This year, Spring Break fell on the same week as it did last year. Last year, however, we were smack dab in the middle of a big transition for the family. Not only was the Friday before Spring Break last year my last official day in the office, we were also a week away from closing on our new house—with me sweatin’ it out as to exactly when the mortgage company would do its final confirmation of my employment status—and we had just listed our other house for sale. Did I mention we had inexplicably chosen to head north for Spring Break and it actually snowed much of the time we were in Minneapolis?
As you can imagine, both the spring part and the break part of Spring Break were notably absent from last year’s trip. This year—we thought—this year we were going to do it right. Unfortunately, we still had to bring the kids along. Thus, our tagline for Spring Break 2019—Yeah, Just More of the Same.
I have a lot of sympathy for people who just piss money away. It is So. Very. Easy to do, never more so than when you are on vacation a trip with your children, taken out of your beloved routine and surrounded by some decidedly not-like-minded small people—small people who think it’s perfectly reasonable to spend $3 on a plastic pen with one end shaped like an electric guitar (Thomas). Still, this being America, we must take a road trip! See the sights! Recreate!
How do we balance that with LBYM?
First, we drive. Remember the good ol’ days when $3,000 would pay for an entire vacation? Not just the airfare for getting from point A to point B? Nothing quite like the feeling of buying plane tickets for people you have mixed feelings about coming with you in the first place. Driving the family is a little better from a cost perspective, but alas, there are fewer distractions in the form of seat-back entertainment and the drink cart. Also, we’re in a car together for 10 hours straight. Having learned our lesson last year, though, we did at least drive south—as far south as we could in one day.
Destination—Memphis, Tennessee.
Second, we stay … for free! I don’t play the credit card rewards game with the same zeal as others do, but I dabble in it enough that we usually don’t pay for hotels—or breakfast—when we travel. The only thing worse than tossing a banana with one bite taken out of it—thank you, Thomas—is having to pay $2 for said banana. The challenge these days is finding a hotel room with enough bedding for five people, one of whom (Thomas) prefers to sleep perpendicularly to everyone else. Part of me yearns for the day the kids are old enough to sleep in their own room across the hall. Another part of me would rather just save that money for an extra night on a girls’ trip.
Third, we plan a mix of activities, everything from paid museum tours to $1 downtown trolley rides. Not only does this keep costs reasonable and allow the adults to pretend we’re still, like, cultured and stuff, the kids can’t tell the difference. No matter what we do, their favorite part of the trip will always be the hotel pool. Excuse me while I die a little inside.
Finally, we limit eating out. A typical day goes something like this—kids get up an hour earlier than they would on a regular school day. After a big hotel breakfast, they argue for a bit over [insert inconsequential matter] or who gets [insert item for which we have unlimited quantities, only one of which is in demand at any moment]. When the hubs and I can’t stand it anymore, we head out for the day’s activities.
Lunch is our big meal out. We have slightly masochistic tendencies so we take a lot of family trips. With a lot of meals out. I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter where we go or what we eat, the bill for the five of us will always be exactly … HowDidWeSpendThat dollars.
Burgers, fries, milkshakes? Fried chicken, mac & cheese, cornbread? Food from four different food carts thanks to the tyranny of choice? Same, same, and same. As I eat, I try not to mentally calculate how much the same lunch would cost at home. I cry into my ($3.50) Diet Coke.
It would be too much to ask me to do this twice a day so we have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chips for dinner back at the hotel. We all collapse in a heap.
Thomas makes things difficult.
The End
Bonus LBYM tip of the day: if you put a bunch of mustard, onions, and pickles on a fried bologna sandwich (is this a Southern thing?), it is indistinguishable in taste from a beef burger. Proceed accordingly.
This sounds exactly like our
Spring Break vacation/trip!
1) we chose to drive as a family of five as far south as we could. In our case that got us to Branson Missouri.
2) we always travel with a twin size air mattress in the car and that’s where the (10 yr old) baby sleeps!
3) we do not pay for any souvenirs for the kids on vacation. They bring their own money that they have earned from doing chores or babysitting and they are allowed to spend it on what they choose.
4) we stay in Choice Hotels chain and the kids feed at the trough (aka free breakfast). They typically have deals buy two nights get one free.
5) we splurge on one meal or one hotel stay to feel like we’ve had a bit of luxury!
We always opt for a long-stay hotel because they have full kitchens. We find a local grocery and live on eggs, pasta, bread, cheese, fruit, etc. It saves a ton of money, and the stress of eating out with kids is minimal. We usually opt for 2 or 3 meals out.
Another trip to our frugal travels — avoid tourist attractions and hip destinations. Winter break took us to Panama City (in the country of Panama, not in Florida). Why Panama? Because no one else is ling up to go. Your dollar goes a long way in Central America.
Last tip to share — we pay cash. Our trip begins with cash (even Icelandic Kroner) and as we work our way through meal, attractions, shopping, we can visually watch our budgeted dollars evaporating. It is powerful, and forces us to do our top priorities.
I agree on road trips — add an airport and the costs goes sky high.