Everyone always says to me, “But you’re a starving artist, how can you afford to travel?!”  Well, I’ll tell ya, traveling on a budget does take some research and planning, but that can be half of the fun!

Last month a booked a round trip flight to Scandinavia- into Stockholm and departing Oslo.  The round trip was $220.  That’s it.  TOTAL.  I know…read it again.

Here’s a little bit of info on how!

I subscribe to the flight deal (http://www.theflightdeal.com),  and they email you every day with different random flights that are on sale.  This is great for people who are flexible on where they want to go and when.  My friend Matt spotted this Sweden deal before me and let me know.  Thanks Matt! They had dates to choose from all through Jan- March.  So I called my best friend and we agreed on some dates in February! The deals don’t last long, sometimes just the day, so don’t be fearful. Pull the plug when you find one you like!

I almost always check other major airports when I am looking to go overseas.  For instance- my flight is in and out of New York City, but I am based in Chicago. I looked up flights to NY, and I can get there on southwest for only $44 from Chicago, so it was totally worth it! Plus, my friend who is coming with me is based out of NY so it works out perfect for us! A few years ago, I also booked my flight to Dublin out of NYC because it was cheaper.

The flight deal also gives you tips on how to book.  We are flying on Norwegian Airlines, a budget airline.  When looking at the site in English, the price was more than when on the site in Norwegian.  So, they recommended navigating the site both in Norwegian and English in different tabs at the same time so you know what to fill in, but then only confirming purchase on the Norwegian one.  This saved she and I both $30 one-way.  That $30 worth of pastries I can eat there!  I also did this in Peru a few months back!