Just because money is tight doesn't mean you still can't have vacations.  Tips on savings, accomadation and free events and sights.vacation can be taken even if you are on a budget. A lot of families have limited resources when it comes to the entertainment portion of their household income. The only things you really require for a great vacation are good company, a place to stay, transportation and the urge to relax.
Brown Bag It:
Once you’ve decided where you are going, the best thing to do is arrange for accommodations with a kitchen or partial kitchen. This will enable you to save a lot of money. One of the biggest expenses when traveling is the money spent on food. If you take food with you (pack all perishables from your refrigerator in a cooler) and go shopping the first day of your trip you will see a lot of savings. Decide beforehand how many times you will eat out when on vacation. Then stick to it! If you plan a picnic or a trip to the beach, pack sandwiches, snacks and soda. This way you won’t be dollaring yourself to death at food stands, fast food joints or local diners.
Allow Yourself One Treat:
A lot of people love souvenirs. Unfortunately, they can be costly. Especially in tourist traps where the prices are unbelievably high. In order to avoid spending loads of money on every little thing that catches your eye, set a limit. Give yourself a budget on how much each person in the family will get to spend on souvenirs. Give smaller children in the family a change purse with about five dollars and help them make selections. This will serve two purposes. You will not funnel all of your money into stuff you will later realize you don’t really need, or will hardly ever use, and it will force you to really think about your purchases. Do you really need a hula skirt, or would that fuzzy sweatshirt be a better idea with winter coming?
Share:
If possible get a bigger place for less money. How? Share with another family. If you get a two level condo and each family has a floor (in most cases) you will spend less money for accommodations. To take the sharing a step further, switch off on nights to cook. It’s much less expensive to take the family out for an ice cream cone as a treat after dinner than to treat the whole family to dinner! If you only cook half the nights you will only end up spending about half what you would on food. Just make sure your family and the other family are compatible and will have fun together.
Why Ride When You Can Walk?
Try to pick a place where a lot of your site seeing and events are within walking distance, or use the local service. Gas can eat up a lot of your vacation fund if you drive every single place you have to go. Walking not only will save you money, but you will get to spend quality time with your family and get exercise to boot.
There are so many ways to make vacations affordable. Plus, if you aren’t spending money you don’t have and racking up credit card bills, your vacation will be far more enjoyable than if you are worrying about paying for it down the road. Enjoy! | 
