This trip to San Francisco has been a dream trip of mine. I have been planning this trip since Binks first went to San Francisco and said he wanted to move there eventually. That was 3 years ago.
Just like my wedding, all dreams come with a price, and this girl has to budget her dreams. I’ll be gone from May 12th – May 18th and that means a lot of hotels, a lot of eating out, a lot of gas, a lot of excursions and a lot of miscellaneous.
Tip 1: Save on hotels.
During this trip, I’ll stay at 4 hotels. In total, I have paid $120. How? Well, when I had my dream wedding (at a Marriott), I accumulated a lot of rewards points that I used up for this vacation. Every hotel night has been ‘paid for’ by my Marriott points. The only hotel I have paid for is my hotel at Monterey.
And, I used Priceline for that. Priceline is my best friend when I don’t have points saved up.
Tip 2: Book hotels that offer free breakfasts.
Especially when breakfasts include delicious oatmeal with toppings for a waffle bar. I loved this bowl with some chocolate chips, strawberry sauce, walnuts and a banana. Delicious!!
Tip 3: Balance overspending with left over breakfast.
That title makes no sense. I know. On day 1, we ate out for breakfast (at the airport), lunch (Boudin), and dinner (Firenze at Night). We spent more than we expected to spend.
So, in an attempt to balance out that damage to the wallet, I made some lunch with breakfast items. Meet my lunch for Day 2.
My favorite sandwich – the pb&j, with half a muffin that I shared with Binks.
Tip 4: Pack snacks.
Tip 5: Take advantage of natural (free) sights to see.
Meet my close encounter with death – the Twin Peaks.
I climbed up one and thought, I’m going to die – either of loss of breath or the wind blowing me onto the road below. But, just looking at the second Twin made me think, I had to conquer that beast. Once, I did, the view was worth a million bucks.
Mind you, we splurge on things here and there, but it’s all about the balance to ensure that we aren’t left with nothing when we get back to reality.
What do you do to save money on trips? What do you splurge on?
OliePants 