The Rachel Cruze Show - Travel Tips That Will Save You Money

Episode Date: March 4, 2019

The one thing that’s always true about traveling is that it costs money. Whether you love it (like I do!) or hate it, it seems like there’s always one reason or another to spend money going somewhere! Maybe you’re planning a honeymoon or a beach vacation. Maybe you’re getting out of debt and can’t spend much but have to travel to a family reunion or an out-of-town wedding. In this episode, we’re going to talk about how you can travel cheaper.  You’ll learn how to: take a vacation without going into debt travel like a pro using insider secrets from our expert guest, travel agent Rachel Lackey spend less money on your next flight get the absolute best deal on hotels and lodging avoid the most common mistakes people make when planning a trip Download Rachel's Vacation Budget Worksheet Get Your Copy of Love Your Life, Not Theirs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I couldn't fathom getting into more debt when I was so close to it. So let's just drop the bomb now. What is the weird thing you guys did? Even if people try to talk to you like you're crazy and this is ridiculous, just, I mean, do it best for you. Pick your top three places you want to go, park it, immerse yourself in the culture. What are some of the common mistakes people make when they drop? Try to slow down a little bit as a society where all like, let's do it, let's see it all. Let's get it all in, but enjoy yourself.

Hey, everyone, welcome to another episode of the Rachel Crewe Show podcast. I am so glad that you are here. And I'm really excited about this episode because it's about one of my favorite things in life. And that is traveling. Yes. And it seems like traveling is a huge part of everyone's life because whether you're doing it for work or maybe you're doing it for vacation or a family reunion or a wedding that's out of state or a baby. shower of your best friend that lives in a different city. Like, no matter why you're traveling, traveling is a big part of our lives. And sometimes it's planned, sometimes it's not planned,

but one thing is always true, traveling costs money. So in this episode, we're going to be giving you some travel hacks that will save you some serious money. And I'm bringing on a couple who actually delayed their honeymoon because they're getting out of debt. Plus, I'm going to sit down with a travel agent to tell us the three biggest mistakes that people make when planning a trip. So, like I said earlier, I do. I love to travel. Like, I love staying at a hotel and being able to throw my towel on the floor and I come back and my bed is made and it's picked up. Like, it's all just so great. But you have to understand that you have got to plan for this. Okay. You do not want a vacation or a trip to completely ruin your entire financial future. So those of you guys that are still in debt,

I want you to be careful here. And I'll quote, the old man, Dave Ramsey, when he says that the best vacations never follow you home. So the only thing I won't following you home are the memories and the pictures on your iPhone, not the credit card bills, because 74% of people say that they have gone into debt for vacation, and I do not want that to be you. So learning to travel and be wise with your money is something that I am super passionate about because I want this to be a blessing for you. I mean, listen, I could vacation like all the time.

Seriously, all the time. Like we are on a trip as a family, like with my people. parents and my siblings and kids and all that over Christmas. And at one point in the trip, I will not name the two people, but my mom and Winston said at separate times, they're like, gosh, you know, I'm excited to get home and get back in my routine. And I was like, I'm sorry. What? No, thank you. Like, I genuinely could be here for another two weeks. I mean, like, trips and vacations and actually planning trips is one of my spiritual gifts. I'm really good at it. and I'm really good at sleep training babies.

So I had this thought that I was like, you know what, if this whole career thing that I'm on just like hits the fan and like I can't do it anymore, I think I could open up a company where I plan a trip for parents, a vacation for them to go on for a week, and then I stay back and sleep train their baby. I mean, like, you'd pay for that, wouldn't you people? I could be really good at it. But really, I do.

