Liquid Budgeting

      There are a lot of liquids that we have no control over.  At home, it's what we are charged by the water company.  When we are visiting friends or relatives, it may be the temperature of the hot water coming out of the shower head.  The cost of gas is the largest problem when doing the road trip with the kids.  But one thing that we can control is what we spend on drinks when on the road.

      Here is a little money saving tip that you may try.  I prepare for the trip for about the entire month before leaving.  Shopping for bargains on our snacks.  Getting on line in search of discount coupons for attractions.  And I have booked rooms 6 months in advance, but I do double check a few time during the last month prior to departure just in case there are any specials.  There are times that I have cancelled my reservations and re booked for a cheaper price.  BUT - the one thing that I always do is freeze drinks for the trip.

     Check this out - 
     We love the mocha coffee drinks, but when purchased from the grocery store  you are paying at least $1.00 for the little bottle.  Same drink from the truck stop or convenience store, about $2.00.
I made a similar drink, pour into a 16 oz bottle and freeze for a cost of about 30 cents.   I can control the caffeine content and the amount of creamer and flavoring. Plus, I will put it in a plastic container.
     What about the healthy for you juice drinks.  Again, a some what can purchased from the grocery store, in a four pack, will run you at least $1.00 each.  (usually more like $1.25).  Make that purchase when gassing up alone the highway and you will pay $2.00 - $2.50.  Availability is limited.
     And one more time here.  I am always happy when the kids ask for tea instead of soda.  Check the labels on these flavored teas and you may be a bit surprised at the sugar contents.  You can make these same teas right at home.  Weather it is just a basic sun tea, green tea or a tea that you add a tiny bit of real juice to, the home made teas is better for you and better tasting.  And the cost? The 16 oz bottle of home made teas will cost you about a dime.  Add a little bit of juice and you will get that cost up to 15 cents.  Let's compare cost. Ours -  15 cents or less.  The same size from the grocery store - $1.50 and along the highway you are looking at close to $3.00.

        Putting it simply, by making your own drinks to cover the first few days, you will easily save at least $20 a day for the family of 4, thefirst few days of your trip.  Adds up real quick!

      One more little tip - freeze most of your water, teas and juices (most are freezer compatible) and they will serve as ice for the cooler also.  Again, saving just a bit.  When you freeze your drinks, you will want to loosen your lids to allow for expansion, just like you do the gallon water jugs , that you use to replace block ice in your ice chest.

    

Keeping It Fun

     I'm not saying I do things right, especially when it come to the 'rules' of vacationing with Grandma.  But I do know that it works for me and seems to work for the kids too.

     I believe in letting the kids feel free to act a way that may not be allowed at other times.  This isn't a trip of cheer leaders where you have to be super proper.  This isn't a trip of honor students who are required to maintain their composure at all times.  This is a trip of kids with a grandma who has forgotten to grow up.  So, we let the fun begin as soon as we hit the road.

 

They may yell and holler but this really is sisterly love. 

The Costco bucket of Double Bubble is wonderful.  The years when they were not toting a mouth full of metal, there were bubble contest randomly and sporadically happening through out the trip.  Really, what is the worst thing that could happen?   Gum in the hair - that can get cut out if it doesn't get washed out along the trip.  Gum on the car seat or carpet - a little ice will take most of that out.  And we take precautions from the beginning by having towels on the seats.  The towels have a multitude of uses.  Bubble blowing is just fun. 

And then we have the bellman's cart.   This is a long story but the bottom line is - from the early on trips to the latest trips, the girls found some fun uses for the luggage cart.   Was this proper?  Maybe not but it was fun.  Nobody was in any danger.  Nobody was disturbed.  This became a tradition at the Best Western Sunrise Inn on the harbor in Redondo Beach, California.

And Mo got in on the fun also.  You will meet Mo later.                                                                        And you know what it is like when you get so tired that everything is funny.  That is when you really should be going to sleep, but there is always that kid who just can't settle down.   What do I say?  So what, as long as nobody is ready to strangle her.

So the kids play and fight and play more and joke around and have fun.  You may ask what this has to do with a budget - well I guess it doesn't.  It's just what I consider an important part of a good trip.  If a kid can't be a kid when they are young, they may end up like me; looking for the fun of childhood at the age of 60.

