She's On The Money - Travel Savings Hacks That Feel Illegal (But Aren’t)

Starting point is 00:00:00 My name is Natasha Bamblett, I'm a proud First Nations woman, and I'm here to acknowledge country. Tii, gulinyan ganya, nianakaka yao yinbina waka, nianakai nianbina yakarumja, duminyagumiga dumiga ithawaka nirawamundamun imalan. Mumu bangada boma ininyalan waka, gaunan yakarumja, wutunadanar. Hello beautiful friends. We gather on the lands of the Aboriginal people. we thank acknowledge and respect the aboriginal people's land that we're gathering on today take pleasure in all the land and respect all that you see she's on the money podcast acknowledges culture country community and connections bringing you the tools

Starting point is 00:00:42 knowledge and resources for you to thrive she's on the money she's on the money hello and welcome to she's on the money the podcast that's here to help you live your best life without blowing the budget i'm beckside and if you're like me living your best life definitely includes travel ideally but let's be honest we just got back from thailand so clearly Yeah. Holidays can get very expensive very quickly. They can. So today I'm joined as always by our go-to for all things finance,

Starting point is 00:01:30 Victoria Devine, to figure out how we can see the world without draining our bank accounts. I mean, you could also drain your bank account, no judgment. You could, yeah, absolutely. I just, I don't know, like what you do with your money is actually none of my business. My job is to give you all the tools and resources so that you can make a decision that's right for you

Starting point is 00:01:45 and if draining your bank account is in line with your values, pop off queen. Absolutely, if that's what you'd like to do. Ideally, you've got some money to come home to because I love a bit of financial stability. Oh, yeah. I just think that that is the responsible thing. And sometimes I think we need to put our big girl socks on and get our emergency fund set up. Because you know what? Future you deserves that. Yeah, that's so true.

Starting point is 00:02:07 Like you just feel so much more financially secure when you've got some cash in the bank. It feels so good. I've never really been in that position except for when I like, I don't know, I'll go to Sydney and come back. I feel like you're getting there. $1,000 in your shares. yeah it feels good it really feels good so i i feel like we could all do it and we get so many messages from our community especially our younger members asking rv is like travel a really bad money goal no experience exactly please memories like any goal that's in line with your values is a good goal yes and the research is pretty clear that spending on experiences actually makes us

Starting point is 00:02:43 happier than spending on things so i reckon that's that's good enough for me i'm gonna go back to Bali. Um, so it's not about skipping travel. I think it's actually just about being smart with it. Like, I just don't want to see you in $30,000 worth of personal debt and then going, but I deserve a holiday. I'm so sorry. Grow up. Like we've got to get a together back because you deserve more than that. Like future you needs financial security, but also future you deserves to go to Bali. Future you deserves to see the world and you can't put yourself in that position if you keep making decisions that put you backwards. Yeah, okay.

Starting point is 00:03:19 So is travel bad? No, but like, let's be smart. Yeah, okay. And we can show you how to do that, which is why today is all about sharing travel, savings hacks and tips and tricks that aren't the same boring tips that you've heard 100 million times.

Starting point is 00:03:34 I would say, because we've put this episode together, Bec, together, together, these are clever, lesser known ones that actually save you some real cash. Oh my God. Okay, I'm excited. it. But before we get into it, Bec, I want to know, do you have a bucket list trip that you want to go on? That's so sweet, VD. I think I really want to see the Aurora Borealis. Oh my God, me too. Something about lights, bright lights, really exciting. Yeah, a hundred percent. But did

Starting point is 00:04:00 you know you can like see that in Tasmania? Really? Yeah. I mean, not the same one, but like. Oh yeah, yeah. You can see like. Oh my God. Cause I've heard that like my best friend, Harriet lives in Hobart. Sorry, Harriet, for just like outing where you live. But she has sent me photos from her back deck before of her experience and you can see it with the naked eye yeah because Tasmania doesn't have as much light pollution as we do oh my god okay well that sounds like it sounds a bit cheaper but I'm not trying to be cheaper but let's go on the big bushy holiday because one day I have in my head that I really want to go to like a Bora Bora yeah and don't get me wrong I've been on some nice holidays but I cannot in my head justify like a three thousand dollar a night

