Travel Savings Hacks

the Order Kerni Whoalbury and a waddery woman. And before we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land of which this podcast is recorded on a wondery country, acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming through as this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing and the storytelling of you to make a difference for today and lasting impact for tomorrow.

call it the dumpster fire. It was. That's right, And there are some people who are going to be listening to this that are like v that is so far off an option that I have right now, and that is totally okay. But it's nice to talk about. It's a conversation that we all want to have. I've just gotten back and I feel like I am let's say, the Savings Queen Jess. She threw me under a bus while we're in Paris because we while I was in Paris. Oh my gosh, get this. This is so bouche, and

like I promise you, it was just coincident. We didn't travel there for this. We had a Hents Day for me because I'm getting married in November, which I don't think I've told you guys the date as in November before. But I'm getting married in November and my best friend, or one of my best friends, Steph, is pregnant, and so it's not going to be possible for us to have a Hent's Day closer to the date because she's gonna have a newborn and I just really want her there.

Another one of my best friends, Rose lives in London at the moment, so it was just it seemed all perfect when we were on holiday to like do this day together anyway, We're having this boogie day. We'd planned it all out. We're like in Paris, guys, this is the fanciest thing I've done in my life. And we looked on uber to like get to our next venue if we're we're going and I was like, absolutely not, absolutely not. We are not getting in an uber that

is like four times to the price, not happening. And they're like, Victoria, not on your heads a day and I was like yet, nah. Now we can either get a scooter because the Lime scooters and we're in Paris, or we can go on the metro. And they were like Victoria, like we'll just get in an uber, like it'll be much easier, Like ye, you're all dressed up, and I was like nap. So we got on the metro. So we went on the train on my Handstay. I was dressed as him. I had my white dress, I

had my veil. There is a Tea tocot dress, weren't you No, It was like it was a dress I already had, like a one that I'd bought ages ago that was really expensive that I needed to get more cost per wear out. So when the girls were like, we're gonna have a hend state, you have to wear white, I was like, this is perfect. Also on the Queen of a white dress, so I had a plethora of options. Anyway, I wore that. It was a bit expensive, but also it did look really boogie. I had my hair and

makeup done. I had this like massive veil on, and I was just like going through the turnstile at the Metro because I was like, I am not going to be paying Uber searching, not in Paris.

like go on backstreets and go slow. And when you first get these scoots, they like have a speed limit so that you're not going really fast. Right, So we told her all of this, Rose Rose lied. Rose was like, yeah, okay, do a little scoop, go around and circle. I'm in London. I don't know where I am. I'm just trusting my friend straight into Piccadilly Circus.

we're going to build up from there. So like the basics, when it comes to making sure that you're getting a cost effective holiday, would be making sure that you know school holiday dates right, because it's obviously going to peak anytime there are school holiday dates, because that's when most people want to travel because a lot of people have kids and they need to time their holidays around that. So for someone like me, I don't have kids. So before we went away, I made sure that I wasn't

traveling during a peak period. The other benefit of that

is obviously less traffic when you're over there. So if you're going to Bali or you're going to a very popular holiday destination, I actually love the idea that I know it's not Australian school holidays, because then I know it's not gonna be filled full of a plethora of kids, because I think we've all been somewhere at some point, even if it's just like the Maya Christmas windows and you're like, oh god, I forgot what it was like to have so many people in one location because it's

school holidays, right, So that would be my first Make sure you're traveling in off peak periods if possible. The next one is phone roaming, which if you listened to our travel insurance episode, you know I got stung with it TLDR. If you're with the same phone carrier that I am with, roaming included everywhere except the UAE, which is how I ended up with a seven hundred dollar phone bill. Thankfully they've sordered me out. I'm out of it. We're all good, but make sure that you understand your

phone roaming options. So for me, my phone roaming options were five dollars a day if you're out of the country. A couple of the girls I was traveling with were with different carriers, so they were either ten dollars a day or pay as you go. So just understand that because I'm actually so reliant on my phone, and that sounds really bad because when you're on holiday you want

to be disconnected. But the one thing that made me feel really safe was knowing, all right, well, we're going to go for a walk, but I also know I've got Google Maps on my phone and I can get straight home if I need to. I also found so I traveled with a Wires card, which is another travel hack and like a next level very good outcome if you are looking for an overseas bank with good exchange rates. I found them really good. But I had my wires card on my phone because you can get it same day,

which was like a bit of a money win. Again, not sponsored. I've never actually even spoken to them proper. They just are a really good service, and I used my Wives card when I was over there. But I would make sure that you understand what that means for you and how much data you actually need because some people will be like, oh, just turn data off, and

