Stretch your travel budget to the max with these handy money-saving tips; indeed these ten travel things are all totally free!
Free Phone Calls – You should NEVER pay for phone calls when travelling! So long as your chosen destination has internet connection then free call service such as Skype, Google Voice and several other services are available to use for free online. You’ll need a decent internet connection and you’ll need to install the application onto your phone, laptop or tablet.
Free Travel Apps – There are so many free travel-related apps out there for your mobile phone, it would be foolish to pay for an app. The only downside is that the free apps will probably feature some advertising, but you can soon learn to zone out.
Free European Health Insurance Card – The EHIC is 100% free for all residents of the UK. Arming yourself with an EHIC allows you access to medical care within Europe at the same cost as locals would pay. And if locals receive free healthcare, then it’s free for you too! And if you come across a chargeable ‘fast-track’ EHIC option – IGNORE it as there is simply no such thing! And if you already have the card, check the expiry date as more than 3 million currently have expiry dates in 2013!
Free car journeys – If you want to take a roadtrip but you don’t have any money for a car rental and you don’t own any wheels, then consider a vehicle relocation company. Basically you drive somebody else’s car for them! You’ll need a clean license and you’ll have to pay a deposit but basically this is free wheels!
Free food every day – On just about every day of the year it’s a national food day in the world. For example do you know that 2 February is Crepes Day and that April is soft pretzel month? Find out what’s happening locally and get yourself over to the restaurants etc that are running the promos. Check out this list of food days that lists national festivals by country across the world.
Bag free books – There are so many ways to bag free books to read whilst travelling. Sure you can hire books from your local library and you can also download free digital editions to take with you on your mobile phone, e-reader and tablet. Download the free book app and start browsing classics such as Charles Dickens Tale of Two Cities, which is the most read novel of all time! You can also swap books in-resort and pick up dirt-cheap books at secondhand shops and stalls.
Never pay excess luggage charges – By using your own calibrated bathroom scales to weigh your baggage before heading to the airport, you can potentially save a heap of money. And check each leg of your journey as connecting flights on smaller planes typically have a lower luggage allowance!
Free travel-sized products – Hit the cosmetic counters for free travel things such as trial size toiletries and make up. Magazines also give away trial size products on their covers, if you’re buying the magazines to read anyway! Or buy a couple of empty travel pots and bottles (for just a small cost) and fill them up using your own everyday products at home – simple!
Free language lessons – If you want to learn some key Italian phrases or learn practical spoken Spanish then head to the BBC languages site, which has a whole ream of useful resources. The site features video tutorials, guide to languages of the world and interactive courses. And with 40 languages featured, including Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, Greek and Portuguese, there’s no excuse for not learning a few words!
Free spending abroad – All credit cards are not created equally – especially when it comes to spending on them abroad! Many charge an extra 3% just for spending money abroad so check before you travel. And if your card charges, switch to a load-free card that doesn’t charge.