Starting point is 00:04:40 overwater villa thing. No. But one day, one day, maybe when I like get enough virgin points or something, I will be able to go. I believe that. Because I just go, imagine being in a villa that's overwater and you like look through the floor and there's fishies. That's so cool. That would be really amazing. Imagine having breakfast. Oh, anyway, sorry. That's where I would like to go. God. And I don't know, there's probably a million other places because I do really like travel, but like I've just kind of stepped a little bit out of my travel era I would say because I have a toddler yeah that's so fair I would say limits your choices a little bit a little bit trickier in fact my last holiday Beck was actually based around um finding a family-friendly resort and I

Starting point is 00:05:23 was like oh my god this has like so many kids pools brilliant the next thing I looked at was like oh my god this resort I went to in Bali it has a petting zoo oh that's so cute whereas I I would say that past me, if I was going on like an international, like, you know, I would say beachy holiday. I'm thinking, oh, private villa, private pool. Now I've got a toddler. I was like, private pool in Bali? There's no pool fencing. Absolutely not. No, scary. So your life changes a little bit, but that doesn't mean that travels off the card spec. Absolutely. So what's your first tip?

Starting point is 00:05:57 All right. So you're not going to like this because you're a chat GPT, like not fan. but if i could convince you to save some money i reckon you could get on board so we can actually turn to chat gpt and be like hey girl yeah can you pretend to be my travel agent got you okay and you're gonna make her role play um in not a weird way um you're gonna make her role play as a travel agent now i know that that's probably not very groundbreaking you're like v you promised good tips and then you said chat gpt but i wanted to share a few things that you could use it for that you maybe have not used it for before. Because like everyone knows

Starting point is 00:06:32 that you could probably use ChatGPT, right? Right. But you could ask it to find the cheapest time to go somewhere. So you could say something like, hey, find me the shoulder season windows for Bali that dodge Australian school holidays and then all of the major events.

Starting point is 00:06:46 Like I would really want three days in a row where the like flights drop, but the weather's really good. And then add a sentence of why for each window. So like, I think something that people don't realise about ChatGPT or you haven't used it as incessantly as I have, is that you can be as specific as you want. And like, if you're not getting the answers you want, you can like clarify. Okay. Oh no, I don't like that window because it actually clashes with my husband's birthday and we're

Starting point is 00:07:14 doing something else. And then it will like regenerate again. You can ask it a million questions. I'm still in a phase where I say, please and thank you. You probably don't need to, but I feel like, I don't know, I'll be polite. One day, if my like ChatGPT search history, like gets leaked at least you guys are going to go through and be like well you know what Victoria was really polite when asking that six million times you know right or you could find the most cost-effective like airline or flight for you so you could compare infant and child fare rules across like Qantas and Singapore Airlines and Emirates if you're planning on going to Italy or something so I want realistic totals for a family of four with one infant who

Starting point is 00:07:55 sits on my lap and a kid aged seven and one. Sure. Because money win Beck. And I think some people know this, but not all people know this. Kids under two usually fly free. Oh my God. So like our flight to Bali, we paid for our tickets or, you know, actually got tickets on points, but like we didn't have to pay for Harvey because he actually sits on one of our laps. Oh, that's so good. Money win. The second he turns two though, we're going to have to pay for him. and honestly, I'm not going to lie. And my son is quite big. Like I don't share a lot about him, but like, I would say that when people meet him, they often say, oh my God, like he's much bigger than I thought he would be. Cause he's just, this is a big boy doing big things. Oh my God,

Starting point is 00:08:38 so cute. He's a busy boy. It was a lot to have him on my lap. So I don't know how long that's going to go, but you can also compare like baggage rules or like the stroller rules and like seat selection fees. So you can see the actual true cost. Cause how many times have you're going to book a flight and then you're like oh 129 to sydney like money win and then it's like plus tax plus baggage plus these plus that and then they ask you to make a contribution to charity and you're like right now i just don't have the money i don't understand but you can even get it to like dig up cheaper routes or like flag budget airlines that don't show up on the usual comparison website so if you go to webjet they only like rank the places that pay them to be

Starting point is 00:09:18 on Webjet. Got you. Okay. So you can compare even more using ChatGPT. And if you're not sure what to ask, ask ChatGPT. Be like, hey, I don't know how to really use you. What are the questions I should ask? Because I want to book a budget holiday. I don't tell you. Oh my God. Okay. That's great. I think that my favorite thing at the moment is you can just ask. Like you can just ask. You can just ask. It doesn't make you feel stupid. No. Okay. Because it's AI. Well, outside of ChatGPT, if you happen to have, are there any other? Yes, there are. I'm sorry that you hate ChatGPT. So this meant, I feel like you're doing a dodgy, but it's completely legal. You're going to change your point of sale country. Okay. Okay. Change your point of sale country. Yep. So

