Ways to Save on Travel

Well, at midnight we are off to Costa Rica. I was a travel agent for 10 years and hope to pass along a few suggestions to help you save money on travel:

Sometimes packages including air, hotel and transfers are cheaper than an air ticket! It would have cost us more for this trip to buy air only. These work especially well if you plan to travel for 7 or 14 days.

Just because you choose to stay at an all inclusive does not mean you should eat all your meals there. Shocker but some of the best holidays include local restaurants. Set aside a little in your budget for a dinner out. Browsing Tripadvisor.com forums you will be able to find good memorable restaurants in your budget.

Find out departure taxes and fees before you go. Yes, some countries ask for a departure tax. Most are included in the airline taxes, but some like Costa Rica you pay before they let you on the plane home ($26 usd per person)

Consider renting a car for one day. You could end up saving money over buying a local tour that includes transportation. Make sure it is in a country that is reliable to rent in (Costa Rica is). Some countries are financially safe to rent in but you take your life in your hands (Greece comes to mind).

Take some snacks with you - for the plane, airport and to store in your hotel room. You will save loads not buying things at the airport.

Plan ahead, buy things like suntan lotion and bug spray to take with you as often in tourist locales you could be charged double the price.

Make sure no matter what your budget is you read reviews of your hotel before booking at tripadvisor.com. We ended booking a 3 star all inclusive as it is the highest rated and closest to town (versus being in the jungle at a 4 star and no towns within 45 minutes - unless that is the holiday you want).

Pack in your carry on: anything that you would need to survive a week. Ours: swimsuit, 1 pair underwear, extra pair shorts, extra shirt & all medications. I could live for a week without my blowdryer but no bathing suit would wreck my holiday. I always take earplugs just in case the hotel turns out to be noisier than you are used to.

If travelling locally and not flying check the local State or Province tourism bureau for deals on hotels and camping. Make use of any organizations such as CAA you belong too and don't be shy about asking for discounts.

The best package charter deals often occur within two months of travel. Booking further out may guarantee you a spot but not the best price. If you just have to be somewhere on a certain date or a certain hotel then book early so as not to be disappointed.

***Most important tip: Carry appropriate travel insurance, particularly medical if going out of State or Province, even within your own country. I know of someone who had medical issues in Las Vegas and the bill came to $400,000 for twelve days of hospitalization. Fortunately she survived and even better, her travel insurance which she paid $45 ended up paying the ENTIRE bill. Review your policy carefully before purchasing.

Chow for now and back in a week with loads of Costa Rica photos!

Thrifty Tip of The Day - Reheat Repeat

On Sunday night we barbecued two meals in one. Anticipating a busy week we cooked 4 steaks (rare so would taste good on reheat), 4 cobs of corn and 6 baked potatoes done in the oven. Monday we had a repeat dinner that tasted great and was ready in three minutes. Why six potatoes? Hubby is a midnight snacker and has now decided a reheated baked potato is a quick and tasty snack. So the next time you go to prepare a meal think about the re-heat possibilities instead of eating out due to lack of energy or ideas. You could add a salad or prepare a different side dish to mix things up. I don't know about you but leftover barbecued ANYTHING tastes great.

Costa Rica Update: Air Canada Strike is over and Holiday time is on!!

Busy Busy Busy & Crappy Air Canada!

No photos today, barely anytime to blog, what the heck! Life is speeding by.

This week we have been trying to help my mother-in-law move into a rental after selling her house after three years on the market. Finally a buyer who wants to live in rural Alberta. Now to move a 76 year old woman who has never rented in her entire life. Fortunately she has downsized in anticipation of this day but our weekend was spent hand holding and organizing. My local freecycle network will be the recipients of lots of goodies that she keeps cramming in my car. The big move is this weekend and by the time this is all done we will really need our holiday to Costa Rica at the end of June.

