Airport Savings: 52 Week Save Money Challenge Week Seven

This week ended up being quite simple to save the highest amount left of the 52 week savings challenge sheet. I needed to fly, and I was smart enough to buy my tickets well in advance during the Southwest $59 one-way trip sale. Tickets to this destination usually cost over $100 each way, so scoring the $59 tickets was a great deal. While many times it’s not the best to purchase the cheapest ticket, in this case it was. In fact, out of curiosity, I checked for ticket prices a couple of days before I left to see what the last minute prices were and they were all in the $300 one-way range.

The savings from the ticket alone reaches the highest amount to be crossed off on the sheet ($51), but I was able to get savings in a number of other ways as well. Instead of driving to the airport and leaving the car in long-term parking, or taking a taxi, I arranged to have a friend drop me off and pick me up at the airport. Having taken a taxi before, this saved me about $50 each way. Long term parking for the trip would have been about the same.

One of the things that needs to be taken into account when flying these days is that the price of the ticket isn’t the only cost that can come with flying. Many airlines charge for checking baggage and other extra fees. Fortunately, Southwest is one that doesn’t, plus I packed efficiently so that I could travel with carry-on luggage only.

Another step I took was to bring my own food for waiting at the airport and on the plane. Instead of having to pay for expensive food at the airport, I had plenty with me to keep my hunger cravings satisfied for the trip both there and back. I also took a water bottle which I had to empty going through security, but I was able to fill up again once on the other side so I didn’t have to buy any drinks.

I also made preparations for not needing Internet access. A lot of airports are getting better at offering free Internet access, but there are still ones that don’t. Since I travel a lot and always need Internet access, I have a phone service wifi plan (this also means that I never have to pay for Internet at hotels). I also put together an article plan so that if I don’t have any access (like on the plane), I still can get work done offline.

All these things added together saved me well over $51 during the week. I was gone for the week so I din’t use my car and didn’t have any payments for using it. Since I reached the highest amount on the sheet, I also put all the change I saved back into the jar, and I’ll roll that over to next week.

Total Saved Week 7: $51.00

$1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10
$11 $12 $13 $14 $15 $16 $17 $18 $19 $20
$21 $22 $23 $24 $25 $26 $27 $28 $29 $30
$31 $32 $33 $34 $35 $36 $37 $38 $39 $40
$41 $42 $43 $44 $45 $46 $47 $48 $49 $50
$51 $52

For those who are doing the 52 week challenge, did you have a successful week seven?

The 2014 Challenge
Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
Week Five
Week Six

Zero Effort Money Saving Hacks

If you are looking for an easier way to save money you may want to turn to your daily technology. Digit.co is an app for your smartphone that makes saving pain-free. The app analyzes your savings account balances and then automatically makes small withdrawals that are swept into savings for you. Once you’ve installed and activated your Digit app you can sit back and relax while Digit does the rest. Check it out at digit.co.