How to Travel the World For (Almost Free) - Part II

So, I had to post this one, because I've found a few more ways to travel for free!

Who doesn't want to travel the world for almost free?? Let's be honest, I travel ALOT. Because I travel so much for ministry, I wanted to make sure that our family trips were affordable, comfortable and STILL be a good steward over our finances.

Black sand beaches in Maui!

So, my first blog, How to Travel the World for Free, was a complete success! But, since then, I have found more tips to share with you. So, I will be sharing some oldies, but a lot of new stuff!

If you don't know, I'm a huge planner. I am constantly thinking of ways for my family to GET AWAY and enjoy each other. We literally work 360 days a YEAR (yes, even on vacation.) We rarely take time off of work. Don't worry, I have my days of rest but even in the midst of that, I'm chasing down 2 kids, answering emails, getting the house together, on conference calls, writing books, blogs, etc. :). Nonetheless, while I am at one trip, I will start planning the next trip. I think what is key to any trip that you take is to PLAN ahead. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Most times, we think that traveling is unreachable because we don't have money or whatever else. Well, I pray that these few ideas help you and encourage you to save, plan ahead and ask the Lord for wisdom!

So, let's get RIGHT into it!

Traveling

Our Logan swimming in Turks & Caicos!

1. Airfordable - Airfordable is a super cool website where you buy your flight with Airfordable for a deposit upfront and pay off the rest in an easy, flexible payment plan before your departure date. So, if you cannot afford the flight right away, then you can book it through Airfordable. And, just by clicking on this link, Airfordable to sign up, you will get $25 to use towards your next flight! This is super cool because you can save up and make payment plans to literally travel the world! So, if you're planning on coming to the Pinky Promsie Conference, it's in 8 months!! You can make payments and come on! :) No excuses!

2. www.SecretFlying.Com  Yeah. So, this website is pretty much going to be your new best friend. I found flights the other day to Italy from Atlanta for $300. THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS. I was tempted to book the flight, but then I realized that I have two kids and an overbooked travel schedule. lol. So, if you're single in this generation, what a TIME to be single! What a TIME to travel the world in an affordable way! My friends booked through secret flying to visit Capetown, London and Italy. Total cost one way? $405. Exactly! I just check it daily for good deals.

Kisses while still trying to hold on in Dubai! lol!

3. Free Housing? Yes. You heard it. Well, not completely free. But, you can always book through AirB&B (P.S. if you click that link & book, you will recieve a $35 credit!) when you're traveling with friends for a cheaper option. There's another option called Mind My House.  There IS a $20 sign up fee (I think it's annual) But, you would take care of someone’s house, pets and gardens while they’re away. Websites like this one help play matchmaker for homeowners and home “watchers” around the world. Even though there's a $20 fee, I think it's pretty cool that you can house-sit for FREE on an amazing property in some other country for pennies per day!

Coffee time in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

4. Free Housing + An Organic Farm? Now, if you're really adventurous, you can join WWOOF. It's an organization connects travelers with organic farmers who want to trade room and board for an extra hand. So, essentially, you would choose what country that you want to visit and learn how to farm and grow your own veggies while experiencing an entirely new country!

5. Do you want free entry? So, say that you have kids and you want to get into Disney for free? Email them! Tell them that you would love to post about your trip on your social media. The reality is that you're going to post ANYWAY. You may as well get a couple free tickets to do so! It doesn't hurt to ask and I've known people that got into the park for FREE in exchange for a few posts!

6. I signed up with www.hotels.com. So, when you do stay at hotels, book those hotels on your points card AND rack up free nights! I just purchased a $400+ per night 5 star hotel for $5.00! I simply booked through that website and my nights added up! Perfect staycaction!

Ok, Heather, some of these things are not free. I need a way to bring in extra income!

Thankful for these sweet memories in Miami with my family!

Savings towards your Travel Fund!

