Your Money_ The Missing Manual - J. D. Roth [97]
But you don't have to pinch pennies during a staycation. You'll still save money even if you stay in a nice hotel, dine in fancy restaurants, see a show, and take a couple of tours. Because you don't pay any travel costs and you're familiar with the area, your vacation dollars go much further in your own city.
Regardless of how much you choose to spend, here are some tips for enjoying a vacation close to home:
Set a budget. Whether you opt to take the frugal approach or splurge, create a spending plan and stick to it, just like you would on a regular vacation.
Grab a guidebook. Tourist guides contain great info about cheap eats, cool spots, and local history. You can find guidebooks at local bookstores or better yet, borrow one from your public library. If you're a member of AAA, pick one up for free at the local office.
Book a tour. Tours can be a fun way to get to know a city's history and trivia—even if you've lived there all your life. For example, Portland offers walking tours of local microbreweries. What's your city known for?
Be adventurous. Be bold and try new things. If you live near a river, go kayaking. If you live near the mountains, go hiking or skiing.
Chat it up. Talk with the actual tourists. Ask them what they like about the city. Get recommendations for cheap or fun spots to visit. Answer their questions. Talking with tourists is an excellent way to see your surroundings with new eyes.
Be unreachable. Pretend you're vacationing out of town, even if you're still at home: Ignore the phone and don't check email. After all, a vacation is a time to relax and forget the cares of the workaday world—whether you're on a Caribbean cruise or simply walking down Main Street.
Swap houses. Have some like-minded friends? Swap houses for a week (or a weekend). This cheap change of scenery can make you feel like you're in a completely different city. It may also give you insight into neighborhoods you haven't explored.
Mix things up. When you've lived in the same city for 5, 10, or 40 years, you tend to have favorite routes, places, and things to do. A staycation is a chance to explore. While preparing for your vacation, keep a list of things you'd like to see and do. Ask your friends where they take out-of-town visitors. Use the events guide in your local paper to research activities.
Tip
In their book America's Cheapest Family, Steve and Annette Economides suggest using a staycation for a mix of work and play. They write that, in addition to saving money, there's another benefit to taking a hometown vacation: "Completing a home improvement project during a week of vacation may sound illogical, but it can really be a stress reliever."
You can probably have a better time in your own city than you would somewhere hundreds of miles away—and for much, much less.
Cash Is King
Did you notice something about the recommendations in this chapter? In each case, the best way to save money on big things is to save money for them. When you use cash instead of credit to pay for a car or vacation, you can save hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars. All the money you would have otherwise paid in interest goes directly to boosting your cash flow, making it easier to save for retirement—and to pay cash again in the future. So planning ahead and saving for expenses isn't just a great way to get organized—it actually saves money.
In the next chapter, you'll learn ways to save on the biggest expense of all: housing.
Chapter 10. House and Home
"A house is made of brick and mortar, but home is made by the people who live there."
—M.K. Soni
Housing is by far the