Your Top 10 Creative and Affordable Vacation Ideas

Saving money, being frugal, smarter living ... get it?  It's became chic to be frugal and whether you have to or you want to, it's not a bad place to be as think of the things you can do with the money you save like take a vacation!  In spite of a need a need to cut on costs, there is no reason a family vacation cannot occur this summer.  TwitterMoms and Toyota is back asking for creative and affordable vacation ideas and you can participate in the fun by clicking here.


Here are my top ten ideas:

1. Camping - it may not be a real vacation but camping out can be cheaper on your wallet versus paying for expensive hotels.  
2. Skip out of town and spend a couple of days in the biggest city near you.  There are so many things to do and many hotel chains offer great packages that can be cheaper than buying tickets to an attraction solo.
3. Visit family members who live in super cool places and act like you really love them and maybe they will buy you tickets to the local attractions.  Okay, kidding about pretending but visiting family can offer perks that you don't normally get and just having a break from cooking is worth it!
4. Make your vacation last a few days by taking one tank gas trips. You would be surprised at the attractions that might be near you that are only one gas tank away.  Spreading out trips over the summer would also be something to look forward to.
5. Places like Orlando can be trip if you go during the off season and don't forget to use special reward offers.  If you are in the military, there are great deals for tickets that make it much more affordable.
6. Bring as much food as you can.  You can bring food with you without looking cheap or like someone from National Lampoon.
7. Research and research and research!  Look for online deals, specials and coupons.  Contact the hotel if it's a special occasion such as Aunt Mabel got a tattoo so you might get a discount.  I'm just really seeing if anyone is reading my post (smile).
8. Drive yourself as the price of flights isn't too bad it's the baggage that is killing people. The commercial showing the little kid in the doggy crate at the airline is funny but with all the baggage fees, I'm sure he costs a lot to ship.
9. Get your vehicle checked out to ensure it's safe.  The costs of an unexpected repair could be devasting to a vacation and properly inflated tires, helps to save money.
10. If your bank allows an allowance type credit card for your kids, allocate $10 or more a month to transfer automatically in exchange for chores.  When you are ready to go on vacation, give your kids the cards and now they have their own spending money to buy the little extras they want while saving your bank account with all the little magnets, silly hats and other nonsense they love to buy when on vacation.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the Toyota Sienna and TwitterMoms blogging program for a chance to get a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here



Affordable Vacation IdeasToyota Sienna