1. I shared this before, and I have to share it again! IBOTTA!  This is another site that I use that allows you to make money off of things like your groceries! So, I clicked on the link, signed up, downloaded the app and then I would go to the grocery store. After shopping, I would go home and then "unlock" rebates based on what I purchased. So, you can go on there and unlock things like "pasta" for $2.00. You scan the item + verify your receipt by taking a snap shot of it & then bam - the money is in your account that can be transferred to PayPal! Isn't that cool? So, I take that money as well and transfer it to our vacation fund. So, this is another way to make some extra money to save, give, or do whatever that the Lord leads you to do!
Remember, these are basic, everyday purchases that you're already going to make! 

2. Again, I LOVE EBATES!!  It allows for you to get cash back on items that you already purchase. So, I refuse to go directly to any website to book anything. Instead, I go through Ebates, search my store and then I get my cash back, coupon codes! The Christmas season is coming up and do you know what that means? It means that you can get even more back on your purchases! At times, I will order on stores like Target or Toys R Us and then do the "Pick up" option to get the cash back! It may seem like an extra step, but those little extra steps give you FREE cash back!

Our sweet Logan in the Bahamas! 

3. Have you heard of the "Let Go" App? Simply download the app and go throughout your home and SELL the stuff that you don't need! Your items will show up and those in your particular area can purchase right from your phones. This is a great option to get rid of things quickly. Also, you can also sell your items to local consignment stores like Once Upon a Child, etc. 

4. Learn a craft & sell on Etsy! What do you do for fun? Painting? Writing Scriptures on Canvases? Making jewelry? Sell on Etsy and stores like it! Take ALL of the profit and as the Lord leads you - put it in that travel savings fund! I like Mint because you can see your bills and savings all at once! 

5. Host a community garage sale! If you're able, write on a post-it-note and stick it on the mailboxes of those in your community Tell them to contact you if they are free on a certain date for a community garage sale. Find a Saturday and then organize it! Put it in the paper/craigs list! This way, you can sell everything at once and bring more customers in knowing that it's a community garage sale! Not only that, it's a great way to get to know those in your community and to further spread the gospel of Jesus!

5. Umm. POSHMARK is where it's at! I just started my own poshmark account! Download the app + use my invite code for $5.00 to get started! HFUJI. What I love is that I can sell items from my closet that I no longer wear. They do take more than Ebay but I'm thinking it sells faster because it's linking all of your social media accounts. 

Ok, I have to share how I traveled for $22.00 to a state and stayed for a couple nights. 

Turks + Us.

As I have shared before, I have a couple credit cards through American Express. So, I charge those things from Ebates, our life insurance, car insurance, etc on our credit card monthly. Then I pay it off monthly so that I can get points for my trip. If you sign up for a card and spend a certain amount within three months - that is an automatic 50,000 miles or two round trip plane tickets (US). So, I definitely took advantage of that option and booked my flight and my hubby's flight. The beauty in having these cards (if you can discipline your flesh) is that they constantly have benefits and deals, cash back, etc. Find a card that will give you some time of benefit! I know Chase has some great ones as well. You may feel like, "Heather, I am not a business owner! I don't spend enough. Well, did you know that your points don't expire and your miles won't expire (with Delta anyway.) So, be patient. Little by little, add to your travel fund. Add your miles. Convert some of your American express points to airlines. And, get to traveling for free!

Next, make sure  you sign up for ALL hotel and airline loyalty programs. Find your favorite one and try to stick with it. I have found that when you are in a loyalty program, you get cheaper hotel rooms, more incentives and free food! In our case, we are apart of a certain hotel loyalty program. But, we haven't used it in a year or so. So, I honestly didn't think that we had any points. I happened to check our account and found that we had about 30,000 points! WOW! When did this happen? Well, the hotel nights were 12,000 each so we were able to stay in a $400 a night hotel for absolutely nothing. We have had this loyalty program for YEARS and we didn't think that it incurred so much over the years! What a sweet surprise for our $22 trip.

I have to be honest, my heart exploded as I wrote this blog because I got to look back at all of the sweet memories with my family. There's NOTHING like the memories that traveling create in your family! And, it changes your perspective, allows you to think outside of the box and gives you a chance to spread the gospel of Jesus in an entirely new country. 

What a sweet honor. 

So, I pray that your travel wheels start spinning! Do you have any tips for traveling? If so, share them in the comments below! 