I was like, that's not an option for me. Like, I genuinely get anxiety when I'm in a place that I don't know and knowing that my phone was on me and I could just open it and could just use Google Translate, which, gee, have you seen that?

pop up and put the text over the top. So I'll be like I'll have that, no problems, thank you so much. But also when you translate, you can speak directly into this in English and then press translate to French and it tells your uber driver what you need to tell them in their native tongue and then they say it back in French and it tells me in English what he just said. That is like no texting out little messages and handing in the phone and being

like do you get this? Like it was free George Jim how Good's gole how Good is Google sponsor up? Because I am your biggest fan? But literally that's that's Is that a money saving hack? I don't know if it's a money saving chesa you get back on your hack. Having Google Translate and having my phone there accessible and knowing I can use it without being stressed about the cash side of it was to me really important. It might not be as important to you, so make up

your own mind. There's also an option in a lot of countries, so it's becoming more popular in places like Europe and Japan. But rentable mobile routers so you can just like have a pocket Wi Fi thing, so you would tend to that. Another hack, which if you're traveling for a week, it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to do so if you're traveling for a longer period of time. So for example, Broshe who is on our team, she's head of events here at she's on

the money. She is headed off nine weeks in Europe without me. Kind of rude, but okay, it might make more sense for her to just buy her own pocket Wi Fi router to use while she's abroad so that she doesn't have to change her mobile number and do the whole new simcard thing, which can be a little bit of a headache, but typically your reserve one, you pick it up at the airport or you can have

it delivered to your hotel. They're a super low cost way to make sure you don't get stung with international roaming fees if that's something you need access to. So Nico, I mean, we did a whole episode on comprehensive travel insurance, so go back to that. But my top tip there is get comprehensive travel insurance non negotiable. And then Georgia King the other tip not sponsored, just a really big fan of shot Back. This is not their episode, but

it could be their episode shot Back. Honestly, when we were booking our holiday, they had so many deals on like booking dot Com or direct with our airlines. So make sure that you're getting money back on these things. Because every transaction I made, I was making sure to click shot Back, and I was like, oh my gosh, Like, I'm literally getting more cash back just by having this on my browser. So again, not sponsored. I mean, they're probably gonna be pretty happy with this little shout out

because I'm literally their biggest fan. But I think that's the one thing I didn't expect. Like, obviously I shop on the Iconic all the time. I tell you about this, I get my cash back, I have a supreme time. But when it popped up for places like booking dot Com, I was like, hold up, like you're saying I can get like five percent cash back on my holiday money in I'm absolute money in.

say flippantly, ha ha. We booked a last minute holiday, but the reason we did that was because through COVID, I had holidays that were booked that got canceled, and thankfully I had good refund policies. So I've had this cash sitting to the side that I've literally had ear marked as this is a holiday at some point somehow

with my girlfriends. And then once Steph ended up pregnant, which is like the most exciting thing to happen to be my entire life, we were like, oh, we probably should organize this soon because if we don't, that's just not going to be a reality for us in the future. So we planned this pretty last minute, but it was

also something that had been set aside. And I think nowadays, especially with the rising costs of living and how much the world is costing us, and how much stress we're all under and how much trauma honestly all of us have been through over the last two nearly three years, we all go, we deserve a holiday, and you totally do.

But I also look at it and go, just future, you deserve the financial implications that are going to be put on you by making that decision, And it's so easy to make that decision to go, oh, well, I'll just go on holiday and deal with it later. It's like, but is that actually putting you in the best possible position? Like, I know this whole yolo mentality exists, and I'm a very big believer in experiences over you know, big long

term financial goals happening sooner. Like I totally get that everybody's on a different page, But personally, I would much prefer to have the ability to go on holidays and I'll just retire a few years later because for me,

enjoying the journey is so important. But it's also like, can we really reframe this and go if you don't have a good emergency fund and you don't have that free cash flow available and you're really stretching yourself to go on this holiday and it's putting you out to quote live your best life, is that actually the best use of funds that you have, Like, I just I want you to care about yourself as much as I

