Spend Less Vacationing with FriendsWhile Kristi is away on vacation, I will not be jealous! I hope she has an absolute blast with her family, even while I’m doing laundry, running carpool and managing a million miscellaneous mom things. Of course, this will be easier knowing we have our own Disney vacation planned for October. And, in between, we’re taking a summer beach vacation for the first time EVER!
How can we afford two vacations this year?
For starters, the Disney vacation is a graduation gift from my parents. We’ll be paying for our summer vacation, but it’s costing surprisingly little. We have budgeted $1000, which includes extra thrown into the account “just in case.” The biggest cost savings? We’re sharing a beach condo with my best friend and her daughter. The 2-bedroom condo will comfortably sleep all 7 of us and turned out to be a drastic savings over a nightly hotel room.
Travel
We are road tripping (with 4 kids – hold me!) and calculated our travel budget based on estimated gas prices, my van’s mileage per gallon and Google maps mileage totals. We’ll pack a cooler with drinks & sandwiches but rounded up a bit on our travel costs for an “emergency” dinner stop along the way. Sharing the trip with a friend automatically cuts your travel costs in half.
We are road tripping (with 4 kids – hold me!) and calculated our travel budget based on estimated gas prices, my van’s mileage per gallon and Google maps mileage totals. We’ll pack a cooler with drinks & sandwiches but rounded up a bit on our travel costs for an “emergency” dinner stop along the way. Sharing the trip with a friend automatically cuts your travel costs in half.
Lodging
As I mentioned, we’ve chosen a beach condo. It has all the comforts of home, including wifi, grills & a kitchen, plus pools, a lazy river and an ocean view! We selected a 2-bedroom, but in our research we found much larger homes for surprisingly little. The per week rate breaks down to around $100 per night – just try to beat that at a beach view hotel with these amenities.
As I mentioned, we’ve chosen a beach condo. It has all the comforts of home, including wifi, grills & a kitchen, plus pools, a lazy river and an ocean view! We selected a 2-bedroom, but in our research we found much larger homes for surprisingly little. The per week rate breaks down to around $100 per night – just try to beat that at a beach view hotel with these amenities.
Dining
Did I mention the grill? I’m a huge fan of grilling in the summertime and being on vacation won’t change that much! In fact, I’m superbly excited for the chance to grill on the beach! How much vacation time have you wasted waiting for a table at restaurants? We’re not just saving money by cooking our own meals, we’re creating experiences out of it (my girls are counting down the days until we get to grill pizza).
We did include money in the budget for one dinner out – and I’ve been researching Restaurant.com offers to find deals on local favorites. I’ll also be crossing off a 40×40 item when we pack a picnic for lunch on the beach! As for the rest of our meals, we have planned breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks & fruity, chilled drinks to get us through the week.
Did I mention the grill? I’m a huge fan of grilling in the summertime and being on vacation won’t change that much! In fact, I’m superbly excited for the chance to grill on the beach! How much vacation time have you wasted waiting for a table at restaurants? We’re not just saving money by cooking our own meals, we’re creating experiences out of it (my girls are counting down the days until we get to grill pizza).
We did include money in the budget for one dinner out – and I’ve been researching Restaurant.com offers to find deals on local favorites. I’ll also be crossing off a 40×40 item when we pack a picnic for lunch on the beach! As for the rest of our meals, we have planned breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks & fruity, chilled drinks to get us through the week.
Entertainment
Honestly, the best part of being on a beach is relaxing without a care in the world. How many times have you wished for a vacation to recover from vacation? The hubby and I are unbelievably excited about this do nothing beach week. We aren’t planning much in the budget for entertainment, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be bored! The girls are bring kites & sand toys, planning for hours of swimming & lazy river floats and the grownups are coordinating beach reading so we can pack less books.
I honestly don’t think this will be a problem for us, but we’re packing board games & movies just in case. It helps that there will be several kids along for the ride (and, yes, most of them are mine!). They think everything about a vacation is exciting – being in a new place, having their parents around all day, feeding the birds and anything else we can find to take advantage of our location without spending a dime. Geocaching tops the list – a real, live treasure hunt on the beach!
Honestly, the best part of being on a beach is relaxing without a care in the world. How many times have you wished for a vacation to recover from vacation? The hubby and I are unbelievably excited about this do nothing beach week. We aren’t planning much in the budget for entertainment, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be bored! The girls are bring kites & sand toys, planning for hours of swimming & lazy river floats and the grownups are coordinating beach reading so we can pack less books.
I honestly don’t think this will be a problem for us, but we’re packing board games & movies just in case. It helps that there will be several kids along for the ride (and, yes, most of them are mine!). They think everything about a vacation is exciting – being in a new place, having their parents around all day, feeding the birds and anything else we can find to take advantage of our location without spending a dime. Geocaching tops the list – a real, live treasure hunt on the beach!
The Budget
Travel: $300, based on $3.50/gallon, 24 miles/gallon and 1800 miles round trip plus extra
Beach Condo: $1000/week, includes all amenities, taxes and fees
Groceries: $500, way over budgeted to include our menu plan for the week, drinks and snacks
Miscellaneous: $200 added to cover dining, extras and unplanned expenses
Total: $2000 ($1000 per family)
Travel: $300, based on $3.50/gallon, 24 miles/gallon and 1800 miles round trip plus extra
Beach Condo: $1000/week, includes all amenities, taxes and fees
Groceries: $500, way over budgeted to include our menu plan for the week, drinks and snacks
Miscellaneous: $200 added to cover dining, extras and unplanned expenses
Total: $2000 ($1000 per family)
I really don’t think we could have done it for less, especially when you consider the week’s worth of groceries I won’t be buying at home. I’m excited for the uninterrupted time with my family as well as built-in girls’ nights with MFJ. The plans are set, the vacation account is fully funded and we’re down to just counting the days!
Heather Sokol is a married mother of 3 beautiful, active girls who are counting down the days to summer vacation. Heather will be finding ways to entertain them on a budget and sharing all her secrets to help others live inexpensively. I am greatful that Heather offered to guest post today, please take time to check her out at Inexpensively.com, MiscellaneousMom.com and at JustHeather.com.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Sounds like wonderful fun. We have also traveled on a budget. One of my favorite trips was roadtripping in a mini van and Rav 4 from Houston to Guadalupe Mountains NP, Carlsbad Caverns NP,White Sands NM, Four Corners NM, Arches NP, Monument Valley, Zion NP, Las Vegas Stratosphere the night before Thanksgiving and a big Thanksgiving dinner out, Grand Canyon NP and Petrified Forest & Painted Desert NP. We stayed in every size, style, and age of Motel 6 (2 rooms every night). We brought dry foods, microwavable foods, cooler foods AND our own microwave. We fed and entertained 5 adults and 4 kids for 11 days for around $3000.
It was amazing and a trip none of us have ever forgotten.
Thanks for sharing!
Laura
This is very doable. We have taken numerous vacations to the beach over the years, traveling about the same distance, for within the price range you are planning on. When we get more families involved, we plan meals and take turns cooking. Eating out is the biggest expense for many vacations, but cooking in becomes close to a wash because we would be doing that if we were still home.
I hope you have a great vacation!