Summer Vacations on A Budget
Summer is fast approaching, which means vacation planning season is upon us. If you’re like us, you try to plan a fun family trip or two each summer to get you out of your normal routine and away from the crazy of everyday life. This is something my husband and I have both done since we were children. Often times, when we think of summer vacations, we dream of extravagant trips to Hawaii, Disney or someplace international. Growing up in working class families, expensive vacations weren’t always an option. So, our families found different ways to make great memories. Looking back, some of our greatest vacation memories were made on some of the least expensive trips. Today, with our own children, we’ve carried on some of the ways our families taught us to have an amazing family vacation while sticking to a budget.
- Turn family and friend visits into vacations. My husband and I have fond memories of summer vacations in Minnesota. We both have grandparents and other relatives living there and nearly every summer we spent at least a week in the land of 10,000 lakes. Between Valley Fair, Mall of America and Duluth’s Canal Park it was always a great time. What was a fun and memorable family vacation never had to cost much with family to stay with rather than a hotel and lots of BBQs and homecooked meals. As a family, we still try to make it back to Minnesota every year to visit our beloved family and enjoy the relaxation and fun the time away offers.
- Hit up the local grocery store. I’ve learned that everywhere we go has a grocery store and that picking up simple breakfast and lunch options saves us a lot of money. Resort food and eating out are expensive and while part of the relaxation of vacation is not cooking (and all the moms said amen!), a bowl of cereal or turkey sandwich is certainly doable. Whether we are in Flathead Lake or Hawaii, we make it a point to eat as many inexpensive breakfasts and lunches possible and save the eating out for dinnertime.
- Take a weekend road trip. This suggestion comes from a place of privilege. We live in beautiful Montana where you don’t have to travel far to be in the middle of nowhere with nothing but you and the mountains. We make it a point to take as many day (or overnight) trips as possible right in our own backyard. I can honestly say, some of our family’s best memories have happened on the banks of the Stillwater or in the mountains of Red Lodge or the Paradise Valley KOA. These little trips cost next to nothing but work wonders for renewing your soul and grounding your family.
- Take advantage of the free. Everyone loves free! Nearly everywhere we have traveled, there are free attractions to take advantage of, whether it be a local museum, a walking path through a park or a playground. We’ve brought bikes and scooters and soccer balls on vacation and spent more time that you could imagine at local parks. While expensive amusement and water parks are enticing and sometimes definitely worth the price, having some costless entertainment options helps to keep you within your vacation budget.
We are at that sweet, golden age where our children don’t care where we go or what we are doing, just as long as we are all together. We are soaking that up because we know it flies. I’ll commit to rewriting this blog in ten years and eat alllll my words. If you have a young family and you’re living on a budget like so many of us are, don’t rule out a summer vacation, just rethink it! Take advantage of the local gems in your area and the free attractions where you go, find ways to cut food costs by hitting up the local grocery stores, and turn an ordinary trip into a vacation by planning special activities and time to relax. Happy summer planning, friends!
Let’s be honest, this post was just an opportunity for me to go back through all the old pictures of past summer vacations and dream about where we will go next. Thanks for coming along on the journey!
All opinions are those of Molly VanBinsbergen and not necessarily those of RJFS or Raymond James. Expressions of opinions are those of 04/07/2021 and are subject to change without notice.
