{"id":9353,"date":"2021-07-27T12:11:41","date_gmt":"2021-07-27T18:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/?p=9353"},"modified":"2025-01-22T14:36:25","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T20:36:25","slug":"one-trick-to-traveling-cheaply-flexibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shieldagency.com\/blog\/one-trick-to-traveling-cheaply-flexibility\/","title":{"rendered":"One Crick to Traveling Cheaply: Flexibility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By SAM KEMMIS of Nerd Wallet July 14, 2021 | AP News<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So you want to travel on a budget. Who doesn\u2019t? Yet it\u2019s easy to get overwhelmed by all the cheap travel tips, hacks and strategies out there that promise unbelievable deals on airfare and hotels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, there\u2019s only one important tactic for traveling cheaply: being flexible with your travel dates, destination and plans. It might sound simple \u2014 or even simplistic \u2014 but you would be surprised how few travelers are willing to take this piece of advice to heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be fair, this flexibility-first mindset requires a paradigm shift for many in terms of how they start planning vacations. It requires moving from this type of planning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to go to Amsterdam from Sept. 5th through 13th.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to go somewhere fun in September.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some, this degree of flexibility is simply impossible. Yet for those who can loosen their preconceptions about how to plan travel, it can lead to big savings \u2014 and maybe even more fun \u2014 whether you\u2019re paying with cash or using points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHY RIGIDITY IS SO EXPENSIVE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The cost of travel depends on the interplay between many factors, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Randomness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Number of options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you make specific plans from the get-go, you essentially constrain the last variable \u2014 you give yourself fewer options. This means that the cost of your trip will depend entirely on the first three variables, which are completely outside of your control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This economic interplay will sometimes fall in your favor, and you\u2019ll score a good deal on the exact destination and dates you wanted. But more often than not, you\u2019ll end up paying more than average simply by starting with a severely limited set of options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOW TO PLAN TRAVELS WITH FLEXIBILITY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Click here for the rest of the story<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More great articles!<\/h2>\n\n\n