Favorite frugal travel tip: the case for buying a used guide book

Any time I go on a big trip somewhere, one of the first things I do is get my hand on a used guide book. First off, I find tremendous value in guide books. I know they can seem lame, but almost every trip I've found something very useful. It can be a day trip I wouldn't have considered, an over looked site, just context to where I am, even tips that had me skip an hour long line.

Now, guides aren't the end all and be all. Even the best, most recently published guides will have some things out of date by the time they are printed. So I always suggest using the internet for planning as well. However, this provides a frugal opportunity.

Buying a used guide book can give you a ton of great travel advice from a professional for practically nothing. I'm talking 1-5 dollars cheap if the guide is the older edition. Since I would be researching and confirming suggestions on the internet anyways - I find the most value in a used guide book that is one edition older than the most recent one.

So that's my frugal travel tip. I know some might say that all that advice is on the internet for free or prefer more free wheeling travel, but this helps me cut down time looking at clickbaity blogs and useless top 10 lists and gives me a good foundation of a place before visiting. And planning before traveling can save you a ton of money.