New Way to Bank Extra Cash

Today I am taking off for a quick three day / two night business trip.  I don't travel that often, but every couple of months I need to attend an out town meeting or drop in with a supplier.  As a part of my quest to squeeze a little more money out of my budget I am going to try and use these business trips as a way to increase my income.

How can I turn my travel into extra money?  First, I signed up for all of the frequent traveler accounts that I may use while on the road.  My employer lets its employees keep the rewards they rack up for personal use.  For the first couple of trips I wastefully failed to claim these benefits.  I now have accounts with each of the major airlines that service my local airport and a selection of hotel chains that I will use for lodging too.  In fact, with only three business trips and two night of personal hotel stays I have nearly earned enough points to get a free hotel stay, worth $60, by simply doing things I would do anyway.  Using these programs I will earn something of real value as I schlep around for work.

The second way I can put money back in my pocket from business travel is to use my daily spending account wisely.  Rather than be forced to collect receipts for every little purchase while I am out of town, I am given a fixed amount of money to spend per day.  This money, typically called a "per diem" allotment, is intended to cover my food, tips, and miscellaneous expenses I incur.  While this amount is not exorbitant it is certainly more than I need if I spend my money wisely.  A typical per diem can be anywhere from $30-75 per day depending on the type of trip.  Even at $30 a day I can eat pretty well in almost any city and pocket the extra.  In the past I have let this potentially lucrative extra income go to waste by viewing my business trips as an excuse to let loose from my normal budget and "eat like a king."  I would order a $20 steak for dinner and skip the hotel's continental breakfast, while not even thinking about the splurge as wasteful.  Of course, I would only order like that at home, on my dime, for a special occation.

It is important that I remain ethical in how I use my travel dollars.  Like with taxes, I want to claim all that I am rightfully entitled without bending any rules or abusing the system.  For example, it may be in my best interest to fly on an airline that is within my favorite frequent flier program, but it would be unethical to force my employer to pay more for a ticket just so I can maximize my personal gain.  It would also be unethical for me to accept free meals from a client or even worse to solicit those meals in order to pocket my per diem cash.  As it should be with all things it will be ethics first and frugality second.

From now on, it will be like a game to see how much extra cash I will have left at the end of the trip.  It should take some of the sting out of being away from my lovely wife (who hates when I travel) and sleeping in an unfamiliar bed.  Wish me luck and safe travels.  Thanks for reading.

On another note, today the Festival of Frugality #115 went live over at Broke Grad Student.  One of my posts, Frugality Making a Come Back, was featured.  If you have some time head over that way to check out the carnival.