I love it so much. But what's hard for me sometimes right now in our season of life is that, for Winston and I and our two little girls, like, life is just crazy. Like, we have work. We have big projects going on. We have little kids and little kids on airplanes and traveling in the car isn't always, like, the most fun thing in the world. So Winston, I've realized that vacations and travel for us and our family right now is more

quality over quantity. So, like, taking a full week off isn't always possible for us for just our nuclear family because we do travel with, like, extended family during the year as well. And so we've realized, you know what? just like three nights away and saving up and paying for that vacation, like, that's good for us. And so our vacations look a little different now, but it's so easy to compare, like, your vacations and your travel to other people, right? I'm like, this is like what Instagram is made of is like beach pictures every time people

are at the beach. And you just have to realize you cannot compare your vacation to someone else's. And I talk about this a lot in my book, Love Your Life, Not There, but it's true, you guys, you have to keep the blinders on. You cannot let other people's lives motivate you. You have to decide what's best for you and your family. And for a deeper dive on this in the book, make sure to click the link in the show notes to check it out.

All right, coming up next, I am going to give you 10 travel hacks that is going to save you money. All right, here are some travel hacks to get you the best deal possible on your next trip. When it comes to booking your flight, number one, best to book on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These are statistically the best day. of the week to actually book your flights. So if you don't like the price this Tuesday, then just wait and come back next Tuesday and see if it's dropped. The latest studies show that a single

flight's lowest fare changes on average 71 times by going up and down on average $33 every four and a half days. It's crazy. But what will make a big difference is when you book. You want to book your flights at least 30 days in advance, but no further out than three months. So if you shop within the three months, the 30 days window, then you're going to get the best fares. Number two, fly on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. These are actually the cheapest days to actually fly. So if you can arrange your trip or vacation, days to accommodate this, then you're going to be saving a lot of money.

Number three, avoid baggage fees. Yeah, don't forget, many airlines, they charge to check your bag. Like $50, up to $100. That's how much it could cost you per trip per person. It's nuts. So make sure to take that. into account when you're planning and your budgeting, or just pack on a carry-on like I do for every trip. Here's a quote you can have. A checked bag is a lost bag. Rachel Cruz, you're welcome.

Number four, always compare. That's right, compare your airfare rates with other airlines. You can do this on Google flights, hotwire, price line. Now, for Southwest, which I love, you do have to go directly to their website to get the prices. So that's how you get the best deal on your airline ticket. But what about hotels? Well, number five, book over the weekend. Now, I'm not talking about when you're actually going to stay. I'm talking about when you actually book,

like click the button to make the reservation. Just by doing this on Fridays or Saturdays, you can save money. Number six, stay during the week. The cheapest day to check into a hotel is Sunday. And the most expensive day to check in is Friday. which makes the most sense because people arrive for a week and get away, I understand. But if you can schedule your trip to begin on a Sunday, you'll save money. Number seven, Airbnb.

Yes, you can rent someone's whole house or even just one room, and many times it's a whole lot cheaper than staying at a hotel. And you can even reach out to the owner directly and make them another offer, and they could take it. Yep, the worst they could say is no. Ask for the deal. Number eight, choose a destination where you have friends or family. So this is great because you could spend nothing on your accommodations.

If you stay with people, you know. And remember, when you're taking a vacation, you're making memories with your family. Your vacations does not have to be very expensive or really extravagance. You're there for the moments that don't cost anything. Remember that. Number nine, check Groupon Getaways. So this is a great option for all-inclusive booking is Groupon Getaways. Yeah, their trips are legit and it could save you hundreds of dollars.

Number 10. Stay home. That's right. A staycation. You don't have to spend anything. You're not going to be paying for travel or hotels. Save you a lot of money. You know, if you have kids, maybe they go stay at Grandma's house or a family friend's house and you can have a staycation in your city. Go try a new restaurant. Buy a nice bottle of line. Stay home and save some money. Now, here is not a hack, but a lot of people believe it is a hack. Don't open up a credit card for the flight or hotel points. Okay? I know it's

it's tempting. And I know you think, oh, but I'm going to be saving so much money because I'm going to get all these airline points and then my airline will be free. Listen, does that happen sometimes? Sure, that happens sometimes. But to people get screwed sometimes? Yeah, people get screwed sometimes. Yeah. One of my friends signed up for a credit card. Yep, for the airline. Thought he was so smart. And he was like, I'm going to get all these points in my family where you get to fly for free on our next vacation. What happens? Well, about nine months later, they look to see their points and they have a family of five, and it only bought them two tickets one way. So they couldn't fly because they couldn't fly just one way and not leave the kids with some stranger in a rental car, right? Like, it wouldn't work.

