How to Vacation for Less Tips and Tricks to Planning a Great Family Vacation Without Breaking the Bank by Lindsey Webb Recently, I felt the Lord telling me that I needed to do a better job of vacationing. Strange, huh? But the Lord does care about our rest and refreshment. Jesus frequently went to the mountains and quiet places to pray. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. Mark 6: 30-32 I began to realize that planning a vacation is important to our family. It refreshes and renews our spirits, creates beautiful memories that will last a lifetime, and helps us strengthen our bond as a family. I also wanted to be mindful of our budget, because the last thing I wanted for us was to go on vacation, but to get back and realize that we spent money unwisely. So, I began to plan and Outer Banks vacation for us three months in advance. Let me give you some tips ideas that I discovered can help you plan a memorable family vacation for less. 1. Airbnb - I discovered this website through the Family Fun magazine that Disney puts out. It is a reputable site, where homeowners rent out their house, apartment, condo, etc., directly to the individual, and cuts out the middle man. This makes the rental much cheaper. For example, normally if you would go to Gatlingburg and try to rent a cabin you would have to go through a rental organization that the cabin is listed under. They also take a nice bite of the profits for advertising the cabin. If however, you find a cabin through Airbnb, advertising is free, because you are renting directly from the owner. Aaron and I have used this site for our two most recent vacations, once to Gatlingburg, TN and to Kill Devil Hills, NC, and have found it extremely useful. The owners seem to try harder to make your stay as pleasant as possible than a rental organization, and the houses have so much more personality! 2. TripAdvisor- This is an invaluable tool when planning a great family vacation. Travelers rate different destinations, attractions, and restaurants. There ratings are nearly always helpful and keep you from wasting money on something that looks good but is truly lousy. We found some of the best seafood restaurants, beaches, and mini golf place in the Outer Banks through this website. 3. Crock Pot Cooking- A crock pot can be a vacationer’s best friend. Who wants to spend vacation cooking in the kitchen all day? Certainly not me. I made two crock pot meals while I was on vacation, but I wish I had made more. They were so easy and after being on the beach all day it was nice to just come home with dinner already ready on the nights we didn’t plan on eating out. I was also very glad I brought a lot of food from home, which lessened trip costs a lot. However there were some things I needed to pick up at a local grocery store. One mistake a lot of people make on vacation is that they don’t have the bonuscard needed to get discount prices at the grocery store. I simply filled out a piece of paper, and they gave me a card for the local Food Lion. I also saved money on gas by saving up “fuelperks” at my local grocery store, Bi-Lo. 4. Off- Season Vacationing- We decided to go on vacation in the off-season because we knew that there would be less crowds, traffic, and hassle. What we didn’t know is that it would make our vacation much cheaper. All the stores had great sales (50%) on souvenirs, shirts and more. The townhouse we rented was cheaper because we went in September. The water was warm, and the beaches were nearly empty. I couldn’t be happier that we chose to go in the off-season. These are some of my little tips and tricks that I wanted to give so that you too can have a very special vacation for less. Give them a try, I think you will be happy you did. Lindsey Webb
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 16:34:53 +0000
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