Thursday, May 31, 2012

Hey- I live there

Large machinery has appeared on the scene of our soon-to-be home!
 This week I will be packing up things in the kitchen that we haven't used in the last two weeks.
 And I'll be cleaning out under beds.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Traveling on a Budget

With the new house on the horizon we are doing more traveling than ever. And with a new house on the horizon, we are also short on the traveling cash. SO, I was thrilled to drop in on the conversation over at Budgets are $exy about saving when you travel. The readers over there are sharing tips on booking hotels, Packing to save and traveling on a budget... most of them are really good and you should check them out on your own.
We are planning to save on all our travels by doing the standard:
~Staying with friends instead of booking hotels... sometimes we even stay with friends of friends because we will be only sleeping there and will be out seeing the sites all day.. a thank you gift is a whole lot cheaper than a 4 night stay at a hotel if your friend's friends are nice enough to let you stay over. A swap is sometimes nice as well if you live in at a destination like we do. (NYC)
~Taking food/buying it there from a grocery store... a deli counter at the local grocery store makes a great 'to-order' sandwich for way cheaper than that bodega. Save on lunch and splurge on a nicer dinner later in the week, plus a sandwich packs nice so you can eat when and where you want.
~Groupon or other discount sites like that- not just your city for a 'stay-cation' but the city you are traveling to. Most times they have good restaurant deals or an adventure you can enjoy for almost half price while traveling.
~Visiting off Season... My hubby hates crowds and with two little ones in tow our family of four costs a fortune anywhere we go. Discounted rates for off season vacations work out great for us. Williamsburg not in the dead of the summer was delightful a few years ago without the crowds and since most of  the fun is indoors we didn't really miss anything except the elevated rates. :)

If you have a tip to share feel free to share it here, OR better yet, share it over at Budgets are $exy for a chance to win up to $1000 for your summer adventures. With all these cost cutting tips floating around you'll be able to stretch that money pretty far ;)

 “If you have a travel tip of your own, head on over to Budgets Are Sexy to enter his $1,000 giveaway, in partnership with HotelClub!”