Easy Ways to Save on Spring Break

I’ve written a few articles on saving money while on vacation and here are a few more ideas. With that said, going on vacation doesn’t have to break your bank or blow your budget for months to come. The key to saving money and staying within a budget on your vacation is to “HAVE A PLAN”, a plan to have fun and to stay within budget. So you and your family won’t look like the Griswalds in a recession, here are some not so obvious ways to save money on your Spring Break vacation.

Be flexible with your flights. When booking online try being flexible with your arrival and departure dates. For whatever reason it is true that booking on a Tuesday is cheaper than any other day of the week, but actual travel dates are cheaper if you fly out in middle of the week. There are hundreds of websites to find your cheap flight, so start searching.

Chain Hotel or Locally Owned Hotel? If you have a points membership in a chain hotel – go with that. You might as well earn points while you are staying for each night in a hotel. Later on you can use those points for a quiet getaway weekend without your kids. To really get local flavor of the area stay at a local hotel. You can often get a better rate if you call ahead and speak to the owner and they often have the best info on restaurants and events in the area. Make sure to check the hotel room before sliding that credit card through the cha-ching machine. Websites can often make an ordinary room look like a five star hotel when it’s not even in this galaxy.

Be your own tour guide. Many larger cities offer free self-guided tours that you can download from a government tourism website. Search with key words such as “free self guided tours” and the city name. Having a flexible plan on your vacation helps eliminate the dreaded, “what are we going to do today.” It also helps to keep you inline within your budget.

Don’t leave home without the necessities. If you do, these items will be exponentially more expensive if you purchase in your hotel or right around the tourist areas. If you are vacationing at the beach, key items to pack are sunscreen, sand toys (if you are able to carry), goggles, floaties, and sunglasses. 

Book your activities or excursions ahead of time. Booking activities before you go will allow you enough time to compare prices for each excursion in order to find the best price. Plus, you may possibly find discounts for booking online or ahead of time. Also, booking ahead can be helpful as some activities can sell out fast, so it will guarantee you a spot for that activity. And those coupons in the flyers and brochures are worth looking at and actually using.

Go to the lake instead of the beach or the gulf. Sure there are beaches up and down the East Coast and who doesn’t want to be next to the ocean after such a long cold winter, but consider staying at a lake in any southern state or in the Gulf Coast. They offer warm weather, water and a great time with your family and friends.

Condo or House? Many vacation condos and homes actually turn out to be cheaper than a hotel room. You can relax more, eat in for a few meals (and save money) and it just feels better with more room. Check with family and friends for information or to rent their condo.

Write Your Budget Down. When the budget is in your head it’s easy to become distracted with what you have spent and what you have in your budget to spend. Writing down your overall budget and daily budget can help keep your plan more concise. And if you overspend one day, it’s easier to get back on track for the next day. Don’t forget to include activities, shopping and gifts. Which bring me to my next budget line…

Gifts. While you and your family are on vacation it’s great to bring something back as a memento for yourself or for a family member. Keep in mind what you want to spend, who it is for and how long that gift will be on display before you see it at the summer garage sale. Buy locally made gifts; it helps the local economy rather than someone in China. Buy gifts for the area; when I’m at the Daytona 500 I buy gifts for my brothers, when I’m in Arizona I buy gifts for my sisters. My sisters aren’t so interested in NASCAR and are more interested in turquoise, jewelry, locally made pottery. Travel gifts don’t need to scream the vacation spot you are visiting; they should reflect the area and become treasured gifts.

Use cash instead of a card. A credit or debit card makes the amount of money available seem distant and far away, essentially out of mind. Swiping a card makes it easy to spend money and bringing cash on a trip gives an easy visual of what you have to spend. Keep in mind not to carry all your cash out with you each day and to use the safe box in your room or at the front desk. You could go so far as to separate your daily cash flow in separate envelopes. One envelope for each day, one for each travel day and so forth. This is an excellent way to teach your children how to budget by giving them an envelope of money each morning. They figure out this managing your money/budget thing real fast. Travel safe and have fun.