Mom Know-How
Saving on Summer Vacations
About the author:
I'm a stay-at-home mom of two boys and I pride myself on my penny-pinching abilities. I believe the negative stigma that goes with being thrifty is ridiculous in today's high-cost society.View Amy's profile
It seems like I just put my winter wardrobe away and already the summer vacation season is upon us. If you haven't already booked a summer vacation and want to take one this year, you must do it now in order to get the best deals.
Booking at the last minute is promoted like crazy by all the travel Websites but the best savings come with the most planning. I know this as I am currently in the middle of planning family trips for November 2006 and the summer of 2007. Planning well in advance gets you better rates, especially on cruises. Most cruise lines have an early-booking discount available if you book well in advance, like a year or 18 months before you plan to go.
Story continues belowAnother way to save on the huge expense of theme park admissions is to go to their Websites for their summer specials in the spring months. For example, if you live near an Anheuser-Busch theme park, they have a spring/summer Fun Pass deal; pay for one full day of admission and you get unlimited admission for the entire spring/summer season, usually from March to about the end of August. This can save you a ton since then all you have to worry about is money for parking and some snacks.
On the food note, when going on any kind of trip whether it's a week-long vacation or day trip to a zoo, bring your own snacks. Doing this is a great cost-cutting measure and helps with the planning in advance as well. Organizing snacks makes you sit down and see just what you'll need and how much it may cost you for the trip. And in the summer heat, don't forget to hydrate! Bring plastic water bottles with you and refill them at water fountains during the day; that will save you the $3-per-bottle charge for water in the venues.
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ClubMom member Beatrice from Detroit, MI wrote on Jun 22, 2006 at 04:18 PM:
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I thought that Amy had some great cost cutting ideals but what about those who aren't as fortunate. What are some of the ways they can entertain there young ones if there parents are unable to afford those more expensive trip like Disney.
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ClubMom member Melanie from Egg Harbor Township, NJ wrote on Jul 4, 2006 at 07:30 AM:
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Beatrice, You can book your Disney trip well in advance. You have until 30 days before the trip to pay it off. If you book for next year, you give them $200 to hold the trip and pay it off slowly. For a family of four you can stay on resort for 7 days and 6 nights for $1500. If you plan it far enough in advance, say plan now for September 2007, you are in the low season with the best rates and more than 12 months to pay. Your payments have now gone to well under $100 per month. Watch the Disney web site for deals. They have them every few months and you can add the deals to your vacation easily. We booked a Disney vacation for last way before October. I checked the site daily and found that they were offering free dining if you went in the fall. I added this to my trip and ALL of our food was free during our stay!!! We saved $900!!!. You can adjust your time for the trip based on your finances. You can plan the trip as far in advance as you have to in order to make the payments easier. It really works. Meanwhile, this summer and next, check the local papers for free move days for the children. Call the movie theaters they may have the information. Sometimes the local parks have free concerts in the park, they are great fun for the family. We have something here called Monday Morning Madness offered at one of the schools where they have puppet shows and magicians or story time pantomimes for the children. Lots of fun and all free!!!
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