In no particular order:
First traveling is a priority for me. It is top on my list of what
I want to be able to give my kids. However I am a single Mom of a 10 and 15
year old, and the cost of raising them constantly goes up!
To make travel happen, there are things we do without: #1 is tv, I haven't
had cable in over 15 years and figure I likely save anywhere from $50-$100 a
month, so every month I put into an envelope (labeled travel) $50-$75 what I
would guess tv would cost me.
Mileage card:
I am self employed and recently moved all of my bills related to the
business to a mileage credit card (I like Hawaii, and have found Hawaiian miles
are easy to use. I really like how they give you the month long calendar and it
can show the price each way in miles or dollars, and lets you decide which leg
of a trip you want to use what. For example if going and coming each cost 25k
miles, but the $ prices going is $194, and coming home is $264, I will use miles
on the legs home and pay for the going)
*if I travel in the peak time, such as Christmas, I will ONLY let myself go
if half can be covered by miles, otherwise it's not worth it
Coin Jar: I have a constant coin jar that NEVER gets money taken out, this
money is my travel spending money, I keep it going all year, and right before I
go anywhere I roll Quarters and Dimes and take the rest to the coin-star (they
charge almost 10% so the kids sort the dimes and quarters and I roll those so I
don't have to pay the 10% on those)
Booking trips:
If a trip is short, or less than a week I have found that packages are
often better as well as easier. My favorite sights are expedia and travelocity,
but I spend a great deal of time picking the exact air on both as well as hotel
in order to compare the cost to know for sure which is the better deal *on that
note for short trips I like to spend the extra money and take a direct
flight
*I also use the search option on both of these sights that allows you to
search for hotels that offer free breakfast. Traveling with kids, can add up if
you eat out every morning. My kids are not huge breakfast eaters so the
continetal breakfast works quite well.
If you are traveling someplace like Hawaii (I could go on if you ever need
more detail about favorite condo complexes on each of the islands), for a week
or more I prefer staying in a condo. Typically they are larger than a hotel
room, offer a full kitchen and sometimes a washer/dryer
I almost always use VRBO. If you do use VRBO (vacation rentals by owner)
be prepared to know the area you want to stay, or even better the condo complex
before searching(just ask people that go a lot). You can click on a particular
complex and scroll through look at pictures, calendars and prices. I usually
have post its out at this point to write down the vrbo # I want to go back and
send an inquirey. Prices and condos vary. The earlier you look the more
likely you are to get one of the nicer more updated condos at a better
prices.
I typically make a list of what the kids and I like to eat and stock up on
most things at Costco when we get in. Milk, sandwich goods, fruit...and such.
We almost always eat breakfast at the condo and pack a lunch if we are heading
to the beach...again this save $$$ by not eating out.
Priceline for cars is often great, but watch the fine print their taxes and
fees are steap. For Hawaii during non peak I can usually "win" a mid or full
size car for under $20 a day but by the time you add their fees it's double.
I've had great luck/success with Costco travel for car rentals as well, they
also let you cancel at no fee, in the event you find a better deal.
The biggest tip to affordable travel is traveling during non-peak times.
During Christmas the deals are few and far between, it doesn't hurt to look but
you will always pay more.
One of my favorite times to travel has been during the kids conference week
in October. At their school they have half days, so by pulling them out that
week they've never missed much.....that being said having a high schooler this
has gotten a lot trickier and he doesn't really want to miss school :(
This fall I booked a long weekend (Thursday-Monday) with the kids to NYC, I
found a very reasonable air/hotel package, right in Times Square (we are simply
there to do Broadway each day),but I think because the weather will be cold and
not great, the prices were low!
*If ever in New York to take in a show, buy day of at the TKTS ticket booth
in Time Square, they offer 40-60% off
If ever looking for cheap airfare almost any California city don't forget
to search Virgin America, their fares are awesome, plus its a super fun
airline!
Hope that helps!
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