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We took different courses but it doesn’t mean that we can no longer travel. We can still achieve our dreams by saving money. So when we started working, we already have a budget for travel and slowly we are crossing out our travel bucket list. We used to travel with friends but when we got married, our priority changed so traveling took a back seat. 

But of course, since traveling makes us happy, I find ways so we can still travel without going into debt. Setting a travel budget is a must and computing for this is not a problem because I can use a calculator to give me an idea of how much money and how long I need to save. If you live in USA, there is a website like SavingsCalculator.org that can do the work for you. 

Anyway, this post is not about “How to Save Money for Your Travel” but I will share “How Do We Travel Without Spending Too Much Money”. I know for a fact that we are not rich but I also believe in this quote “You don’t have to be rich to travel well”. It is so true because we were able to travel with less money. 

I have a lifestyle blog and the majority of my posts are about travel so sometimes I received complimentary staycations in exchange for a blog review. But I don’t always say “yes” to these opportunities because I am particular when it comes to hotels or hostels. 

Since I love to travel, from time to time I join contests so we can have free travel. Even though I know that I’m not really lucky when it comes to giveaways or contests but there is no harm in trying. I won Zoobic Safari Package before so I got a free hotel and free entrance to Zoobic Safari. 

There was a time when my husband received an award from his company, “Overnight stay in any hotel worth PHP5000” and this was just in time for his birthday month so we celebrated his birthday in the hotel. 

My husband has been working for more than a decade already but I can only count on my fingers, how many times they have a company outing with family. They always have team building but it is seldom that they have outings with family so I do appreciate those times. We had Family Day at Enchanted Kingdom and Staycation at Narra Villa of The Farm at San Benito. 

If there is a company outing, of course, there is a family outing and we can travel without spending too much money if my mom is here. She usually treats us whenever she goes to the Philippines for vacation. 

The best thing in life is free so we took advantage of freebies and we were able to revisit Enchanted Kingdom because of the Complimentary Entrance Tickets that we got from my in-laws. My brother-in-law used to work at Enchanted Kingdom. 

If you love traveling, you can apply for a credit card that offers travel-specific benefits. We used to have a credit card that offers a free airport lounge so we were able to save money on food and drinks while waiting for our flight.

There are websites that offer Free Walking Tours and this is a nice way to familiarize yourself when visiting different places. We joined Free Old Town Stockholm Tour when we visited Stockholm Sweden. This is not really free because you will give tips to your tour guide but you will still save money compared to travel tour packages. 

We are not frequent travelers but we always enroll in different airline rewards programs so we can earn points or miles. As much as possible we try to be loyal to certain airlines so it would be easy for us to accumulate points. 

Philippine Airlines has Mabuhay Miles Program and we already redeemed flight tickets using our miles when we went to Cagayan De Oro, Cebu, and Thailand. This is a big saving because we only paid for taxes and surcharges.

For Qatar Airways, I used my points to get a discount when I purchased our Manila-Trondheim-Manila ticket. And as a member, I also have 1-hour complimentary wifi use during our flight. 

Just like airlines, hotels and resorts have reward programs too so we also register for this program if there is no payment involved. Each hotel has different rewards and benefits but most of them give member rates, member discounts, and points. 

Our favorite is Marriott Bonvoy, since my husband is a frequent traveler he joined this program so he can earn points. We used the points to book our birthday staycations at Sheraton hotel or resort. We also get discounts or points whenever we dine in any restaurant under Marriott Bonvoy. 

I also joined Radisson Hotel Rewards Program so I can get a discount whenever I book Radisson Airport Hotel in Oslo or Trondheim. 

We love visiting travel expos because we can take advantage of cheap plane tickets, discounted travel packages, visa vouchers, and travel stuff on sale. There are a lot of freebies too when we visit different booths. 

I had a bad experience before when I booked a room online (different site) because when we reached our destination, the staff couldn’t find my booking even though I already paid 10% for our reservation. And because of that, we normally book our accommodation on the hotel or resort’s website to ensure that we have a confirmed booking whenever we travel. 

But there are times that I take advantage of the vouchers, coupons, and discounts of other sites if there is a good review and I can really save money. So far, I’ve tried Deal Grocer and MetroDeal. For other travel activities like a sim card and entrance tickets, I booked at Klook. 

There are countries, places, and tourist attractions that offer combo tickets, you can choose depending on the number of visits or stays that you want. 

For example, Disneyland has combo tickets, I availed 2-Days Park Ticket when we want to visit Hong Kong Disneyland for two days. I purchased the Park Hopper Plus Tickets when we visited Singapore so we can visit the four zoos with unlimited tram rides, Amazon River Quest, and River Safari Cruise.

When we had our Scandinavian Tour, I purchased Copenhagen Pass and Stockholm Pass so we can save money because the pass includes entrance tickets to different attractions plus public transportation or tour bus. 

These are several ways how we afford to travel without hurting our budget. Sometimes we are blessed in receiving some freebies and awards and sometimes we need an effort in researching for freebies, discounts, or sales. Care to share your saving tips?