I mentioned earlier this week that I’m interested in the idea of owning a bed-and-breakfast someday and that I’m toying with the idea of trying to rent out an extra room in my apartment to people who are vacationing in the area to see if this is something that I’d truly enjoy doing later in life. The one big concern that I have is the safety risk that you open yourself up to when you open your home to strangers.

For the most part I’m not worried about this. I’ve done a lot of traveling throughout the country and done a lot of things that could have been risky – such as using Craigslist Rideshare to get from one place to another or staying in the home of a pen pal who I’d never met in person. I believe that I’m good at screening people online and am willing to trust my gut instinct and end any endeavor that seems like it could go awry.

Nevertheless, the thought does have to cross your mind that you never truly know what you’re going to get when you bring someone into your home. And for that matter, travelers themselves face risks when going to stay in someone’s home. (See my recent article that offers safety tips for couchsurfers.) When you decide to engage in budget travel practices, you open yourself up to more threats than you face when staying in luxury places.

Is it worth it to save the money? I tend to think that it is but only if you’re smart about it. Learning about how to be safe when using budget transportation and staying in budget accommodations is simply the responsible thing to do if you’re going to be safe while traveling. You can have some great experiences when traveling on the cheap but don’t be dumb about it!

Tags: budget travel, frugal travel, save money, Travel, travel safety

I was never one of those college kids who did big Spring Break trips with friends. I did college somewhat untraditionally, completing a four year degree in two years through a combination of online classes, community college classes, testing out of classes and doing internships for college credit. That didn’t give me a lot of opportunity to make college-y friends or to do college-y things like Spring Break trips.

Sometimes I wish I’d had that experience at least once but mostly I’m okay with the fact that I didn’t. I’ve done a lot of traveling – with and without friends – over the years and I feel like those have been good experiences. Still, sometimes I think about Spring Break travel and get curious about what other people are doing for it each year.

I’m especially curious about that this year. Changes in the economy have even college kids concerned about frugal travel. And changes in the socio-political landscape have people wary of some traditional Spring Break destinations. So I wonder what people are doing to be smart about their Spring Break travel while still having a good time with their friends.

I would imagine that smart college kids are doing the things that any of us would do before traveling – learning about the safety of the location, doing some comparison shopping to choose a good hotel package and making sure to choose a destination where there are free and cheap things to do. I guess the only difference is that they’re probably specifically focused on beach destinations and party spots. What do you think?

Tags: frugal travel, hubpages, smart travel, spring break, spring break 2009, spring travel, travel deals

I am usually really good at sticking to a budget. However, there are always those big expenses that come up that throw me off of my savings plans. The one that always seems to get me is travel. I absolutely love San Francisco but I enjoy getting away now and then to other (sunnier!) places.

I like to go back home to Arizona and to LA and to Ohio, all of which are places where I have family, because I like to get the chance to be around the people that I love. I also like to travel to nearby places within California for short little getaways – last year I went to San Luis Obispo and San Diego on different trips, both of which were wonderfully enjoyable. And I’d like to travel further if money would allow.

But sometimes we have to convince ourselves not to travel because it’s not cheap. So I have a lot of little tricks for curbing the travel bug. I do what I can to make it feel as though I’m traveling in my own city (easy enough in San Francisco but possible anywhere). I work on travel-related projects and enjoy travel-themed parties. And it helps me feel like I’m living an exotic life even when I can’t get away. Those tips can be explored in my weekly financial advice column if you follow the link in this paragraph.

Tags: Frugal Living, frugal travel, Personal Finance, saving money, tips, Travel, travel on a budget, travel tips