Frugal Vacations Close To Home

With the rising cost of…well…everything, summer vacations can seem out of reach. If you’re dedicated to keeping that credit card balance at zero but still want to have some summer fun then a staycation may give you the best of both worlds. A staycation combines the fun of a vacation getaway with activities that are close to home. Who says the only way to have fun is to hop on a plane only to come home to a whopping bill that you’ll be paying off all year long? There are some amazing things to do that are close to home and can provide your family with all kinds of wonderful summer memories. Here are five ideas to get you started.

Try Geocaching. Geocaching is like a high tech treasure hunt. All you need is a handheld GPS system and you’re good to go. We’ve had great fun tracking down hidden caches and leaving our mark. Find a cache in your area, enter in the coordinates on your GPS and start hunting. Most caches have a logbook inside for you to sign your name and you can leave little treasures inside for the next person to find. Go to www.geocaching.com to find some hidden geocaches in your area.

Bargain Day at the Oregon Zoo. Every 2^nd Tuesday of the month the Oregon Zoo has a discounted rate. For $4 per person (regularly $10.50) you and your family can have a whole day full of fresh air, animals and fun. Kids under two enter free. Pack a lunch and have a picnic to save on overpriced zoo fare.

Take a Hike: Washington State has some of the most beautiful scenery to be found. Just 30 miles east of Portland you’ll find several breathtaking waterfall hikes one of which is the famed Multnomah Falls. You can actually feel the spray of the 542-foot, two-tiered plume that plummets into a mossy forest grotto. There is an easier hike for the kids or a longer hike for the more adventurous.

Attend Community Events: Find out what’s going on in your own town. In Longview attend the 4^th of July events, take in a free concert at the lake 6-8pm every Thursday from July 7^th to August 18^th, or visit the Squirrel festival on August 6^th. In Clatskanie show up on August 5-7^th for the annual bluegrass festival. In Kalama on July 23^rd check out the 2nd annual Washington State Championship Chili cook-off at the Kalama Fairgrounds. St. Helens offers 13 Nights on the River every Thursday from June 19^th to September 1^st where you’ll find live music and an open air market. These are just a few of the many events in our area. Go to the website of your nearest town and look for events or markets they might be hosting.

Be A Day-Trip Tourist in your own State: We are fortunate enough to live between big cities full of history. Put on your tourist glasses (Hawaiian shirts and sandals with socks are optional) and travel around like you’ve never been there before. Visit Mt. St. Helens, take an underground tour of Seattle or Portland, visit museums and state parks, stroll through Pikes Place Market, explore the Portland Rose Garden or step back in history at the Cedar Creek Grist Mill.

Fun can still be found close to home using whatever budget you have to work with. And don’t forget the camera. Just like any vacation you’ll want to take photos of your staycation fun. But this time you’ll have fond memories as well as a wallet that’s not empty.

Frugal Recreation and Gas Use

Dana asks....

Where we have the most trouble is of course our fuel costs for our work commute now and entertainment. There isn't much to do about fuel other than try to scout out your best prices but do you have ideas that work well with your family for entertainment that is frugal and fun?

Gasoline costs are a huge concern for us too. We use gasbuddy.com to find the cheapest gas prices in town for fueling up. We don't commute since we work and school at home, and we try and run all errands in one trip as often as possible. Our gas budget is $20 in our economic Volvo and $20 in our gas guzzling family Suburban per week. Unless we're all together or both need a car at the same time, we try and drive the Volvo as often as possible. And there have been several times where we had to say no to something because gas was low and had to be saved for something more important.

Gas costs are also figured in when we are looking for something to do as a family. And with a family of our size we have to make sure that our recreational activities don't cost an arm and a leg.

• We live close enough to the ocean that a day trip to the beach is a fun thing to do. We pack a picnic lunch and then our only cost is gas and all the sandy laundry we bring back.


• We also make use of our local YMCA. For a family day pass we can swim, workout, play basketball, or hit the racquetball courts.


• Local playgrounds are places we visit for free. It's amazing how much fun different playground equipment can be.


• A few times a year we go to a movie as a family. This is a spendier event so to keep costs low we smuggle in our own snacks and hit the matinee to save a few extra dollars.


• We find local hiking trails and head out into the woods with a picnic.


• We rent movies for free from the library and have movie nights with homemade snacks. (We're watching The Waltons right now.) We also have a netflix subscription and sometimes use the free codes at redbox.


