Where you stay can greatly influence your time on a trip and it can also eat up lots of your budget money quickly if not kept in check. Besides flights, accommodation is probably going to be where you spend most of your money on a trip, so finding free or inexpensive lodging will have the biggest impact on your budget.
 

1. If you don't mind roughing it, try to find free accommodation!

Free accommodation would include things like couchsurfing, camping, housesitting or sleeping in a car/van if accessible.
Couchsurfing is a great website that connects travelers with locals who are willing to give them a free place to stay (couch, room, floor, etc.) and get a local perspective on a destination. You get to stay with locals for free so this really is a great and unique way to travel.

Read more about couchsurfing here: one  two  three  four  five  six

Camping can sometimes be free or it can sometimes have a small fee normally paid to the national park or a similar organization. Sometimes camping spot fees can actually get up to $20-$30 a night, which compared to hostels and airbnb, is a pretty bad deal. But campgrounds also have the unique experience of meeting other like-minded people and you get to stay outside in beautiful areas of the world. Be sure to check and see if there is a camping fee before setting your mind on camping. Keep in mind camping is more common in some parts of the world versus others.

Read more about camping here: one  two  three  four  five  six 

Housesitting is an amazing set up, if the opportunity arises. Housesitting/petsitting involves staying in someones home and taking care of the house/pets while the owners are away. You get to stay in nice houses for free, in exchange for just making sure the place stays in good shape. Win, win right? The only issue with housesitting is that the availability and locations are extremely variable. Accommodations and availability vary and you really need to plan ahead but it’s one of the best accommodation options if you’re staying a long time. This is a better option if you're open to being flexible and don't have a set end point or set itinerary.

Read more about housesitting here: one  two  three  four  five  six  Seven

Lastly, sleeping in a car/van is a good option if you have a vehicle accessible to you and you really want to save money. This is my preferred option of accommodation when possible and I have bummed it out in a car for weeks at a time. Please note that sleeping in your car is illegal in some countries and can also be dangerous given the area you are in. I recommend looking up more resources and confirming the legality before attempting.

Read more about sleeping in a car here: one  two  three  four  five  six  seven  

2. If you can't/don't want to find somewhere free, check out cheap accommodation options

Cheap accommodation includes hostels, budget hotels and a good amount of airbnbs. Hostels generally range from $10-$40 a night for a bunk in a dorm room but hostels sometimes also have options to rent a private room for a night for slightly more. Like couchsurfing and staying in campgrounds, hostels let you meet others very easily. Although, the issue with hostels is that they tend to be filled with other travelers (who tend to be young, either American/European/Australian and like to party) and so you have to be careful not to get stuck in the trap of only hanging out with other people like you. When you are traveling in another country you should really try to talk to and hang out with the locals, not just other travelers who are already closer to you in mindset and culture. Hostels also range from extremely dirty and gross to extremely nice and well-kept. You just have to be diligent when looking at different hostels to make sure the hostel has good reviews and seems to be in good shape. Another cheap option (depending on the location) is airbnb. Renting out a room of a house/apartment is a cheap way to stay many different places. You could also rent out an entire house/apartment but this can get very pricey. You can easily rent a bed in an airbnb for around $15-50 a night. Low star/budget hotels can also be considered in this category and can range from $50-80 a night. I would always use sites like Priceline, Kayak, Expedia, etc. to find hotels, never pay full price on a hotel website.

Read more about finding the right hostel here: one  two  three  four  five  six 

3. Higher end accommodation

If you are set in staying in higher end accommodation, then use either airbnb to rent out an entire house or use hotel sites like Expedia, Priceline, Kayak, etc. to rent a room in a higher end/4-5 star hotel. Depending on what country you are in and the exchange rate to your home currency, you could potentially still get a 4-5 star hotel for very cheap. Never book a hotel on their website because you can always get a least some money off when booking through a site like Expedia.

Read more about finding the right hotel: one  two  three  four 

Flights are guaranteed to be the biggest expense of your vacation and whenever you travel. Don't worry: it's possible to find flights without breaking the bank. Cheap flights are out there if you know how to find them.

1. be flexible!

