Summer vacations on a low budget.

It is summer and you just have to get out of town. I know I do!!! Here is the problem, the bank account is kind of low. Here are some ways to get the best values for your money.

The number one thing to think about is what kind of vacation do you want? With gas prices so high the family road trip might not be so feasible this year. We really enjoy camping but not when it is 95 degrees out. If you like the beach but your family likes the mountains is it worth listening to whining for a week? Maybe it is time to go on a different kind of vacation this year!!

Go on the web and get the best deal you can find on a vacation. There are good deals on rental cars, airline tickets, vacations and even hotels. Priceline, Expedia, orbitz, Flyforless
Once again the entertainment book has great coupons on rental cars.

If you don't have children try to go on vacation at the end of August or the beginning of June when school is in session. This could save you some money in the long run.

If you do have kids there are a lot of hotels and cruise ships that give you a discount. Such as "Kids stay free." These aren't the fanciest hotels but it is just a place to sleep. You aren't going on vacation for the hotel!! Holiday Inn Choice Hotels La Quinta Etc!

Look closely at "all inclusive" packages. Are they worth it? Some such as the Disney Dining Plan really save you money. But a lot of packages are more expensive then they are worth.

Would your family enjoy a cruise? This would give you some time w/ your significant other and the kids would be happy too. These cruises can be very reasonably priced with a lot of activities for kids. And you deserve a vacation too!!!

So if you haven't gone on vacation yet. GO!!!!

P.S. Sorry it took me so long to post... Harry ...

Money saving T.V

There are a lot of shows these days about how to save money. I am the first one to admit that I am not super creative. I tried to make my own playdoh once and it is still a family joke. Look I tried. But some of these shows are actually worth a look.

• One of my absolute favorites is called How clean is your house. It is on the BBC. These tips can be enjoyed even without cable as most of them are online. One of my favorites is using mouthwash to clean toys, it sanitizes them and it makes them smell good. If you ever have a chance to watch this show it will make you feel a lot better about your house!!
• On Designing Cents the decorators redo a room for less the $500. Now speaking as a person that never has that much money to decorate a room I think that is a lot. But truthfully they are really creative on that show. On their website they have a lot of "how to" demonstrations. I have always wanted to turn trash into treasure. Maybe I can start now!
• Clean Sweep This show is really funny. I thought my house was full of clutter! On this show the people have to take everything out of their house and choose what they want to keep. The producers don't let them keep much either. Then the stuff that they don't keep they have to sell at a yard sale. Then of course the producers fix up their house and make everything look nice with the things that they kept. They also have some very good de-clutter tips on their website.

I guess all of these shows aren't about saving money, but I know I spend more when I am depressed. I am upset when my house is dirty. It is good to be creative, and it is a great idea to de-clutter!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Rockin' Girl Blogger

Ok I'm slow. I was tagged as a Rockin' Girl blogger by Michelle at http://smartnotcheap.blogspot.com/

If you would like to participate, the rules are simple:

-Place the badge on your blog.
-Give credit to the person that started the award Roberta http://www.robertaferguson.com/
-Pick 5 rockin’ girls of your choice and add them to the list
Below is the list of those who have been named Rockin’ Girl Blogger.

So sometimes this Rockin' girl forgets to check her comments! :) Thanks Michelle! So the rules are that I have to nominate 5 other girl well women bloggers. And in the interest of frugality I am going to mention the ones that have the most Rockin' frugal blogs! Here goes

Mare on
http://exterminatingdebt.blogspot.com/ She has a great blog and is very creative and good at saving money!

Bargain Quest
http://bargainquest.richmondbargains.com/

Funniest blogger yet Molly at
http://www.cuppa-cuppa.blogspot.com/

http://retro-food.com/

http://bridalicious.blogspot.com/

Festivals and Free Stuff

There are a lot of great things about summer. I live in a touristy beach town, so we have a lot of free entertainment and festivals all summer long. A lot of towns have festivals, free concerts and free movies for kids in the summer. The great thing about festivals are

• Live music that is family friendly
• Free stuff like water bottles, t-shirts, food samples, mousepads, coupons, I even got mayonnaise one year!
• There is usually a kids section with games or puppet shows just for kids
• Festival food, not cheap but fun. You can eat ahead of time and share a funnel cake.
• At the festivals here there are always boats to tour and cool things to look at.

Some festivals are based around something specific and it can be fun to have a theme. Some examples are the Maine Blueberry Festival
We have a Strawberry festival on Memorial Day. Here are some festival links. I'm sure that there are some near you!
New England
Virginia
New York City
North Carolina
Texas

My Cheap Date

My husband an I went on a half price date last night
We got to go to a fancy restaurant, to the movies, and get ice cream. All of this was half price, well we used a coupon for the matinée movie.

The Entertainment Book rocks.

• First we went to the 4:00 movie. We had a coupon and got $2.00 off the already matinée price. This wasn't as cheap as we could have done, but it wasn't too bad. If you have a chance to see Transformers then do! 2 movies in one week was an overdose but they were really good movies.

• Then we got to go to one of our favorite Indian restaurants and order two nice meals and drinks (non-alcoholic), and get dessert. All of this with a tip added up to $25. I was so excited!

• After that we used our buy one get one free coupon and went to Cold Stone Creamery and got really yummy ice cream

It was a beautiful night and it was really fun to go on a nice date with my guy. All in all we were pretty frugal. If you are going to go out take your entertainment book with you!

Being Frugal in your everyday life

I will admit that I am not always good at being frugal. Does it count when you sponge off of others? I went to go see Harry last night (great movie they should write a book about it) and my dad paid for the tickets. I was looking at everyone at the theater munching on snacks.

Seriously they are so expensive! I ate before I came and then when I got home I had a 60 calorie ice cream sandwich.

When I was younger my mom would go to the dollar store and get candy and smuggle it in her purse. Also an option especially with kids.

When you pass by that stand you can't help but smell the popcorn. It really helps when you are full! I also go to the dollar movie. Then I can splurge on popcorn if I want. And yes I do rent movies and go to the library.

But I just couldn't miss Harry. I admit it I am a Potter geek :) P.S anybody have any predictions about the new book? You know that you all love it too. Who couldn't love books that encourage kids to read?

- Till next time