care about you. Because as much as I gee, I want you to go overseas, I want you to have a mint time, I want you to have the best time ever, But I go, is that worth it? Or should we be saving for this? Because the way I view it is, for me, a holiday is a reward, either a reward for doing something good or saving, but it shouldn't be something that costs you once you're there. So I'm very much a believer in saving for a holiday and paying it off before you go than paying

it off when you get back. Like, I don't believe anyone should carry debt for things they can't tangibly hold or tangibly on cell yeah right, Like it's just it's bad debt and it's putting you in a bad position, and I just don't want anyone to be in that position. But I think it's you know, I'm bringing it up now because I feel like every man and their dog is currently in Italy.

people with social media platforms. The amount of influencers I have spoken to before that are like, oh, I'm in fifty grand worth of personal debt, like no worries because it's like for my personal brand, And I just go, what, like why are you putting up with this? Like your audience don't require you to have a brand new xyz or go on a holiday to create content, Like, no one's expecting this of you. So I think there's something really sexy about putting your own needs first. I don't know.

They're like, g wants to go on holiday on these dates. Okay, let's show her the price today and then if she looks tomorrow, let's add one hundred bucks to it, because really, yeah, it happens all the time. And if you get rid of your cookies and delete like your browsing history, more often than not, the price will go down because if you look anyway. That is a hot tip. Other hot tip, after I've done a lot of research, the best time

to book a flight is Tuesday at eight pm. And that's because then this might change because we're going to send the shoes on the money community onto the internet to do this. But that's because that's when flight companies and flight websites and booking websites have the least amount of traffic, so they want the most amount of bookings. Whereas the worst time you can book a flight is a Saturday night after eight pm, and that's because.

like that's not that practical. But I actually looked at flights because I was in charge of booking Ah surprise, I was in charge of booking flights for the four of us that were going to the UK, right, So I put down all of our flight preferences and how to look at what it would cost. And I put down flexible dates, not because I actually wanted to change the time, but because I wanted to see what that

would look like. And I realized that if we came back a day later than what we had planned originally. When we sat down and we said let's go on holiday, what dates do you want like my girlfriends and night. We're very much homebodies. So if I'm going on a holiday, I actually want to come back with enough time to be at home sett all unpack, have a good sleep in my own bed before going back to work. So I was like, I want to probably be back on the Friday, so I've got the weekend and go back

to work on Monday. Right, this is my thought pattern. But we realized if we were happy to fly in on this Saturday night at like ten pm or something ridiculous and only have that Sunday, we were saving close to one thousand dollars.

Saturday afternoon. I was like, no problems. But I went back to them and said, look, flights are four hundred dollars each cheaper if we can fly out at three A on the friday that you finished work, Like, would you be down for actually flying out the night that you finished work? And everyone was like, yeah, no problems, Like we'll finish work, we'll have a big day, we'll fall asleep on the plane. So for us, we ended up actually saving a fair bit of money because we

were able to be flexible on the dates. And I don't think it's about going, oh, should you change a holiday a week or so, It's literally about the small flight changes to the more unpopular flights. That meant one, our flight wasn't so packed, because from what I understand, flights at the moment are hectic. But two, it saved us some pretty serious bank Like I think we ended up saving more than twelve hundred dollars each on the return flights just because we weren't trying to fly at

the quote most convenient time for us. And then also to add on to that, not a money saving trick, but a time saving trick. The second we got to the airport, we started acting like we were on London time. Yeah, so making sure that we were aligning our sleep schedule for the plane to what the location would be so that we weren't as jet lagged when we got worked out for king uh huh coming home not the same, But we won't talk about.

At the moment, everything was expensive. So when we were doing our research to find out like where should we stay, what should we do? We looked at Airbnb, we looked at hotels, we looked at literally everything, and I was just like, this is insane. Like there were five of us to accommodate, which meant if we went with a hotel, we'd probably have to have a couple of rooms. So it was getting to become really expensive. And I ended up just going, hey, would you guys consider a hostel?

