With the Memorial Day weekend right around the corner, who isn’t ready for a vacation? If you are itching to travel or enjoy a long weekend break, Memorial Day officially kicks off a time of spending time away to explore, refresh, and renew.

If you are planning a trip, here are five ways to save money. Some you may not have thought of, but they really work!

1. Join a local travel social media group
It may be a great way to crowdsource your travel savings. Local members will alert the group when an airline offers a sweet deal from nearby airports, for example.

2. Ask for cash and travel-related gift cards for birthdays and holidays
People may be giving you gifts, so why not make it something towards decreasing the cost of your next vacation? This could be a win-win for you and the gift-giver!

3. Establish a travel savings account and make automatic transfers to it
While it may be difficult at first, eventually, you won’t notice the money coming out of your main account. As a suggestion, you may consider hiding the account from online banking. To see your balance and make a withdrawal, you’ll need to physically go to a branch.

4. Plan travel in the middle of the week
If you will fly to your destination, often the best airfares are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Consider beginning your vacation on one of those days and capture the savings.

5. Know the “Six Block Rule”
Never dine out within six blocks of any tourist destination. Typically, food can be less expensive the farther away you are from theme parks and attractions.

Bon Voyage!