Prep stuff
While you may already have a destination in mind for your vacation, it is worth it to consider going to a place where your dollars will go as far as possible. Trying to plan a budget vacation to London or Tokyo will be much more of a task than Prague or Mexico. Although you can still find great deals in more upscale destinations, chances are you’ll end up sleeping in a broom closet or an all-nite ATM (it’s been done).

The first purchase you should make before traveling is a Hostelling International card. This will be your pass into the sometimes funky-smelling and endlessly eye-opening world of youth hostels. The youth hostel is the accommodation of choice for the budget traveler: a chaotic mixture of dorm-style quarters, friendly vagabonds from all ends of the earth, and the most up-to-date rumor mill of what’s hot in any given location. There will be an HI-affiliated youth hostel at almost any destination worth going to.

he next item on the list will be your silent friend, your personal Confucious: the all-knowing travel guide. Thick enough to be a pillow in a clutch, these are a wonderful starting point for your travels. The novice budget traveler will want to adhere to the book’s advice on itineraries, but more adventurous souls will undoubtedly be tempted to deviate. The most popular travel guides among the hostel crowd are usually Lonely Planet and Let’s Go because of their focus on lean spending and cultural hotspots. Even if they seem to lead you to backpacker traps, travel guides are hard to beat for consistent money- and time-saving info.