What are your summer vacation plans? Due to tight schedules and even tighter budgets, I want to give you a few tips on how to make the best vacation no matter what you are working with. Thanks to some awesome budgeting and “shopping around” on things that we needed, we were able to stay gone longer and have fun while doing it- 100% Guilt Free!!
The most expensive part of all of our trips is lodging. Our first priority is finding a place to meet all of our needs. Traveling with a family can be expensive because of eating out and not having access to your own pantry, so finding a place like home, away from home, is our first tip.
With over 600 locations, we were able to find a room that comes with a kitchen, where we vacationed. This offers a kitchen in the room with stove refrigerator and microwave. They also supply all of the cooking utensils we needed; dishes, pots and pans, spatula, dish rack, colander, cutlery, toaster and coffee pot.
They have a 20% off coupon code right now too.
Code: MG6AA
Offer: 20% off 1-14 nights
Book dates: 7/1-7/31
Check out: 1/31/17
20% off 1-14 nights offer good for one reservation booked on ExtendedStayAmerica.com by 7/31/16, with a check-out date on or before 1/31/17. Discount applied at hotel upon check-out. Reservations based on availability. Offer cannot be combined with any other offer or negotiated or special rate, including but not limited to Advanced Purchase. Valid only on original reservations. Discounts do not apply to extensions/modifications. Cannot be applied to reservations already booked. Only one promotion discount per thirty days can be used by the same guest at the same hotel location. Offer valid only at Extended Stay America hotels.
Aside from the great coupon, we were able to save over $500 (estimate of course) for one week. We usually spend about $200 in groceries per week. While vacationing that can easily jump up to 4X that amount, just for convenience.
Here is how we save a huge amount by having a kitchen accessible to us!
This is the breakdown of meal cost for a week away. (All averages based on our actual tracking)
Breakfast for family of 4-$20 per day
Lunch for family of 4- $30 per day
Dinner for family of 4- $60 per day
Extra snacks at vending machines and gas stations- $30 per day
That’s a grand total of $980
So, this is what we did….
Packing up stuff from the house that we have already purchased, that will not perish on the ride to our destination saves a great deal. Things that you take advantage of being in the cabinet already will surely be the things you miss when getting ready to eat. A box of instant potatoes, spaghetti-o’s, cereal, canned vegetables, noodles, drink mixes, ketchup, mustard, etc. One box of stuff from home will save tremendously in the days to come.
Then hitting up the local grocery store and shopping for your fresh stuff like meat, milk, eggs, butter, etc and have all of the stuff you need right there in your hotel room is so convenient. About $200 is what I budgeted for (and won).
*The rental comes with the free Grab and Go Breakfast. That is about $140 extra Savings right there.
*Packing up a cooler for the day time snacks and nearly eliminating the vending machine and gas station snacks, that saves about $210
Spending the $200 at the grocery store, means you have close to $800 in what is like vacation savings. That savings alone can cover the room for a whole week.
*Extra Savings on this below
Other Lodging Options
Finding the perfect lodging is very important. I know we prefer a kitchen for many reasons but, there are so many other amazing places out there. Planning ahead seems to be the best as far as finding the great deals.
Websites like Trivago, Priceline, and Orbitz all have great price matching options and let you pick exactly what you are looking for.
It’s nice to be able to pick a location, enter the number of guests, and then pick what you want to have. 2 beds, indoor pool, walking distance to shopping, work out room, continental breakfast or full breakfast, and of course WIFI!
One alternative to staying in a motel/hotel and still being able to go on vacation is an awesome website called airbnb.com.
The prices are very reasonable and you can pick if you want a whole house/apartment or just a private room to stay in. I have not rented on this site yet but we plan to, very soon!
Another great tip, map out the area and see what is free to do in the area before you unload all of your cash on the expensive stuff. We went to Asheville NC, all I did was Google Search: “Free Stuff To Do In Asheville NC”. It was a shot in the dark to see if we could make those hard earned vacation dollars stretch a little further. It totally paid off.
There were amazing locations like museums, parks, waterfalls, and tours that are all free. It would take a few days to enjoy all of the free stuff What makes it even more awesome, every city we traveled to this summer has free stuff to do.
Museum of North Carolina Minerals would be a great destination. This is all about the natural minerals found in our area. We went panning for gold on our way out and the kids had really great questions and this would help get hands on answers. Fun, educational and free!
Western North Carolina Air Museum has real air planes and even has air plane rides! I like my feet firmly on the ground but, that is still an awesome adventure!
Hendersonville Attractions, there is some really awesome stuff to do in Hendersonville but we didn’t get to them yet.
We have been to North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, and are taking our method on the road further north to Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio later this summer.
Another awesome way to save while on vacation is actually what saved our vacation is having access to a doctor while away on the road. We had a severe case of sunburn. 2/3’s of our family was sunburned enough to consider just heading home early.
We used an amazing coupon and called upon AmWell to help us through it. For $1 we were able to talk to a real doctor and get the help we needed to get back to having fun instead of staying in the motel until dark and traveling home (that was my original plan, walking outside hurt too bad)
AmWell Doctor Visit for $1 (From anywhere)
Use Code TELEVISIT5
If you are clipping coupons while vacationing, make sure you are using the right coupons for the store location. Some stores offer sales regionally or even by location.
At all of the awesome stores you want to shop at while you are on the road there is a store locator so you can see what the circular is for that week.
While you are shopping is a great way to save even more money. There are resources to bring with you everywhere.
Dealspotr is a great way to save money any time. I love Dealspotr for so many reasons. I can do this from my phone, tablet, or laptop while i’m away, or at home on my desk top.
Searching for stores that I want to shop at or looking for a quick coupon while i’m at the store I am shopping at is SO Easy.
By sharing the deals I come across, I earn points which are redeemable for Amazon Cash! I love Amazon for the major saving and the free 2 day shipping with Prime. I have had it for 2 years now and don’t know what life would be like without it!
Ibotta is another shopping app that can really help you save while you shop. It’s really nice because you can get the deals from where you are. Home or away, Ibotta can save you money and earn cash while you shop.
Google Play has an amazing list of couponing apps that can help you while you are on the go too! Click Here to check it out.
iTunes also offers great resources for a thrifty shopper. Click Here to check it out.
I hope you enjoyed saving with us :)
Amy Groves is the blogger behind Amy & Aron’s Real Life Reviews, a blog about your average American family with helpful product recommendations and honest reviews. Our readers love our reviews, and keep coming back for the giveaways from male and female perspective.
Amy & Aron's Real Life Reviews is a Lifestyle blog that focuses on all things from a Real Life point of view. I love being able to let myself shine through in every post!
