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Sleep on the cheap
- Nick likes to take an air mattress and sleep in the back of the car.
- Majeed recommends Thermarest Base Camp air mattress for comfort in car camping.
- Jim says he’ll find a cheap hotel or sleep in Wal-Mart.
- Nick uses Hotels.com app and earns free nights. Jim uses Expedia app, swipes right, and has the room booked.
Getting cheap flights
Jim recommends:
- Justfly.com
- Expedia
The biggest factor is booking at the right time of year. Jim recommends purchasing airline tickets 8-10 weeks away from date of travel for International travel outside of the U.S. 6-8 weeks for travel within the U.S.
Majeed recommends booking flights within the U.S. about 45 days beforehand.
Clip coupons, start with Groupon!
Jim recommends looking at Groupon and livingsocial for finding great deals on travel. Flights often leave from major hubs, so factor in your cost to get there if you don’t live in major hubs. Â
Food
Nick recommends shopping at grocery stores, take coolers, avoid fast food even though it’s tempting; Get a hotel with a breakfast!
Taxes
You’re earning money when you travel, if your photography makes money.
Government pays you $.56/mile when you travel for photography.
Jim (and other hosts, listeners, and fellow photographers):
First off, loved the show. Thanks for putting out such great content!
You mentioned the IRS considering you a business if you make “even a cent” (well, and assuming you went through the proper channels to set up your business for state taxes, etc). With gas prices being so low right now, it seems easier than ever to drastically lower costs for a big trip if you’ve got an efficient car–but is the IRS really that lenient?
I’d love to travel for my photography, and I’d love to start a legitimate part-time photography business (I’m currently a grad student with free nights and weekends), but I’d also love to not paint a big “audit me please!” sign on my back. If it’s really just a matter of keeping it organized and legitimate by doing the proper paperwork and making sure Uncle Sam always gets his cut of any profit, it’s worth it to me… If a year or two passes and I turn out to just suck at doing photography as a business, I guess I could just attempt it again later in life.
Thanks for your help and for all the work you guys put into these podcasts!!