We do some travel hacking, it's still worth it even if you don't go all in. In the past year we've flown to Cuba, Austin, Seattle, Minneapolis, DC, and Hartford all on points earned with credit card bonuses. A lot of our destination lodging and activities aren't able to be paid with points/miles, because we tend to use AirBnB or VRBO type accommodations, but it's nice to have the flights paid for.
Meals out while traveling are a big expense for us, so we try to limit them when we have control over it. So on a road trip day, I'll pack food rather than buying it along the way. Healthier too!
One of they keys to traveling a bit less expensively is to plan in advance and hunt around for good deals. We're going to Madison in September, and I just started scoping out our lodging options because that gives me time to implement any points strategy I need and/or shop around for a good deal.
Edited to add: we budget $400/month for travel for the four of us, or $4800/year. We're under that this past year, even with the Cuba trip.