Feeling the Pinch

The economy is a big issue here in the states right now and for good reason. The dollar just isnt what it was a few years ago and people everywhere, even us, are having to tighten the ol spending belt. For many, traveling is the first thing to go off the list, but at the same time vacations are often the very thing families need to relax and forget about their troubles at home even if it's just for a few days. There are lots of things you can do, from having staycations to changing hotels, to have a great vacation while still keeping costs low.

Stay at hotels that offer free breakfast: Hotels are doing a lot to woo people to stay with them. One thing I see a lot of hotels doing now is offering a free hot breakfast buffet. This is great because it cuts down on your food costs, you usually get a quality meal, and you can load up at breakfast for free allowing you to have smaller meals throughout the day and cut down on other meal costs

Stay at "residence" hotels: Places like Marriott's Residence Inn and Extended Stay Hotels offer apartment style rooms for great rates. Most locations also have pools, exercise areas and are centrally located making it easy to get around. Staying at places like this gives you the option of cooking your own food rather than eating out. Also, these locations tend to be more family friendly making it more comfortable for the whole family.

Use miles to fly and hotel points to stay: One of our secrets of travel is that we have two credit cards that we use to earn hotel and airline miles. Now I'm not encouraging anyone to just go out and get a credit card but, handled correctly, they can be a great asset. We use our mileage cards for the majority of our purchases and then pay them off at the end of the month. This way we can rack up the miles and points but not rack up debt. You often get one mile per dollar but many times you get two or three miles per dollar so it can add up quick. Josh and I are often able to use miles to pay for one, even two, tickets for a trip and also get our hotel using miles. These are huge costs for any vacation so it's great to "pay" for them using miles we've earned doing everyday things.

Plan your trips well in advance: Many people don't do this but we've found that it's the best way to spread out your costs. As an example, we pretty much know what trips we're going to take next year and are already starting to budget for them now. This gives us lots of time to save up for spending money while we're there and spread out the times when we buy tickets and pay for our hotel. It can be tough to fork over a huge chunk of money at once and can often be the reason why families just dont go anywhere but if you can plan for it, it takes a lot of the pain away.

Have a staycation: "Staycations" are gaining popularity here. A staycation is when you go on "vacation" but dont go out of the local area. People all over are pitching tents in their backyards or taking advantage of their local museums and parks. For those who really have to rein in their costs these are a great way to get away. Kids are often happy with anything that's different from their daily routine so even having a campout in the backyard can be fun for them. If you live close to metropolitan areas, like I do, take advantage of low cost or free museums, parks and county planned activities that take place at parks. Check the paper for festivals and local events. You'll be surprised at how much goes on right in your hometown and for free!