1. Sign up to Serve!

Love community service?! Love travelling?! What if you got the opportunity to do both?!! There are tons of opportunities to do so, simply sign up. You can look locally, through your college or church, or through an established organization, such as Feed My Starving Children (http://www.fmsc.org/), The Fuller Center for Housing (http://fullercenter.org/), or Appalachia Service Projects (https://www.asphome.org/). Service trips offer a very unique experience. And what’s more-often times the trip is half paid for by your college or church, and you can fund raise for the rest! Start a gofundme or a kickstarter campaign. Knock on all the doors. Sell lollipops and wrapping paper. Ask your relatives and your local community for their support. I fund raised for about 75 percent of my last service trip, and only paid about $300 out of pocket doing just this. It may seem overwhelming at first, but once you get your feet in the water, there’s nothing else to do but go in for a swim. You will find that people are willing to give if you are also willing to give. Give it a shot!

2. Save Up!

That spare change in your pocket? Put it in a jar. The change on the kitchen table? Take it-and put it in a jar. Taking cash out for a day in the city? Keep what you didn’t spend-and put it in a jar. It sounds lame, I know. But doing this, you will find that you lose so much money just sitting on it. Have a date already in mind? And it’s coming up really soon? Set aside $25 every time you get paid and watch that money grow!

3. Do Your Homework!

Know where you are going and when. What’s your budget? When preparing for the trip, what do you actually need versus what you think you need? Traveling internationally? Find out the currency. You might not need as much as you think, especially if you plan to travel to central or south America. Planning on getting souvenirs? Make sure you put that in your budget, but realize that you don’t really need more than $50-75 for that. Going somewhere expensive? Somewhere cheap? Are you traveling alone? In a group? How are you getting there? Think ahead-how many work days are you missing? How much money should you have in your account when you return? How many meals are you planning for? If you have a dietary restriction, what is safe to eat and what should you probably stay away from? This is the hardest part, but one of the most important.

4. Staying in the US? Consider Trains, Buses, and Driving!

Plains are pricy and boring. Skip it. You can save so much more taking a train or bus, or even just driving yourself. Add this to your homework. There are pretty neat trips on the Amtrak you can take to the east coast, and busses go basically anywhere, you just need to get your tix and times. Compare the costs of each form of transport, and evaluate against what you are willing to spend, and think ahead to transport and local of where your destination is. This will make for quite the experience too; after all, the journey there is just as much a part.

5. Visit the Travel Section at Meier!

I hate to break it to you, but not all hotels have soap and shampoo you can steal at the end of your stay. This is why you get reusable travel toiletries! They aren’t very expensive, and you can fill them up with your own personal shampoo and conditioner. This is a great investment for your future journeys too, because it’s something you only need to get once, twice if you lose it or want to gift it.

6. Make a New Friend!

Talk to people. One of them is bound to want to be your friend. It’s a bit risky, but also really exciting, and can lead to an excellent trip and experience. This friend can be your free tour guide; show you around where all the locals hang out and help you be totally immersed in the culture of that community by becoming not just a visitor, but a friend. You can make so many connections this way, and even start planning your next visit-not to a hotel, but to your new friends’ couch! Along with a more personalized trip, you may or may not get free food out of it.

7. Skip the Zagat!

Although a Zagat may be an easy way to figure out what’s in town, they are not always the cheapest. Often times, people in the tourist business up their prices, assuming that you won’t barter for anything lower because you’re too dazed by everything that has led you to that very point in time in which you are purchasing nick nacks and getting food. Don’t be scammed! And now that you’ve made a friend, they can help you maneuver your way through town in one piece and on a budget!

8. Eat Local!

Not every meal has to be at a restaurant. Visit the local farmers market or grocery store. This is a win-win-win. You win, because you save money; they win, because that’s more money flowing in the local economy; and you both win, because they get to share their culture and you get to learn a culture. What’s not to love?

9. Carry a Reusable Water Bottle/Travel Mug

Thirsty? Yeah, me too. You will not believe the amount of money you will spend on water, especially if you are going somewhere hot or are doing something active, like hiking or walking around all day. Fill you’re your bottle instead; I am yet to find a place where they will charge me for tap water. But do note; some places it isn’t safe to drink, so if you are going somewhere out of the country-do your research. But still bring a water bottle. Stay hydrated!

10. Cut back on Souvenirs: Pictures and homemade videos is where it’s at!

If you tried to get a gift for every person in your life while you were on your trip, your bank account would not appreciate it! Make a list, no more than 10, of the people that really count, and stick to it. And next; take all the pictures and all the selfies you already want to take and make a little video of your trip when you get back! Add some good music, maybe some captions, and voila! You can share this on social media, and hold a dinner party with everyone featuring your video. After all, souvenirs are meant to share your experience with others at home-what better way to do so than with a video? Way better than that keychain or bracelet you would have gotten them anyway.