    

Hidden Bargins at Sea World San Diego

     There's just no trip to an amusement park that is easy on the bank account.  It is not something that is high on my list when it comes to the bargain vacation with this Grandma.  But, I did take two of my grandson's to Sea World San Diego a few years ago and we really got a bang for our buck.  Today some of the deals have changed and are not as good as the ones we took advantage of, but there are still some bargains to be had.

     We planned the trip late in the summer, just before school started so many of the families had gotten their vacations out of the way and were in the 'planning for school' stage of their summer.
This helped with the hotel more than anything.  We generally stay at the Days Hotel, park of the Wyndham group, but that will be another story.

     The park itself had the biggest savings options.  If you make your trip in the later half of the year, you can get a membership for the remainder of the year at a discount rate.  Watch for the extras, they are vitally important when it comes to parking and in park discounts.  Take a look at the description below - this is the chart for 2012.

 

No matter how many people are in your group, one person should have a membership that includes the parking and gets you the discounts at stores and food.   Parking alone is $10 each time you enter.  Food discounts?  You are allowed to bring in sealed bottled water into the park.  If you call ahead, you may find that you can bring in small snacks.  The rule that says no food allowed seems to change periodically.  A 10% discount on food adds up pretty quick.  But, don't buy the more expensive membership when only one in the party needs that discounts.

     You can leave the park and re-enter with a stamped hand for no extra charge.  An ice chest in the car will make for a nice picnic in the grassy shade at the entrance area.  A meal in the park may be fun and entertaining but after the first, it is just down right expensive.  

      So here is your example for entrance - for a family of 2 adults and 2 children.

Regular admission for one day 

     2 adults @ $78                                  $ 156

     2 kids  @  $ 70                                     140

     parking                                                    10

total just to get in the park                    $ 306

Now for Grandma's budget plan

     first - buy on line for the best prices (they can change so check)

      2 Single day adult @ $63                 $ 126

      1 Single day child  @ $55                      55

      1 Silver Membership $130                   130

                                                               $ 311

Do you look at this and see that the amount is slightly more?  Well, by purchasing a child's silver membership, you get your unlimited parking and 10% off of all food and merchandise, plus discounts on tours.  Checking the web site is so important since FunCard prices drop as the end of the year approach.  

One more very important note -

If you are a little short on cash to start out here, you can purchase you Membership for $24.95 up front and a monthly amount of $9.94 will be taken from your account til the amount is paid off.  

This plan would make you initial entrance cost $ 205.95

This may sound confusing but when you get on the official Sea World site, it makes much more sense.  

 Shamu Show • Believe

 Blue Horizons Dolphin Show Sea World San Diego 

 Shamu Believe (Full Show) at SeaWorld San Diego

Individual Organization

     Quick tip here for keeping each child, teen and even adult, organized.  It will also aid in a stress-less trip, especially when traveling with numerous kids.

     This little tote cost about $3.  The size you buy will depend on your needs but do get the smallest one that will be suitable to help save space.  Also, plan on adding a few things to the tote as the trip goes on.  You may be asking - What will each person put in this tote?  Think about.  Cell phone, camera, batteries, lip balm, sunscreen, hair brush, dental wax (yeah - we have traveled with those painful braces) wallet, loose change, cds, jewelry, prescription bottles, binkies, flash lights, sunglasses - do I need to go on?   Everything that would end up falling out the car door at that quicky potty break or the items that you want to have close by and not have to be searching under the seats for, especially in the dark.  They can easily be carried into a hotel room in one hand.  Kids love to decorate them to fit their style. And - you can use them year after year.

     Best part - each person, young and old, is responsible for keeping their own items in their own tote. 

     How will this save you money and help on the budget?  Each person will be able to look at their supplies before leaving and know they have their needs.  You won't have to replace the chap stick that got lost under the seat or the hair brush that is mixed in with some buried dirty close bag, or replace sunglasses that a big foot came in contact with, and heaven forbid you have to replace a prescription that got accidentally tossed into the fast food garbage bag.  The prescription alone would pay for many totes. 

Totes Are The Answer

     When traveling with Grandma, totes are the answer to so many things.  I sort snacks from drinks and breads from can goods and, the most important, I keep the wet and sandy clothing separate from the dry items. 

