Having just returned from a great vacation in Washington D.C., let me share a few of the things we did to save ourselves a lot of money – particularly in the road trip portion of the vaca.
1. Shop first. I went to the grocery store the day before our trip and while we normally don’t stock things like individual bags of chips or store bought granola bars in our pantry, I decided that the fun factor outweighed the completely healthy factor for our vacation. I purchased a bag full of 24 bags of chips (school lunch size) for the trip. The bag cost $6. If we had allowed the kids to purchase individual chips along the road it would have cost at least $1 per bag – and my husband would have purchased two! Just one lunch time’s worth would have cost more than $6. I also bought four boxes (eight in a box) of juice box drinks for $2 a piece. Again, if I had purchased individual juice or soda drinks for the kids on the trip (probably two or three times) it would have cost at least $1.50 per child (I have five), per drink, plus John and myself. I also bought two pounds of turkey, a pound of sliced provolone and two loaves of bread. I packed some mayo out of a gallon jar I had in a small container and just said the heck with lettuce, since I knew it wouldn’t keep well in a cooler and the kids wouldn’t want to eat it anyway. “We’re on vacation Mom, jeez!” All in all, I spent $118 at the grocery store before we left – including paper towels for the car (the only time I endorse the use of paper towels and they we’re made of 100 percent recycled paper) and extra toothpaste. I also bought cookies, Goldfish crackers and other “treats” so that the treats along the way wouldn’t seem quite so appealing.
2. Park cheap. We decided to be a bit risky when it came to parking in Washington D.C. We parked at a meter. We got 2 hours for $1. However, because we parked very close to the museums we were visiting, it wasn’t hard to send someone out to throw another $1 in the meter as we needed to. We spent six hours parked on the National Mall and it cost us all of $3. We considered public transportation, but we thought for our first trip into the city we’d “check out” the parking situation. Another good tip seems to be to pick a rainy morning or a very early morning to start your tourism activities. We arrived on the National Mall at about 9:30 a.m. on a Thursday morning in a light drizzle and there were plenty of parking spaces available. By the time we emerged from the Air and Space and Natural History Museums later in the day, the mall was hot and jam-packed.
3. Find the free activities. Obviously, D.C. has many free activities for families. But most cities and towns have lots of things families can do that cost nothing. Look in the local paper – there is usually an alternative weekly that lists lots of interesting activities, or look online to find some of the area attractions that might not be as well known. Trips to factories can be wonderful, free experiences for children.
4. Build in a rest day. This is the vacation equivalent to staying home. Pick a day (or two) and place them strategically into your itinerary. These can be days to relax by the pool or beach (if you have them), or to just sit around and watch TV, play games and talk about all of the stuff you’ve already done.
5. Bring your own food. I was concerned, when we visited the Smithsonian because they said you couldn’t bring food or drink inside. Apparently, what they are concerned about is food that is open and from other vendors. I was able to bring in some juice boxes and granola bars for the kids without any problem at all.
Of course, I am not a complete tightwad while on vacation. I may cringe at a $3 bowl of Dippin’ Dots, but I also know that getting those kind of treats are part of the fun of being on vacation. My favorite ways to be frugal on vacation are ways that allow us to spend the money we save on things that the kids really get enjoyment out of. The National Aquarium was a very expensive trip – almost $200 in tickets to get in alone, but because we made such an effort in other ways to save money, the “guilt” factor on handing over that money was lessened.
I hope you will share with us some of the ways you have been frugal on vacation.
cheaplikeme says:
These are great tips. I have started doing the same thing with snacks, and it saves so much money (and time, because no one is “starving” five minutes after a rest stop!). Sometimes I splurge on healthy snacks like super yummy gorp or granola from the Whole Foods bulk bins – even though “expensive,” it’s much cheaper and more nutritious than stopping at a drive-through or buying chips.
I’d also suggest bringing your own water bottles. You can save lots of money (and plastic, and sugar) if everyone has a water bottle in the car.
22nd August 2007 at 3:38 pm