Warning: I blew $412 on a last minute flight to Denver and learned my lesson the hard way

Zara Hunt · 2026-10-16T09:50:04.614834+00:00

Last month my cousin called me on a Thursday night and said her wedding was that Saturday in Denver. I panicked and booked the first flight I saw, $412 one way, because I was sure waiting even one more day would push it past $600. Well, I got to the airport and the gate agent told me the same flight had seats going for $189 if I had just waited until Friday morning to book. I sat in that airport Starbucks and felt sick to my stomach. The whole trip ended up costing me close to $900 with the hotel and rental car, and I only had $500 set aside for fun stuff that month. What really got me was that my other cousin drove from Kansas City and spent $70 in gas total. So now I am wondering, what is your go to move when a trip pops up last second? Do you eat the cost or do you have some trick I do not know about? I need to hear from people who travel cheap on short notice because clearly I am bad at it.

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Warning: I blew $412 on a last minute flight to Denver and learned my lesson the hard way | Budget Travel Hacks - Topic Shares