When we go on vacation, the biggest expense that we have after airfare is what we pay for accommodations. What if there were a way to save on travel by eliminating the expense of a place to stay the next time you go on holiday with your family or your spouse? Well there is a way, if you think outside the box just a little bit and also have a little bit of flexibility. There is a lot of money to be saved through something called homeswapping— it’s one of the best save money tips that I can offer. Let me preface this by saying that I have nothing to sell in this article, that I ‘m simply one of those people who has saved money in the way that I’m about to suggest to you.
When you’re thinking ahead to your next vacation, or talking about it around the dinner table, it’s a lot of fun to kick around different possibilities: this anticipation and planning should be part of what a vacation is. In addition to being a way to save money on travel, what I’m about to share with you a source of ideas for trips that may have never occurred to you, that could open the door to new travel destinations that you may never have thought of as affordable.
Home swapping involves trading your home or a secondary residence, even an apartment that you rent, for similar accommodations with someone you may not yet know across the country, or across the world. Usually nowadays you would join a home swap website for a nominal fee, and insert a written description and photographs of your property. Then you can search for homes in places you would like to visit, as well as receive offers from other potential swappers who are interested in your listing. I always thought I knew exactly where I want to go on my vacations, but lately I have thought very seriously about visiting places I never considered previously, because of the offers I’ve received to swap, through the home swapping website that I joined. Here’s another tip: join a large site to increase the number of property offers that you will have. The internet makes it easier than ever to save on travels: if this doesn’t help you save money on business travel, it still is a route to save on traveling during personal vacations.
The swap occurs at an agreed-upon time when both parties want to travel, and usually involves use of all household amenities, subject to pre-agreed-upon guidelines between both parties. Maybe the swap involves a vehicle, maybe it does not. Maybe one of your requirements for a swap is that the other party take care of your family pet, or maybe it doesn’t. Your counterpart in the swap arrangement has the same motivations and probably trepidations that you do, and this is part of the reason why home swapping works. Most homeswap websites that I have looked at have a feedback system, and members who have done multiple swaps over the years. If someone has done several swaps, you are likely to feel more comfortable with them.
Maybe you’re thinking: even if they’d like to save on travel, who wants to rent my house or apartment, there’s really nothing special about it! The thing is that you have no idea how good a fit your residence and its location would be for others, and besides, chances are the person on the other end is thinking the same thing. Okay, neither of you will be staying in a fancy hotel on the holiday in question, but look at the money that you will both save, money that could be put to other uses on your trip, or simply saved. If saving money in this way seems attractive to you, you can bet there are plenty of people out there who feel the same way. In fact there are many, many home swap sites to be found on the Internet.
To save money on travel is one thing, but what about the destinations that I referred to at the beginning of this article? No compromise there! Whether you are looking for a small apartment in Bali, a place near the ocean, or in the mountains, or in the middle of Rome, you will find people offering residences in places that are intriguing for a vacation, I can assure you. There is truly something for everyone. And that’s the thing-if you know exactly where you would like to go, you can contact people offering home swaps in those locations. But if you are open to suggestions as to your next holiday, you’ll find it very exhilarating to look through offers you receive through the home swap site in your e-mail box. You are under no obligation to accept any of these offers, but if something sounds interesting and the desired travel dates of the other party match yours, you can take the first tentative steps to see if you feel good about the other person and the property they are offering. Your motivation might be to save on travel, but you might find yourself on a non-standard holiday that you enjoy much more than your normal hotel stays.
Even if you do only one swap, you could potentially save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a longer trip or months-long sabbatical. Saving money through homeswapping is worth looking into– you’ll be glad you did!
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