So they ended up just cutting up the credit card and getting rid of it. So remember, credit card companies are very, very smart. That's why their buildings are very big and beautiful. And our houses are like this compared to them. Why? Because they make a lot of money if you're not careful off of you. So don't fall for it, you guys. The credit card will always win in the end. Just stay away. Now, if you are planning a trip soon, be sure to download my free vacation budget worksheet in the show notes. This is going to remind you of all the expenses that a lot of people forget about when planning a trip. All right, coming up next, I'm really excited about this. I'm talking to a couple, Kelly and Brandon, who did something so weird, but really amazing while getting

out of debt. Well, thank you guys so much for coming on the show. Seriously, I so appreciate it because I love your story. So let's just drop the bomb now. What is the weird thing you guys did? We did not go on a honeymoon. Yes. Yes. I was just going to say that. Okay, you guys, that's like a big deal, right? Like, you are planning your wedding and you're deciding to forego the honeymoon. So tell me about that. Like, what caused you guys to do that? Well, I was just so close to paying off my debt that I just, I couldn't fathom getting into more debt when I was so close to it. So we just mutually decided that we should just wait. And were you good with that, Brandon? Yeah. I mean, happy wife, happy life. Yeah, that's right. It's good. I didn't even tell them to say that. Okay, and you guys are actually here in Nashville to do your debt-free screen. Yes. Okay, so how much debt did you guys pay off? 29,000. 29,000. And that was mostly all yours, right? What was it? What kind of debt was it? It was my car.

and student loans. Okay. So, Brandon, you had no debt. No debt. Okay, so tell me about that. Like, what caused you to live life without debt? Well, I had a, only thing I had was a car payment, so I sold that, and then bought a cheap car for cash and pocketed the rest, and that was that. And I've stayed debt pretty since then. Okay, so what caused you not to go out and get another car loan? I didn't want a car payment. I didn't want to pay expensive insurance. So smart, so smart. And we always tell people that when you're getting out of debt, you don't pay on each other's debt while you're engaged. for like, when you get married, all forward, right? Did you guys do that?

That's exactly what we did. So when you came together, you kind of got to catapult, I'm sure, getting two incomes to help. We got engaged, and then I put my debt snowball on pause, and then all that money that I saved up and that he saved up while we were engaged. We put that towards the wedding, and then. Are you doing an emergency fund? Yes. So we're on babysat number three right now. Okay.

And then we should be done with that soon. That's so great. And so were you guys always on the same page when it came to money and paying like? off debt and all the things? Not always. I'm learning. I'm new to the whole budgeting thing since we got married. Yes, yes, for sure.

How's that been? It's been all right. It's been a struggle. Yeah, what has been the hardest part? Really, it's just honestly, this sounds so terrible, but I don't like to compromise very much. So that's been the hardest part for me is to, you know, come to a compromise. I'm just so used to doing things my own way. Okay, I do want to interrupt right here because what Kelly just said, I think is important

to point out when she said, oh, I've just so used of doing things my way. And that is going to be a point of tension, especially if you get married a little later in life and you, like, have been paying your own bills, you've been doing your own budget, and then suddenly you get married, and there's someone else in the equation. And so what you have to remember is opposites attract, one of you is naturally going to be a spender, one of you's naturally going to be a saver, one of you is going to love doing the budget, one of you is going to hate doing the budget. that is normal. But the key here is that you have to compromise. Kelly was like, I'm not great at compromising. She'll hopefully learn pretty quick. But, you know, the idea that you are both in this