Starting point is 00:10:03 airlines don't just like price flights because of the distance. They actually price them by where you buy. And this is where you could use your VPN very well. Okay. So sometimes the exact seat costs literally hundreds of dollars less if you book it on the airline's destination country website in their local currency. Oh my God, BD. So for an example, I did a little bit of research because I was like, all right, I need to give you guys a good example of this. A Tokyo flight can be a lot cheaper on the Japan version of the airline website than the Australian one. Oh my God. Because they're kind of like, oh, well, the Japanese obviously are going to fly home to tokyo and that's not as interesting as someone from australia coming on a holiday are you allowed

Starting point is 00:10:48 to like trans what's the word i'm thinking of like translate translate in english it was it won't pick up that you're no but you can just put it into english and say that you're in japan while you're booking yeah got you put your vpn there oh my god um and so i saw someone online say because i looked it up but i saw someone online say that she and her husband flew to italy for 750 dollars return from LA versus $1,500 using this hack in our Facebook group. Yep. Money win. So to do this, obviously you have to make sure that you only use like the official website. Like don't just go on random Japanese websites. Cause like that could be like sketchy, like no sketchy third party links. And then what we want to do is reject pop-ups, like no pop-ups allowed. Like, you know,

Starting point is 00:11:37 when it pops up. So reject pop-ups that change into your own currency and then pay with a card that doesn't have foreign exchange fees because you don't want to get slapped with that. And then always double check the fare rules and the baggage because it can actually differ from market to market. I see. Everything, it's so annoying with airlines, but like they might have a limit on luggage. Whereas, you know, you get 23 kilos if you book from Australia. Sure. So you just want You've got to be careful, right? That is so clever. I did not know that was a thing.

Starting point is 00:12:08 Just pretend you're somewhere else. That's so good. And check. And, I mean, I'm going back to ChatGPT, but you could ask them what the best fare would be. Do I book from Japan or do I book from here? Whoa, okay. They might do the hard work for you.

Starting point is 00:12:20 I'm scared that, like, because, you know, sometimes, I mean, you hear, I don't know if this is true or not, but if you Google a flight and then you Google it again. Yeah, that's another tip. Clear your cookies. But I feel like lots of people know that. That's why I haven't put it in as a tip for today. But if you ask ChatGPT, does that, maybe the internet will know.

Starting point is 00:12:35 I don't know how deep it goes, but I also always make sure that when I'm looking up flats or, like, accommodation, I do it in, like, an incognito browser mode and I, like, clear my cookies because I don't want there to be a history of me having looked it up because it does increase. They're so sneaky. So sneaky. I mean, it's good for them to make more money because they're like,

Starting point is 00:12:53 oh, well, if Bec looked at that right now and then didn't buy it and then she comes back, she'd be happy to pay another 50 bucks. That'll be fine. Why do they think? because they're rude bear i'm not paying the cheaper price why am i paying the more expensive price because i took time to think about it ew oh i don't like it anyway so vd i'm just like skimming over the page that we're kind of that's kind of guiding us and goldilocks window is on here yeah and i've um it's not too hot it's not too cold it's just right ah the window seat

Starting point is 00:13:23 the window seat no it's not got anything to do with that but that was a good example maybe it's Fantastic. Um, but there's also something called a Goldilocks window for buying flights. Um, so too early, you are paying full fare. Like you're booking like a year and a half in advance. They're going to be like, she's prepared. We're not going to give her any discounts. We don't care. Too late and you pay surge pricing because you know, they're like, she's desperate to get to Sydney or she's desperate to get to Italy tomorrow. We're going to charge her through the nose because what else is she going to do? Yeah. Okay. So taking some time to research this window for your flight to kind of hit the sweet spot in between would save you some serious cash. Right. Okay. And this

Starting point is 00:14:07 is where I'll say that your friend chat GPT could probably tell you. Sure. Every destination is going to be really different because like some places, if it's like a domestic flight, maybe they're like, whatever, we don't care. We don't need to charge them through the nose. But then like a big dog flight to like New York or something last minute, they might go, nah, if you need to get to New York last minute, we're going to take the Mickey. I see. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 00:14:28 That is so mean. So we've just got to keep an eye on it. Sure, sure, sure. That is so, because I imagine if you're desperately trying to get overseas, it's maybe because like a family member is sick or something. But they don't give a damn. They're like, great, this is more money for us.

