Vacation… the very word sets my heart to quivering. I love it! And, our family’s favorite place is The Beach Club on Fort Morgan in Alabama. If you know the place you are thinking that there could not possibly be anything frugal about a gorgeous condominium on the Gulf of Mexico. Yeah, well, this is ME we are talking about!
First of all, vacation is the one thing we splurge on all year. You have to have ONE SPLURGE to keep yourself sane. So, when our IRS Refund comes in, we pay IN FULL for our vacation first, even though only the deposit is required. Oh, and it helps to know someone. We have a friend who owns a condo and we joined his Facebook page to get a discount off our stay.
Next, I go to Restaurant.com when they have an 80% off special and do a zip code search for local restaurants. Blessed are we that the restaurant at The Beach Club is included on the list!
Then, we begin collecting coupons for attractions and restaurants. There is a great Enjoy the City coupon book (available through several local schools as a fundraiser) loaded with coupons for all along the Gulf Coast. You might also find some great deals in the Entertainment Book which is loaded with special offers!
After all that, I begin planning what I will cook in advance to have frozen and ready to eat at the condo. No one wants to cook while on vacation but eating out for every meal is not only expensive, it is very unhealthy and leaves you feeling terrible. So, we will probably only eat out for breakfast twice during the entire week and will take cereal, homemade cinnamon rolls (frozen), homemade pancakes (frozen), fresh fruit, and instant grits.
Lunch will consist of sandwiches, pretzels, raw vegetables, fresh fruit, hotdogs, and pizza (all bought on sale and carried from home).
For Dinner, we will probably eat out more often than anything else but I stocked up on aluminum containers for freezing meals to heat and eat with a fresh salad. I am not going to go our of my way to cook these meals. I will simply double what I make on certain nights and freeze half. By preparing these in advance, we not only are able to purchase the ingredients at low prices, we do not have to pack a lot of stuff with which to cook.
There are a couple of areas where we will buy new items to go with us… our beach towels are looking rough! So, we grabbed some of those this weekend at Khols for 50% off. And, you should buy new sunscreen each year as the ingredients can break down over time. Last but not least, even though the condo has a dishwasher, I do not plan on doing a lot of dishes. Thank goodness for the half price sale at Winn Dixie!
Another way we save is to take the ferry from Dauphin Island to Fort Morgan. The children LOVE this and not only does it save time but money since we are not paying for gasoline. (Please, God, don’t let this oil spill change our plans!)
You might be thinking that a vacation on the beach is way to much for you to budget, especially this close to summer. Actually, due to the oil spill, you would be so wrong. Many places are desperate to bring in tourists because of tons of cancellations. Deals are popping up everywhere. Even The Beach Club has dropped the deposit and is offering a 100% guarantee. Oil on the beach equals your money back!
Where ever your family loves to go, how do you keep your vacation from breaking the bank? I am always looking for ways to save even more so PLEASE, share your ideas in the comments.
Coming next week… STAYcation ideas.
Leave a Reply