I’m going to skip the obvious stuff.
You’ve read a hundred articles that tell you to book flights in advance, use incognito mode when searching, avoid checked bags, and stay in hostels. That advice is fine. It’s also been written a thousand times by people who write about travel for a living and may or may not actually travel the way they claim.
This is what actually works for me. As a barber from California who has been to 22 countries and is not, by any definition, wealthy.
The Foundation: Go Where Your Money Goes Further
This is the most important thing and it gets buried in most budget travel content because it feels obvious. It’s not obvious. Most people — especially Americans — default to the same destinations everyone around them talks about. France. Italy. Spain. The UK.
These are incredible places. They are also expensive, and your budget there is maybe a third of what it would be in Albania, Mexico, Colombia, Georgia (the country), Vietnam, or a dozen other places that will blow your mind for a fraction of the cost.
I’ve had more meaningful travel experiences in countries most of my friends can’t point to on a map than in the famous ones. That’s not a flex — it’s a direct consequence of money going further.
When I was in Vlore, Albania, I was living on roughly [ADD YOUR DETAILS: your approximate daily spend there]. Accommodation, food, coffee, transport, everything. That same budget in Barcelona wouldn’t cover breakfast.
How I Actually Save the Money
I’m a barber. I have a skill that earns money. I work [ADD YOUR DETAILS: describe your work rhythm — do you work extra hours before a trip? Pick up extra clients? What’s the saving strategy?].
The honest answer is that budget travel still requires actual money — you just need less of it than you think. The discipline isn’t in the trip. It’s in the months before.
[ADD YOUR DETAILS: Your personal saving approach — what you cut, what you don’t, how long you typically save before a trip]
Accommodation: Where I Actually Stay
I’ve stayed in hostels, guesthouses, apartments, friends’ couches, and occasionally a hotel when the price was right.
My preference now is apartments booked through [ADD YOUR DETAILS: what platforms you use — Airbnb, local sites, anything specific]. For trips longer than a week, an apartment almost always works out cheaper than a hotel and gives you a kitchen, which changes your food spending dramatically.
[ADD YOUR DETAILS: What’s your typical nightly accommodation spend in different types of destinations?]
Hostels are genuinely good for meeting people, especially solo travel. If you’re 35 and feel weird about hostels — I’ve been there — most of them have private rooms now and they’re still half the price of a budget hotel.
Food: The Actual Budget
Here’s my breakdown:
Breakfast is usually the cheapest meal and I often handle it from a market or bakery rather than a cafe. In Albania that was byrek — a few cents. In Mexico it’s tamales from the morning lady. In the US it’s whatever the diner special is.
Lunch is where I spend a bit more and eat local. This is usually the biggest and best meal of the day.
Dinner I keep light and cheap unless there’s a specific place I want to try.
This isn’t deprivation. This is how the locals eat in most of the world — big midday meal, lighter everything else.
[ADD YOUR DETAILS: Your specific food approach and any destinations where you found the food particularly affordable and good]
The Things I Don’t Skimp On
Travel insurance. Every time. [ADD YOUR DETAILS: what you use or recommend — or just note that you always buy it]
A good bag that fits carry-on. The checked bag fees across a multi-destination trip add up fast.
[ADD YOUR DETAILS: Anything else you personally don’t cut corners on]
Flights
I book far in advance when I know dates. I book last-minute when I’m flexible. The middle — booking a few weeks out with a fixed destination — is usually the most expensive way to do it.
[ADD YOUR DETAILS: How you typically find and book flights — any specific tools, hacks, or approaches that have worked for you]
I am not going to tell you there’s a secret trick to cheap flights. There isn’t. There’s timing, flexibility, and occasionally luck.
The Real Budget Advice
Stop thinking about budget travel as deprivation. The goal isn’t to spend as little as possible — the goal is to spend as long as possible in the places that matter to you.
You do that by going where your money works, keeping your fixed costs low, and being willing to eat where locals eat, walk when you could take a cab, and choose the guesthouse with a great location over the hotel with a pool you’ll never use.
That’s it. That’s actually it.
[ADD YOUR DETAILS: Your overall monthly or trip budget for a typical affordable destination — give people a real number to work with]
— Baldo
Follow along on Instagram and TikTok @whereisbaldo