Starting point is 00:14:42 Exactly. That is sickening. Gross. Anyway, story for another time. But what about accommodation? Okay, so this is a good one. This is going to be rude. so if you're a hotel company and you were like, oh, I really want to work with She's on the Money,

Starting point is 00:14:55 maybe you don't anymore because I'm going to tell you that you can rebook your accommodation when the prices drop. Okay. Okay. Okay. So hotel prices often move around all the time, even after you've booked. So we're always looking. So if you've booked a hotel, let's pretend it's like in New York, like just keep checking every couple of weeks, like what the price per night on that hotel is. Because if you've chosen the flexible rate, meaning that there's like free cancellations, you can actually cancel and then rebook for the lower rate yeah yeah and i think that that will save you some money and there's apps like provo so provo p-r-u-v-o yep and rate punk and these two apps actually will check your exact hotel and your room for you and keep you up to date with

Starting point is 00:15:38 that so basically when you're booking don't be like oh i'm gonna not do the flexible rate because this won't work for you but you book with the flexible rate then if you were going to use one of these apps, you would forward your confirmation email to Provo or install RatePunk's browser extension, which is my preferred method because it's like, you know how you have like a shopback extension or whatever. It's like that. And then the tool watches that same room type and the same date range on multiple different websites for you. And then if the price falls, they're like, hey Bec, did you realize that like your hotel's cheaper today? Oh my God. Yep. And then you cancel your old booking and then rebook the exact same room for less money. Oh my God. That is so clever.

Starting point is 00:16:18 Right. And the catch is you do have to book the flexible rate. So often you'll find that it's like 10 or $20 more per night to do that, but it can actually save you hundreds of dollars without changing your trip at all. And that can be, I don't know, I'm, I'm one for flexibility. You never know what's going to happen. So, and that's a good deal. That is so clever. So what else have you got? All right. So the best rate guarantee, we are taking advantage of this and like, and not saying taking advantage as in we're going to take the mickey but like we're going to use the best rate guarantee if it's being offered so most big chains so think like Hilton Hotels or the Marriott or like I don't know the Hyatt or the Sofitel they often run what's called a best rate guarantee

Starting point is 00:17:04 so like that sounds good but most of us don't deep dive into what that actually means but that means if you book direct on their personal website so not through like a third party platform then find the room cheaper somewhere else which you might so like you might go on like a goda or like i don't know lastminuteorsomething.com they'll not only price match but they'll actually give you an extra 20 to 25 off oh okay so i feel like that's a good deal so book direct first on a refundable rate so we're doing flexi again so that you're safe if you know the claim fails So you can be like, oh, screw you. I'm just cancel my whole thing and go through a go-down, like whatever.

Starting point is 00:17:46 But then find a public OTA with a lower price, which is like just like a third-party platform for the same room name, the same bed type, the same cancellation terms, and the same currency. And then I would be screenshotting everything, like with the date and the time. So like don't just screenshot the little bit, screenshot your whole computer screen so that it's got the room name and like the cancellation type and like the time and the date

Starting point is 00:18:09 up in the corner of your computer and then total price before taxes and fees, and then file within 24 hours of booking direct and they'll price match it for you. Gorgeous. That is so cool. And I mean, to add to that, I want to say I'm a pest. You already know I'm a pest, right? I can't imagine it. I'll just call you direct. Like I'll just call the hotel to book. Oh, I'm scared. But yes and no, like the girl on the phone's usually really nice. Yeah, true. They're probably having a slow day on reception and then they're like, oh, this annoying girl is calling and I'd be like, hey, is there like a better rate you can do? Usually, yes. Yeah, that's true, actually. Usually, yes. Thank you. Thank you. Love that.

Starting point is 00:18:47 I feel like this is a really good time to have a really quick break. A holiday, you could say. A holiday. A mini holiday. Imagine if we actually came back in like six months to finish the episode. Yeah. Sorry, everyone. Don't put it past us, though. We're going to take a quick break and on the flip side, we're going to get a lot more money saving hacks. okay guys we are back and if you're anything like me i'm literally shaking gagging throwing up the idea of more travel hacks and i feel like you've got a few up you just have to be smart right yeah you just gotta be smart it's like it's probably like a tiny bit more admin but imagine the money you do admin if i'm saving money like i know some people say oh no i'm happy to pay the premium

Starting point is 00:19:28 I don't know at what point I will be happy to pay the premium. No. Like at what point will I be like, do you know what, Victoria? Like you're pretty financially comfortable. Stop trying to get the best deal. No, I think it's in my blood. Yeah. How do you think she got here?

