Yeah, I’m kinda freaking out about spending all that money on our upcoming vacation. So, I thought it would be a good idea to share my plans for saving money before we go and while we’re gone. Just because I’m making plans to save money doesn’t mean that I’ll end up doing them all—but I really want to. Here we go:
♦ Unplug lots of stuff before we go. Sure I’ll leave some stuff plugged in for the convenience of the house-sitter but she’s not going to use my computer (nobody is allowed to) and I don’t think she’s interested in playing the Xbox or Wii. There’s some other stuff I can unplug too, that could help lower our utility bill for the week we’re gone. Ooooh, and I can unplug my mini fridge, I won’t need really cold water if I’m not here.
♦ Bring bottled water and other drinks from home as well as some snacks to keep food costs low. These can really add up. Thankfully, our room has a mini-fridge to keep any food and drinks cold. If there wasn’t one, we could always bring one of those collapsible coolers
♦ Bring our own alcohol and the blender. 😉 Drinks can get really expensive. Last time I bought one at the casino we’re going to, it was around $8 for 1 mixed drink (I think it was a hurricane). Since we’re not going to Las Vegas this time, we can have some drinks in our hotel room before we go to the casino. Don’t worry, neither of us drinks and drives…ever.
♦ Check the tire pressure and adjust to the right amounts before taking off. Apparently, this can help you save money on gas and only take a couple of minutes.
♦ I don’t know if this one really applies to anybody else, but it’s mandatory for me. Bringing a couple of towels, my pillowcase and shower cleaner w/ bleach from home. Doesn’t that sound weird? I use Manic Panic hair color and it never stops coming out but it looks hot. Seriously, even after a month, it still comes out every time my hair gets wet and stains everything. The hotel would probably love to charge us extra money for ruining their stuff and all, but I’m going to avoid that issue entirely.
♦ Pre-pack dog food portions. This will be easier on the super-sitter and will avoid any over or under feeding. It could also possibly save us money on dog food if the sitter would have ended up feeding Roxy too much and possibly vet bills if she ate too much and got really sick. Just seems like a good idea.
♦ Don’t speed on the way there. This can save gas as well as potential speeding tickets (which could then result in higher insurance rates). Neither of us has ever gotten a ticket before and it would be nice to keep it that way. 
♦ Take advantage of the hotel’s continental breakfast. This was one of the selling points for this hotel. One less meal we need to pay for each day is pretty good; it would be even better if they let us take the food back to our room. That way if we don’t eat all of it, we could save it for later. I’m not sure exactly what they’ll have but I’m sure it will be fine.
♦ Take advantage of the free shuttle service to the casino. If we’re going to go there anyway, why not save gas. Supposedly, they have 24 hour service—we’ll see.
♦ Find alternative activities instead of just gambling. Maybe we could go to a movie or something, 2 hours for under $20 is way better than we’d do at the casino. I haven’t been to a movie in a long time, the last movie I saw was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. I’m thinking that was about a year ago. Or maybe there’s a bowling alley, some event going on or something interesting. Usually the hotels are good about helping you find stuff to do. Or maybe we could rent some movies and do a Quentin Tarantino marathon or something, that’d be pretty sweet.
♦ Withdraw cash from our bank prior to leaving to avoid the evil ATM at the casino. Hopefully, I’ll be able to convince my honey that this is all we can spend. *crossing fingers*
♦ This one isn’t really about saving money but is still pretty cool. I’m going to try to use our credit card (with the Best Buy rewards) for all of our expenses, aside from the cash at the casino, so that we can earn points. Christmas is coming up and it would be pretty cool to earn some extra reward certificates.
That’s all I have so far. I’m so excited about our trip but at the same time terrified about spending that much money.
Any tips for saving on a trip?
Road trips are always fun, try to get a radar detector just to be sure you don’t speed 😀 that’s what I have and it saved me quite a few time from getting a ticket, not that I speed a lot anyway
haha, sure you don’t speed—that’s why you have a radar detector. You’re funny.
Have a great trip!
Thanks Hunter.
One of the ways we saved money on vacation was to share a house with friends at the beach. That way we split many of the costs. Have a bice vacation.
That’s a great idea, Krantcents. Too bad we’re going solo, it would be nice to save some money. Thanks.
I love road trips. I usually pack food for the trip mostly because I am a vegetarian and I have never found good restaurants when I am really hungry
If you are going to gamble much (or not) convert your money to chips at the start of the trip. That way the casino will give you upgrades and drinks. You don’t have to gamble everything, at the end of the trip return the chips, get your money back and leave! Free upgrades!
Have a great trip!
Road trips are always fun. I’m going to have to pack some food too, I understand you on that one. I’m not a complete vegetarian, I usually eat chicken about once every other month—but that’s it. I never had any clue you could get free upgrades that way, that’s really awesome. Thanks Suba.
You use Manic Panic hair dye too?! That’s so cool to hear, what color do you use? I’m obsessed with the Hot Hot Pink color at the moment. And I so understand what you mean by the color always getting on everything when wet. You’d think they would work on the formula…oh, wells.
But back to the saving money tips. I travel a lot but I always forget to unplug unnecessary electronics, thanks for the reminder! This last trip I even left the fan on high for 3 days while I was gone, I wanted to punch myself.
Withdrawing cash from an ATM before going on a trip is great idea. ATM fees can be nasty. Thanks for sharing and I hope you have a fabulous trip!
I use Vampire Red over my dark hair, no bleaching or anything. It really is nuts how much it comes out, even a strand of wet hair left on a surface can stain it. This is actually my first time remembering to unplug stuff, so don’t feel bad.
Thanks Carrie – Careful Cents.