How to make $800 on your next vacation

January 7, 5:43 PMNY Budget Travel ExaminerSusan Finch

Previous Next

2 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the NY Budget Travel Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

I have a confession to make. I haven't been updating my examiner page from Brooklyn, New York since Thanksgiving hit. I'm actually updating it from Brooklyn, OH.

A far cry from Brooklyn, NY, Brooklyn, OH features rockin' meatball subs from Dina's down the street, the zoo, a couple of metroparks, the eerily enormous American Greetings compound, and cheep beer.

My husband and I are here because I'm writing a guidebook about hiking in Columbus. And because we have friends and family in the Cleveland area, and it's only 2 hours away from Columbus, it seemed like a good place to work and have access to my hiking destination. So after spending a week in Columbus, we headed over to Cleveland.

I won't scare you with all the harrowing details, but I spent most of December hiking in snow, rain, and shin-deep mud. The highlight was getting caught in a storm, the trail being washed out, sliding down a hill on my back, losing my hiking notebook, and my GPS breaking. Not to mention that getting out of a warm car and into sub zero weather was about enough to make you want to vomit in your hiking boots.

Back to Cleveland. While my in-laws are great, we didn't want to subject them (or ourselves) to an extended stay. So we sublet our place in Brooklyn, NY to a friend and found a furnished pad in, ironically, Brooklyn, OH. And I discovered something I hadn't really considered. We're saving about $800 in rent being here.

While I've always been an advocate of house swapping and subletting, this is the first time the reality of it has hit me on a personal level. And the reality of how much you can save is astounding. We were lucky enough to find a friend in NY who needed a sublet and I haven't worried about the place once. But for those who might want to sublet to a stranger -- a pad lock on the closet securing your valuables, and a deposit of equal value to the rent can calm most of your fears.

I'm thinking I might want to try subletting everytime we go on vacation, whether it's a month, a few weeks, or even a weekend. The outrageous expense of NY is on our side, as savvy travelers will be searching craigslist for a better alternative to the Milford Plaza in Times Square.

Tips for finding a subletter for your next vacation:

1) Ask around to friends and family who might be looking, even in secret. Our friend hadn't mentioned needing to get out of her current living situation to anyone because she was just trying to make the best of it. When she found out we were looking for a renter, she jumped on it.

2) Use craigslist to post the dates of your sublet and post pictures. Transparency is key, if you give the rundown on the neighborhood, potential noise issues, and offer personal references, you'll get a better response.

3) Get everything in writing including the details of the sublet dates, the deposit, and the condition you expect the apartment to be in when you return.

4) Pick a city where you feel confident about finding a sublet of your own. Corporate apartments can be expensive, but  cities and college towns are full of furnished apartments for professionals, professors, and temporary students.

5) Don't head to Boston or San Francisco, where the rent is likely to be just as expensive, if not more expensive, than your own. Look to second and third tier cities you've been curious about visiting like Austin, Nashville, Atlanta, Savannah, Santa Fe, Portland, and beyond.

And who knows, you may find a way to save a few grand, depending on what your rent is like in New York. So instead of stressing out over the recession, take a vacation and figure out a way to save.

If you liked this story, you also might like:

How to travel for free
Couch crashing for the budget traveler
Unique lodging for the budget traveler

Email me your budget travel questions and challenges at travelexaminer@yahoo.com.  I'll post them here and help you get on the open road.