Money-saving tips for work-related travel

Travel is exciting, whether for work or personal reasons. While traveling for work should sound stressful, strangely it usually isn't for many millennials. Add in the perk of having your trip financed by a third party, probably your company or client, and it might get way too exciting. So much so that you start dipping into your own cash reserves.

While you may not be the one spending the money. Traveling overseas for work presents a great opportunity to save up some cash, probably enough to travel again in the future.

The first step as with any frugal spending approach is to sit down with pen and paper and examine your budget; what is essential and what is trivial. What can you live without and what is crucial. Keep these four money tips in mind when next you're traveling for work.

- Consider going for cheaper accommodation. An economical option might be opting for short-term Airbnb units instead of expensive hotels. There are also services, like Homestay, which allows you to stay with a host in your destination for a reduced price. Often, you get to mix with the locals and actually experience what living in that city or country feels like. However, ensure to find out if this wouldn't be in violation of company policy.

- Check out cheaper airlines. You can snag a deal on flights and other essentials with a service like Lowfares that allow you to compare rates on airfares, hotels, and car rentals. Another tip is to travel during off-peak periods.

Generally, weekdays, especially midweek, are a great time to secure cheap rates. FareCompare CEO, Rick Seaney, in an article on USAToday https://eu.usatoday.com/story/travel/columnist/seaney/2018/01/02/best-and-worst-days-fly-2018/995658001/ , puts Jan 9 - March 16 as the cheapest times to fly through Europe. Since prices drop as much as 40% over holiday fares.

- Cut back on restaurants and drinks. Money spent on food per day can easily add up, especially when you're not the one spending. However, it only takes a little discipline to be thrifty and get some cash saved. One tip is to plan out what you'd eat every day and how much you want to spend. Don't get too cut up in the local cuisine, while ignoring your pocket. An advantage of a service like Homestay is that it allows you to spend little on food.

- Teach a language or offer a service. You can try a service like Diverbo, which will cover some of your vacationing costs and in exchange, you help locals with their English. AdventureWork shows listings of jobs in the adventure space. Folks literally pay you to teach skiing and snowboarding etc. You can also babysit or teach a language. https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2016/07/27/23-companies-that-will-help-you-travel-the-world-for-free-and-maybe-even-pay-you-to-do-it/#4e5d1881e0fd . So, if you have some free time on your hands, you can consider offering a service or volunteering.

There are also discount services or loyalty rewards on hotels and fares. You can take advantage of these if you frequent the same location multiple times a year.

Traveling overseas for work presents an opportunity to work, have fun and maybe get enough money saved up to finance your next travel.

Driven by affluence and a thriving tourism and travel industry, increasing number of people are looking overseas. According to a Knight Frank survey, between 1993 and 2003, overseas home ownership by British households rose by 95%. While the rewards of buying foreign luxury property can be great, the risks cannot be ignored. So, before you buy a luxury property Jim Gillespie, president and chief executive of Parsippany, a New Jersey based Coldwell Banker real estate firm advises that you should know the place in more than a passing fashion. "Take several trips to the area and rent a house instead of staying in a resort", he advises.

For majority of British who have invested in Europe's luxury properties a decade ago, it turns out they had made a wise move since the euro has increased in value. But currency does not always increase in value. Currencies can take a nose-dive, taking the value of properties with them; political ownership laws can change and the buying process can seem very complicated. Hence, more research is required for people who have set their sights on luxury property abroad. Impulse decisions in these cases can be disastrous. So whether you're buying overseas luxury real estate to live in, diversify your investment or generate rental income, here are some important questions to ask.

Questions to ask when buying luxury real estate abroad

1. How much risk can I take? Putting money on a new luxury property overseas is risky. You alone know your tolerance for risk, your motivation to buy and your preferences. You might have researched the location and the house and known what needs to be known. But you should also look inward to determine your level of readiness. The decision to buy or not buy that luxury real estate might just be dependent on your gut feeling.

2. Why am I buying? The answer to this question usually determines your other considerations. If you're buying for personal use in retirement, you definitely have different priorities. One such thing might be waking up to a view of the sea from your bedroom window. An investor wouldn't care less about the views. If you're looking for rental profit, your priority would likely be price.

3. What's my budget? Now let's talk about price. The most practical advice you can get when buying real estate overseas is: be clear on how much you want to spend and don't consider properties outside your price point. Or you may, if you feel it won't really hurt your pocket. Having a budget and sticking to it, you won't waste time meandering aimlessly.

4. How far is my property to amenities? You don't want to drive long distances to shops, medical centers and eateries. Millennials might also need to consider the nightlife. Families will need to consider proximity to schools and the grade of schools around. You need to familiarize with locals and get as much information about the area and the city. Don't neglect to look at transport and traffic patterns. You might think it's the norm to have good transport. You will be surprised to find that some areas might be hard to access because of bad roads.

Everyone likes the idea of living in their own overseas luxury real estate. This would probably give a great retirement. But before you take the plunge, make sure you're ready.

The most important aspect of agent-client relationship is communication. A house seller or buyer can find it stressful dealing with an agent or buyer who is not a good communicator. An agent that stays in constant contact with clients and answers their questions proves his or her proactivity.

Yes you need to let buyers and sellers know where they stand quickly so they can move on to another property or potential buyer. Real estate is time sensitive. Buyers and sellers need the right information and need it fast. Hence, one of the qualities of a good agent is the ability to give the right information to the right kind of buyer at the right time. What an experienced agent might deem insignificant information might be important information to clients who are new to the real estate game. Putting the right information in front of clients communicate that you're an agent who puts clients first.

It's the responsibility of a good agent to sort out what clients need to know and provide this information. Hence it's important that an agent has a well updated website complete with valuable information. You don't really need to pressure your clients with too much information. Just the right information will do. Here are five content types that real estate buyers and sellers find valuable.

REAL ESTATE CONTENT TYPES THAT WORK

When correctly done, real estate content marketing can be a game changer for your real estate business. You have the chance to attract thousands of new leads through well-researched, helpful content. This is why effective real estate bloggers put a lot of plan and effort into creating the right content for their real estate website. Here are some of the real estate content types you should be posting for your real estate business.

1. Market Reports. Writing a recap of real estate activity in your community for the month shows you as a knowledgeable real estate agent in the community. Buyers and sellers want to be informed about the real estate market in their area of residence. Even if they aren't going to take action immediately, when you post fact-based market reports, they know whom to approach for questions. Also, Google ranks market reports high. Since few realtors are posting them, your posts have less competition.

2. Local Community Information. A local community guide includes details about a neighborhood such as detailed information about the local real estate market, local economy, housing and population, local school information, parks and restaurants and attractions. This type of content is important because it increases your real estate website's SEO value and helps the area residents see that you have strong knowledge of the community.

3. Home buyer and seller tips. Both buyers and sellers have a lot of questions on their minds about real estate. Providing helpful information on your site can be timely and help you gain more leads. However, when covering the questions, your visitors would find it much more helpful if you cover the topic in 'extreme' detail and they'll love you for it.

Cold calling for sale by owners or door knocking is old school. A much better way of gaining trust and new leads is through helpful content.  When you consistently post content that real estate buyers and sellers love, you'll start reaping the benefits of real estate content marketing.