Budget Travel Tips

O.K. The #1 first thing to do is get a flight miles debit card, then use it for everything. Mine is with Bank of America. I earn about 2,000 points a month on my card. A free one way ticket is 15,000 with USAirways. (my ff program). Then check out their partners and use their services if it applies to you. USA Today newspaper pays 1,000 points to join and then 100 points per month of your subscription. It used to be Arizona Republic, but they dropped out. Also, Verizon Wireless is a partner. I happened to be needing a new contract so.....They have hotel partners, rental car partner, shopping partner, etc. Then you can join Points.com and swap and combine points. (not as good as it used to be, but good if you have a few points in other programs that you can't use).
#2 Look off the beaten path. You can stay in B&B's in some places for almost nothing. They aren't luxurious by any means, but they include a home cooked breakfast and that came save significant money. The nice thing about using ff miles to fly is that you can go during peak season and not pay the huge fee mark-ups. Most destinations have camp grounds that offer cabins (sparsely furnished) for very little money as well. Or you can camp for very little money. There are always bargains out there being offered by one place, group, company, hotel etc. It took me about 6 months to plan our St. Thomas trip, but we spent 11 days in paradise for about $800.00 total. That included flight, car, hotels, food, everything. Not bad, huh. You can do it, too!