I was raised an Army brat. Dad was career army all the way. Living and traveling through different parts of the United States and the world was second nature to me growing up.

Maybe that’s why I didn’t travel as much for pleasure when I became an adult. It www.bajatraveler.net that I didn’t like getting out, I just found it hard to make the time to see more of the world. I spent most of my vacation time going back to see family that I had missed in my youth.

As a business executive, I did travel for my employer however and thoroughly enjoyed it. As a west coast native, there was nothing to rival the experience of visiting Manhattan on an expense account. Good hotels, good food, excellent service.

I was spoiled from the start: It was like traveling as royalty when my large corporate employer was picking up the tab. I didn’t abuse the privilege, in fact they insisted on it. Back in the 1990’s, the economy was hot and my company routinely bought expensive airline tickets and put us up in pricey hotels while we were away on business.

When I left the corporate world to start my own business however, those halcyon days became much harder to come by. It’s one thing to be able to write of the trip as a tax expense when you’ve got enough money coming in to cover the expenses, it’s a completely different thing altogether when you’re just getting started and squeaking by as it is.

I had to watch every dime because it all had to go back into growing the business and marketing. I traveled a lot less since my company then covered only my local area. When I left it was for pleasure unless I could find a way to not only link it to my work but generate sales and income out of the trip as well.

If I was going to travel, I had to find another way.

I had to be far more discerning and wiser about money and how to get good service if I was to continue to travel in the manner to which I had become accustomed. So I took time to learn what many others don’t. I worked the system until I got it right and made travel worth my while.

Here are a few tips and strategies that I utilized in order to continue to enjoy fine travel at a price that didn’t break the bank.