A testimony from Sara
My husband and I recently took our ten-year-old daughter on our first family vacation. We started planning two years before the trip so that we could save enough cash to be able to enjoy the trip without having to go into any debt.
How We Saved:
We set aside any overtime pay my husband was able to get, as well as the twice-a-year bonus he receives from his employer.
We decided on a road trip as a more frugal option. We drove from Minnesota, where we live, to Pennsylvania, and then to New Hampshire. My husband has family in both states and our daughter was able to meet them for the first time!
A few months before we left, I began collecting non-perishable snacks and bottles of water to pack in the car so we would not need to purchase expensive gas station snacks. By starting early, I was able to watch for sales and use coupons for the snack items.
Our lodging costs were offset as my husbands family generously offered to let us stay with them while we were visiting. That really helped the budget not having to stay in a hotel the whole trip.
Finally, we were able to save money on food because we had a kitchen that we could prepare a lot of our meals and did not have to eat out as much.
It felt so good to just be able to enjoy our family vacation and not have to worry about how we were going to “pay for our trip” once we got back!
We had a great time!
Sara is a wife and mother of her ten-year-old daughter. She also works part time at a busy optometry office. In her spare time she enjoys reading, baking and running.
Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.
We took a 2 week road trip this summer as a family and had saved for the whole trip before we went. It feels so good to go on vacation (and have money to spend on things) knowing that it was all paid for. My children are already talking about when we can take the next road trip, and because we planned ahead, we know what we need to do to take another trip. (By the way, we planned a lot more money than we even needed, so we have a head start on saving for another vacation.)
Love this.. we recently booked a surprise cruise for my family over Thanksgiving. The girls are not even going to know until will pick them up at school and head to the port.
It was not terribly expensive… but it was nice to know that it was already paid for because we had the money in the bank.
Good job!
Love this! And love the picture; they truly look like they enjoyed themselves.
The best vacations are the ones that you don’t get a bill for after the fact. Love the plannng ahead.