Continuing our series on saving money while traveling, we will now look at ways you can save money on lodging. Lodging – which can be hotels, motels, hostels, camping facilities, apartments, or guesthouses – can be one of the biggest costs while traveling. This is a fixed cost that is hard to eliminate, because it is not a lot of fun spending nights under the stars.

The first question you should ask yourself is what are your standards for this trip? Do you have to stay at a four-star hotel no matter what the other details are? Do you have to stay within a certain area or can you move around? Once you have figured out your limiting factor, you can start doing your research.

• Friends, relatives? If you have friends or relatives in the area and they are OK with you staying with them, by all means consider this option. Nothing beats free or almost free lodging and reconnecting with people you know and care about.
• Guesthouses: Many travel destinations have people that put up a portion of their houses for travelers. This is a great way to immerse yourself in the local culture and at the same time save money, as the cost for this option is usually much lower than for hotels.
• Hotels: When looking for hotels, make sure to check the top comparison sites, as the quoted rates can vary from one site to another. You should at least try Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, Priceline and Hotwire. Also, search using the site name and “coupon,” such as: “Travelocity hotel coupon”. Many times you can save $50 or more by booking three nights or more at a hotel.
• Package deals: There are many travel companies that put together custom travel packages. Because they have many people on a similar package, these companies are able to secure discounts from airlines and hotels.
• Always ask for the AAA discount: This one sentence can save you 5 to 10%, as many hotels that are really busy are part of AAA but don’t have the signs indicating they are.

When looking for lodging, pick a place that will give you a good night’s rest. A vacation is not fun when you didn’t sleep the night before.

Many vacations and trips require flying. With the fuel prices always on the rise and a sluggish economy, air travel costs will only be going up and not down. Here are six tips to help you receive the most value for your money when flying.

1. Travel during the low season. Most destinations have a high and a low season, although there might be very little difference for you. For instance, in southern Florida or the Caribbean, summer is considered the low season and winter the high season. This is because many people in the northern areas want to get away from the cold and snow during the winter and thus the demand is high. During the summer, fewer people travel to these destinations and the rates are much cheaper for flights, hotels and other services.
2. Book your flights in advance. Many airlines offer their best rates months in advance; this is the best time to buy. Also, making your reservations in advance will give you the most flight options. Check the rates one day before or after you were planning on flying and many times this will make a big difference in the rate you will pay.
3. Check the airports near your destination. Many big international airports have extra fees and taxes that are added to your ticket. Or sometimes the airport is a bottleneck hub, where many airlines are forced to have a connecting flight. Check for small airports around your destination and you might be surprised at how much you can save.
4. Fly during the week. Because most travelers like to fly on the weekend and business travelers like to fly home for the weekend, the weekends have the highest rates. Choosing a flight in the middle of the week might save you money and make the trip less crowded.
5. One stop? Don’t automatically click on the “Direct flights only” checkbox when searching for flights. There are many times when you can have a stop that will add an hour or two to your flight, but might save you lots of money on the ticket price.
6. Checking in bags? Some airlines have started charging for checked baggage, $15 to $25 per bag. Check with your airline for the specifics and be sure you have up to date information. Consider leaving unimportant things behind and packing a carry-on case for your trip to save on this fee and reduce the amount of stuff you have to haul around.

When air travel is on your schedule, following the above tips will help you to save money and avoid any surprises.

Everybody likes to take a vacation. Some people get away on a regular schedule and others only when they are forced to leave work. Either way, if you like to vacation or you have reached a wall and need a break, here are the initial steps in planning a stress-free vacation, along with some budget and spending tips.

1. Go where you have vacationed before? Or something new? This is a critical first step. If you are going to a vacation spot you have been to before, you will know what to expect and how to estimate the cost of such a vacation. While going to a new place is exciting, it will also have many more unknowns in terms of money and spending.
2. What type of vacation do you want? There’s everything from weekend camping at a national park that is an hour away, to a full three-week international trip. Different types of trips will require different amounts of money and time invested in planning for them.
3. Who is going? And who is paying? Many times it is best to bring other people with you to share the costs. For instance, when you’re in college and going away for spring break, it is best to plan for a group of four. This is because most hotels have two queen beds that sleep four and you will only need to rent one car. And any other expenses that come up can be divided into four, thus saving everybody money.
4. When is the vacation? If you can plan out your vacation far in advance, you will end up saving a lot of money or having a much better and bigger vacation for the same money. Planning far in advance allows you to optimize the days of the week when you travel. You will receive better rates by not traveling during the high season and you will also have the most options available.

Making a simple travel plan is key to having a stress-free vacation and not coming back broke, or even worse, having to dip into credit cards. Start well ahead of your expected vacation, do your homework and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how affordable vacationing can be.

There are many ways for you to start saving your money; some work, most don’t. Especially if you come from a family and background where nobody saved and that was not an integral part of dealing with money. One way to force yourself into saving is by having the government help you with it. This tip might not be for everybody, but if you are having a hard time saving money, it might do the trick.

When signing up for a new job, you always fill out a bunch of papers and sign many dotted lines. One of the forms you fill out is a tax withholding form. This is where you enter your number of exceptions and indicate if you want extra money taken out of your paycheck, so that at the end of the year you will not have to owe money to the government.

By entering a bigger amount into this “extra withholding” section, your employer will take out that amount from your paycheck and send it to the IRS. Then next year, after submitting your taxes, you will receive a bigger refund. The extra amount that you chose to be withheld from your paycheck should be there from the entire year.

Take the refund check and forward it to whoever handles your savings or investments, such as companies like Schwab and ING Direct. You can also fund an account with a social lending site and lend it out to other people while you earn interest.

The downside of this savings method is that you will miss out on the interest that you might have earned during the year by saving or investing this money yourself. This is a decision that you will have to make: is it worth it for you to lose interest dollars to be able to have the money saved in one lump sum at the end of the year, or are you diligent enough to save it yourself on a regular basis? Look at your history and past actions and let them guide you, not what you think you will do.
Caution: Please review your previous tax returns and talk to your accountant to make sure that this method doesn’t have any negative consequences for your particular situation. (It shouldn’t, but having that OK is always good.)

Upon graduating from college, you find a job and a place to live; it is also a perfect time to learn how to set up an automatic savings plan for life. If you develop the habit of saving now automatically, it is more likely to last for your entire lifetime.

The setup: Most companies now offer direct deposit as a way to receive your paycheck. And they allow you to pick which account the money goes into. They will also let you divide up your paycheck, either by percent or whole dollar amounts, and the company will deposit the money into different accounts. Read your company’s policies about payroll deposits before calling your HR department to ask for this setup.

If you have never saved on a regular basis before, start with five percent of your paycheck, and have it deposited directly into your savings account. If this seems too high, start with two percent and put it on your calendar to move it up in three months. Do not select the option of having a set amount taken from your paycheck, because you want the amount to grow when you receive a raise or bonus.
Have your savings account at a different bank from where your checking account is, and make sure to close the ATM card or any other access you have to the savings account. You only want direct deposits into this account and no easy way to take money out.

Why this works: This is a psychological trick that you play on yourself. It comes down to the idea that you don’t see the money, so you are less likely to spend it. Because it doesn’t exist in your checking account, you are less likely to act on an urge to spend it on something in the moment. This way, you can set it and forget it, and you will not have to remember to save something at the end of the month – because you most likely will not have any funds left over to save.