I love going places and seeing new things. If I could I would travel all year and just see the beauty this world has to offer. However, with two kids, a husband, and our family pets it is nearly impossible to just pick up and leave every week besides that the costs add up. However, we do like taking vacations and even small weekend or day trips to places we have never been to. While this can be expensive, there are ways to do it and spend little money while exploring what is around you.  

Cooking: 

Okay, so first off eating out for a family of any size is way overpriced, and doing it every once in a while is fine but doing it every night of the week, well let’s just say wow how fast the cost adds up. Even to get a pizza is going to cost you about 30 dollars to feed an entire family. So, my suggestion is - just do not eat out.

Now, if you are planning on vacationing somewhere for a few days or longer you might be thinking how else am I supposed to feed myself? The answer is simple. Do not change what you would normally do. Remember you can get a steak when you are home or eat at the local McDonald’s when you are home but you cannot explore the area you are vacationing at when you are home.  

My suggestion is to cook even when you are on vacation. Really getting a room with a kitchen is not much more than not having a kitchen. So, take time to either pack food for your family so you can cook, or when you get to your destination go to the grocery store and spend about $100 for you guys to eat for the week.  

Cooking makes all the difference in the world when you are vacationing. Trust me, this is what we do. We get a hotel with a kitchen and our first stop is to the local grocery store to pick up food that we can eat and even have leftovers with. For instance, you can fix spaghetti pretty cheap so make enough spaghetti to last you two nights instead of one. Make simple yet filling food and watch your savings add up while on vacation.  

Pack: 

Another great way to save money and it goes right along with cooking is to pack your lunches. Bread lunch meat or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, whatever you like is not that expensive to make and it will fill you up temporarily until you get back to your place to eat. It takes like 30 minutes or less to make these sandwiches and then you do not have to plan on stopping what you are doing just to eat, you can explore and stop whenever you feel like it.

We pack sandwiches when we go to any place and it truly makes a difference in costs. Mom’s out there, it is more than likely more work on you to do this but it is so worth the savings especially if you are going to a zoo, amusement park, or even a ball park. Think about the savings you will save by packing that lunch instead of buying that 10 dollar pizza.  

Priceline it: 

Okay folks priceline.com is probably one of my most favorite saving sites I have ever found. I am not even joking in the least little bit. Priceline is great when it comes to saving on your room, flight, or even car rentals. I know some people think that you cannot save big with these types of sites but Priceline offers the Priceline negotiator.

When you are using the Priceline negotiator, you have to be determined and know what the least you will take your room for is. I am not even joking when I tell you I have used Priceline negotiator and got a 4-star hotel for only 50 dollars a night. The longer you wait the better off you are on getting the deals. Do not just settle with what they give you keep putting in that price that you want to start low and bid only up to that price in your head. Be persistent and determined.  

I will say that if you are planning a huge vacation that Priceline negotiator may not be what you are looking for. However, if you just suddenly choose to take a weekend trip it is great and I highly suggest trying it out and watch how much you can save. We went to Hershey, PA, and only spent 100 dollars on a room for two nights. The normal cost is about 250 dollars a night at that particular hotel. It truly works for those last-minute vacations.  

Camp: 

If you are the type that loves the outdoors, I highly suggest camping. You can save hundreds of dollars if you opt to camp instead of renting a room or house for a week. Think of all the adventures you and your family can have while camping. It truly gives you the opportunity to bond because you do not have that luxury of television. Have an adventure and camp. You can still cook and pack lunches. You just have to cook things over a fire instead of on a stovetop.

Enjoy: 

Instead of paying for those expensive tours, you see all around your vacation destination, tour it yourself. I cannot even tell you about the adventures me and my family have had by just doing it on our own. It truly makes for a blast. We get into things that you would never get into on a tour. Go on vacation to enjoy it not to go on tours and hear what others have to say about it. Come up with your own story.

Conclusion:  

If you follow these 5 easy steps I promise you will not only have more of an adventure creating memories for years to come, but you also will be saving money while you do it. What better way to create those memories than by creating them on an adventure and saving money?

You may also like my post: 5 inexpensive places to vacation to.