financial reflections

As the summer winds down, I thought it might be prudent to post the things I’ve learned about taking a vacation.  I’ve battled with the decision to take one at all, as I am taking what I can to eliminate credit card debt.  I worked with my wife to come up with a plan that will let us get away - without putting us further in the hole.

In the process, I’ve come up with a few things to help me travel a little lighter - at least in the amount of cash I have to carry:

• Save in advance - This should be common sense, but I’ve seen too many ads offering easy credit for vacations (such as home equity loans or credit card cash advance checks), to think that no one’s taking them up on the offer.  This time I’ve saved in advance.  A friend sent me an email that said a family might save up to 5% of its income for vacation.  That seemed like a lot, but given the way prices are, maybe it’s not out of line.
• Driving vs. Flying - This really depends on the situation.  In my case, it would cost me more to fly than I’d spend on gas and a hotel - even with rising gas prices.  Not to mention the fact that I’d have to rent a car at my destination.  Then again, my desination isn’t that far.  People traveling overseas are strongly encouraged to fly instead of drive
• Plan Ahead - On another trip, I was stuck paying twice what I expected for a hotel bill.  When I asked why the cost was so high, I found out that a sporting event was in town that weekend, so demand for hotel space was high.  With a little planning, I could have avoided staying in that city and saved some cash.
• Vacation with friends - This really depends on how good of friends you are, but my family shared a beach house for a week (and stayed friends).  It effectively cut the cost in half for everyone and we had a blast.

Those have worked wonders for me, and I know you have a few of your own.  Please post them below, and may all your vacations be as fun as they are frugal.