Unfortunately, Air Canada's union is threatening strike action with a midnight deadline. I was a travel agent for ten years in a previous career and I have survived several Air Canada strikes, unfortunately in this case my timing was bad. Worst case scenario we rebook in Fall....but darn it I want to take pictures with my new camera of monkeys and buy my new friend over at Happier Than A Billionaire a cocktail in appreciation of her fine writing. I want to have romantic dinners with my hubby and take fabulous photos of sunsets, and rainstorms, and fauna. I do not want to spend my week of vacation in Alberta.

Fingers and toes crossed, we will get our vacation. In the mean time we have one child to graduate from highschool and one mother-in-law to move, all in the next ten days. A simple airline strike is the least of our worries.

My Grebe bird friends(as reported in previous posts) are not yet parents, patiently taking turns (yes, the male Grebe sits on the eggs too) keeping the eggs warm. Every evening we watch shift change, hoping to spot fuzzy little birds instead of eggs. I was very worried during the last rainstorm but Grebe's are hearty birds and have glued themselves to their nest to protect their eggs. Chickens hatch in 21 days on average, Grebe's can take up to 33 days. Once hatched they carry their young on their backs. That ought to be interesting to see. We are at about 25 days and waiting.

The only recent great great bargain in the past 10 days was four litres of milk for 99 cents at Shoppers Drug Mart as it expired in four days time. Handy as I had the whole fam-damly (all six of us)over for spaghetti night to celebrate hubbys birthday and most of the milk was consumed. As I had a huge crew to feed I made an enormous pot of sauce and froze the leftovers for busy evenings to come.

It is hard to live a frugal life when life is travelling so fast. I meant to hit some grocery bargains this weekend but got caught up in hanging blinds which ultimately saved my mother-in-law some money but caused hubby and I to practice our sailer vocabulary for upcoming beach vacation (okay we swore a lot, and she learned some new words too).

Cheers and happy bargain hunting!

May 2011 Coupon and Grocery Tally

Photo: Grebe nest below our house, 3 eggs, waiting for baby Grebes to hatch

Grocery Budget for May 2011 $450.00 plus $35.99 left from April=$485.99
Actual: 475.58! $10.41 carried forward to June.
Coupons used $48.48(year to date $265.48)


No great deals this week. I have been mostly preoccupied with the new Canon Rebel T3i I purchased. Buying this camera is part of the "Getting a life" plan that we are carrying out this year. I have an interest in amateur wildlife photography and needed the right camera to do it. Other than perhaps buying additional lenses this camera should last me 10 years.

The big plan is:

1. Sell our house and move to Vancouver Island summer 2012, house to go on market February or March.

2. Downsize our home in both space and money. Our goal? Bank some money from the sale of the current house. Buy a house with no unused space and a good outdoor area where hubby can putter and I can have a few flowers and grow some good things to eat. Smaller house means lower tax and heating bills. Sell anything that we don't love before we go so we don't have to pay to transport it to another Province. I expect we will be cutting our current possessions in half.

3. Change jobs. This means saving as much money as possible before we go to bank so that when we arrive on island we take a few months off, and then seek work that makes our hearts happy. Sounds crazy but we have planned this for several years and will have the funds to carry us through 3 years with no income if necessary. I hope to be working in the tourism field or maybe a greenhouse. I really can't see shuffling paper and working at a job where I don't make a difference any more.

4. Pursue hobbies and a lifestle that interests us and leave our old workaholic lifestyle behind. Part of this plan includes getting a dog as we will have sufficient time to spend with him. Hubby wants to start to start a consulting company. For me this means exploring my new hobby of photography and endless days exploring the seashore.

Obviously this new life means lower income, but based on always living below our means, paying cash, buying used, and using coupons completely achievable when we have no debt. No, we are not retiring, just finally getting a life.

Sounds pretty nice, doesn't it?

New Amazing Camera

Just a picture today - in the first hour of Canon Rebel T3i camera ownership.

Definitely a case of you get what you pay for. Much better photos!

This bird was flying around the pond behind our house - the Northern Alberta Pelican.