My husband and I just got back from vacation. We went to Branson for Valentine’s Day. I have to say that we had the best trip. We would love to be able to take more small
mini vacations, but we also have goals of getting out of debt and wanting to buy
a house. Here are some steps we took to
save a little bit of money on our vacation.
1)
Pick a
hotel that offers extras for a good price- My husband and I love to go
swimming, and a lot of times we would rather spend a day just strictly soaking
in the hot tub and swimming in the pool. We always stay at hotels that have
that option. We stayed at the Welk
resort in Branson. They have a waterpark
and game room. At different times of the
year they also offer breakfast package options.
2)
Bring
your own drinks and snacks-The Welk resort has small refrigerators in the
room. We always bring drinks with
us. This can save lots of money. Bringing our own snacks also helps. A lot of times if breakfast is included in
the hotel rate, we will snack for one meal and eat out for the other meal. This vacation we splurged a little more and
ate out twice a day.
3)
Plan ahead
on what you can- I think life can get boring if you over plan. Part of going on vacation is not having to
have a set schedule, and to be able to do something just because it looks like
fun. Most people, however, usually have
some idea of a few things they want to do on vacation. We always want to eat at certain places when we
got to Branson. We love to eat at the
Outback in Branson and Fuddruckers. I
checked out the Outback in Branson site and found a coupon I could purchase for
1.50 for our favorite appetizer (saved us $5.00) plus they had discount
certificates to purchase that were sent by email. I was able to get a $50 gift certificate for
$40.00.
We also love Fuddruckers. I signed up for their email club, and they
send out coupons for your Birthday. I
got my coupon, but it expired before our trip. I emailed them and let them know
that we do not have a Fuddruckers close by but would be traveling to
Branson. They emailed me back and told
me to email them closer to the trip. I did,
and received a coupon that day for a free burger. We both ate at Fuddruckers for under
$12.00.
4)
Look for fun free items to mix in with more
costly adventures- I am sure there are some people that could spend a lot
less on vacation. I have read blogs
where people only do free things on vacation.
I am all about saving money, but also want to feel like I’m not missing
out on things I want to do. I think a
good mix can be found. Some of the
things that made Branson so special this trip was that we ventured out more. We love to go to Branson Landing. They have the water show and it is totally
free. We also went to Outback on a night
that they had live entertainment. We
didn’t plan for that, but in the future I will be looking more to find places
that offer life entertainment. We also
visited Eddie Biggs Dueling Piano Bar.
They had great food and only charged $5.00 per person to get in. The show starts at 8:00pm. They played great music and we had so much
fun singing along.
5)
Keep an
open eye for opportunities to save a little-I am learning to look totally
different at money. I still have a long
way to go. I look back on our trip and I
still see ways we could have spent a little less, but I think that is the point
to keep trying. Even on vacation I am
constantly keeping my eye open to find coupons and ways to save. I think it is important to write down ideas
or things you discover even if it is too late to use those ideas on your
current trip. There is lots of
information on the internet about saving money on trips.
Would love to hear any of your tips for
saving money on vacations. We are
excited to now be planning a trip to Tennessee in the fall. Hoping to find lots of ways to save money
along the way.
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