In the last 3 months, I have traveled with my family to the beach in Destin, Walt Disney World, and Atlanta.
12 nights total. I am not rich and the vast majority of those expenses were free...
12 nights total. I am not rich and the vast majority of those expenses were free...
Happy Summer! It's my absolute favorite season. Kids are out of school and families are having fun together playing at the pool, exploring local entertainment, and best of all, going on vacations. But for those who work with kids for a living, Summer can be hardest time of year financially for all the reasons listed above: most of our customers are busy and out of town. Ever since Shane began teaching music lessons a decade ago, our Summers have been filled with lots of free time accompanied by boredom.
Well this year I finally figured out how we could go on some vacations by not breaking the bank or borrowing money we don't have. Actually, I figured out how to go on 3 different vacations, 12 nights combined, for practically FREE!
Here's what I did...
Well this year I finally figured out how we could go on some vacations by not breaking the bank or borrowing money we don't have. Actually, I figured out how to go on 3 different vacations, 12 nights combined, for practically FREE!
Here's what I did...
I got 5 FREE nights of stays at Hilton owned hotels.
I think it was about $800 worth of free hotel stays. I became a Hilton Hhonors member years ago after falling in love Embassy Suites. (Hilton owns Embassy Suites, Double Tree, and Hampton Inn. Hotels you can find in pretty much every city or town in the US. Embassy Suites and Hampton Inn serve free hot breakfasts during your stay, and Double Tree gives you delicious cookies when you check in.) Staying at Hilton owned hotels can cost anywhere between $100 to $300 a night depending on location, but as an Hhonors member, I was able to build up points during my stays towards 1 free night. I scored the other 4 free nights by churning Hhonors credit cards. (See next point for more on churning.) We spent 3 of those free nights in Destin over Spring Break in March, and Shane and I took the other 2 nights for a mini getaway at a Hampton Inn in Atlanta.
For Disney World, I got our park tickets and $500 worth of food for FREE.
Credit Card churning is a game. If I don't pay my bill on time or buy more than I can pay off immediately, I lose. But if I use a credit card to buy things I was intending on buying with money in my bank account, I win and sometimes win big. At the end of last year I opened up a travel rewards credit card. I will not tell you which one, but you can find a good list of rewards offers, pros and cons to each card here. Since we pay our bills 5 to 6 months in advance, I paid enough bills with the travel card to meet my spending requirements and receive a $400 bonus in free travel rewards. Actually this card also gave me 2% back on ALL purchases I made, so I received an additional $200, totaling $600 in travel rewards. Those rewards paid for Shane and my 5 day park tickets to Walt Disney World (Children 3 and under are free at Disney so we didn't have to buy tickets for Josiah). Then I opened a cash rewards credit card, met the spending requirements by using it to pay for more bills and basic necessities, and received a whopping $500 in rewards. This covered most of our food in Disney.
(If you would like to know more about credit card churning, please read this blog by Mr Money Mustache. Like I said earlier, it's a game, and also a job. I have spreadsheets I keep track of and I have to stay organized in order to benefit from churning. I'd be happy to show you my spreadsheets and method through email or over coffee.)
(If you would like to know more about credit card churning, please read this blog by Mr Money Mustache. Like I said earlier, it's a game, and also a job. I have spreadsheets I keep track of and I have to stay organized in order to benefit from churning. I'd be happy to show you my spreadsheets and method through email or over coffee.)
If it wasn't free, we found ways to pay less than normal.
I need you to know we didn't try to be frugal, or hold back on fun because we were "trying to save money." Before the trip Shane and I agreed we would not talk about or worry about money while on vacation because it brings stress and makes vacationing less fun. We are, however, minimalists or at least trying to be. Minimalists only buy or take what adds value to their life and deny anything that causes unnecessary stress or is worthless.
When eating out, we discovered most restaurants serve way more food than one person needs or can possibly eat in one setting. I learned in Disney World to not ask the server, "How many servings is this?" But instead, "How big is this?" Sometimes Shane and I would split a meal and get Josiah a kids meal, and other times a single meal was big enough to split 3 ways! Oh and believe me, we never went hungry! We ate at the best, most expensive restaurants. When we were planning our trip, we studied reviews of past customers before deciding where we ate, so we knew we would enjoy each and every meal.
We also minimalized our thinking with souvenirs. I bought a mug I really liked and used it every morning I drank coffee in the hotel room. We allowed Josiah to have a Stitch doll he oddly fell in love with. We never went into souvenir shops with the purpose of buying souvenirs; We only bought what we absolutely loved.
(BTW, if you are planning a trip to Disney, you need to know the Dining Plans are MORE expensive than paying for your meals individually... unless you plan on eating a filet mignon 3 times a day. There are blogs out there of the best restaurants to eat in Disney, but among our favorites were Via Napoli (Epcot), Le Cellier (Epcot), Seasons (quick service, Epcot), Pinocchio's Village Haus (quick service, Magic Kingdom), and Flame Tree BBQ (quick service, Animal Kingdom). We also LOVED T-Rex in Disney Springs, and the Spirit of Aloha dinner show at the Polynesian Resort.
When eating out, we discovered most restaurants serve way more food than one person needs or can possibly eat in one setting. I learned in Disney World to not ask the server, "How many servings is this?" But instead, "How big is this?" Sometimes Shane and I would split a meal and get Josiah a kids meal, and other times a single meal was big enough to split 3 ways! Oh and believe me, we never went hungry! We ate at the best, most expensive restaurants. When we were planning our trip, we studied reviews of past customers before deciding where we ate, so we knew we would enjoy each and every meal.
We also minimalized our thinking with souvenirs. I bought a mug I really liked and used it every morning I drank coffee in the hotel room. We allowed Josiah to have a Stitch doll he oddly fell in love with. We never went into souvenir shops with the purpose of buying souvenirs; We only bought what we absolutely loved.
(BTW, if you are planning a trip to Disney, you need to know the Dining Plans are MORE expensive than paying for your meals individually... unless you plan on eating a filet mignon 3 times a day. There are blogs out there of the best restaurants to eat in Disney, but among our favorites were Via Napoli (Epcot), Le Cellier (Epcot), Seasons (quick service, Epcot), Pinocchio's Village Haus (quick service, Magic Kingdom), and Flame Tree BBQ (quick service, Animal Kingdom). We also LOVED T-Rex in Disney Springs, and the Spirit of Aloha dinner show at the Polynesian Resort.
As a family of 3, we spent $1,700 total for our 7 day trip to Disney, including flights, hotel stay, tickets, food, AND souvenirs. If it weren't for the churning and minimalist thinking, we would have spent closer to $3000! We ate at the best restaurants, and never skimped on fun. I could have done Disney World for a lot cheaper or even free by staying in a Hilton hotel rather than a Disney resort, but staying on site in Disney was worth it for the experience, as well as the complimentary Disney shuttles to and from the airport and all the parks. Some things are just worth spending money on.
(In case you were wondering, we stayed at the Port Orleans- Riverside. It's one of the moderately priced Disney hotels, but so underrated! We spent a whole day just exploring and enjoying our resort.)
As for our trips to the beach and Atlanta, they only cost us a tank of gas and food. The beach was free, and for entertainment in Atlanta, Shane and I went to a Braves game. The game was $100, paid for with my Birthday money. Other than that we shopped and ate.
I've heard it said people can do whatever they want if they want it bad enough. Vacationing is definitely that for my family. My new goal is to get to either Alaska or Hawaii or free in 2017.
Now, go and find ways to add more value to your life!