Also, I said goodbye to four-star hotels and hello to budget hotel rooms and my friend's air mattress.

My friend booked our two-night stay in London using her company's hotel discount code. I also tagged along with her on an unexpected work trip to Scotland, which meant I didn't have to spend money on a hotel; I also found cheap airfare to Scotland on a budget airline. For the final leg of the trip, I stayed at my friend's house on her air mattress.

What I lost in luxury, I made up for in adventure. And by staying with my friend for the week, I was able to see how the local Brits live – an experience that isn't afforded when staying at a hotel.

Here are some other travel tips that can help you make traveling while on a budget possible:

• Pick destinations where you can stay with friends or family.
• Travel in the middle of the week when flights are cheaper. Tuesday and Wednesday tend to be the cheapest days for travel.
• Join Facebook groups that alert you to travel deals.
• Use Airbnb.com. You can often get a room for much cheaper than a hotel.
• Travel during the off-season.
• Book your flight several months in advance. I booked mine in December and paid $626 from D.C. to Heathrow. Not bad if you ask me.
• Pack light and only take a carry-on. Some airlines charge for a carry-on, but plenty of them still don't.
• Spend your points on airline miles.
• Use budget airlines.
• Eat the free breakfast at your hotel.
• Traveling abroad? Visit cheap countries where the dollar is strong. (England didn't meet the mark here, but plenty of other countries do.)
• Avoid foreign transaction fees that often charge 3% of your purchase by getting a no-fee credit or debit card.
• Visit smaller towns and villages. They tend to be cheaper than large cities.
• Find inexpensive happy hours.
• Skip the pricey souvenirs and mail postcards to friends and family instead.

If you still can't afford a flight, take a road trip instead. If you can't afford a road trip, take a day off, stay local, go on a bike ride or have a picnic. What's most important is that you allow yourself a break, which is often a challenge for many Americans.

If you still need a push to take time off, consider this: "Employees who take most or all of their vacation time each year perform better, are more productive and more satisfied in their jobs than those who do not," according to a study called "Vacations Impact on the Workplace" conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management for Project: Time Off.

Project: Time Off released another study called "The State of American Vacation: How Vacation Became a Casualty of Our Work Culture." The report revealed that in 2015, 55% of Americans did not use all their vacation. The report went on to say, "The amount of time taken also shows a clear correlation to happiness at home. The more vacation days used, the lower the stress."

So, do yourself and your employer a favor – take a vacation and use my tips to make it more affordable.

Have your own travel tips? Feel free to send them to me, and perhaps I'll include them in a future column!

Tahira Hayes is a Correspondent-at-Large for CU Times. She can be reached at [email protected].