be left until you reach the hotel room with a reliable internet connection. Make use of the data to check maps and make internet calls.
Transportation expenses
Are you planning to visit local attractions in a cab? That could be too expensive. Personal cars are quite frugal either. On the other end of the spectrum, public transportation can help you save money but they are not known for convenience. The best middle way is to travel the local places on a two-wheeler. You can either rent one or take your own motorcycle! Whatever be the case, just make sure to ride with all the necessary riding safety gears, the least of which is a premium motorcycle helmet – arguably a full-face helmet that is known for better weather protection and safety. Riding a two-wheeler will save you a lot of money and it also gives you the freedom to explore at your own convenience. However, when it comes to downright money-savings nothing beats local transportation like buses, metro trains and shared rides.
Quit bad habits
Do you have an indulgence for addictions? Smoking or drinking alcohol could be quite expensive in the long run when you combine the overall expenses of the day. Try to keep them at a minimum or avoid it completely. There could be other habits too that you may not count under ‘bad habits’, but they are expensive nonetheless. If you can’t explain big expenses it might be helpful to sit down and write down all the headings under which you are spending money and look for unnecessary headings that can be easily eliminated.
Airline food, room service, parking expenses
Do not opt for in-flight meals. These are very expensive and the quality is not acceptable in most cases. The better way is to have meals either at the airport, or before even entering the airport. That way you will be saving a lot of money. Other unnecessary expenses that can be easily avoided are parking expenses, paying tips and additional surcharge for room service. We strongly recommend you travel on a motorcycle and forget about all of these! The only thing that you have to keep in mind while travelling by bike is to be safe on the road. Invest in good quality premium motorcycle helmets and other riding gears such as boots and riding gloves.
Keep expenses to a bare minimum and be practical about your expenses. Keep an eye on all the heads and zealously cut out things that are not directly contributing to your travel experience. Have a great journey.
