Traveling is an activity that many people in the world enjoy, but not many have the opportunity to do it as much as they would like. Life gets in the way, and when you’re focused on getting through school or working a 9-5 job just to pay bills, travel takes a back seat on the priority list.

It’s really a shame because the act of traveling enriches the traveler exponentially. It broadens your understanding of culture, it allows you to connect with people more easily, it gives you a broader empathy for life and all living creatures, and the benefits just go on and on beyond this.

One thing is for certain. Most people don’t travel because they don’t have the time or the money. Luckily, this can be helped. If you’re a sojourner or a lover of wandering about the globe, here are some money management tips that will make it so that you can go anywhere you want:

Prefer Local Businesses For Your Needs

Supporting small, local businesses while traveling can save you money compared to larger chains. For instance, if you’re looking for a massage, searching online for “Massage Spa near me” can lead you to a local spa, often cheaper than a fancy hotel spa. Similarly, you can look for family-owned restaurants that usually offer exceptional, authentic food at prices lower than big tourist traps.

Choosing locally-run businesses also brings economic and social benefits. Your money stays in the community rather than going to a corporate headquarters. You can interact directly with residents and enjoy more genuine experiences. Service is often more personalized as well. So next time you visit a new destination, step out of the usual tourist bubble and support local businesses.

Get A Travel Credit Card

Credit cards have their positive and negative aspects. If you spend too often on them and you don’t have good habits of paying your card back in full, your interest payments will compound, and then you’ll really be in trouble.

However, if you want to have money to travel, or you want to better manage money so that you are able to travel, get yourself a travel credit card. Travel credit cards will get you benefits with the airlines like free flight miles or discounted luggage check…if you put all your travel expenses on one card, you’ll also be able to keep track of where exactly your money is getting spent much easier.

Find Cheap Hole-In-The-Wall Restaurants

If you spend your days abroad going to restaurants that are chain restaurants or right along the main tourist strip, you might find that you’re spending more money on food and beverages than you need to. To better manage your money while traveling, take your time to find the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants that will give you amazing food for dirt cheap. Food shouldn’t be expensive and there are many places you can get samples around the world for free, so before you just hop into a restaurant, scan the side streets for the hidden treasures of the culinary world.

Buddy Up With People Who Work in Airports

In the end, the most expensive thing for a traveler is going to be getting to their destination. If you don’t want to spend money to arrive where you’re looking to go, you can have an airline credit card to build miles, or you can make friends with people who work in aviation. They get buddy passes and if you have enough friends with buddy passes, you could go anywhere in the world for pretty darn cheap.