And I think the girls thought I was joking because they were like, ha haha, yeah, no problem speed And then when I sent them the booking link, they were like, she is serious. But I think we ended up paying about twelve hundred dollars for five of us for like four nights in London, which is unheard of, Like that's so cheap. We stayed at just because I know I'm

going to get asked. We stayed at Wombats, which is a hostel in London, but we booked a private room so we had bunk beds, which was a dream like a girls trip vibes. It felt like we're on school camp. But we had our own, very clean, very nice bathroom. It was all fine, a separate toilet like getting ready area up like it actually was the dream set up, and it just took a bit of research to make sure we weren't getting a dodgy hostel where it was like a fifty person share room and we didn't know

who was there. We got this private room, six bunk beds, so there was a spare one in our room, but we wanted to book the whole room and not have randoms in our house. But it worked really well, very centrally located very close to a train station. You're right, we weren't there the whole time. So to us, London was the place where we really wanted to save on accommodation because it just no brainer. Yeah, because we were

going out for dinner, everything was more expensive. We wanted to enjoy our time there, but then when we went further down into France, we were like, oh, we actually want to have a bit of a relaxing time. So we ended up booking an airbnb that was purely based on the fact that we'd want to hang out there.

But I think it's all about how much time are you actually planning on space and would you consider a hostel because I know a lot of you are listening, going that doesn't sound very Victoria, But it's all about values. Like I just wanted to be safe, secure, I have a comfortable bed, make sure that I could get around and see things and enjoy my time there. And that enabled me to do that perfectly. Like was it the rits?

Absolutely not. But did that mean that we could go afford to pay for drinks at the risk and have like the bougiest time ever while we're they're on food at beverage, Yes, because we did that too.

want to be in and about and around people. I don't actually want to just go from uber to uber to cab to cab because it just feels like I'm at home, right, So I know everybody is different there, but it was for us we wanted to be close to public transport. We actually were really close to London Tower Bridge. It was a non issue when it came to transport. But I would look at that too. Just because it's cheap doesn't mean it's actually a good money win.

mini bar, get it emptied. Not because I don't trust you, not because I'm like, oh my gosh, you'll eat the stuff in the minibar and it's expensive, That's not it, because they leave the fridge in there, and you can put stuff in the fridge. Yeah, so you can do breakfast. So often when I travel, especially if I travel with Steve, we go to a local supermarket when we arrive and

we grab some breakfast stuff. We might grab some like croissants if we're in France or whatever it is, and we grab some cereal and some milk and some fruit and chuck that in the fridge and then we have breakfast before we leave. And I feel like that genuinely cuts the cost down. But you can try different things from different locations, like this is so lame. But we're going to the US later this year. I'm so excited to try the US cereals and like go to the

supermarket like Lucky Charms. Yeah, I don't know what else do captain crunch or whatever it is, Like, I'm not here trying to be super healthy. I'm here going this is actually a really good way of saving money and maybe experiencing something else that the locals experience. I don't think we need to look at it as a sacrifice, like, oh my gosh, well, let's just get the things that

you want to eat for breakfast. Like when we're in Paris, we got our own breakfast and had it at the airbnb, but we made it a thing like we got some juice and we drank the juicy in champagne glasses and had some croissants and stuff. And it was just a much more cost effective way to have breakfast for five adults but also enjoy the experience. And then we went out to a museum or did whatever we wanted to do, and it was just a very nice way to experience life.

But it's also such a more chill way to like start the day, like, yes, so where are we going? What are we doing. I mean, don't get me wrong, we still went up for some breakfasts, but I think that's a really good idea. And the next is eating like a local, Like if you're overseas, it is very very likely that local dishes are going to be much

cheaper than international cuisine. Like if you're trying to go over to Bali and then go to the Italian restaurant, like, that's not going to be the cheapest option for you. And because it's local, they're probably tastier and better made because they're the locals making local food, Like why wouldn't you want to do that? So I think it's important to have a look at that. Obviously well within your

dietary restrictions and stuff like that. But then all so, looking for a place with a kitchen might be a good option. Some hotels actually have little kitchenettes, so check out what that is, because you could save some money even just cooking like one meal at home or where you're staying. Plus going to a market or supermarket, as I said before, super fun in another CAMERI like, am I the only one that goes come we go to a supermarket.