The easiest way to save money on an airline ticket is by being flexible. Giving yourself wiggle room on dates and on times during the day will decrease flight prices a ton. If you're willing to fly red-eyes or to have longer layovers, you can save yourself a lot of money. Flight prices are going to be more expensive when there are more people flying (i.e. 8 am on a weekday or during a holiday). Flying during the middle of the week will be cheaper than on the weekend and flying late at night will be cheaper than during the day. The difference of one day could save you hundreds of dollars. Another thing to consider is being flexible with your seasons. Visiting a place in its off-season can also save you hundreds of dollars. If you really want to save money, be flexible with your location. Sites like Secret Flying give you access to killer deals but only if you're willing to go where the deal is. With sites like this, you have to willing to travel to wherever the deal of the day happens to be. If you are extremely flexible with work, etc. and don't care where you go, as long as you go somewhere; then being flexible with your end destination will allow you to access amazing deals.

Read more about flexible flights here: one  two  three 
 

2. fly on budget airlines

Budget airlines or local airlines are the way to go! Especially if you are flying from one destination to another within the same country, local budget airlines can generally get you there for $30-80 USD. The only issue with budget airlines is that they tend not to do long-haul, international or overnight flights as often. This will save you money when you are traveling within one country or if you are traveling to another country that is geographically close. Be careful that you always include cost of baggage in your flight price. Some airlines like Spirit don't include baggage, including carry on baggage, in the price until later, tricking you into thinking the flight will actually be cheaper than it is. Make sure to add the cost of baggage for each airline into the flight price to get a true number to compare to other flights.

Read more about budget airlines here: one  two  three  four  five  six  seven
 

3. explore different connection options

It doesn't always make sense, but you can save money by flying to a different city before flying to your final destination. For example, a direct flight from Atlanta to Mexico City is around $500 but a flight from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale is $73 and from Fort Lauderdale to Mexico City is $200. If you're conscious of travel hubs (i.e. Fort Lauderdale and Miami are travel hubs to tons of Latin American destinations from the US) you can fly to the hub and then from the hub to your destination for cheaper. Although doing this means more travel time. Another thing that could save you money is doing multi-city trips, connecting there or back through different cities. This is just something you'll have to sit down and play around with to see whether round trip, two different one ways, multi city stops, direct flights or connecting flights are the going to give you the best price for your specific trip.

Read more about different connection options here: one  two  three  four  five 
 

4. timing is key

Airline prices change depending on when you book them. Ideally the sweet spot is 6-8 weeks before the flight. Waiting until closer to the day of the flight is going to cause the prices to rise, but also booking too far in advance will give you higher prices. Make sure to look at a matrix site like Google Flights or ITA Matrix to see months in advance. When looking at Google Flights, put in your departure location and desired destination. Then when you drop down the desired departure and arrival dates to the month view, you will see dates listed in green. These are the cheapest days to fly. You can therefore determine the ideal day to book based on this information. Say you are departing Atlanta and going to LAX and you search this flight on Dec 27th. The drop down month viewer shows the ideal prices are on Jan 18th through Feb 3rd and a few odd days before and after this. This shows that exactly three weeks from the day you search, flight prices are optimal. This can give you a rough idea of when the best day to book a flight is based on when your trip is. Say your trip to LA isn't until the first weekend in April, but now you have a rough estimate that you should wait until three weeks before this weekend in April to book your flight. This can change based on on/off seasons so you should not completely rely on this method and you should check this frequently; especially if your desired travel date isn't for a few months.

Read more about the timing of booking flights: one  two  three  four 

Want to work in exchange for a free place to stay? Want to find a remote job so you can work while on the go? There are plenty of ways you can work while traveling to either save you money or give you more money and flexibility to travel more.

1. work exchange

If you want to find a place to work in exchange for free accommodation (and sometimes free meals), then there are many options for you! This allows you to stay in a new location in exchange for free accommodation, but unlike housesitting, you are actually required to work a set number of hours per week. The number of hours per week varies depending on the host but its normally similar to a part time job. There are many different types of hosts but the main types include farms, hostels and personal homes as a caretaker or babysitter. Although a work exchange abroad can be very philanthropically and culturally rewarding, it still is work for free and can be time consuming. Like Go Over Seas says, "taking part in a work exchange programs is not the same as getting a job abroad. Instead of thinking of it as a way to earn income, you should view it as an opportunity to exchange one service for another and have an uncommon work experience in a foreign environment."

Read more about work exchanges here: one  two  three  four

2. find a remote job/become a digital nomad

Want to actually make money while you are traveling and not just work in exchange for accommodation? Consider becoming a digital nomad! There are tons of resources to help you find a remote job (especially if you are a marketer, content writer, coder or designer). This is the ideal situation if you want to make money while traveling but still be able to work from wherever you want in the world. Below are three databases that list current remote jobs openings.

Read more about finding a remote job here: one  two  three  four  five  six