Good to be back. A lot has happened over the past couple months...we had a nice Christmas holiday, we've had a bizarrely nice winter, chose 2012 as THE year, my year, that I was going to make myself healthy. Then BOOM! We find out #4 is on the way. Totally didn't see that one coming. At. All. This year the belts going to tighten just a little more.
So fishing for a suggestion on what to blog about tonight, and someone threw out "Travel". There are lots of cool things and places to discover that can totally be within your budget. I'll take the trip I planned to Minnesota this weekend. I decided I wanted to take the family on a little mini-getaway to the Mall of America and the Water Park of America. The Water park is attached to the Raddison Hotel. For a standard guest room (2 queens), it'll cost you $250/night to stay on the weekend. This does not include water park passes. If you want a package that does include them, it'll run you at minimum $290. This is for 2 kids, 2 adults. This hotel also does not offer a pool for those guests who do not wish to utilize the water park. From what I can tell, it also does not offer any type of breakfast, leaving you to have to cover 3 meals a day for 4 people for the weekend.
If you aren't familiar with the Bloomington area, it's also very close to Downtown Minneapolis and the MSP airport. That means tons of hotels in the area. I found a 1 room suite at the Marriott Residence Inn that had a fully-stocked kitchen, dining area, and sofa sleeper. It has a pool and hot tub, and also offers a full hot breakfast. There is also free house drinks during the week. All this for $90/night. I'm totally ok with making my kids sleep on the sofa sleeper if it saves me almost $200 a night. This hotel is approximately 1 mile away from both the water park and the mall, and totally worth not staying on the water park property. For the water park tickets, I happened to come across a sale where I was able to procure them for 20% off. I got the morning pass only, as I know my kids won't spend an entire day at the water park before collapsing. for 4 morning passes it would have cost $100. I paid with tax $88, a total savings of $12. Not much, but better than nothing. Also, because our hotel offers breakfast, I only have to pay for 2 meals a day instead of 3. Here's a break down of the cost savings:
Raddison Hotel + 4 passes: $600
Staying off property at Marriott, saving 20% on 4 water park passes: $268
TOTAL SAVINGS: $332 (!!!!!)
Amazing at how much money a mile and a sharp eye just saved me. This was just to give you an example, but if you're savvy, and shop around instead of taking the first offer given, you can save a bundle. Here are some more money-saving travel tips:
*The cheapest day of the week to fly is Wednesday; followed by Tuesday and Saturday. Fridays and Sundays are more expensive.
*Best time to buy tickets is Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern time. However, be careful; as most travel deals are pulled by Thursday, leaving you to pay more if you buy on the weekend.
*Stay at a hotel that offers breakfast- This cuts out 1 meal a day that you won't have to pay for.
*Do you really need to stay at a 5-star hotel? If you're going on vacation, how much time do you really think you're going to spend in your hotel room? Not much, I'd wager. Pick a cheaper hotel that meets your basic requirements (a place to sleep and shower). There are plenty of lesser-known nice ones out there that are much cheaper than resorts and are still close to everything. just be careful on this one-read the reviews and check out the area.
Travelling with a group? Consider renting a vacation villa rather than a hotel room. In 2010, My family and my parents, siblings, and grandparents went to Florida. We rented a 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom, 3 living room house with complete kitchen and dining area, swimming pool, and gaming area. for 2 weeks my family's share was just over $600. We were able to cook each morning and night, saving on eating out, and had plenty of privacy. Much cheaper than staying at a resort.
*Check for discounts-There's almost always discounts for those who are in the Military or are Veterans, AARP members, AAA members, students, and more. Whenever I go somewhere, even if it's just to the hardware store, I always ask if there's a military discount. 9 times out of 10 you'll get one.
*Cheaper to drive or fly-Even with gas prices skyrocketing, it's still possible that it could be cheaper to drive. On www.mapquest.com, you can input your starting and ending place, the amount of MPG your vehicle gets, and it will give you an estimate of the fuel costs. From there you can decide which is cheaper.
*Stay on a property that offers laundry facilities or has facilities close by- by doing this, you and your travel partner can pack just a few day's worth of items in one suitcase, rather than using multiple suitcases. No one is going to notice you're wearing the same stuff over and over, and this way you save on baggage fees.
There's a few hints to get you started, but always be looking, and do your research. It is possible to go enjoy yourself on a budget!!
Check this out!: http://www.farecompare.com/travel-advice/tips-from-air-travel-insiders/ for more travel tips.