And this is just a good reat cheat tip because if you book one of those hop on, hop off tours, especially like around London or something, they'll often be like, oh you get twenty four or forty eight hours or whatever it is, hop on, hop off, But why don't you just use that as public transports so you like hop on at the location you want to hop on and then hop off at other locations and kind of use it for like the twenty four or forty eight

hours you're in that location as public transport instead of doing the public transport thing in addition to then getting on a bus. Does that make sense?

a walking tour. So often you have you've done a walking tour before, George King, I think so not for a lot to get very eclectic people doing walking to us leading them or in the leading them, leading them, And that's like my favorite part of it, because you get this eccentric local who's just so passionate about where they live that they want to take you on this walking tour of their town. And walking tours are usually

like free. You just like usually tip the person or whatever it is, and I always tear it and make sure that I'm not, you know, taking advantage of the situation. But the type of person that does a free walking tour, I promise you is a very passionate individual who can tell you where the best pub is, where the best parmer is, where the best everything is, and all the hot tips of the location. And it's a good way

to spend a few hours to meet people. And genuinely, the fact that they're usually free is a money win, and it's something that I usually do on the first day or the first night that I'm in a location, so I can be like, okay, cool, like let's do the walking tour. We hear, we've put our stuff in the hotel, let's go gee and we do a walking tour and then we feel like we have a bit more of a grounding of the location that we're in.

I have quite literally done them in every country I have been to, except for London last time because the girls didn't want to do it because they.

walking tour. And then the next morning I like to get up and find a local market and go for a walk through there because I promise they are so interesting when you're overseas the best.

my favorite thing in the entire world. Like every time we were walking back from dinner to our hotel, I'd be like, yeah, I've got a stomach for a second dinner, Like this is genius because they like literally flip it up in front of you and it is some of the best pad tie I've had in my life. And then they serve it to you in a plastic bag with a little plastic fork. Questionable experience, but like the

best food I've had. And I think like eighty bart or something ridiculously cheap, which is like lessen no dollar here, So I get it. I think it's really important. But also turnover, like I feel like waiting in a line in that situation is a good thing. It's like you had to wait. That is a outcome.

you like stuck scrolling through Instagram. Everybody wins, man, everybody wins.

booked an airbnb that has a washing machine. So we booked an airbnb with a washing machine in Paris and it got the biggest workout of its life, five girls who all had washing to do. It was like a roster system. Money win, but use laundromats. Don't carry so much stuff. Ask miss jessic Riki how much fun it was pulling a very heavy suitcase over cobblestones, and she'll tell you that she wishes she'd pass. She did. Fucked she did. That's because she kept going shopping. You need

out her. But we did have to send some packages home. I didn't, Jessica did. I helped though, But take a little clothes line. Do you nick As take some washing powder? I did. I say that as though you guys are going to be surprised. I don't think you should be surprised at anything from me anymore. The other one take

a powerboard. Not a money saving tip, just a sanity, because I promise one, if you're traveling with other girls, they'll be like has anybody Gottenn adapter and I can be that absolute hero that goes I've got one type owerboard, babe, come right this way. And then, as I've said on our travel Insurance episode, drop box everything, have access to a digital copy of your passport, your credit cards, all of your travel documents, all of your travel itinerary, so

that you are always safe and sound. And also don't feel pressured to book a holiday because all the Instagram influencers are booking a holiday, or your mate really wants you to go to Italy with them and you just

can't afford it. Like there's something and I've said it a million times before, there is something so sexy about being like, hey, it's not in my budget, Like it's just not for me at this point in time, Like you may really really want to go, But I think that putting ourselves and future selves first is so important and as much as the experience, Let's be honest, the experience would be sick. But is that putting future you in the best possible position. And I guess I'm a

little bit riled up. Well, my feathers are a little bit ruffled at the moment, because there's a TikTok trend at the moment. It's basically like, oh, I can make money back, but I can't always go to the South of France and you know, swim in the ocean or

whatever it is. And as much as I totally agree with that, like there has to be some level of balance in life because it's not about the destination, it is about the journey as well, I also go, yeah, but like coming home to crippling debt that gives you anxiety and makes you more stressed than you were before the holiday, Like that's not worth it. And I think that just being really smart about your decisions isn't just

about saying yes all the time. Oh my gosh, yes, I mean like I want to do that with my girlfriends. I get it, but like, let's negotiate these things so everyone could be in the best possible position.

And we promise Victoria divine and She's on the Money are authorized representatives of in Focused Securities Australia Proprietary Limited ABN four seven zero nine seven seven nine seven zero four nine aphosal two three six five two three.