Location, Location, Location

Every time I travel to Chicago, I return home to Cincinnati about 20 pounds lighter. No, thats not weight on my body but in my checkbook. Chicago, along with cities like New York and Los Angeles seem to be unfriendly to the money in my pocket. These cities have to ability to suck me dry when it comes to money.

Chicago Skyline

While I love to go to Chicago, traveling often to the Windy City is not an option. Everything in the city is expensive. From hotels to bars to cab rides, the amount of money spent in Chicago always seems to go up. One of the most important things I have learned from my trips to Chicago is, there are so many other fun cities I can travel too that will not make me broke. One of the reason Chicago is so expensive is because they have a high sales tax. The sales tax in Chicago is at 9.5%! This is high compared to Cincinnati 7% sales tax. This is a huge reason why traveling to Chicago can be so expensive. Anytime you want to purchase something, that 9.5% sales tax is added on.

When traveling on a budget, picking the location of your trip is very important. While so many people love to go to New York and Chicago, for someone on a limited budget, it is just not possible to go these cities and not spend a lot of money. I like to pick cities that are within driving distance that I know will be fun. Some cities that are close and alot of fun are Indianapolis, Ind., Pittsburgh, Pa., Louisville, Ky., St. Louis, Missouri, and Knoxville, Tenn. All of these cities are know for being really fun cities and they are alot cheaper to have fun in then places like Chicago and New York.

As you are deciding what city you want to travel too, make sure you look up their sales tax. While you might not spend alot of time thinking about sales tax, it is important to you budget and your trips. I like to make sure that the sales tax of the cities I travel too are below 8.5%. This is a good marker for me and hopefully for you. This kind of sales tax leaves you with more money to spend and does not give you the shock that the 9.5% sales tax of Chicago gives you.

 sales tax rates in the United States

What are some cities that you like to travel too? Are these cities within driving distance of where you live and do you look at things like sales tax?