Just a few things:

1. Find my (5) books (including my NEW book, "The Purpose Room"), purity rings, shirts & all that good stuff via www.pinkypromiseboutiques.com!

2. We have developed an APP! Think: daily post notifications + weekly devotionals, recipes and so much more! It's out NOW for iphones + Androids. Under: Heather & Cornelius Lindsey: Today With the Lindsey's

3.  If you live in Atlanta, I want to invite you to our church. Join us on Sundays at 10:30am. Our churches name is: "The Gathering Oasis"  3600 Snapfinger Rd Lithonia, GA 30038

4. Register for the 2017 Pinky Promise in Atlanta, GA! It sold out last year so you don't want to miss out! www.pinkypromiseconference.com

5. As always, you can join a Pinky Promise group locally! There's about 50,000 ladies that have joined! Find a group near you by joining & checking out the intro page! Join here: www.PinkyPromiseMovement.com

6. We are headed on a Revival Tour to Kenya, Nigeria, London and Capetown. Register here: www.lindseyevents.com 

God loves you like crazy,
Love always,


Heather Lindsey

How to Travel The World For Free

Wait, did you just say free Heather? Well, pretty much free or pretty cheap (but still nice). So, if you know me - I'm one of those crazy planners that plans my entire life like a year out. I just have to get the okay from my husband but my calendar is pretty much confirmed before the year even starts. I like to know where I'm going from speaking engagements to family trips.

Every year, we go on the following trips:

1. A me & my hubby ONLY trip (baby-free) (3-4 days)

2. A family trip (1-2 weeks)

3. 1-2 staycations in the state

4. Girls & guys trips (separately) 

5. Maybe a couples trip (hasn't happened lately)

Can you believe that we typically only pay for 25% of these trips? They're usually FREE or super cheap! 

We travel a lot outside of that for ministry purposes only. So, we may fly somewhere and be there for 12-24 hours so I don't consider that "vacation" - as it's for ministry purposes and pretty exciting but exhausting!

So, I like to make sure that our family trips are as nice, comfortable and affordable! Well, let's get started!

1. I like to book my trips wayyyy in advance. I will purchase the flights about 320 days before my trip. I've also heard that 54 days before hand is good as well - I wouldn't chance it for our family trip as we have to buy about 4 tickets. In buying 320 days out it - it assured that I got to choose my seats on the plane AND the flight prices ONLY went up from that point (for our recent trip to Hawaii). For trips that aren't as far, I'm sure you're fine in booking the 54 day rule. One of the beauties in flying a lot for ministry is that we get a TON of points with a selected airline. We can use those miles to upgrade our seats and even pay for our flights. I didn't pay for my flight on the last girls trip that I took - I simply used my miles. Typically, you need 25,000 miles for one round trip ticket in the United States. And, I caught the airline at a good time so I was able to get a first class ticket round trip for 25,000 miles. You may say - "Heather, I don't fly a lot - how can I get points?" Well, that brings me to my next point:

2. I know there's a ton of financial guru's that say credit cards are the devil, etc and I agree with the scripture that says not to owe no many anything but to love them. Well, I found a credit card that doesn't put me in debt because it forces me to pay off the balance in full every month! For my Pinky Promise Store  I am required to purchase a ton of stuff wholesale. So, where does it go? Right onto my credit card. I use American Express and I LOVE it. I also put our life insurance bill on there, home insurance, car insurance and any other bill and then at the end of the month - I pay it off! So, I'm getting points that I can use for travel, gift cards, cash, hotels, flights, etc! I want my money to work for me in every way possible and I'm very disciplined when it comes to paying stuff off! On one of our family trips, I paid $0.00 for an 5 star hotel for an entire week! Isn't that amazing?! I simply used my points and I saved up the points for the entire year! Now, if you can't get an American Express cards- there's other cards with cash back and I encourage you to get one and use it so you can get some benefits. Again, if you're anti- credit cards or you don't feel like you will be disciplined in paying it off-- don't get it. I don't play when it comes to my credit and paying off bills. Use wisdom in everything that you do! Do your research! There's other cards that use points for miles as well. I also use their travel agents to get great deals as well.

