Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - Vacation Planning $$$ Hacks

Episode Date: June 7, 2022

Nicole shares five ways you can save money in the planning phase of your vacation, so that you can take those savings and put them toward something actually fun. Why spend money on expensive flights when you could use that cash for zip lining, horseback riding, pina coladas on the beach, wildlife excursions, museum tours, scuba diving… well, you get the picture. 

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Well, it doesn't. Charge for wasting our time. I will take a check. Like an old school check. You recognize her from anchoring on CNN, CNBC, and Bloomberg. The only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. Nicole Lappin. A lot of people I've been talking to lately are looking for travel tips.

And I'll be honest with you, as I always am, it's a difficult time to travel. Between COVID spikes, flight cancellations, and rising gas prices, the universe is not making it easy to have a little fun in the sun. But one obstacle that we can somewhat prepare for are the financial curveballs. And we can prepare for those by being thoughtful about getting the most bang for our buck on vacays. So in that spirit, I want to share five ways you can save money in the planning stages of your vacation so that you can take those savings and put them toward something actually fun. My thinking is, why spend money on expensive flights when you could use that cash for ziplining, horseback riding, piña coladas on the beach, wildlife excursions, museum tours,

scuba diving, whatever does it for you. But you get the picture. Here we go. Number one. diving. Whatever does it for you. But you get the picture. Here we go. Number one. Finding cheap flights by booking on a particular day of the week doesn't work. Some bloggers claim that Tuesday is the best day to book flights, but a recent study debunked that myth. Instead, what makes a difference is when you fly. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, those flights are usually the cheapest. The bottom line here is focus on what day you leave, not which day you buy. Number two, try a new site for deals. Some of the best deals out there are on Scott's Cheap Flights, Skyscanner, and Costco Travel. Yes, you heard that right. Costco. You can get everything at Costco now. Not only can you get a hot dog and a soda special for $1.50, the same price, by the

way, since 1985, so take that inflation, but you can also get deals on flights, hotels, rental cars, and vacation packages. Number three. Find the booking sweet spot. Research shows that you'll find the cheapest flights between three weeks and three months before your departure date. Some of you may come from the camp of wanting to wait until the last minute for discount flights, but that's another myth. Airplanes aren't concert venues. Airlines won't give tickets away for next to nothing in order to fill the plane. So nix that strategy and plan ahead. Number four, search for flights in incognito mode. This is one of my favorite hacks. Some airlines track your browsing history and will show repeat visitors a higher price to cause FOMO. So always clear your web browser cache if you're

checking flight prices multiple times or open a private browsing window. I know using incognito mode makes us all feel a little sketchy, but trust me on this one, your wallet will thank you. Number five. Last but certainly not least, my ultimate favorite hack while traveling is that pillows fly free. If you're like me, you're not checking a bag, but I do fill my carry-on up all the way. I mean, all the way. I'm one of those people who has to sit on my bag in order to zipper it closed, and then I realize I still have to pack a jacket and an extra pair of shoes and some other stuff probably. In that scenario, you might feel like you need to pack another bag to fit all of those miscellaneous odds and ends. And all of a sudden you're checking

a bag for 50 bucks. Hell to the no. Here's the best kept travel secret. You're allowed to take a pillow on planes free of charge. So get creative with what the pillow is made of. Get a zip-up pillowcase and put all of your extra soft items you can fit in your carry-on in there. For today's tip you can take straight to the bank, check out Money Rehab episode 204, five tips to prepare for a flight cancellation that we re-aired over the weekend. When our producer Morgan recently was trying to get out of New York City during a freak lightning storm, she used those tips and she was able to make it out safe and sound. So they were. And hey, Morgan.

Money Rehab is a production of iHeartRadio. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Our producers are Morgan Lavoie and Mike Coscarelli. Executive producers are Nikki Etor and Will Pearson. Our mascots are Penny and Mimsy. Huge thanks to OG Money Rehab team Michelle Lanz for her development work, Catherine Law for her production and writing magic, and Brandon Dickert for his editing, engineering, and sound design. And as always, thanks to you for finally investing in yourself so that you can get it together and get it all.