5 Things You Can Pack to Reduce Costs as a Budget Traveler

That hotel room is expensive enough!

Traveling is expensive, and anyone who tells you differently is lying to you. However, you could still find ways to spend less and travel more. For example, living on the road full-time makes traveling a lot less expensive than if you were paying $2,000 per month for rent and then several thousands more every time you travel.

There are countless tips travelers have shared for reducing costs, such as using air miles, loyalty points, and couch surfing. But one thing I rarely here of is what to pack. I just returned from my birthday trip, and it was the first time I really thought of the things I brought with me that reduced cost. I thought you might also find it useful.

What you take on your trip will ultimately depend on how much space you have in your suitcase or backpack. But if you’re debating between two pairs of shoes or a second camera, choose one quickly and grab a few things from this list as well.

1. Cash

It sounds silly, but one thing that few people travel with anymore is cash. I’m guilty of this myself. It’s especially tricky if the place you’re going to doesn’t accept the currency you use at home.

For example, you can’t spend your US dollars in most places in Europe—if at all. However, the exchange rate you get from walking into your local bank at home will likely be much better than what you get when you arrive abroad. International ATM fees are brutal!

Cash can also save you in situations where vendors don’t accept electronic payments. For example, I paid €5 to take a cab home when I could have paid about €1 to take the bus. Why? The taxi accepted card, but the bus did not. I did have cash, but it was a large bill. So my follow-up recommendation is to get some smaller bills for everyday use.

2. Food

I spend a lot of money on eating out when traveling. Or, I buy groceries to eat at home, but then I never get the chance to eat all of it before I go. So, this time, I brought some items with me!

You’ll have to consider what you need based on your eating habits, but here’s what I took this time:

• 3 cans of salmon

• 2 cans of soup

• 10 granola bars

• 1 dozen tea bags

• Enough instant coffee to last me for a week

Of course, this isn’t all I ate. When I arrived, I bought eggs, bread, and other grocery items, and I ate all of it. But taking these with me saved me a lot of money that I would have otherwise spent on eating out. Three cans of salmon and 2 cans of soup, for example, is 5 meals. I saved roughly €20 per meal on average or €200 total.

3. Laundry Detergent

Ok, hear me out on this one! You might not need this if you plan to use a laundromat that sells little packets, or maybe you pack enough clothes when you travel. I only take one carry-on and then book places that have washing machines on site.

However, my experience with Airbnbs and hotels is that the hosts do not provide the laundry detergent. Even if other guests leave some behind—and I am sure they do—it seems that the hosts take it out for their own use.

It’s virtually impossible to use an entire jug or box of laundry detergent on your three-day or two-week trip. Even if you stayed for a month, that’s not happening. So, it’s a good gig for them!

I poured my laundry detergent into a 100 ML bottle (the TSA limit) from home, and took it with me. I was able to wash twice, and still have some left. No need to buy an entire jug and only use 2 corks of it.

4. Electric Lunchbox

My newest and favorite hack is my travel lunch box! I started using it when my mom came to visit me in May, and it’s been a lifesaver ever since.

I bought the *Travelisimo electric lunchbox after the power-pocalypse blackout that rolled through the Iberian Peninsula and parts of France in April. I never missed my RV so much as when I found myself at the mercy of a city that could not operate without electricity. Supermarkets were barricaded shut, the airport closed down, and trains stopped dead on the tracks.

Everything in my apartment is electric—including my stove—so my day was also on hold. In my RV, I would have had my solar oven, solar generator, satellite WiFi, gas stove, and a fridge that could run on propane.

But in Madrid? I had an empty belly. There was food in my fridge, but no way to heat it, and all the restaurants were closed. So, after the city recovered, I bought this 12-volt electric lunch box and a *tiny solar generator.

Even though I bought it as a backup for natural (or electric) disasters, I’ve started taking the Travelisimo on train rides and heating up food. Food at airports and train stations are ridiculously expensive, so packing lunch from home and being able to reheat it hours later is amazing!

5. Trackers

You can use any tracker you prefer, but I have used *Tile Trackers for almost a decade, so that’s what I recommend. I have the annual membership that also allows me to get reimbursed for items that go missing but are never found. I don’t think you need it, but it’s worth mentioning that it exists

Are you the type to misplace your wallet? You could save a ton by finding it quickly. And if all else fails, you might at least get a little money back from the Tile company if the tracker fails to do its job.

But the real place where Trackers come in handy is missing suitcases! I hope this never happens to you, but 0.64 bags per 100 checked bags get lost. It might not sound like much, until you are “Person 0.64”. For this reason, I never check bags. But if you do, slide a tracker inside.

Are there things you pack that help you save money when traveling? Share them in the comments!

Next week, I’ll tell paid subscribers where I traveled to for my birthday. The spoiler alert is that I found Spain’s Joshua Tree. It’s cheaper than most cities, warm during the winter, and virtually empty in October. Details coming next week!

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** These are Amazon affiliate links. However, anything recommended here are items I own and bought with my own money.