M in FL
Savvy consumerism doesn’t have to only be about Internet, grocery and drug store shopping. Sometimes, savvy consumerism can be applied to travel and the family vacation. Let me explain. My husband enjoys major league baseball and has set a plan to visit every major league stadium in the United States. Of course this is going to take several years and we’ve been at it for three years so far. In August 2004, we took a trip to Chicago. From that base of operations, he was able to see the Chicago Cubs (Wrigley Field); the Chicago White Sox (Comiskey Park, Now, US Cellular Field); and a day trip to see the Milwaukee Brewers (Miller Park). We use the Internet a lot before we leave home, investigating many different options for our trip. I enjoy the theatre, local independent restaurants and the shopping scene (both malls and grocery stores, wherever I can coupon). We visit http://www.ustravelguides.com/ to choose the links that are pertinent to our trip. In this case, any state we drive through as well as our destination states to request state maps and the state guidebooks. Frequently, we travel after 5 pm, when the first rest stop welcome center has closed for the night, which means we can’t get the state map on the road. We don’t have AAA so we cannot receive their complimentary maps. But, we do have towing reimbursement privileges with our auto insurance company, so we don’t feel we’re missing out. Further, we don’t have to purchase maps at the bookstore or convenience store, which saves us money. After registering to obtain the state maps and guidebooks, we start to conduct searches on the various search engines like Google and Yahoo to find travel and leisure sites on the cities we’ll spend time in. Some of these are hosted by the local chamber of commerce. By studying these sites before we leave, we have been able to request discount coupon books which we received prior to our trip. Some of the savings we received were Buy 1 Get 1 free admission tickets to theatre, comedy and restaurant attractions. Again, obtaining coupons which will save us money on the attractions. We obtained coupons for Buy 1 Get 1 free admission into the Chicago Institute of Art, as well as the Second City Comedy Revue and the Frank Lloyd Wright Robie House tour, among others. You could purchase recognized travel books at your local bookstore, or similarly check out the available editions from your local library, but frequently the information is out of date by the time the book reached the printing press. We also try to obtain that city’s magazine at our local, but national chain bookstore, like Barnes & Noble or Borders. Some of these magazines also feature coupons for restaurants, but also include theatre, culture and sporting events. We found a coupon for Buy 1 dinner, get one free at a restaurant two blocks from the Second City Comedy Revue. We didn’t even have to purchase a Entertainment Book. Some major US cities feature day of performance ticket sales for popular theatre attractions like plays and musicals. Be sure to check the times that these day of performance ticket sales offices are open and where they are located. It is not a great deal if you miss other attractions or visit when the office is closed. But some of the day of performance tickets are half price. We scan the discount hotel websites and Internet User bulletin boards to learn which hotels in our destination may offer a great deal before securing a reservation. By using one such bulletin board, we were able to obtain a room rate of $59 per night, including breakfast buffet, where the telephone and actual hotel site price were $129 per night. As a result, we only had to pay for lunches, dinners and snacks. The two prior Sundays before we leave, we also return to the same book stores to purchase that city’s Sunday newspaper. Some of the chain restaurants in our destination city, are not available to us in our hometown. For example, we do not have a local Sweet Tomatoes or Perkins, but like their food and convenience. When we obtain the Sunday paper for our destination city, there are chain type restaurant coupons that are good for our destination. Again, saving us money. We may even try to purchase the Friday (weekend) newspaper, which may also include coupons and local events that we can plan for before we leave home. Some of the large city newspapers feature a weekend section. These publications are terrific. Easy to carry in a car or your purse or backpack and include information on local cultural festivals. The last time we visited Chicago we learned about the German Festival, from reading their local weekend section of the newspaper. Instead of going to an expensive restaurant, we visited the festival and sampled foods from local vendors. We spent no more than $15 on food that would have cost at least $30 or more in a restaurant. We did not have to spend money on a tip and got a chance to see more local life. A few days prior to our trip, I begin to review the national gasoline price websites. You can actually visit these websites to learn about the median price in your destination area and if you want to study them for several weeks, you can learn which locations are known to have the least expensive gasoline prices near your sleeping accommodations. I always bring my coupons when we travel by car. We have a collapsible cooler that we can keep sodas, fruit and snacks in. I browse the Refund Cents website before we leave to learn what grocery stores will double coupons (or not) and make sure that I have coupons with me to apply to snacks and refreshments. Again, saving us money. Unless the baseball game features highly ranked teams, we purchase tickets at the stadium either right before the game, or earlier if it fits into our travel plans. We can avoid the ticket seller add on fees for purchasing by phone or over the Internet. By visiting the team websites, we learned which stadiums allow you to bring your own snacks and refreshments into the stadium. There’s no savings if you have to discard your snacks before you enter. Some of the requirements include sealed drinks in a plastic container and bags that the attendants will search. We also learned that one of the large chain grocery stores offered a package of subway tickets for slightly less than purchasing the tickets individually. Further, the subway system offered a day tourist pass for a flat rate, so that no matter how many times you used the transportation system, you only reinserted your flat rate card and did not have to purchase further transportation tickets. You can visit your destination’s metro travel system’s website to learn if they feature this option in your destination city. Some of the obvious ways we save money during our vacations include, bringing our own snacks, gum, candy, playing cards, a nightlight, pocket flashlight, disposable rain ponchos (purchased from the dollar store to carry just in case); sun block, disposable cameras, film, digital camera cards or anything else that we might have to purchase away from home. By making lists before we leave, we are able to look for sales plus coupons, plus rebates that will reduce our out of pocket expenses and the time spent having to make a stop for sun block, etc. We also checked with our cellular telephone company to obtain a national calling plan. This way we used our own minutes on our own cell phone and free calls after a certain hour during the week and free on the weekends to make calls while in our destination for restaurant reservations, directions to events, calling home, etc. This avoided the operator assisted surcharge, hotel charge and per minute charge that so many hotel phone calls include. I don’t recall using the hotel room phone for any reason. Further, we avoided making long distance calling card calls on pay phones, which also include very expensive interstate operator assisted surcharges and per minute rates. You see, the calling card you obtain from your local or long distance service at your home, only includes a promise to pay with your local or long distance billing statement. It does NOT include a particular rate for using those pay phones or per minute charges on someone else’s phone, unless you have instructions to dial a very intricate pattern. Even then, interstate calls will feature that operator assisted surcharge from your calling card company for using the calling card. And if you prefer this option, make sure you even have a discount calling card plan before you leave your home. That 3 minute call to check on your children could cost you between $10 and $40! I’ve often said that ‘everything you want to know is on the Internet.’ It is really a true statement. So much in terms of popular attractions, maps, hotels, restaurants, shopping and sporting event information is available to you before you even leave your hometown that it would be a disservice not to investigate them. By doing your homework, you are able to spend your time sightseeing and enjoying the local culture you encounter versus spending your time trying to read the guidebooks before you leave your own home. Our last 9 day trip from Florida to Chicago and back to Florida, cost us $1,307.00, including gas, lodging, food, entertainment, shopping and 3 baseball games for two people. We did use our own car, but saved from having to rent a vehicle or purchase airline tickets, and had a car at our disposal any time we preferred. I’m sure you have your own methods to save money while traveling, but I thought I’d share some of our experiences. M in FL