Traveling long term is different from heading to Bahamas for a week. While you can make the mistake of leaving a few things behind for a short trip, the same can not be done when you’re travelling for a while. While you know best what you will be needing most, these 7 mindful tips can help you pack smarter than ever.

1. Take Care of What You’re Leaving Behind

Before you stuff your bag with all the travel essentials, it is important that you take care of everything that you’re leaving behind as well. Renting a storage unit, like Austin storage units, helps keep your stuff safe for as long as you require. If you’re planning on staying abroad for a couple of months, you can even rent out your place or move out if you’re living in a rented property without having to worry about your belongings.

2. Always Leave Room For Shopping

One of the biggest mistake travelers make is packing everything they can find and taking it with them. What you need to understand is that there are gazillions of things that you’ll come across and would want to purchase once you’re shopping abroad. A stuffed bag would be your biggest hindrance as you’ll end up paying extra cash for the over-limit baggage.

Therefore,  take the midway (don’t be a minimalist either), pack the essentials and always leave room for shopping.

3. Roll Your Clothes

Probably the biggest packing hack mankind has discovered is saving up on space by rolling clothes instead of folding. This leaves considerable space for other things you will need to pack and allows you to keep more clothes than you could by folding them. Some compact bags allow you to keep rolled clothes in separate compartments, making room for more things to add.

4. Keep Separate Laundry Bags

Before you jump to conclusions and consider this as extra luggage, reevaluate its benefits. Stating the obvious, packing separate laundry bags keeps your used and dirty clothes away from fresh and unworn clothes. A smart way to save on space is getting vacuum laundry bags, from which air can be sucked out, occupying minimum space. Doing it the other way around (keeping unworn clothes in the vacuum bags) keeps your clothes wrinkle free and separate from laundry.

5. Avoid Handbags and Shoes

Never, I repeat, Never pack excess handbags and shoes. As tempting as it may be to pack up all those classy heels you got, you will eventually end up giving all your luggage space to handbags and shoes. All you need is a pair of trainers and one pair of formal wear to wear to special occasions.

Similarly, don’t buy excess handbags as they lose their shape if packed recklessly and would otherwise take up too much space, not leaving room for other essential items.

6. Take Power Adapters

Since it is always unpredictable what kind of sockets you will end up with in a new country, it is always a safe bet to carry power adapters with you. Last thing you want is dead phone batteries and a socket that doesn’t fit your straightener. Get one that is universal so you don’t have to worry when switching regions too.

7. Luggage Scales are a must

When everything is done and dusted, don’t forget to weigh your luggage before you head out to the airport. Save yourself the unwanted trouble of having to remove items from your luggage, simply because you didn’t weigh it earlier. No better investment than a luggage scale, which helps you pack smartly.

Our family loves to travel. Not only is it a great opportunity to bond with each other, it’s also a learning opportunity for all of us. We haven’t done any traveling this year though because I’m pregnant, but hubby and I plan to take our soon-to-be four kids on a trip somewhere next summer.

Because we’re going to be a family of six already in just a few weeks, we’re obviously more conscious now of how much money we can afford for a trip. So as early as now, we’re already thinking of strategies on how we can afford to travel well with a limited budget.

For those of you on the same boat, I’d like to share some tips we’ve learned over the years when it comes to budget traveling for the family.

1. Stick to a travel budget.

Traveling is obviously an expense and it can be extremely expensive if you’re not careful. It’s best to prepare in advance and decide how much you are willing to spend for a trip. It’s not enough to decide on the total amount alone, though. Break it down into smaller components, such as transportation, accommodations, food, entertainment and the like. Once you come up with a budget, stick to it.

2. Choose a destination wisely.

Choosing a destination will depend on a lot of factors but a large part of it comes down to what your whole family will enjoy. If your kids are old enough, ask them to participate in the discussion on where to go so that you’ll get an idea of what types of activities they’d like to do. That way, you can choose an appropriate destination and not waste tons of money in a place nobody will enjoy.

3. Read reviews from other parents and families.

Learn from the experiences of other families like yours. You can ask your relatives and friends of course, but don’t forget to check online as well. There are tons of reviews on the Internet from moms and dads, bloggers or not, who are keen on sharing what worked for them and what did not on their trips.

4. Check out travel websites and apps for great deals.

The Internet has made parents’ lives easier in a lot of ways and that includes planning for a trip. Travel websites, such as Traveloka, for instance, allows you to quickly and easily research on available flights and hotels all on in one place. You can book and pay securely online as well. Need to change or update something on your itinerary? All you need to do is log in.

Want to do it on your mobile device? You can! Traveloka even has a flight ticket and hotel booking app you can download for free, available on both Google Play and the App Store.

Don’t forget, booking online can also help you take advantage of travel deals only available on the Internet.

5. Book early online.

We all know that the early bird gets the worm. Well, that applies to booking, too. It’s not enough that you book online, you have to book early because it could mean more savings for you. Sometimes the best deals are only available for a short amount of time, so you better catch it while you still can.

6. Use loyalty cards, vouchers, or miles.

If you plan to do a lot of traveling, it would be wise for you to take advantage of rewards programs from credit cards and the like that can offer you frequent flier miles and other points you can use when you travel. Rack up enough points and you can even travel for free!

7. Travel during off season.

Take note of the peak and off-peak seasons for traveling. You can expect prices to skyrocket during peak travel times so it would be best to avoid traveling then.

Traveling during the shoulder season, which is the period immediately before and after the peak season, is usually better because the cost of airfare and accommodations are reduced. Another advantage of this is that there are fewer people traveling, which is exactly what you want when you have kids in tow. You can just relax more and take your time.

8. Look out for freebies.

Who doesn’t appreciate free stuff? Research well and you’ll find deals that give you free extras. Hotels, for example, can provide you free use of amenities, such as a swimming pool, playground or gym, that can occupy your time well. Some also offer free toiletries, breakfasts, and transfers.

Don’t stop there and look for destinations or attractions, such as museums and parks, that can provide your family with free entrance or activities.

9. Be wise about food.

Traveling can make one hungry and you know how expensive food can be when you’re feeding several kids. To save on food expenses, cook if you can. If you can’t, just avoid eating near popular attractions where food tends to be more expensive. Traveling is a great way to educate kids about different cuisines anyway, so let them explore and eat where meals are cheaper, such as in food trucks or street stalls. Just make sure they’re clean!

These are just some of the tips you can use when you’re traveling on a budget. The bottom line is, be mindful of what you’re spending on so that you and your entire family can enjoy yourselves on your vacation. Happy trip!