3. In booking your flights, make sure that if you're staying for a week or so, that you're not rushed. Why? Because most times, flights are overbooked by the airlines and they will offer flight vouchers to anyone who will take the next flight. If it requires an overnight stay, airlines will give you a hotel and a food voucher. When we were traveling to Hawaii this past month, they were giving out $1,000 flight vouchers to anywhere in the world, good for one year! Amazing, right? ALSO, on our return flight, we were delayed due to mechanical issues on the plane. We then missed our connecting flight home and it was theeeee longest travel day with two kids. So, I called the airline the next morning after we returned and they gave each of us a $200 flight voucher for their inconvenience. So, I in turn used the flight voucher of $400 to pay for the trip me & my hubby are taking this year alone AND baby free. AND because I have an american express card, they give me a $200 flight credit to my select airline. So, we pretty much got our flights for next to NOTHING! Isn't that amazing? So, we are flying FREE in March to our trip alone! Note that if the delay is due to weather, the airline won't compensate that, but it doesn't hurt to call if it is due to mechanical problems!

4. I've always heard that it's best to book your flights on Tuesday early morning if you need a flight and you've missed both the 320 and the 54 day rule. I remember that I needed to go to St. Thomas for a wedding last minute and I snagged a flight there for $554 a few days before it left at like 3AM on a Tuesday morning. I checked later that day and the flight went up to $1010!

5. Saving, saving, SAVINGS! I recommend PLANNING and saving ahead. I literally save and prepare for each of our trips. Every month, I set money aside to go into an account that I don't have a card for - this way, I won't be tempted to touch the money. I put all extra money aside into this account. (Note that I encourage you to first have an emergency fund set up with at least $1000 or 3 months of bills if you can before you start a vacation fund). So, how do I save?

• I LOVE EBATES!! You literally get paid for shopping online. So, before I buy things online that I need for around the house, the kids, etc- I first go to Ebates and then I type in the store that I'm planning to shop at. I can see coupons and a percentage that I will get back from shopping through Ebates. THEN, I find the store, click their link and it will take me to the actual online store. The cool thing is, I've gotten back over $1,000 of free money over the years for simply shopping online! Then, they send me a check and I will put that money in the vacation fund. You see, instead of going to Target to shop - I shop online through ebates, select pick up from the store and I get my points and I didn't get caught by the Target demon. haha! So, that money is saved in our vacation fund to be used towards food, a car rental, hotel fees, etc. 
• IBOTTA!  This is another site that I use that allows you to make money off of things like your groceries! So, I clicked on the link, signed up, downloaded the app and then I would go to the grocery store. After shopping, I would go home and then "unlock" rebates based on what I purchased. So, you can go on there and unlock things like "pasta" for $2.00. You scan the item + verify your receipt by taking a snap shot of it & then bam - the money is in your account that can be transferred to PayPal! Isn't that cool? So, I take that money as well and transfer it to our vacation fund. So, this is another way to make some extra money to save, give, or do whatever that the Lord leads you to do! 
• EBAY! So, every now and then, I will clean out my closet and sell most of it on Ebay. As the Lord leads me to give, save or whatever else, I will put a portion of that in my vacation fund as well. So, again, I'm not "seeing" my hard worked-for money go into the vacation fund. I haven't used Ebay in a couple years, but it was a great source back before our ministry started! I recall the Lord telling me to sell some of my shoes for a mission trip. Hey, we got money in our closets! Work with what you have! 
• So, save away as much as you can in a high yield savings account so you can see some interest grow on what you've earned! 

6. When you get to the hotel, ask for an upgrade if it's available! Because we have the American express card, it grants us an automatic upgrade if it's available at the hotel! And, breakfast for two every morning. If you don't have the card, ASK for an upgrade anyway! What else could they say? No? Sometimes, they will say there's a fee. But, if you are super nice, tell them it's your birthday (don't lie now), anniversary, first family vacation, etc! Go for it! 

7. Back to flying, same goes with your seats! Ask for an upgrade at the counter or the gate. If you have really bad seats - ask for the exit row seats and if available, they will put you in there.

