I make the same 3 choices before every trip I take, and it always saves me money

Libby Kane/Business Insider

I was happy to pay the admission fee to see the monastery where Chopin stayed in Valldemossa, Mallorca.

I love to travel.

It would be friendlier to my wallet if I loved gardening herbs, or distance running, or ... pretty much anything else. But for me, there's nothing like a good view over the Mediterranean, even if it's thousands of miles - and dollars - from home.

The internet is brimming with money-saving travel tips, and there are some great ones! For instance, you can select your destinations based on a favorable exchange rate. Or you can stalk flight websites to avoid the most expensive days, or manipulate hundreds of thousands of credit card and hotel points.

But you know what they all have in common? They're work. Work to research, work to track, work to manipulate.

I've found my own best strategies to save money while traveling are the easy decisions I make before I ever go. Before pretty much every trip I've ever taken, I've made the following decisions: