People often ask if I am a travel agent or if I work for an airline, while both jobs are appealing to me… the answer is No.
I work full time as a department and research coordinator for a University. I also go to grad school part time. So how I am still standing at the end of the day is beyond me, but I somehow make it work.
Last year, in 2018, I had the opportunity to go on the following trips:
- January – Brought in the New Year in the Pocono Mountains in PA
- January – Ocho Rios, Jamaica
- April- Ocho Rios, Jamaica
- April- Pittsburgh, PA (read about this trip here)
- July- Girls Trip to Punta Cana Dominican Republic (read about this trip here)
- July- Montego Bay, Jamaica
- October- Barbados (read about this trip here)
How did I accomplish this all while working a 9-5 and going to school? Here’s how…
Schedule your vacation time wisely (use those holidays and weekends!)
One of the perks to having a good 9-5 job are the benefits. This is something you should make sure is up to your standards before accepting a position. Do they have a good insurance plan? Do they offer tuition reimbursement in case you want to go back to school? This is what I took advantage of for my graduate degree, my job pays 80% and I take my classes online, allowing me the freedom to travel! And most importantly what is the paid time off looking like?
Last year I had 4 weeks (or 20 days) of paid vacation time and 3 days of paid personal days. The amount of PTO increases with each year I work for the company (another perk). Also, my job recognizes most holidays so we get time off for that as well.
It is usually a wise choice to spread your vacation time out throughout the year as it falls on holidays or weekends, turning it in to an extended weekend.
For example:
- Girls trip to Dominican Republic- Sunday July 1 to Saturday July 7 = 7 day vacation
- PTO used= 4 days (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday because Wednesday July 4th was a holiday)
- Barbados- Wednesday October 24th to Monday October 29th = 6 day vacation
- PTO used = 4 days (used the weekend to make the trip longer without having to use PTO)
Payment plans
Let’s talk about the fun part… paying for the trip! Usually I search for deals on my own and book the best that I come across. But for one of my trips last year we went through my travel agent Robin Ernst (robin.ernst@constultant.com). This was for the girls trip to DR. For group trips I definitely recommend using a travel agent, it just cuts down on the stress of all of the responsibility falling on one person to collect money, stay on top of people to pay their part, book everything and deal with people joining in or backing out. Instead, all of that will be the job of the travel agent. We were able to pay a small down payment, then pay off the trip on our own time as long as it was paid in full 30 days before the trip. This was such an easy process, and when you budget it well it just becomes a temporary bill that will be well worth it in the end!
Recommended booking sites to save money
Although I acknowledge a lot of the booking sites out there I am a bit loyal to Expedia. One of the perks of being loyal to a particular site is if they have a points program you will earn rewards each time you book through them. With Expedia’s program I am a Gold member which means I get special member pricing, free room upgrades at VIP hotels (which worked out in barbados when I booked a junior suite and got upgraded to a luxury suite with a bottle of wine!). I also love their bundle deals where you can save tons of money by booking your flight, hotel and even your car rental all together.
Other recommended booking sites for flights and hotels
- Skiplagged App– Helps you find flights other search engines won’t show you (read the fine print)
- Hopper App– Sends you notifications with flight predictions
- Google Flights- One stop shop for flights, searches multiple airlines and deals to offer all on one page
- Bookit.com – Discounted vacation booking site also offers bundle deals
- Cheapcaribbean.com– Some of the best Caribbean vacation deals on the internet
- Hotel Tonight App– great for last minute hotel room deals. I once booked a Vegas hotel for $53/night. Use my code to save $25 when you register and book for the first time JACAMPBELL89
- Airbnb– Offers stays (rented out homes and apartments), and experiences for a low cost. (Message me for my discount code when you sign up to use the app for the first time.)
- Airline Credit Cards- Find a card that suits you best and use it to your advantage. With my American Airlines credit card I have gotten about 4 free flights so far 🙂 read all about it here.
Stay local
We tend to forget that traveling even to a neighboring city is still traveling! Two of the trips I went on last year were in the state that I live in and I had the time of my life. It is still an opportunity to get away and discover new things. It is also cost effective because you can forget about booking a flight and book a train or bus ride or even take a road trip! Local trips are fun to take on the weekends, therefore you do not have to use any PTO.
Budget, Save, Start a travel fund
One thing that has been working for me lately is manifesting a trip. If you can think it, you can usually do it! I have had my eyes set on a new vacation destination to go to for a while now for my upcoming birthday and finally booked the other day! Dream it, then Do it!
Budget – Remember to be realistic when planning your trips. Look for deals that are within your budget and if it is slightly out of reach make some lifestyle changes to get you there. For example, eat out less, no online shopping for the month, cancel your Netflix subscription for a while.
Save– research the location that you are going to. How much money will you need? Research flights and keep an eye on them for when the prices might go down (don’t forget to try the Hopper app) After you have come up with the amount of money that you will need, write that number down. Now save! Save until you get there.
Start a travel fund– One fun way I have heard that people do this is by using the envelope method. They keep an envelope that says “Travel” on it (or the destination you plan on going to) and every time you have some extra money to put to the side stuff it in the envelope.
Be Flexible, Be humble
It may be a bit hard to be flexible if you have work responsibilities and can not just get up and go on a trip when the prices are at their lowest. But it is worth trying to be flexible with dates if you can. For example, one time I was looking at a trip from Tuesday to Monday and the flight was $700 round trip. When I switched the dates to Wednesday to Monday the price dropped to $400 round trip. Just one day made a huge difference!
Be humble. By this I mean, it is OK to leave all of the extra stuff at home and pack just a carry on bag to save money. It is also OK to take more affordable airlines like Spirit or Frontier.
Here is a true example from FlyFrontier.com website as of 9/17/2019
| From | To | Depart | Return | Fares Starting From |
| Austin | Tampa | Oct 01, 2019 | Oct 08, 2019 | $63.60* |
Well, there you have it. I shared all of the tips I know and use to help me continue traveling while working a 9-5 job and going to school all at the same time.
Wine Glass Half Empty: Why do we have to work anyway????
Wine Glass Half Full: Working pays for my trips…
Are there any tips you can add to this list? Share below 🙂
