Vacationing on a Shoestring

Monday, July 6th, 2009

If you have been hesitating about booking a family vacation this year due to the economic situation, you are definitely not alone.  You know you need to get away but lavish vacations are out this year and possibly for many years to come.  So now what? 

If you are traveling with your family (or extended family), try renting a property instead of staying in an expensive hotel.  If you rent a house, you will also be able to save on things like valet parking, eating out every meal, and if there is a washer/dryer, you can even go home with clean clothes! 

If you rent a house, consider splitting it with another family that you are friends with.  This could allow you to get a larger, better property for less money!  And if your children are too young for full-time school, consider vacationing after Labor Day.  The weather will still be nice and the prices will drop dramatically.

Here are a few websites to help:

1. www.vrbo.com & www.homeaway.com : Vacation rental by owner websites where people list their vacation rentals nationwide.  You can look at the properties, dates available, etc.  You can also try Googling “Rental properties + (destination)” and often you will receive a listing of real estate agents that handle rentals in that area.

2. www.homeexchange.com: If you happen to live somewhere that other people like to vacation (say, Florida, California, near a major theme park, etc.) consider swapping houses with another family who lives where you want to go.  However, even though you can browse for free, there is a fee to actually use the service. Still, for $100/year, it is a lot cheaper than a vacation rental.

3. www.travelzoo.com: When in doubt, try Travelzoo.  It is not a home rental site, but their travel deals are excellent, particularly if you are trying to plan something at the last minute.

Enjoy!

Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.

Tags: kids, top 10, travel
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Kids outgrowing their shoes!

Wednesday, October 8th, 2008

Now that my son is walking and it is October, I have had to break down and buy him some shoes instead of letting him toddle around barefoot.  After a visit to Stride-Rite with a friend, I received a quick reminder lesson on how expensive children’s shoes can be.  $55 for a pair of basic shoes that he will outgrow in 2 months!

So after talking with some of my favorite thrifty mom friends, here’s what I learned:

 Target is a great place for kids’ shoes.  A wide variety, decent selection, and reasonable quality.  However, I must say that their girls’ shoes outnumber the boys’ selection about 3-to-1. 

If you are looking for brand name kids’ shoes at low prices, by all means try Marshalls. Marshalls (and their sister store, TJ Maxx) you probably know pretty well for their discount clothing, housewares, etc.  But if it’s been awhile since you have been in a Marshalls, go visit again.  The chain has been revamping its footwear section so that they now have it arranged according to style rather than size.  This means that they have the shoes in boxes below the style–as you would find in a regular shoe store. 

It was at Marshalls that we scored a pair of hi-top Ecco boots for my son, which set us back $17.  Much better than the $55 at Stride-Rite and a great brand as well!

Copyright 2008-2009 Kristin Delfau, author of Turbo-Mom's Guide to Saving Money Without Wasting Time a womens' personal finance book, and Aji Publishing.

Tags: discounts, kids, shoes
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