together and you're on the same team, don't try to work against each other. Work together. You're both going for the same goal. You're in this together. And so work together. And that may mean some compromises on either side. But man, when you can get on the same page and you can say, hey, we're doing this together. I think that that's so key. And also, have empathy for your spouse, especially when you're first starting out. Like, try to put yourself in their position. Understand where they came from, the household they grew up in with money, their habits with money, why they function with money the way they do. Empathize with that, like truly try to put yourself in their position, and that always brings more grace to the conversation. So going back to the idea, so you're not

playing a honeymoon. That's a, I mean, I'm going to say that's a, weird thing, and I say that in a really great way, because we love weirdness around here, because a very typical thing is like, oh, yeah, you're supposed to throw this wonderful big wedding, and you go on a honeymoon right after. Like, that's a very stereotypical thing to do. So when you started telling people, yeah, we're not going on a honeymoon, like, what did your friends and family say? I got a lot of strange looks. It was kind of funny. It was like they didn't know what to say or how to respond to me, which I didn't think it was that crazy to forego a honeymoon or to postpone a honeymoon.

But I did have a couple people that were just a little astonished. My grandmother especially, which really surprised me. I thought she would be way on board. But she said, she's just said, you know, you're not going on a honeymoon? Why not? Okay, I want to know, did any of your friends or family think you guys were crazy? Not really. I mean, most of my friends know she's smart, and I should just do what she says.

Well, thank you. Married her for me. My family, they're like, okay. I don't know why people. think that they're obligated to go on a special trip just because they get married. Yes. I mean, I... You just spent so much money.

Yeah, especially when you just spent so much money on the wedding. You'd think it would be natural to postpone until a little later. But... So good. You know, my husband's grandfather told us, I will never forget this when we were engaged. She was like, guys, go on a really, really inexpensive honeymoon and save all that money for your one-year anniversary because life is just so much... You know, like, because after the wedding, you are kind of like, you're just drained, you're exhausted.

And that's when most people are like, oh, get me on that great vacation. But just starting off life now, because you guys are going to save for a future honeymoon. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, what's your, what's the plan there? Italy. Italy. You got go big or go home. Oh, my gosh.

You guys. Oh, yeah. That's amazing. So that's your next big goal now since you're debt-free? Yes. That's awesome. Okay. So, like, when I heard this, honestly, the first thought was, so what did y'all do after the wedding?

Do you have any? break between wedding and real life? We took a few days off, working a week or so. Yeah, we both took a week off work. Okay, yes. We just spent the first night, you know, our wedding night in a hotel. Yeah. And then actually the rest of the week, we live in a small town out in the country.

Yeah. We actually just decided to get to know our town a little more. And every day we went down to, you know, downtown Taylor'sville. Yeah, that's so fun. Yeah. Okay. So now months later, have you regretted your decision or are you happy with it? Oh, I'm so happy about it.

And y'all are confident and good in your decision-making. I love it. But seriously, but what it does is it totally gets you to your goal of being able to be debt-free, put money away, and continue on life without going backwards. So, so great, you guys. That's awesome. What encouragement would you give people if they are getting married and they have debts? They're having to cash flow their wedding.

What would you say? I would just tell them to just, you know, do what you think is best in your heart. I think just stay strong, even if people try to talk to you like you're crazy and this is ridiculous. Just, I mean, do what's best for you because at the end of the day, they're not going to pay for your honeymoon. So great, you guys. Well, thanks for coming on and sharing your story for real. I mean, it's always encouraging when people step out of the norm of what this cookie cutter life, you know, what everyone thinks everything should be like. and you kind of just break it and you're like, I'm going to do something different, what's best for us.