• We also hit local aquatic parks on their bargain family pass days. The parks around here have huge slides and pools with waves and sprayers. Lots of fun!


• We keep our eye out for free community events and celebrations. We've attended Native American pow-wows, Scottish festivals, Earth Day events, county fairs, holiday parades, free outdoor concerts, kids fishing events at the beginning of fishing season, local sporting events and all sorts of other fun things. We don't pass up FREE very often.


• We also enjoy zoos, aquariums, and museums. This is also a spendier event so we get in on bargain days with a family pass when we can.

Fun can be had for cheap if you just look in the right places.

More Frugal Vacation Fun

Still having fun on a budget. Maybe this will help you get creative with your own vacation fun.

Carousel ride - $3.50

Who says shopping has to mean spending?

Trying on hats, taking pictures, and laughing our heads off - $0

Playing with toys in the toy store - $0

One bag of taffy $5

Feeding the seals - $5 for 5 buckets of fish guts and chunks

Our one meal out - $54 including gratuity (Found out it's so much cheaper when everyone had a little snack about an hour before. We all drank waters and then ordered the food we wanted without restriction. But because we weren't all ravenous we didn't order giant amounts.) Normally a meal at a nice restaurant for six of us is around $80.

Swimming in the hotel pool at least twice a day - $0

And of course Nickelodeon off and on through out the day.

A few funny comments...

"Mom, I feel bad for people with cable because they just play the same thing over and over."

"Mom, what's a twinkie?" (I'm obviously a crappy parent if my 5 year old has no idea what a twinkie is. Note to self...add twinkies to grocery list purely for educational purposes.)

Keep Vacation Expenses Down

View from the balcony of our 50% off condo

While we are on our mini vacation I thought I'd post about how we keep costs down when we travel.

Go somewhere within driving distance. If it only takes a few hours to get there by car then you are saving so much on the cost of flights, rental cars, and baggage costs at the airport. Especially if you have a larger than normal family. Check out the Internet for destination spots that are within driving distance from where you live. National parks, monuments, beaches and historical sights are a great place to start. And choose something with an outside feature. If you're choosing touristy locations then expect to rack up the dollars. The temptation is usually too hard to resist.

Go somewhere before the actual travel season starts. Usually motel prices are lowest before Memorial Day Weekend and as soon as the vacation season hits, prices double or triple. We managed to get a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo for 50% off because of the off-season. Motels are just trying to stay afloat during the colder months.

Ask about discounts when booking your accommodations. Some motels offer discounts from Sunday -Thursday's. Some offer discounts if you stay a certain number of nights. Some have online deals that they don't freely let you know about unless you ask. I almost paid full price for the room we are in this week because I was too intimidated to ask about the deal I saw on the Internet (and they didn't offer to me). But the minute I asked, I got it. They aren't going to just offer up a discount if they don't have to.

This is nicer than our actual house.

Choose accommodations that have free activities. Is there a pool, game room, or fitness center that you can use for free? Are there free games, movies or puzzles offered to guests? Chris is spending some of his days at a conference while we are here and I'm with the kids. Totally works for us. I like being independent and he likes deep study and learning. We'll meet up later. In the meantime I have kids to entertain and I don't want to spend any money. We don't have a pool or cable TV at home and can I just say Yippee? Because it's a special treat for the kids, we've spent all day bouncing between Nickelodeon and the pool. Next we'll hit the beach and search for driftwood and shells. After that, we'll take a hike at a local scenic state park. How much is this costing me? Nada! How much fun are the kids having (even the teens). A ton!

Heading down the elevator to the pool.

Always get a room with a kitchen. Seriously. If we ate out for all the meals while we are here it would cost more than our condo. It's at least $60 for us to eat one meal out. My kids eat alot and I'm not willing to eat at McDonald's for every meal. I brought easy to prepare foods and we get to eat on our own schedule without fighting the crowds for a table at an overpriced restaurant. I'm saving at least $700 dollars on meals and I only spent a little under $80 to bring our own food.

Pay Cash! It's just not even worth it to take a vacation that you'll be paying interest on for the next 2 years. Don't do it. If you can't pay for it, you don't really need it. Save up, use your tax return, make cheap choices...whatever it takes. Vacations are fun but they really aren't a need. So make sure your financial priorities are in place.

I hope these ideas help as we all get ready for summer vacations!

For more great tips go visit WFMW at We Are That Family.