Contrary to Kendrick Lamar, there are no real money trees. We all have to save where we can, and it just so happens that traveling (one of the best parts of being a curious human) can be outrageously expensive. I was listening to a broadcast on NPR the other day about all the “surprise” fees that airlines and hotels dish out which are completely bogus, aka: the resort fee, energy saver, and early check-in fee. I know times are tough, but I don’t think charging a poor sap $50 bucks because his plane got in early will make a good customer. Anyway, here are MORE travel hacks for you to copy, alter and use:
1. Losing signal? Did you know that you can type in OK maps and it will save the visible area for you so you can go offline? This is CRUCIAL for hitting the tube or the subway, as any New Yorker will tell you, it’s where cell phone signal goes to die.
2. Forget all those cheesy commercials your mom laughs at for cheap hotels, use TravelPony instead. I honestly don’t know why this site isn’t a “thing” yet because it’s sometimes WAY cheaper than anything you can find on KAYAK. I don’t know how they do it, but I have only positive things to say about this company. All you do is just sign up for a quick account and book your hotel like any other site. There’s an increased social presence too, if you share their link on Facebook your friends can get a referral credit, and you might get some kickback of that as well. Don’t chance an awkward encounter with some crazy hill people you found off AirBnB, if you’re on vacation, live like a baller, and just save a few dollars. I made that up, so obviously I’m the pinnacle of modern rap superstars. PROTIP: Make sure to turn on the emails from these guys because you’ll get discount codes pretty much every day.
3. Drink your bottle of water (or preferably bring your reusable water bottle) so that it’s empty when you hit the security line at the airport. That way you can fill up on water once you break through to the other side instead of having to throw it away. Sidenote: Please cool it with the plastic water bottles, there are so many awesome BPA-free reusable bottles and jugs. Also, if you don’t want to fill up at the drinking fountain, just ask someone at starbucks or some other airport restaurant to fill that bad boy up. Starbucks has really good water though, to be honest, go with Starbucks.
4. Check-in! No, I mean to foursquare. While I know it’s connected to your instagram, foursquare offers some precious pearls of wisdom about the place you might be going to. I got a free edamame just by checking in somewhere the other day (I know it’s not like a big ice cream but I love free things). Plus, they often have the WiFi password listed on there too, in case you need temporary reprieve from the outside world.
5. Organize like a CHAMP. Here I’ll just run down a list:
- roll don’t fold
- put socks and (maybe) undies in your shoes to save room in the bag
- put bobby pins in a tic tac container
- wrap headphone cords around binder clip to prevent tangling
- put jewelry in those pill organizers so they don’t tangle
- put shoes in grocery bags to keep all the muck off your stuff
I hope you all like this post, stay tuned for another edition of travel hacks in the near future!