Starting point is 00:19:42 How do you think I got here? I'm not leaving. Anyway, there is nothing more frustrating, I think, than being charged to use your own money when you're on holiday. What do you mean? I see. And when you're traveling, I think this is like a million times worse. So I do have a few hacks for this.

Starting point is 00:19:57 and the first you're probably going to be surprised by this because this is a question we get all the time like do i pay in local currency or do i pay in australian right like what do i do always pay in local currency and avoid dynamic currency conversion or dcc okay not the dcc from the cowboys cheerleaders uh just dcc which is like the bad type but dcc is when a cashier atm or card terminal asks oh do you want to pay in aud instead of the local currency and you go, oh yes, no, we say no, no, we don't want that because it kind of looks helpful to see the like, you know, you're at checkout in Thailand and it's like, do you want to pay in Australian? It's like $14. You go, oh, well that makes more sense to me. Yeah. Okay. Cause

Starting point is 00:20:42 it feels safer. It's not because the cash rate is the conversion rate set by the ATM or the merchant. And that's usually much worse than the official bank rate or the card network rate. They're taking the absolute mickey. And then they often tack on some kind of hidden margin. So you come home and you're like, where are all these additional fees and charges coming from? It's from that. Got you. Okay. So always, always, always choose the local currency and your bank or your card network, like if you're with Visa or MasterCard, will handle the conversion at what I would call a much fairer currency rate. That is wild. Yeah. And if you have a card without foreign exchange fees, you're going to save even more. And that would be a top tip. Like don't go overseas

Starting point is 00:21:23 if you've got a card with foreign exchange fees. Yeah, okay. Got you, got you. Save your money. Like ING or something? I don't know. I guess you can Google that. Personally, I can't give you advice on what bank to use

Starting point is 00:21:33 because that would be going against my financial services license. But when I went to Bali, I used my WISE card. WISE. That's just what I use. That is just what I use. Got you, okay. But what would I know about money or making decisions? You've got to make your own decision, but I used my WISE card.

Starting point is 00:21:51 Are there other banks that have, you know, no foreign exchange fees? Yes, absolutely. Yeah. I just didn't use those ones. Are they bad? No. But again, do your own research. That's very good to know for no reason.

Starting point is 00:22:04 Exactly. And also, sorry, we're going to take this a step further and let an app find the best fee-free ATM for you. Because like, girl, we live in 2025. There's an app for everything. So ATM fees overseas, I think take the mickey. Right. Like, have you ever gone to get cash out overseas and you're like, well, but you needed the cash

Starting point is 00:22:24 because you're like already at the market. Yeah. What are you going to do? You're going to pay it, but we're not. Sometimes it could cost anywhere genuinely between $8 to $12 just to take cash out your own cash so that you can spend it. Okay. Taking the mickey, don't like it. But there's an app for that because in 2025, there's an app for everything Beck. It's called the ATM fee saver app. Oh, okay. And these guys are crazy. I love them. They actually map ATMs in more than 160 countries. And then they show you which ones are like fee-free or lower cost and even tells you what like withdrawal limits are on it or like the foreign cards it's accepting. I'm not paid for this. I just thought this was genius. Yeah. Because if you need an ATM, like, sorry, get the

Starting point is 00:23:08 best one. And he's kind of, I've written down how it works. So it makes sense to you. First thing you're going to do is download the app. Then you're like, okay, cool. Like, and I just got back from Bali. So I feel like this is my most recent example. I'm going to search Bali and your country. So Bali, Indonesia, it's going to show a map of all the nearby ATMs with user reported fees. So the one thing I would say it's user reported. So like the more people that have this app, the more people that are contributing to the data, the better, but then also it's not like verified through the bank. Like I could go on and be like, cost $50 million. What are they going to do. Um, but then you're going to head to the fee free option, save eight bucks because

Starting point is 00:23:46 when you're back home in Melbourne, that's a coffee. But when you're in Bali, that's like cocktails for two people. Hell yeah. That's so cool. Exactly. Right. Exactly. And I guess you're going to go fee. What's the catch? Of course. Yeah. Coverage is very dependent on, I guess, travelers submitting updates. As I said before, like it's kind of up to the users to be like, I do this. So in Bali, really easy because there's lots of Australians and lots of people who do that, but like maybe more niche travel destinations are a little bit harder to find it. So in some spots I would say it's definitely not perfect, but when it works, it works and it can save you hundreds of dollars on a longer holiday. That is so good. We are here to save

Starting point is 00:24:24 money. Yeah. Okay. I'm like kind of itching to get on my phone and tell all my friends about this, but I'm going to wait. You can just send them the whole episode that we did. I think I might do that. I'd just be like, hey, sit down, buckle in. Yeah. I'm on a podcast and I have been for years. I have been for years actually. Yeah. It's actually not new.