     I am in the swimwear business so my grand daughters bring along a lot of suits and cover-ups.  And then we have beach towels and sheets to spread on the sand, and the list goes on and on.  Who wants to be putting on a clean dry suit and find it full of sand and little crabs?  Not my girls!

     Here is the solution that works for me.

       We load up all of our suits, towels and sheets in a nice deep tote.  Obviously you can only take what you have room for so adjust accordingly.
     Then, place another tote on top of that one.  Make the top tote the same size but shorter, for space purposes. 
     You're starting out the trip with the top tote almost empty but that works.  What you do want in the top tote is your garbage bags, empty grocery bags, and a few other items that we will talk about at a later time, so you have easy access to them, and you don't mind those being a bit damp at times.
     That's the start.

     Now, here's the plan. 

     You are done on the beach and back at the car.  You really want to get the sand out of all of those places it doesn't belong so the suits just have to come off.  This is especially important if you are hitting the road and going to be in the car for several hours.

     Look what you have here.  A basically empty tote, just waiting for all your wet and sandy items.  You really don't want to bag them up because they will have no chance to start the drying process and will become real stinky, real fast.  Last thing you want in your car or on your body later.

     From the tote, you can either shake then items out and hang them to dry when you have a chance or throw them in a washer.

Wet stuff - under control

How does this help your budget?  Well - in the long run it will save on swimsuits that could be ruined by mildew.  While on the trip - you will have much less laundry to do since many times the wet stuff will dry and be just fine to use again.  Also - you will not have to wash all those items that were never used but messed up from the sandy and wet stuff being thrown together with them.

Tide Pools Are Free Entertainment

     Heading to the beach?  The tides can make all the difference with activities you can plan.  If you are the athletic type and will be doing a little surfing, kayaking or snorkeling, the timing may be important.  If you are a grandma taking the kids to the beach, it is more important than ever.

     The girls do a little surfing and a lot of laying on the beach catching rays but when the tide is way way out there, a whole new activity presents itself.   Tide pools!  Well, much more than just the pools but that is a big part of it.  Mother Nature supplies us with a whole new view of the sea when there is a big low tide.  I actually plan trips around the tides.

       One year I had the girls ready to head out at 4:30 am to hit the perfect conditions.  At La Jolla Cove, in the San Diego area, what is just under the water's surface is amazing.  Low tide means a whole new world to discover.   We human types are not the only ones.  The seldom exposed rocks are host to seal and gulls.  The vegetation is amazing. Tide pools galore.  And the shoreline takes on a whole new look.

     I have my favorite site for checking out the tides here in the United States.  It has always been right on with the info and offers a little extra info also.  The site, Salt Water Tides, is easy to use.  Once you click on the word Tide that is in green, you are on your way.  If you have a little extra time, bounce around a bit to see what else they have to offer.  Below is just a little example of what this site will show you.

Tides for Long Beach, Outer Harbor, Pier A starting with October 16, 2012.

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon
           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

Tu  16      Low   3:45 AM     1.2   6:59 AM    Rise  8:21 AM      0
    16     High   9:55 AM     6.4   6:17 PM     Set  7:12 PM
    16      Low   4:52 PM    -0.8
    16     High  11:03 PM     4.4

W   17      Low   4:22 AM     1.4   7:00 AM    Rise  9:31 AM      2
    17     High  10:35 AM     6.4   6:16 PM     Set  8:05 PM
    17      Low   5:44 PM    -0.7 

Here’s where the budget comes in here.

     We grabbed some fruit, water, juice boxes and yeah – the pop tarts, donuts and jerky, and off we went.  Remember, we are on vacation right now.  We don’t eat badly when we are vacationing.  In fact, the girls all eat really well.  But on these exceptionally early days, we break all eating rules.   We can spend hours on end exploring the rarely open areas.   Thanks to Mother Nature, with the exception of the gas, this recreation is free.  That's a half day without spending a penny.

     

 Can’t get better than that.

Kids and Budgeting

     My grand daughters were pretty young when we first started with our trips.  Our first one, I pretty much played the 'adult' and made a lot of the decisions on what we would be doing and where we would be eating, etc.  By the following year, we made most of the decisions as a group.  Much to my surprise, these pre-teen girls made some really great decisions. 

