Last year, our vacation was completely paid for via credit card, and I was really upset about this. I had a hard time enjoying myself because I was worried about the credit card bill. This year is a little different - we received a little bit of money from the bankruptcy estate of my husband's former employer, so we have the money for the hotel room. I use Swagbucks.com as my Internet search engine, and you are awarded points for performing searches. I used my points to purchase a $25.00 Travelocity.com gift card. This amount was enough to knock the taxes off our hotel bill. I made our hotel reservations for our Branson trip tonight. :)
So how can you get money for your vacation? I suggest not using a credit card to completely pay for a vacation (as per my story above). The only possible exception to this suggestion might be a gasoline credit card. If you don't have a lot of cash just lying around (and who does?), there are a couple of options. Some banks and credit unions offer vacation club plans, which work like Christmas club plans. Or you can start a savings account just for vacation expenses, and divert some of your paycheck to it via direct deposit. My husband saves his pocket change throughout the year and then cashes it in right before vacation. We use this for spending money on the road.
Once you figure out how much you have to spend for your vacation, the real planning begins. How long do you plan to stay in Branson? If you can't afford to stay for a whole week, maybe you can stay 3 or 4 days. Does vacation to you mean no cooking? If so, you can stay in a hotel but you will have to eat at a restaurant for lunch and supper, since most hotels have a free continental breakfast. If you don't mind cooking on vacation, you can stay in a condominium or a resort that has a kitchen where you can cook all your meals. Do you just need a place where you can crash at night or would you like a place with a few amenities so you can spend some time relaxing at the hotel? Another way to save some money is to vacation with other families or with friends. You can split lodging expenses that way.
Another way to save money when you visit Branson is to travel during the "quiet season," which runs from January to March. You will be able to save some serious money if your schedule allows you to vacation during quiet season. But be aware that not all music shows and Silver Dollar City is not open during quiet season.
After you figure out your lodging budget, you will then have to figure out what activities you are going to do while in Branson. Will you want to go see some music shows? Do you want to visit to Silver Dollar City? Do you want to visit any museums or go shopping? What is your budget for food?
When we plan our vacation budget, we find our hotel first. Our family likes hotels with an indoor pool (no need to put on sunscreen before swimming!), a hot tub, a great continental breakfast and free Wi-Fi. We think about the shows we might want to see and where they're located in Branson, and choose a hotel in a location where we won't have to do a lot of driving. There is a lot of traffic in certain areas of Branson, and ways to get around Branson without getting stuck in traffic will be covered in a future post. Once we choose the hotel we want, I then search for bargains. After the hotel reservations are made, I then know how much we'll have to spend for other activities.
Sorry this has been such a long post, but there's a lot to consider when it comes to budgeting for your vacation. Next time, I'll cover just why you would want to visit Branson. Until then -
Happy travels!
Diane
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