Starting point is 00:24:41 It's not new. So, okay, food can be a big one on holiday. Do you have anything to save on that? Girl, all I do is hack food when I'm away. And you know what? This isn't for everybody. So I'll share this and I've shared this on the pod before. So this isn't the new part, but then I've got a few tips that are new.

Starting point is 00:25:00 I don't believe unless breakfast included in the holiday or in the package or it's like real reasonable we're not having breakfast at the hotel don't get me wrong so like most recent trip for me was Bali we definitely had breakfast at the hotel because it's like this big buffet and it was kind of part of the experience while staying at a resort like I didn't want to leave to go and get food because it's just not my journey for that trip yeah um so what did I do to make the most of that, I have a toddler. Toddlers, I would say eat 99% of the time. My grocery budget is 99% snacks at this point for my toddler. So I took a lunchbox and I made a little sandwich every morning and put some of the snacks and treats in there. So when midday came and Harvey had his

Starting point is 00:25:44 little lunch and he had some like afternoon tea, I was set. It made me very comfortable. I didn't have to spend extra on going, oh, we're at the pool. Like, you know, we're still in our resort. We're hanging out. Harvey's hungry. We should order some like, you know, chips beside the pool. And I don't mind what food it is. Like, don't get me wrong. It's not about health and wealth and whatever at this point in time. It's actually about going to me. That's a ridiculous cost for a toddler who would be just as happy with a Vegemite sandwich. Yeah. So I'm filling up my, my lunchbox at the buffet. When I was traveling Europe with my girlfriends and we had no money, I had Ziploc bags that I bought at the local supermarket and I'd put an extra croissant in

Starting point is 00:26:26 there from the hostels buffet breakfast that was included and like buffet breakfasts at hostels dire but sorry morning tea or afternoon tea not having to get a little like snack because you were starving because I took it from buffet breakfast amazing yeah and I assume they throw that stuff out anyway I think so I like no one ever stopped me no one has ever been like oh no like, in fact, when I was filling my little lunchbox, they're like, do you need anything else? Oh, that's so cute. Do you know what I mean? Also, when I was in bigger locations, so as I've gotten older, I've traveled to more expensive places like New York. In America, I'm sorry, the second we got there, I was like, I'm not paying $25 USD for the buffet breakfast at this

Starting point is 00:27:07 hotel in the morning for it to be toast and jam. So I went to the supermarket and I got like cereals and stuff like that set myself up amazing breakfast in bed every morning yeah really cheap really easy and to be honest one of the hacks that I have for traveling is like try and I don't know if this is a hack or if this is just something that we do is trying to have one or two meals at the hotel each day like or at where you're staying each day and breakfast I think is such an easy tick off the list yeah because I can eat something at home or eat something where we're staying and then we can go out and still have a coffee but we're not blowing our food budget early in the day. Totally. I don't know about you, but I'd much prefer to have like a

Starting point is 00:27:47 fancy lunch or a fancy dinner than spend money when traveling on breakfast. Yeah. Unless it's like a bucket list item. It's just not my journey. For sure. But then also we've spoken on the podcast before about Eat Club. Yes. They are actually international. So you can hunt for Eat Club at your destination. So we talk about apps like this, but most countries have their own version. So what I would do is search Google or your friend chat GPT and just be like, Hey, what's like the restaurant discount app for Europe? Yeah. For Italy. Be specific. Maybe you're in Dubai. I don't know. And then download it in advance and set up your account so that you can see what's on offer. So I did a little bit of research for you in Europe and in Latin America,

Starting point is 00:28:31 there's an app called the fork and it looks basically like eat club and you earn like loyalty points and get discounted tables and discounted rates, or you might get like a free bottle of wine with your booking. Cool. Sorry, money win. Yes. Money win. In Asia, they have etigo or etigo. I don't know. E-T-I-G-O. Yes. E-A-T-I-G-O. Okay. And that's time-based discounts. So like no booking in advance, but they might be like, oh, tonight this place is having 25% off if you book through here. Right. Money win. And like when you're on holiday, I feel like we do most things last minute. In the UK and in Ireland, they have taste card. Yeah. So they offer often two for ones or 50% off at thousands of different restaurants. That is so good. Right.

