Frugal Vacation
We're traveling around Pennsylvania because a friend is getting married here. We took a sidetrip out to Delaware to see the ocean (and we saw dolphins!). Here are a couple of things we did to save money:
Souvenirs: I like to get a Christmas ornament from places we visit. For our beach visit I picked up a seashell off the beach and it already has a hole in it through which I can put an ornament hanger (or a bit of gold thread). You can also sometimes pick up more traditional sourvenirs at local grocery stores or big box stores for much less than you'll find them at gift shops. Even better: visit your own local thrift shops before you go and you may find souvenirs from the places you are going to visit.
Meals: Grocery stores rather than fast food places. Today we found a store with a salad bar and I filled a container with cold cooked chicken, pickled eggs, cherry tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts and a few cucumbers. We supplemented this with grapes and our own bottles of water which we refill at public drinking fountains.
STaying with friends. In our church it is common to put people up who are passing through. We've done it often. There is an email list for members of our church who are also homeschooling and when people are traveling, they send in the dates they'll be passing through a given town. If somebody near by has room, they email back with an offer.
Use the internet and look for free stuff to do.
If it's free, but you have to call in for tickets and they tell you they don't have any, check again on location. We did that for Independence Hall. We were told on the phone that all tickets for the week were taken, but when we were in Philadelphia we asked and were given eight free tickets.
related posts:
- Cheerful Frugality: Vacation Edition I'm on vacation. Still doing laundry, grocery shopping, and getting...
- Take a Vacation? Why Not? I got something fun in the mail today and I...
- Warm Weather Fun It's about that time again. School is almost out, summer...
- Extreme Frugality Freegan Lifestyle The Freegan Kitchen- gourmet cooking with your dumpster...
- Our Frugal Car Repair I'll tell you up front that this is not really...
One Response to “Frugal Vacation”
May 22nd, 2010 at 8:54 am
All great ideas. I really like the x-mas ornament idea. Another idea you can use for the tree would be key chains that are tailored to the area.
We too think ahead when it comes to feeding the family. On the road food costs can sometimes take the bulk of your vacation money, no good. We always pack snacks, drinks and usually the contents of a cooler to make some of our meals.
By checking out mom-pop/boutique hotels you can really save a lot of money too. While you won’t have the over-sized swimming pool or vending machines at the end of every hall, what you will get is greater hospitality, ambiance and staff that genuinely cares that you chose to stay there.
After we discovered this we usually avoid the chain hotels like the plague.
Have a wonderful and safe trip while you are out there!
Leave a Comment