Monday, May 21, 2012

Vacation on the ultra cheap


This has been a year of low funds for us.  My hubby only works part time (in retail, that’s generally all you get unless you’re management), and we haven’t been able to set aside money for vacation like we want due to high gasoline and food prices.  We reserved our hotel back in February when I got my bonus, however, so the hotel room is already paid for.

This year, we’re really going to be penny pinching.  Some would say, “Why even go on vacation if you don’t have a lot of money to spend?”   If you’ve ever been to Branson, you know the sense of peace that comes from visiting the Ozarks.  As soon as I see that first bald (right before you get to Eureka), my spirits start to lift and the tenseness that I’ve been feeling starts to dissipate.  Branson is my happy place, and I need that feeling of serenity this year more than ever. So I thought I’d pass along some tips to vacation on the ultra cheap.

Road trippin’

One of our biggest expenses will be gasoline.  We live in Illinois, which is one of the most expensive places to buy gas in the country.  We are going to put just enough in the tank to get us over the state line into Missouri and to a gas station off of Hwy. 44, then fill our tank for the rest of the trip.  Gas is .20 a gallon cheaper in Missouri.  We also drive a 4 cylinder vehicle, so we have great highway gas mileage.  We will probably top off the tank in Ozark, which is about halfway down Hwy. 65 from Springfield, and that will give us enough gas until we leave to go home. We will also use the air conditioning at highway speeds, since that’s more gas efficient than opening the windows.  Gasbuddy.com is a great place to look to see who has the cheapest prices on gas.

We will bring snacks, soda and water in a soft sided cooler for the road trip.  Snacks and sodas at rest stops or gas stations are expensive.  We will use fast food coupons for lunch and refill our sodas before we leave the restaurant.

Shows

Another big expense is going to shows.  I found a great deal for Jim Stafford for $16.00 a ticket on bigriverbargains.com. Big River Bargains also has ticket deals right now for most of the shows at Grand Country Music Hall as well as Kirby Van Burch and Doug Gabriel. When you have vouchers from Big River Bargains, radio stations or HalfOffDeals.com, you purchase the voucher, then call the theater to make your reservation.  You have to tell them that you have radio station vouchers.  You then exchange the vouchers at the ticket office for your tickets.  For the other shows we want to see, we will go to Branson 2 for 1 Tickets. You can purchase 2 tickets for the price of 1.  Since we will need 3 tickets, they will give us the third ticket for half price.  We will have to wait until we get to Branson to purchase our tickets, since they don’t do business over the phone or on the Internet.  You can view the available shows on their web site, however.

Some shows offer a family pass, which allows 2 adults and all or a certain number of children under age 18 for one price.  Check the web site of the show you want to attend to see if they offer this discount.  This is a great discount if you have more than one child in your family.  There are good show discounts in the Branson VIP coupon book and the Branson Guest Card as well.  

Some theaters will you give you discounts to another show at the same theater with your ticket stub.  They will announce this from the stage either before or after the show or during intermission. Some ticket stubs have discounts on the back, so take a look before you throw it away. Save money by not purchasing snacks or souvenirs at the show, no matter how much your kids beg you.  

Food, glorious food

Food is another big expense.  We are staying in a motel with a breakfast buffet, so that meal is covered.  We are saving up all of our fast food coupons to take with us, since Branson has a variety of fast food restaurants.  Our hotel room has a refrigerator, so we will bring lunch meat, cheese and buns to make sandwiches for lunch.  We will also bring a bag of chips.  For a special treat, we will probably purchase a $20.00 voucher (which will get us $40.00 of food) from HalfOffDeals.com for Montana Mike’s or Hard Luck Diner. Another tip – when visiting restaurants, get only water.  Some restaurants will charge up to $2.00 for a soda or tea.  If the water needs a kick, ask for a slice of lemon or lime. Water is better for you anyway. If you must have soda, keep some in the refrigerator in your hotel room.
ChC
Cheap fun in the summertime (or anytime)

I found activities for the daytime that are super cheap or free.  We will spend one day looking at the shops on Branson Landing.  We will then walk through old downtown Branson and look at all the stores.  The Branson Centennial Museum has free admission.  Another day will be the great outdoors day.  We will visit the new Dewey Short Visitors’ Center and the Shepherd of the Hills Trout Hatchery (the only cost there is to feed the fish), then maybe hike at Table Rock State Park and visit the Henning Scenic Overlook. We will take a drive down Indian Point Road to see Table Rock Lake.  

Miscellaneous tips

The AquaPlex at the Branson RecPlex is a cheaper alternative to White Water.  There may not be any water slides, but there’s lots of water and you can bring your own food.  Check out the racks in the lobby of your hotels for books such as the Sunny Day Guide, Best Read Guide, Travelhost and Taste of Branson.  Taste of Branson has some nice coupons for local restaurants.  Make sure you check the expiration dates of the coupons. 

Some of you are thinking, why go to all this trouble just to go on vacation?  To some people (like me), it’s a necessity to cut corners in order to go at all.  To some people, it’s a challenge to see how much money they can save.  But I think everyone needs that refreshing once-a-year break from our everyday activities.

That's all for now!  Than ks for reading! See you next time!

Diane