8. AirBNB- Forget the super fancy hotels and the crazy prices! You can stay at AirB & B for super cheap AND at times, it's cleaner than a hotel! It's pretty much staying in someones home, apartment or whatever else. The cool thing about it is that you can meet the owner & he/she can share the best restaurants, mom & pop shops and whatever else in the area. You can check out the reviews for the home prior to staying there AND if something doesn't work out, AirBNB will refund you and put you in a hotel while finding a new place if it isn't lining up with the photos.

9. Activities: I've learned that the hotel (if you stay there) up charges for activities. Go online and book tickets, excursions, etc and you will find that they're SO much cheaper.

10. When do you travel? If you are traveling during Christmas, the prices are going to be super high! You may say, "well, I don't get this or that off." You have to plan your travel days ahead! We also travel a couple weeks before Christmas to get things MUCH cheaper than traveling around Christmas. Granted, you may be the only one at work around Christmas - but at least you can relax & not deal with the rush.

11. Pack LIGHT! I like to pack 2 weeks before a trip to make sure that I can properly label all of my outfits and that I will actually wear them on the trip. Making an itinerary will help you to see what you will be doing and be sure to check the weather ahead of time!

12. Uber! I downloaded the Uber App and I use it when we need to get around versus trying to figure out local train/bus systems while out of town.

13. If you aren't feeling the AirBNB option, check out: http://www.jetsetter.com! You can get great deals on hotels for super cheap! I have heard of hostels - but personally, I wouldn't recommend something if I wouldn't stay there! Just my 2 cents! :)

14. Download the "Hotel Tonight" App. If you are going somewhere last minute, after 12 noon EST, they post deals for that night and you're able to snag super cheap hotel rooms that are nice!

15. Keep cash on you! I don't know about you, but my credit cards have been shut down while traveling because I was out of town. The problem is, they shut it down when you're internationally traveling at times so you have to call your bank ahead of time and let them know you're traveling. But, it's good to have a couple hundred dollars in cash on you just in case something happens so you aren't stuck anywhere!

BONUS: Sign up for all airline miles, Starwood points, hertz points and any other "point" program/etc. Companies are more willing to give you upgrades if they feel like you're invested too! PLUS, you can use those points to pay for your flights!

Places to book your flights & other quick tips:
1. www.Skyscanner.com compares millions of flights to find you the cheapest deal, fast. They also compare and find the cheapest hotels and car rental for your next trip.
2. I LOVE www.kayak.com to get an idea of what prices will be like in general. They also have hotel packages, etc!
3. Did you know that www.groupon.com has travel packages? You can also snag activities and restaurants from groupon!

So, these are my top tips for traveling' the world! And some of us just need to plan, road trip & just go! Most times we want everything to be perfect and that's not always the reality. When my husband and I first got married we didn't have much but we would road trip, stay at hotels, share meals & laugh. We needed to get out of our bed & stay the night somewhere else together to keep things fun and fresh. The same o'le routine got old to us! So, we just started small and then the Lord opened doors for us to travel more by plane vs. driving.

Just a few things:

1. Find my (4) books (including my NEW book, "The Runaway Bride"), purity rings, shirts & all that good stuff via pinkypromiseboutiques.com!

2. We have developed an APP! Think: daily post notifications + weekly devotionals, recipes and so much more! It's out NOW for iphones + Androids. Under: Heather & Cornelius Lindsey: Today With the Lindsey's

3.  If you live in Atlanta, I want to invite you to our church. Join us on Sundays at 11:00am at: "The Gathering Oasis"  3600 Snapfinger Rd Lithonia, GA 30038

4. Register for the 2016 Pinky Promise in Atlanta, GA! It sold out last year so you don't want to miss out! www.pinkypromiseconference.com

5. We are headed to London for the Holy Desperation Conference! Join us!www.lindseysinlondon2016.eventbee.com 

6. As always, you can join a Pinky Promise group locally! There's about 40,000 ladies that have joined! Find a group near you by joining & checking out the intro page! Join here: www.PinkyPromiseMovement.com

God loves you like crazy,
Love you all so much!

Heather Lindsey

In Dubai with my hubby in 2011!