How Do You Afford It??

[Marlea98]

We spent about $30,000 on our last trip, but we went for 7.5 weeks and there were four of us. We also cruised to the MR on DCL, went to Vegas and Montana and drove from Vegas to SF and down to LA. We also bought timeshare... But that wasn't included in the $30,000 we spent.

I was fortunate with our last trip that I had a lot of work in the year leading up to the holiday, so I basically paid for the whole trip myself. This trip, work has not been as prolific and I've been stressing over money. Oh well, life is too short to stay and home and be miserable.

For saving I have a dedicated holiday online savings account. I don't have a debit card attached to that account either. I put most of the expenses I need to pay on the credit card and pay for it out of the holiday account.

To save money I suggest...

- travel outside of school holiday time. if you must travel in school holidays factor in the extra costs

- sign up to as many different rewards programs as you can. set up a new email account just for this if your DH is like mine and hates having to trawl through 'junk' when checking emails. you will hear of special offers etc in advance. i signed up for radisson rewards when i booked our buena park accommodation and saved myself money on early check in rates to access our room at 8am because i was a radisson member (i didn't know about that in advance)

- tighten your spending at home. use meal plans for the week/fortnight/month if you can manage it. a friend suggested writing down what you eat/cook for a month before you start planning to see if there's a pattern and plan from there. it works well for me now.

- i don't go to the hairdresser except for a trim once or twice a year, and never to one that washes your hair. i go to just cuts. i also don't get waxing (except in summer) done, i do like pedicures and will treat myself to one when i can though (but i've started getting DD to paint my nails for me - i tell her it's for 'bonding' time ). if you must get massages find one that is affiliated with your private health fund, like through the physio or chiro. i don't get them done at the beauty salon as i can't claim on them. my lack of beauty maintenance is probably why i generally resemble a bag-lady most days...

- if you wear make up (i don't) switch to a cheaper brand unless you have skin issues. when i do buy make up it's often from the supermarket so i can earn Woolies rewards points which are linked to my FF points. or, you can always get sample sizes from avon/nutrimetics/department stores etc.

- i agree with those who say to ditch the take away coffee and lunches. if you must buy coffee look for a store who offer 'buy ten get one free' deals. and go for the smallest size. a few hours on a sunday afternoon making school/work lunches for the week is a great time and money saver.

- bake simple cakes and biscuits and freeze them once they have cooled. they are great for lunch snacks or for when you have visitors pop over

- if you often socialise out with friends suggest meeting at a park instead where everyone brings a plate to share, or do it at your house. once people realise you're saving up for a 'big trip' most people are generally encouraging of your efforts.

- buy in bulk if you can. especially with meat. or buy the marked down items at the supermarket. don't be afraid of your slow cooker as it's great with cheaper cuts of meat.

I think that's about it.

Oh, go to the Simple Savings website and look on there for more ideas

Edited to add - invest in a good quality thermos and take your own coffee/tea to work or out with you. Just don't add milk until you are ready to drink it... Not a good idea at all

 

[JessL]

One of the best things we did to save money while we were away was to buy cereal and milk and fruit which we had for breakfast and bread and a couple of spreads to make sandwiches for lunch and water bottles for drinks. Not only did it save us lots in eating out for every meal, it saved us a ton of time because some could eat breakfast while others were in the shower and by the time everyone was showered and dressed we could head straight to Disneyland and the rides. The lunches saved time as well with not having to find a restaurant and wait for meals, we'd just find a bench and pull out our lunch. We never had a problem taking any of it into Disneyland. We took picnic plates, bowls, cutlery, chopping board etc.

The other thing it probably saved was weight gain! I actually lost 2 kilo in the couple of weeks we were away from eating reasonably healthy and walking miles every day!

One tip though - if you take drink bottles from home, DON'T pack them with the lids on in your suitcase! The pressure sent them all funny shapes!