Making Cents Of It All

We love to travel but we live on a  budget .  We have traveled to some wonderful places and made some great memories. And we didn't break the bank doing it. Here are some of our tips and tricks for a low cost vacation.  Part 1  is here.  * Cook. We always try to cook some of our meals when we go away. When we stay with family or friends this is never a problem. One of the great things about time shares and Airbnbs is that they have kitchens. Most hotels have rooms with a kitchen too. It may cost a little more up front but it is worth it. Dinner for 4 people at a decent restaurant is easily $60 a night. The room never costs that much more. If we can't get a kitchen, I bring my crock pot. I have never had a problem doing that. I just have to plan ahead. We also always try to stay at a hotel that offers some type of breakfast included. It all adds up. Worst comes to worst I bring easy foods with us in a cooler. PB&J, hard boiled eggs, tuna, cold cut sandwiches, cereal and

August is a 3 paycheck month for Hubby. Twice a year he gets an extra check and this is one of those months. Perfect timing since my son's college payment is due and we are starting work on our driveway. We already have the funds for both but if we can cash flow some of it, then we don't have to take so much out of savings.  Financial - Put 15% into retirement. - Pay cash for fall semester for our son - Pay for first part of driveway - Grocery Budget of $400 average for the year - List 25 new items on eBay and Craigslist.   - Work extra shifts when available.  - Spend $1000 or less on vacation - Pay for son's college books  - Go over our budget with Hubby - Go over the kids budgets with each of them.  Health - Go for a walk 5 times a week.  - Lose 5 pounds Garden   - Weed at least 3 times a week.    - Plant more lettuce seeds as I pick lettuce - Plant peas and kale for fall pickings - Dehydrate herbs as they are ready - Chop and fre

It was youngest daughter's 17th birthday this week. I don't know how that happened but she is growing up so fast. She is going to be a senior in high school this September. We have been narrowing down her college choices and she has been applying for lots of scholarships. She is also preparing for her road test. She has been driving me around to stores and when she needs to go somewhere.  All of YD presents were wrapped in gift bags or boxes that I already had. They are all put back in the tub for the next birthday. No garbage from unwrapping presents. Her cards were homemade.  Last weekend we went to see OD in Baltimore. We had a great time. While we were down there we checked out Towson College. It was beautiful. It is still on YD's list. While we were driving home on Tuesday we went to Rutgers University in NJ. She found it to be way to big for her. It was a nice school but it is HUGE. So it is now off of the list. We have 3 more schools to look at and then

We just returned from visiting our oldest daughter in Baltimore. We love to visit her often but it can get expensive fast. We also enjoy traveling. However, paying for college and saving for retirement are important to us so we try to do it as affordable as possible.  So these are some of the ways that we do a low cost vacation. There are so many different options out there. You just have to be open minded. Don't just think hotel. Go outside that box. * Staying with family or friends. OD lives out of state. We like to go see her every few months. She shares a small 2 bedroom apartment in Baltimore. A hotel is easily $200 a night. We would not be able to visit often if we had to pay for a hotel. So we make it work. Hubby and I sleep in the small second room. It is a full bed but we deal with it. OD has a couch and a cot. We used to bring an air mattress before she got the cot. We usually only go for 3 nights max so we can deal with it. We have also stayed at our friend's c

So I didn't get a lot of freebies this week but that is how it goes sometimes. I am grateful for all of the free items we get all year. They help keep our budget down so that we can save for retirement and college for the kids. When we were driving to go see Jurassic World 2, free with my work tickets, I spotted this on the side of the road with a pile of garbage. One of the wheels is flat but getting a new wheel should be a few bucks. This will be great for moving compost and dirt. Right now I use 5 gallon buckets.  At work sometimes we are given t-shirts to promote movies. It is optional to wear them. We can wear it or our uniform shirt. On Thursday I was given one so I wore it. I then put it in my wash. Well, I was called in on Friday and it was still in the wash. Some higher ups from our home office were coming in, so they wanted everyone wearing one. So I got a second one. I did tell my manager that I had already gotten one but he said to take another one. I offer

I went to BJs for a few items. I got the bread to bring to OD's apartment so we could make french toast. BJs  has coupons by the front door and I always look through them. There was one for $5 off black beans. They are regularly $5.99. So I got 8 cans for 99¢. Then I got 25¢ from Ibotta. I called Hubby and asked him to get a case on the way home. The coupon said one per person per day. He got them too. We did it again the next day. Hubby works right around the corner from BJs. I have 32 cans of black beans for less then $4. That is a great addition to my food storage. I will try to get more before the coupon expires on 8/8.  BJs total was $27.40 I went to Meat Farms so that I could make sandwiches and bring fruit to Baltimore.  Cold cuts are not cheap but they are cheaper then going out to eat. We ate them for several days lunch and we left the rest for OD. I got cherries for $1.99 and we (mostly my son) ate them all. I got grapes for $1.99 a pound. Bananas were 49

The kids made it home safe from Italy. They had the most amazing time and cannot stop talking about it. They were both invited back to come spend some of next summer with our friends. We will see what happens but they both are hoping that they get too.  They brought us some wonderful gifts. Wine for Hubby, a beautiful tablecloth for me and a glass figurine for OD. They also can home with lots of clothes for themselves.  I did really well this week on Craigslist and eBay. I sold 2 more mini fridges, a hat, a jersey, CDs and DVDs. More money towards the driveway fund. I did receive 100 free listings on eBay so I am listing lots of stuff.  I had to got to BJs for a few items. They have coupons by the front door and I always look through them. There was one for $5 off black beans. They are regularly $5.99. So I got 8 cans for 99 cents. Then I got 25 cents from Ibotta. I called Hubby and asked him to get a case on the way home. The coupon said one per person per day. He

*This post contains an affiliate link. Hi everyone, this is Oldest Daughter (OD)! My mom recently asked if I would be interested in talking to you all about my suggestions for second-hand shopping. I am currently on baby step 2 trying to finish paying off my student loans, so my budget has been pretty tight since graduation 3 years ago. The first few jobs I worked after graduating required uniforms which made it pretty easy, but a year ago I started a corporate job and realized I had very little office attire. I needed to update my wardrobe with business-casual clothes on a very tight budget. I had shopped at thrift stores when I was in high school, mostly for theater. It was always an easy place to find costume pieces or the occasional pair of jeans that I wanted to turn into cut-offs. However, thrift stores can be pretty unpredictable, time consuming, and there just happen to not be any in my new neighborhood. I started looking for online consignment sho

There is an empty lot a block from my house that has raspberries growing on it. I go every year and pick some. A few other people also go and pick so I have to be paying attention to when they get ripe. Well, this week they are turning ripe. I have gone twice so far and gotten a half a pound each time. They are really small this year but they taste wonderful. I never get enough to do anything with them besides eat them fresh. That is OK. They  are free.  I bartered some veggies from my garden for 2 jars of honey. My friend and I do it every year. I am hoping to be able to barter for more as the summer goes on. It is local honey and it is divine! Hubby and I went to a farmer's market while the kids were away. We were talking to one of the farmers and he gave us a free ear of corn. It is a different variety then what we usually eat. He said to try it and let him know what we think. It was great. It was sweater and white. I would buy it in the future.  I fo