Ever notice the incredible price hikes for food, toiletries, and gifts at airports? With a little planning ahead, you could avoid wasting hundreds of dollars on things you have sitting in your medicine cabinet or dresser drawers.
Here are 3 tips that are easy to do and can save you lots of money.
Tip One
Create a general itinerary of events and things you plan to do. This can include business meetings, big adventures at amusement parks, or parties and reunions.
Consider the time of your departure and pack a lunch or dinner to really save on meals before you leave your home town! Even though you know what you’re planning to do in your head, just writing it down is the first step in making sure you’re covered for your trip.
Tip Two
Create the following lists of things you’ll need for each of these events:
- What to wear
- What to bring, and
- What to do before you leave for the trip.
This is where you save big bucks by not having to buy jewelry or a fancy clothes for that reunion/soiree/murder mystery party or exercise clothes that are sitting in the dryer.
Remember to include chargers for your phones and computers, printed boarding passes, and oh yeah, your passport and/or visa! This will also remind you to purchase train tickets before you arrive in a foreign country — yup, it’s much easier to take care of this kind of thing ahead of time IN ENGLISH, rather than in another language at the ticket counter when you’re already running late!
Tip Three
Open your suitcase and carry-on bag and place it in your bedroom. Start packing a week ahead of time and throw things in from your lists above. You’ll be surprised how you’ll be reminded of daily things like meds, dental gear, and toiletries just because you’ll see that open suitcase. You might even begin to over pack during the week, but it’s much easier to have MORE and discard than it is to not have enough and be forced to buy things at your destination.
Bonus Tip
I have a checklist that I give to my family that they keep in their suitcases. This way, when they open up their suitcases to pack, whether it’s an hour before flight time or a week ahead of time, they can check off what they’ve packed and they’ll have the heads up they need for just about everything else. I’ve added tasks like pet sitter, sports equipment lists, baby supplies, photography equipment, and a detailed toiletry list.
With these tips, you won’t spend a dime on overpriced goods at the airport or at your destination. That gives you more money to buy fun things, and less stress so you can enjoy yourself even more!
