7 Genius Travel Hacks That Will Save You Time And Money

Packing for and planning a holiday can be one of the most exciting, and also one of the most stressful, times in your life. There are numerous things that you need to think about, and so many things to plan for, that you can often get to the airport thinking you’re all set, only to remember something you’ve forgotten, so you smack your head with your palm and think ‘oh no”. Perhaps it’s because you’ve forgotten to book travel insurance or neglected to get a neighbour to collect your mail, or maybe it’s something less vital but still important (like forgetting to pack socks!). No matter what it is, the bottom line is this: You need to be prepared for your holiday. If you’re not prepared you risk arriving at your serviced apartment in Melbourne or your Airbnb in Malaysia and thinking – damn – I don’t have my pyjamas! Let’s take a look at some of these genius travel hacks in the hopes that it helps you to save time and money the next time you travel.

Hack One – Make a great list
If you travel a lot for work, or if you’re always popping away on short jaunts and mini-breaks, you should make a list that’s comprehensive and covers every kind of season and weather type, and then keep it close. You can store it in your phone or laminate it and keep it in your room (if you’re more analogue) and then ensure that whatever is on that list goes into your bag – no questions asked!

Hack Two – Shop around for the best deals and bargains online
You would probably by now have heard of the online booking site Skyscanner and realised how incredible it is for finding cheap and awesome flights. You should use booking methods like this for your airfare and also shop around and compare flights as it’ll often give you the best deal possible. You’ll find that a bit of persistence really pays off here.

Hack Three – Keep a digital copy of your passport
This is a very easy one and can save you big time – all you need to do is keep a copy of your passport as a picture on your phone or computer (or even in the cloud, a la Google Drive) and then if anything does go wrong, which I’m sure it won’t – you have a copy of your passport on hand to refer to.

Hack Four – Be flexible with your travel arrangements
If you don’t mind getting bumped on a flight, it can mean that you might be upgraded to a higher class of fare on your next flight as a thank you from the airline. Be sure to make this clear on your check in!

Hack Five – Pack snacks
There is probably nothing worse than being caught on a long layover and realising that you don’t have any snacks available to feast on in between your transfit periods. Be smart on this one and be sure to stash a bag of nuts or chocolates in your bag to enjoy.

Hack Six – Pack an extra charge pod
There are few things worse than a crying baby on your flight – but running out of power on your iPhone and not having any music to drown said baby out is probably right up there with terrible things that can happen. Make sure you avoid this problem by packing plenty of charge via an extra pod on your next trip.

Hack Seven – Maximise your friendships
If you have mates in foreign cities, then you need to be drawing down on those friendships hard in order to save as much money as possible! If you can sleep on a couch instead of spending money on a hotel then that’s money you can spend on wine and food! Bonus!

I hope that these short tips on saving time and money on your next trip have proven helpful and that you manage to be a thrifty traveler.

Eada Hudes