And that's such great advice. Oh, I'm so glad that Brandon and Kelly came on to share their story. I just love having some newlyweds on, you know, just a year into marriage and they're figuring it out. I love it. And you heard them say that, you know, she brought in some debt into the marriage and he had no debt. But the thing is, you guys, when you get married and you say I do, your pronouns change. And now it is suddenly our kid. debt. It's our money. Not his money, his debt, her debt, her paycheck, his paycheck. No, no, no, no, no. It is

our paycheck, our debt, our money, our investments. Like, it is ours. And changing your pronouns is powerful. My friend Chris Hogan says, we all need to be a little bit more French. Wee, right? Like coming together and it's amazing. When you start saying those things out loud, just the unity that's created between you and your spouse. It happens. It really does. So change those pronouns, guys. Remember that. Now, they foregoed their honeymoon. I sound like Chris Harrison from The Bachelor. Anyone? Anyone? If you'd like to forego your individual rooms, I won't get into any Bachelor scripts, but you Bachelor friends out there, you know it, you heard it. But they foregoed their honeymoon because they were getting out of debt, which is awesome. But

some of you guys are planning some trips. You're planning a vacation. So coming up next is Rachel Lackey, and she is a travel agent and brilliant in this space. So she's going to give us some tricks and tips when it comes to traveling. Okay, so this episode's all about travel, and we love some travel hacks around here. So that's why you're here, Rachel. So thank you for having me. Thanks for being here. Okay, so what are some of the common mistakes people make when they travel?

I think the most common mistake that people make is simply just not planning ahead. people think that they're going to get a last-minute deal by waiting to the last minute. And that's just simply not true. The fact of the matter is really that there's more people traveling now than ever. So you kind of have to be on top of your game to be able to get the flights that you want. And then if you wait to last minute, maybe your resort is sold out. So you definitely do have to plan ahead, especially if you're traveling during those high seasons. Okay. So intentionality is key. Correct. We always talk about you guys on the show, including your travel, because I do love travel and I do love to plan. So the fact that you're a travel agent. Do you love it? How long have you been doing it? Six years. And yes, I love it.

It's not too shabby of a gig because we get to go down and check out the resorts firsthand and see what's going on down there. And so that way we can tell the clients what to go, where to go, where not to go. Yep. Okay. So any other tips, since this is like, you're an expert in all of this, any tips for people traveling on a really tight budget? On a really tight budget.

Well, we touched on plan ahead, but also, and this is something that a lot of people, might not be able to control, but the time of year definitely influences the price. So if you're looking to travel spring break, summer, Christmas, basically anytime the kids are out of school, it's going to be higher in price. So if you can travel on the shoulder season, meaning right before the kids get out of school, or maybe right after they go back, or maybe the week after Thanksgiving, but not into Christmas, you're definitely going to see some major deals during those times. That's so good. Actually, Wednesday, we went to the beach. This was a few years ago. I think it was like end of August, because most people in the South start school, like early August.

And Rachel, it was empty. Like, like, I could not believe it. And we said we were like, this is our thing. If we go on trips, we are going to go when every other kid is in school. It is so nice. And we got like an extra 30% off because our condo wasn't booked. And yeah, you can definitely find some deals when everybody's not there. It's good. Yeah. So not traveling during the high season. You get to avoid crowds. you get better deals, all the above. Right.

Okay, so what's some other mistakes people make? So one thing that would seem completely obvious, I think, but to a lot of people, it creates stress starting off the vacation, is not putting up time in between your flights. So if your connection time is 45 minutes and you're in the Atlanta airport and you have to go from a domestic gate to an international gate, you better be wearing your tennis shoes. Because you're going to be running.

Home alone in a little style. Yeah. So just make sure when you're looking at those connections, make sure you have at least an hour, hour, and 15 minutes is typically enough time. And because flights, you start boarding 30 minutes before departure. Correct. So if it's a 15-minute layover, you're literally have 15 minutes to get there before they're starting to board. And international travel at least two hours for customs.

Okay. Yeah. And speaking customs, I know passports are a thing. We just went with my family to Mexico. And my dad was like on us. He's like, check your passports. Because I didn't even realize they expire like six months before the expiration date. So, yeah, a lot of people don't know this, and I've heard some nightmare stories of people getting to the airport.