Starting point is 00:29:19 So we're all trying to save money at home. Like, and we use these apps at home, but then all of a sudden when we go overseas, we forget that these things exist. Yeah. So that's good. And one of our favorites of the show, and you've like mentioned it before as like a broke tip is Too Good To Go. Yeah. Sorry, that's international. We didn't come up with that in Australia. That's actually available in so many different countries around the world. And I would say that's a really good option because you could get on like Eat To Go, look at a bakery or something, get some cute like chocolate croissants or something the night before, bam, breakfast. That's so clever. I just think that's really smart. I think that's so, I'm so excited to

Starting point is 00:29:56 tell everyone I know about this. I just feel like when you're on holiday, I don't know about you, but you just have this idea that, oh, it's a luxury. Absolutely. You just go, oh, it's definitely going to be more expensive, but you can still be a little bit savvy. Absolutely. Like we can still save money. And like these rules, I've never felt like they're restrictive. Like this idea that we have, you know, one meal at home. For me, yes, it's very different when I'm traveling to a more budget friendly country like Asia. So like in Bali, I'm like, well, what really is the difference of going to the supermarket and buying all of the groceries and then bring it. That's not the journey for me in Bali, but sorry, in Italy, when we were in more expensive locations like New York,

Starting point is 00:30:37 America, wherever. For me, I'm like, no, that's going to save me like $15 USD, which is close to $30 Australian right off the bat. And if I'm there for 10 days, that stuff adds up. For sure. That's hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Exactly. And I don't know about you, Bec, but sorry, American cereals are really fun. I love Lucky Charms. Yeah, we like went to the supermarket there. It was like a whole other experience. That was a free activity.

Starting point is 00:31:03 That's so fun. Let's go to Walmart. Ten out of ten. Even the convenience stores here, there's something about the American sweets and treats. I've always wanted to look at them. Exactly, right? So like you can still have fun. It doesn't need to be boring.

Starting point is 00:31:15 You don't need to go get your like stocks down and, okay, well, when we get there, we'll buy a loaf of bread. No. You can buy something fun. And it can even be like something fun and a little bit more like bougie than what you would usually do. But you're probably already still saving money by doing that. Treat yourself. So we often have like solo travelers in our community that say they want to like save

Starting point is 00:31:34 money on budget accommodation, but they don't want it to be in a dorm for safety reasons, of course, and for other reasons, I'm sure. So give me your best tips. I've stayed in a few dorms and in like hostels. And one of the things I would say is I absolutely agree. um when I was traveling this is obviously like segue into solo travelers um but one of the things I would say is you can obviously pick like all female dorms if you want or like when I was traveling with a group of four we found it very economical to book out a dorm for six people

Starting point is 00:32:05 yeah and say that we wanted the whole thing but it was only four of us then we got like dorm rates but we didn't we just split the cost and we kind of had our own private room and that was a good deal. But when it comes to individual travel, it obviously like adds up because you can't split your room cost with anybody. You can't be like, oh, Bec, this hotel's like 200 bucks. Oh, it's only a hundred dollars a head. Like that just doesn't work. But did you know when students clear out for like semester breaks, universities kind of sometimes quietly flip their dorms into budget accommodation? Oh, okay. Right. Anyway, this means you could score a bed and this usually happens in like America and London, not so much Australia, but like in a central city location

Starting point is 00:32:47 on a budget with, I would say way fewer drunk backpackers banging on your door at 3am. In Australia, you could have a look and see if like uni lodge or like campus living villages do it because I know they do. It's just, as I said, a little bit more scarce than overseas. Plus individual uni residences in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth seem to do that over summer. Sorry, rooms start at like 40 bucks a night, Bec. Yeah. Okay. That's so good. $40. That's so good. That's dorm pricing, not for dorm rooms. And often you get like access to the kitchen or sorry, laundry facilities included. Right. Overseas, there's a website and this is where you get access to a bit more is universityrooms.com. And they have more than 800 different universities

