Vacation! You need it- and you can probably afford it! :)

Well, it's been about a month since the kids have been on summer break and at least that long since I have gotten a break to blog!!! What have we been up to at the Sanderson home? Well, trying to keep 4 kids entertained and from killing each other is no easy feat! I have employed Cecelia and Emily for the summer- in return they get a few outings a week and what  they are looking forward to the most- a summer trip! This has turned into a win-win for everyone. It keeps them from being bored, it helps me stay on top of the business and house, and we all get to go on field trips every week! :)


If you live here in Arizona, it is HOT! We all want to get out of town but I keep hearing the same thing- we can't afford a trip this year! If you actually can't afford that little break I can totally understand and we too have postponed a few family trips in order to "get ahead" but if you have a few dollars to spare here are a few tips for making that trip affordable!

Stay-cation!- We went camping about a month ago and it's amazing what a difference that 2 hours out of town makes! Temperature changes, change of scenery, and I have to say that camping- even though I am not an "out-doorsy" girl was the most inexpensive trip I have ever taken my family on! If you don't want to "rough" it just hit some cooler temps and get an inexpensive hotel.

Hotels, hotels, hotels- For any trip, your biggest expense will probably be your hotel- but it doesn't have to be! Sites like  hotels.com, priceline.com, hotwire.com (one of my favorites), expedia.com, and many many others have made staying at that hotel pretty inexpensive! Tips: 1. I had always heard to book well in advance, on our last trip I did the opposite and  waited to the last second and scored amazing deals! Our 2 star rooms ended up at about $30-$40 per night (unless you're on your honey moon, you probably wouldn't be in there much anyways)!  2. Make sure there are no extra fees!  When we stayed in San Fransico and San Diego we had to pay an addition $25/night in parking fees! We now call ahead of time and confirm that there will be no additional fees.

Food- Learn to love the complimentary breakfast! These usually consist of bagels, pastries, cereal, waffles, eggs, and juice, coffee, milk, etc. not all hotels offer this. When you have a family of 7, this saves you about $80/ day for the same food you would be getting at Denny's!  Pack food! Not only will this be better for your waistline, packing sandwiches and other to-go food and snack can save you $$ from eating out all of the time! So with breakfast and lunch out of the way- and a little healthier, you can afford to splurge a little on dinner!

Buy tickets online- for your favorite attractions, buying ahead can usually save you a good amount of cash. Extra tip: you can usually find coupons on ebay.com for some extra savings! Yes, eBay really does sell pretty much everything! Also, check your current memberships- you may be able to get free or discounted admissions with them. For example: Our science center membership allows us into museums and science centers in every state for free!

Don't forget to fuel up with your gas points rewards, which by the way now has us paying only $40 to fill up BOTH cars! (Kroger's upped their gasoline promotion to $2 per gallon, AWESOME)!


Hope this helps get you out of town and keeps you from going CRAZY with all of the kids at home! Have FUN! :)