My Hacks to Gifting & Saving

I use to be the girl who was known for buying gifts for everyone and for every occasion. The older I got however, the more expensive I noticed that it was. Not only did I cut in half the number of people who I purchased gifts for but I also found a way to save money during those times. I also discovered hacks to save money during times of travel as I am on the road quite often. I thought I would share what has worked for me over the past few years.

When it comes to shopping there are only a few things I use throughout the year and they typically help in purchasing things for myself or my children. For starters, I use my speedway card which helps me to build points and after so long I can at least purchase a gas/food card. This helps in times where I don’t have a lot of money for gas or even when gas is too expensive and I just simply do not want to use my own money to pay for it. I also found it to be helpful every once in a blue moon for a gift card for a birthday. Another hack that I use is filling out surveys through a survey app. I have a pretty busy life and don’t have a lot of time or patience to sit and do long surveys but I do complete the quick ones and can at least score two gift cards throughout the year if I am consistent. What I don’t like about surveys is that it takes a lot of them to occur the points needed to redeem a gift card, but once you get it, it feels worth it in order to save $10 or more. I typically redeem my points for Amazon gift cards.

Another way that I snag gift cards, especially for Christmas is by accumulating points through Best Western (https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US.html) which allows me to redeem my points for stays, complimentary items, and gift cards. This past Christmas I was able to get all 3 of my siblings gift cards from the points I earned through Best Western points. Speaking of Best Western, let’s get into more saving options.

Best Western is my top hotel to stay at when I travel. They have a great rewards program and you can get a pretty good bang for your buck! If I do not book directly from their site, I’ll use my favorite hotel site called, https://www.booking.com/. I like them because they have hotels all over the world, you can find hotels for cheaper than going to some main sites, and not all require prepayment. I also like them because I am in the Genius Level 2 category which includes an extra 15% off and free breakfast at most locations. I take more advantage of the 15% off than the breakfast because I typically do not stay anywhere without complementary breakfast. The down side is that sometimes in order to lock in those super cheap rates you have to select the non-refundable option. Not really a big deal if you rarely cancel trips and honestly, I have always been able to cancel if need be if it was before a particular time frame. For most of my trips I tend to go to Booking.com to look for Best Western hotels for cheap and then they upload my points at check-in. To me it is a win win!

The more I travel and go throughout life the more I try to find ways to save. 2019, I decided I was no longer spending rent prices on tickets and I have been lucky to spend under $300 on flights since after Disney last year. I also have reduced what I am willing to spend on hotels. Sometimes I utilize Airbnb (www.airbnb.com) when I am traveling in large groups and we all want to be together. I also started packing Dollar Tree snacks in my checked bags to save money on snacks during travel. Lastly, I use quarters I have saved for certain trips and use the envelop system so that I over spend less.

Those are basically all the tips that I have for now. Do you have any tips to for affording gifts and saving on travel? If you do, I’d love to hear so leave a comment.