Starting point is 00:33:34 across the UK, across Europe and across Canada, including get this, you could stay at Oxford or Cambridge yeah you could put on your resume that you went to Cambridge that is so cool imagine and you ain't lying you're not lying I went there one time it's like oh yes of course I've been to Harvard yeah I slept there obviously obviously when you could like I don't know live out your royal fantasy like American student loan dream um for a fraction of the cost of a hotel that's so good that is actually such a great you know what this one I thought was really cool so I've been to Edinburgh before and I loved it. I actually went to Edinburgh over New Year's one year and went to Hoggermanay, which is their big New Year's festival. Oh my God, I was so cold because it was

Starting point is 00:34:17 the middle of winter and the middle of the night, but I had the best time. Edinburgh uni dorms actually moonlight as budget hotels during like the fringe festivals when normal accommodation prices go up. That's so cool. So you could look at like times that you want to be there because like school's not in during New Year's. Yeah. So you get a sick room in Edinburgh for Hogger Monet at a really cheap price. That's so sick. What a great idea. Exactly. All right, Bec, I know that a lot of this yapping has meant that I'm running out of time very quickly, but I want to know, do you have any broke tips to share? We're going to like bring the Friday segment into this episode to share when it comes to travel. Like what have you round up? I guess like, you know,

Starting point is 00:35:01 and other than the ones that I've used before where I'm like wear every single item of clothing that you can so that you don't have to oh yeah that's good check it and things like that and I think this one might be like I do think that's quite funny though oh I saw a girl on TikTok the other day and she's like if you don't want to wear all of your coats and jackets and stuff fold up like wear an extra extra large bra and fold up all of your undies and all of your t-shirts and put them in the bra because no one's going to question your breast size no no one's like what's going on there no because that would be rude you'd be like hey my eyes are up here exactly stop looking at my t-shirt exactly so this one might not be like like a great hack

Starting point is 00:35:40 or whatever like a lot of people might use this one if you've come up with it i think it'll be good well i would hope so but i i fear that so what i'm gonna say is the wiki camps app because i'm i tend to like i drive to sydney a lot and i just love like going on little like you know short stays by myself or whatever and the wiki camps app will show you heaps of free or low cost camping spots across australia oh that's a good deal ones that are and you know there are so many free spots but they'll like how do you know if it's any good you'll be able to see like you know it will show you the amenities list but also you'll uh each one will come with its own real reviews and photos from other travelers so you can see what you're signing up for before you drive in

Starting point is 00:36:16 oh okay so like if you went back you would like take a picture and upload it and be like this is pretty sick or like take a photo of a dodgy toilet and be like not so great but still free exactly exactly okay okay um and you can filter it based on like you know I would like a bonfire I would like uh you know a powered site or whatever you can filter it based on what you're looking for and so I think that's really good a bonfire is so fun yeah you know what I hate about bonfires and you probably don't care as much as I do because I spend a lot of time doing my hair is that when you go to a bonfire, you walk away and my hair smells like the bonfire until I've like shampooed it

Starting point is 00:36:53 like three times. It's so frustrating. No, I get it. Everything you own forever will smell like a bonfire. Because it's like the vibes, but then also now I smell like a camp. You've really got to commit to a bonfire. Yeah, or like stay really far away. And then even when I've done that, I'm like,

Starting point is 00:37:06 I still smell like a school camp. It reaches you. Like what is going on? Somehow it reaches you. so but one thing i should say is wiki camps is not a free app but it's just like a one-time purchase how much is that it's only nine dollars ninety nine but i which i know is like it actually is not that's pretty good if you're getting like free camp spots and like it's doing all the research for you that's i mean that's a pretty good deal and did you say you like only buy it

Starting point is 00:37:30 once you only buy once which is i do like every time you okay i prefer to pay up front i know what i'm paying for and then it's free forever i feel like that's a good deal you and i i reckon you be on accommodation like you find the free camp spot i'll go to the supermarket get us all of the breakfast items that we need go camping night before bonfire hot dogs that's from the supermarket gorgeous in the morning we're having cereal fine and then we can go out for lunch at like a bougie pub or something perfect i feel like that's a good weekend away let's do it sorry genius all right beck i reckon that is probably a very good place to leave it i hope you guys have picked up a few little hacks or tips or tricks to make your next trip I don't know a little bit

Starting point is 00:38:10 easier but also like I think it's fun doing the planning it is fun it's probably in a spreadsheet if you're anything like me put it in a spreadsheet because it will make the planning better but it also makes it easier on your bank account and if you loved this episode just like Bec send it to all of your friends but please make sure that you hit subscribe and share it with your travel buddies so that they can save a few dollars here and there too we will see you back here on Friday for our next episode, guys. Bye. Bye, guys.

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