The rule for trip packing is to first pack the amount of clothing that you plan to bring and the money that you have budgeted for the trip. Once you are done, pack half as many clothing and twice as much money, as this is the true sign of what you will need on vacation. It is possible to have a frugal vacation, but you need to make sure that all finances are in line before heading on your trip. Here are a few items to place on a checklist before leaving on your vacation.

Make Sure the Month’s Bills are in Order

As an added peace of mind on a trip, take care of all of the month’s bills before you go on a trip. You want to make sure that the bills are paid, including rent, utilities, and car insurance. Be sure to send in any payments for life and health insurance, as you may need these while on your vacation. Unless you have liability insurance through your employer, but be sure it does include travel coverage. It is easier to relax on vacation if you know that the bills have been taken care of before leaving. You also won’t have to scramble to find internet access to pay bills.

[Photo courtesy of rawpixel/pixabay.com]

Budget for Your Trip

Whether cheap or extravagant, all trips need to have a budget. The budget for your trip should include all food, souvenirs, and necessities that you may need while away on vacation. It is important to come up with an accurate sum of how much the vacation may cost and save away the money before going on the trip. Research the prices or restaurants, hotel stays, and souvenirs for your vacation spot. Having some hard facts and figures will allow you create a budget that is feasible.

Have Emergency Funds

If an emergency happens on a trip and you need extra cash, you must know where you can receive the funds. For some people, a savings account has emergency cash that you can access if necessary. For others, emergency cash may be a little harder to procure. One way to receive emergency funds for those who do not have them is through payday loans. Payday loans can wire money same day or overnight to get you out of a bind. Keep payday loans on the list of emergency contacts while on a trip.

Keep Cash and Cards

A mixture of cash and cards while on vacation is always best. Some places may require you to pay cash and there may not be an ATM available. For vacations in amusement parks, you will need cash to pay for virtually everything. For beach vacations, street vendors prefer to deal with cash and may not have card machines. Before you leave for your vacation, have a mixture of cash and cards in your travel bag.

Sonora is your typical Mexican city in that it’s full of colorful characters and people who are themselves filled to the brim with pride and serene landscape all around. The state itself is situated in the northwest, and thus, the Western influence from the United States has definitely rubbed off on it a bit. In the city itself, there is a glad awakening of industry, with more and more businesses and large multinational corporation taking advantage of the location and local skills. However, the real magic and mystery of the city is the subtropical landscape and terrain that circles it. Like a classic Western cowboy film, the countryside is full of dirt roads, flatlands covered in colossal rocks and boulders. Just like the people, however, the nature of Sonora is stoic and hardy. Green shrubbery and plants grow and quite happily survive. The sun has free reign over the state itself as blue skies don’t dare to be interrupted by clouds. For those who want to lace up their boots and put on a cotton wanderer hat, get ready for these exploration sites.

Image by Cataclasite

The Alamos guards

Founded in the latter part of the 17th century, the town of Alamos was at first a mining town. It lies at one of the furthest southerly points of the state and has seen itself become a hotspot for tourism. The small town of just around 25,000 people is lauded for its magical natural beauty and historical relevance. The cultural riches are plentiful and scattered all around the town to see. All kinds of statues are erected in the central part of the town. However, for the real Alamos, you must be willing to go into the countryside. The Sierra Madre Occidental is a massive mountain range that sprouts from north to south all along the northwestern edge of Mexico. A part of it runs along the side of Alamos and shelters the town from the harsh winds and rains coming in from the North Pacific Ocean.

Source Joshua Rappeneker

A harmonious hovel

In between your rather rigorous bootstrapping adventures and challenges, you need a place to recharge. The Courtyard Hermosillo is the ideal spot as it’s got all the modern luxuries you need when pushing yourself to the limit of your travels. It doesn’t matter whether you get a single, a double or king size, inside each room you’ll have access to high-speed Wi-Fi. Watch a late night movie on the superb flat-screen televisions. If you just want to release all that built-up lactic acid from your physical activities, go for a swim in the pool. If you just want to do nothing, by all means, grab a chair and lie back while enjoying the sunrays. The service is more than happy to adhere to any midnight meal room service if you’re feeling a little peckish. The hotel itself is designed for the tastes of Western tourists, and so you’ll find it has modern and contemporary styling.

If Sonora wasn’t on your bucket list, the Alamos mountains will question you as to why. The people of the state are full of life and a can-do attitude. It’s little wonder that the state is fast becoming the one to watch in Mexico’s modern arrival.

Getting the best travel deal has become one of the biggest games in town. The airline and hotel industries have been hammered by a wide variety of websites that do web based research and come up with lots of ways to save you money. As quickly as ways to save money are found out, companies change them or find other ways to charge up the price. So you have to stay on your toes. Here are some of the latest and greatest ways to save money.

Register For Refunds At Yapa.com

The price of airline tickets usually go up as the day of the flight gets nearer. But sometimes flights don’t fill and prices drop at the last minute. Most airlines and online travel agencies will refund you the difference between the price you paid and the current price in travel vouchers or travel credits. Yapa.com will track the fares for you and send you an email or a Tweet when the price drops. Yapa will also show you how to collect your refund.

Overseas Budget Airlines

You may have heard about Ryan Air and some of the other local budget airlines operating around Europe and Asia. Their prices can be less than half of what major airlines charge. There are more budget carriers popping up all the time. WhichBudget.com can plan an entire trip using regional budget airlines. Enter your starting and ending point and they’ll give you a list of small airlines, many of which you have probably never heard of.

Get Airfare Watchdog On Your Side

If you can keep your plans a little loose, Airfare Watchdog has a number of services for catching rock bottom prices. Their members sign up with airlines and collect promotional codes and other deals that can be passed on to other Airfare Watchdog users. Because users are members of airline websites, they get advance notice of fare sales that sometimes provide deep discounts.

When Should You Buy Your Ticket?

Knowing when to buy your ticket is key to getting the best deal. Bing Travel has a nifty price predictor that does a pretty good job of predicting which way prices are going to go. If you happen to be traveling to one of the cities they are willing to make a prediction about, it will also tell you how much confidence it has in it’s prediction.

Start As Early As Possible

You should start your fair search early, take your time, and have fun with it. One great place to start is Kayak.com, which specializes in super-cheap fares. If you can, give Kayak a range of dates and times to play with and see what it comes up with. Then try their explore tool. Put your starting point and how much you want to spend into it, and it will display a map showing how far you can go.

If you and your company want to host a meeting or have a Party in New York City, Hornblower can host the whole affair on a private yacht while you cruise around the island.

Don’t forget to read travel blogs while you are planning your trip. Things change so fast in the travel and vacation world that up to the minute advice and information can save you lots. It doesn’t hurt to leave replies to blogs that you read filling them in on interesting things that you have found.

Shopping online is the convenient way to save money on buying items for yourself and your family. Gone are the days when you spent hours buying for something, nowadays in just few clicks you can buy any item you want. So when I received an invitation to collaborate with an online shopping portal few days ago I grabbed the opportunity and the set of travel luggage was the first item that caught my attention.

When I received a shopping voucher worth ₱1,000 I immediately ordered the set of black Patriot 71023 Softcase Luggage  which is buy 1 take 2. I really want to have a travel luggage because my large backpack is quite heavy to carry every time we travel. My order arrived three days after I submit my purchased, it was shipped through 2Go.