     We laid out how far we could go with the time we had and figured where to start and end.  How many mile to drive in a day and how that would play out with our beach time.  How many nights do we want to stay in each hotel?  And how many nights will we stay with friends?  They had a way of making it simple.

     Finances were a little different.  I really didn't want them to feel any last minute frustrations because "we can't afford to do that too".  This is how I handled the money and allowed them to have some control also.

     A couple of weeks prior to leaving, I went to my bank and got a bunch of those envelopes that they use for change and cash; small but large enough to hold bills with no problem.  We wrote on each envelope and sorted them out.  Each day had an envelope for food and play. The the trip charted out, so we sorted the money out accordingly.  Would we be spending the entire day at a beach?  Will we be near a neat amusement park?  This planning was fun and helped the girls be involved in decisions from the beginning. 

     Where this became fun for them is when they are the ones who could decide where we eat; or do we want to eat out of the ice chest?  Are we going to sleep in or get down  there and take advantage of the continental breakfast?  Do we want to have some left over money from today and add it to tomorrow and the next day and go out to a nice dinner?   From the very first year, the girls all favored saving their money to go out to a nice dinner.  One of the key factors here is to have plenty of good, fresh snacks, drinks and meal items in the ice chest.    

     The same worked with  the 'play' envelopes.  They could save a little from one day to the next, in anticipation of getting the one of their favorite boardwalks, in Santa Monica, California.  Funny thing was when they went from wanting endless rides to wanting to save the money to go clothes shopping with the left over cash. 

     The sorting of the money, the adding the left overs from one day to the next, it all became an exciting game.  The girls were in their late teens the last year we travelled and we still did the envelope routine.  I would be willing to bet that they will do the same with their children someday.

    One added note here.  I don't advise carrying a lot of cash on trips.  One year that we were gone for a full two weeks, we made our envelopes in advance and about half way through the trip, I went to the bank and pulled out the cash to fill the envelopes.  This is a budget vacation.  We didn't have a lot of spending money or cash. The budget was a necessity for us.   By having a rigid budget, it helped me stick to what we could afford and not go into debt.  Strangest thing is that we never really felt deprived of anything.   
    
 

It Started So Simple

     As much as I enjoy spending time with my grand children, I had never thought about annual vacations.  That all changed in 2003 with a trip with my daughter, her 4 children, and another grand daughter, to San Francisco.  We spent 5 days in the area and then my 3 grand daughters and I head out for a road trip home, leaving my daughter to fly home with her sons.  Sorry boys - this is an all girls trip. 

     We spent 5 days in the San Francisco area as a family, wondering around the Fisherman's Wharf, watching seal, chasing sea gulls, shopping textiles on Haight-Ashbury and just enjoying the sights.  On day 6 it was time to leave my daughter and the two youngest kids, the boys, and take off on our own.  We headed south with our minds set on spending the day on the beaches of Santa Cruz.  At 50 years of age, I had yet to make it to that beach even tho I had dreamed of it for over 30 years.  The girls - they just wanted to play in the sun, sand and on the boardwalk. 

     This was not a 'get to know each other' type of trip.  We had all spent a lot of time together.  We had all lived together at times.  This was all about having fun and discovery.  And that we did.   In this beginning, Tiffany was 12 years old, her sister Robyn was 11 and then there is my other grand daughter Casey, who was also 11 years old.  I will tell you right now that there could not have been a better age to begin this tradition.  They are old enough to know how to be safe, how to listen and mind and they know just how far they can push their grand mother and when to back off and not push my buttons.  Perfect!

                    This is when our 'Life's  A  Beach' began.

       My goal here, with this little blog site, is to share any tips that I have on how to affordable make this type of trip.  Along with some of our experiences and advise on how to handle being in confined quarters with 4 four females.  Yep - as much enjoyment as we got from our trips there were some challenges.  If I said that it was all perfect, you would know I was not a very truthful blogger.  Let me tell you, as the girls got older and the hormones grew stronger, so did some of the challenges.  But, the enjoyment grew also as they were able to be more and more independent.  You will be amazed at how my girls grew over the years of travel.

     Check back for new post that will appear on a regular basis.
Take the 'Life's A Beach' trip through time with us.