This is how I enjoy a ‘Ladies’ Weekend’ on the cheap.
| She Said | He Said |
| I have to give credit to Jack for my ability to take a ‘Ladies’ Weekend’ for many reasons. Firstly, he schedules to be in town so I can leave on a Thursday. Secondly, he takes over total parenting while I’m gone – I leave a list so the animals get fed (no, not the kids) and the kids get to whatever event they may have in my absence. Lastly, he uses his hard-earned airline and hotel points so I can go with minimal cost. We really try to save our pennies – so I usually go thru periods of guilt that I’m meeting my high school best friend in Florida for 4 days. It makes me feel less guilty by doing it on the cheap.
This will be our third year getting away for a weekend of things girls love best – good food, shopping and chit-chat. After the first year – I came home and tallied my receipts and was shocked to realize how much I spent. This was before I tried to vacation on the cheap. So, last year Jack shared his points with me, but I still needed to pay for the car rental. I used my Rewards points to purchase gift cards for restaurants (that I knew we would frequent) and American Express gift cards to shop. I only shop once a year for myself and wait to do it at the outlets with my friend. Half of the fun of our vacation is being able to shop together – since we live 800 miles apart. Last year, we didn’t even hit the beach or hotel pool. We walked around, played putt-putt, shopped, ate and watched chick flicks in our room. It was a relaxing, glorious time – I highly recommend it! When I came home last year, I tallied my receipts and realized I still spent more than I thought – even with $250 in gift cards. So, this time, I am challenging myself to spend less than $50 cash. I’ll still have to pay for the car, but I plan to use more gift cards for the restaurants we know we love - P.F. Chang’s and The Melting Pot. Not to be selfish, but I’ve decided to not buy for the family – I didn’t take that into consideration last year and spent over $100 on them. So unless I see something that totally ’speaks to me’, I’ll refrain. How do you shop or vacation on the cheap? I need all the ideas I can get. This is my one big ’splurge’ of the year, but I’m striving to do it as economically as possible. Or, am I wrong for taking the time to go away without the family? Share your thoughts. |
Based on the topic I’m not even sure I should write other to say…
Jill, it is your weekend for a reason. You spend the whole year working 24/7 and this is about the only time you have to not only sit and eat bon bons if you want but you are not even on call! The recession has impacted almost everyone and we certainly were not immune. We have taken a number of steps to reign in spending to ensure we continue to accumulate more savings and whittle away at the mortgage. In the past I always associated the term frugal with the word cheap. However I have come to learn they mean very different things indeed. Frugal is the efficient use of your resources, it is making sure you get as much value as possible out of your time, effort or energy. Today I am proud to consider that we have become frugal. We are making sound monetary choices and have reduced significantly the amount of money that we waste. The purpose of all this effort is not just so we can pile money in the bank (though I have no objection to this!). The purpose of frugality is so that we can accumulate wealth over time. It is with this wealth that we are able to afford to do the things that are really important to us. Jill, you have done a great deal to help us achieve our goals! If you want to splurge some while on vacation, please do. |
Readers: While it may come across that Jack has provided an open checkbook, we all know there are limitations. There always are and should be. But these limits can be stretched. The more effectively the vacation money can be spent the farther it can be stretched. If you have any suggestion please make a comment below!
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