Traveling has become a major part of my business. I am in and out of a different city every single month and you know when you are on a “mini-vacation” you always spend money freely. I have a lot of speaking engagements and I found myself going out of town to get money, only to go home broke. It wasn’t making sense to me until I realized what was happening. I have 3 things that I do now to save on business expenses so that I can go home with the money I just made.
1. Take one credit card
I am a shopper and I like knickknacks but those $3 items always add up. To avoid the just “buying because you got it” syndrome that I suffer from, I only bring one credit card and not my debit card. I just got my credit in order, so I am very conscious about what I put on my credit card. Me buying anything other than the bare minimum with my credit card is something I will not do. This tactic forces me to only buy what I need.
2. Don’t book a hotel
Usually, the speaking engagement is only one day so I book the first flight into the city and the last flight out. If they have a Q and A after or even go to dinner to celebrate, I am covered because the last flight isn’t until about 11:00 pm. Hotel stays get expensive and staying overnight forces you to eat, drink, and shop, well that was the case for me. To avoid all of that, I get off the plane and Uber to the location and I Uber back to the airport. I have saved so much money traveling this way. Am I tired? Yep, but I have all my money and I can sleep in the airport and on the plane. I find myself sometimes sitting in the airport for hours until the last plane leaves. I am completely ok with that because I have enough work to do to make my airport stay productive.
3. Pizza Anyone?
When I have to stay at night in other cities, I order a large pizza from the local pizza place. I only eat cheese pizza so it pretty much tastes good from wherever you order it. It is only me but a large pizza I can eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Order a 2-liter pop, a pizza, and some chips and that is $20 well spent. I am not eating and drinking up all my money.
It is clear to me that money comes and goes. But you need to be smart about what it goes too. I used to go out of town and make $1,500 and come back home with $30 wondering where did all my money go? Since I have added these 3 steps in my spending, it has really helped me out so much. Try them and let me know if it works for you.
I’d love to hear about how you save on your business travels?