Hari Raya is near and many of us are excited to Balik Kampung but how can you save money when you Balik Kampung?
Here is some tips on how you can Save Money Tips on Your Balik Kampung Trip
Just 2 weeks away from Hari Raya and we are pretty sure that you all are excited to Balik Kampung and meet your beloved family. But at the same time, you must be thinking that balik kampung sure use a lot of money and we bet that you are surely trying to plan your Balik Kampung travel times more cost effective.
As this is peak travel season (most of people are balik kampung), and going anywhere out of town will be a hectic affair. If not planned properly, you could be looking at spending quite a big amount just to return to your hometowns.
Over here, let’s take a look at a few ways you can save some on your balik kampung trip.
1. Identify The Best Time To Travel
Every year, the traffic conditions on the days leading up to the first day of Raya this year will very likely be horrendous. If you are driving, do consider heading out during non-peak hours – either in the early mornings or even late at night. Don’t get us wrong but this not only saves you a lot of time, it would save your fuel as you would be able to cruise through rather than sit through hours of traffic congestion.
Also what’s better is that normally PLUS will releases its festive travel advisory about a week before the start of each festive season. You should follow the advisory of the suggested travel times based on the destination, where normally the traffic should flow a lot smoother during these times. What’s bonus is that PLUS also offers perks for adhering to the advisory’s travel times, coming in the form of Touch n Go rebates.!
2. Consider Car Pooling
If you say that you don’t have any hometown buddy, that would be a joke. You can suggest the idea of carpooling with them, and offer to split the cost. Doesn’t necessary you guys need to stay in the same city but even different but on the way, you still can car pool. Say if you’re heading back to Penang, you can also detour a bit to Ipoh, and offer a drop off to your friends
Doesn’t necessary have to be your friend but They can be a housemate, a colleague, or even mutual friends who intend to head back during the upcoming holidays. You can offer the suggestion on car pooling to them
3. Fully Utilise Your Credit Card
Sometimes, using credit card doesn’t means it’s a bad thing and using it during Hari Raya is a really good reason that consider. You can use it to shop for new Raya outfits, ingredients for Raya dishes and kuih, or even use it on travel expenses like air fares and petrol, and good news is that it is actually beneficial to own the right credit card.
With the usage of credit card, you will actually earn good rewards such as a cashback or even rewards points. There are some cards that offer a certain percentage of cashback for petrol, groceries, and online purchases. Since these purchases are going to be made anyway, might as well get some benefits out of them! Earning points is also not half bad as you can use it to redeem the product that you want from the bank
4. Ship Your Baggage Earlier Home
We understand normally when you balik kampung, you will be like bringing your whole house back to your kampung. If you’re flying back to your kampung, then this would be a good idea. It’s actually money saving when you are light pack but sometimes we also have things we want to gift to those back home – especially to those who travel between east and west Malaysia. Instead of forgoing these items and disappointing everyone at home because it was too expensive to carry, you could send your these items via mail or courier. The costs may be lower per KG compared to carrying them as paid baggage in a low-cost carrier flight.
5. Hunting for Cheap Ticket
If you are going to balik kampung by train or aeroplane, guess there is no secret trick to getting cheap tickets during peak seasons. You can only can lock down your Hari Raya break as early as possible, and immediately book your tickets. Consider heading back slightly earlier or later compared to the rest of the crowd – tickets would be slightly cheaper.
You can consider companies like Agoda, Booking.com, and AirAsiaGo usually offer discounts when buying flights and accommodation on their platforms.
Today, it’s easier than ever to book bus tickets online too. Lots of companies now offer easy online booking for express buses, including CatchThatBus, EasyBook, and redBus. Be sure to compare prices between these platforms, as they may differ.
So there you have it. The method that you can Save Money Tips on Your Balik Kampung Trip. No matter how you travel back to your kampung, make sure you make it safely back. Ensure that you get plenty of rest beforehand if you are driving, or arrive early to the airport or station if you are taking a bus, train, or plane to go home – there’s bound to be a lot of people
So what are you waiting for? You’re all set and let’s go. Let’s Balik Kampung for Raya