Their passports aren't actually expired when they're boarding the plane, but they expire within six months of the day they're leaving. So check your passports. Make sure that when you look at the passport date, it is actually six months from the date that you are leaving on that day. That is so crazy. Oh, my gosh. Okay. So any other mistakes you can think of? Another one I think that a lot of – I see a lot with clients is trying to do too much –

too quickly. So my advice is pick your top three places you want to go, park it, immerse yourself in the culture, and then maybe take a few day trips here and there. That's going to save you time, traveling all day. It's also going to save you money. So, yes, definitely try to slow down a little bit as a society where all like, let's do it, let's see it all, let's get it all in, but enjoy yourself. Okay, so when would you use a travel agent? You would definitely use a travel agent when you're going international. So if you're looking at a trip, for example, to Europe, there's a lot of components that go into making those reservations and booking a trip like that. So we would take you from flight, transfers, hotels, tours, wrap it up all in a package.

It makes it easy so the client knows exactly where they're going, what they're doing, who they're meeting, where they're staying. So good, yes. So much easier than trying to piece it all together and figure it out on your own. Yes. Okay, so how much is an upcharge for using and aging? Because that all sounds amazing. For my company, we don't charge anything. And about half of the other agents out there also don't charge anything. But I would say, nothing. Nothing. That's amazing. But I would say, make sure if you do use a travel advisor, ask them up front, what are your fees? Because they're going to tell you up front if they charge something. We always say, no charge. We're paid by our hoteliers, our tour operators, our suppliers, our wholesalers. Oh, wow. That's so good. Well, the first time I

ever experienced all of this was when went to Disney World. The magical place on Earth. It is magic. Like, I do not believe in people like, it's terrible. It is not. It's wonderful. But they have Disney travel agents, basically. And I, like, mentioned it, I think even on social media, and I had all these women

be like, this is what I do, and that it cost me nothing. And this woman literally booked all of our restaurants, our hotel, all of it. Your fast passes. Yes, everything. Everything's taking care. So that is true with a travel agent, even if you're going to Caribbean or Europe, because you're partnered up with. with the tour operators, with the suppliers, with the hoteliers.

So we have relationships with them. They are able to get those prices at a discounted rate. Yes, totally. Okay, so when would you not use a travel agent? So you probably wouldn't want to use a travel agent when, say, you and your family are just looking to have a beach house down in Florida or wherever your local beaches that you can drive to. You probably wouldn't want to use a travel agent because those are privately owned.

Right. Yeah, VRBO, Airbnb. Yeah, Airbnb, exactly. Okay. 100% Rachel's so fun. We should go on a trip now. Yes, we should.

Thank you so much for coming on, Rachel. Thank you so much for having me. Such good tips, such good information. Thank you. I love talking to people that are experts in their areas because it's so good, so many great tips. And let me tell you guys, those of you, paying off debt, stick with it. Any extra money you have coming in, I want that going towards paying off debt. I want you debt-free.

I do not recommend you go on a vacation when you still have debt. Trust me, this short-term sacrifice of paying off your debt and having the freedom of your income coming in is going to allow you to save up so much more, so much faster for a great vacation later. Okay, I'm all about travel, but I want you to be wise. And I'm going to say it again. I said it earlier. It just needs to be said again. Do not go into debt for your vacations.

If you don't have the money, don't go. it is not worth it. It is not worth putting your financial life in jeopardy for something that is going to be over in a week. Okay? Save up and pay for it. And I promise it is going to be so much more fun, so much more fun of a vacation, so much more relaxing when you are actually cash flowing it, knowing that you can afford it and that you're not stressing out about the credit card bills that are going to come later. Okay. So do not go into debt for your vacation. All right, you guys, thanks so much for listening to this episode. It was so fun, so fun having you on. Make sure to click that subscribe button. If you haven't already,

leave a review if you would like, and check out the video version of the Rachel Cruz show. It's on YouTube and Facebook. And if you want any more information of anything we talked about in the episode, make sure to click the link in the show notes. I'm here to help you. Ramsey's Solutions wants to be your money solutions. So we have so many resources, so many ways to help you guys, so make sure to check that out. And again, thanks for listening, and I hope you felt motivated and took away some great tips when it comes to traveling. And remember to take control of your money and create a life you love.