Creating travel memories in the most cost effective way

This week's post is a guest post by my friend and client Kine! Enjoy:)

We often think of vacation as an extravagant, luxury trip; maybe something we saw in a movie. Those types of vacations are great but for most people they are a once in a lifetime thing. Keep those kind of vacations in mind when you have saved enough to do it big.

In the meantime, you should small vacation ideas you can take and not really have to break the bank. 

Check out these 3 easy to find great ideas: 

1)   Hometown Tour - Imagine this…. It’s Friday you have done enough for the day so you decide to leave early; let’s say at 1:00pm. You head home to grab the suitcases you packed last night and you roll by the school to pick-up the kids. The good news is you are going to beat the traffic to your new favorite hotel. The one you booked on Priceline.com. You got a 5 star hotel for 3 star prices because you named your own price. While you were on there you found some tour deals that you just couldn’t pass up.

There is so much you haven’t seen or at least not in years in your great city. There are landmarks, a national park, a wonder of the world and a famous museum that you want to show the children. (If you don’t have children borrow some like I do, people love to rent their children out.) That night you all cozy up on the hotel couch and rent a comedy on the hotel TV. You laugh yourselves to sleep. The next morning, Saturday, it is time to start the “Hometown Tour! Whee! You see the city in a totally different way and now you’re all tired. It is time to order pizza and catch another movie on the hotel television. The next morning there is brunch in the hotel and then it’s check out time. You get home in 30 minutes and you have plenty of time to do laundry for the week.

Average cost for this trip is $500. Tell me you can’t enjoy that?!

2)   Neighboring State - You, like me, live very close to a state line and now your mind is wondering what’s on the other side of that line. You pack some bags on Friday night and you awaken early Saturday to hit the road. Just 2-3 hours later you are already starting your vacation. You check into the hotel and this time instead of doing a Hometown Tour you do a Neighboring State tour. This city has a national park, monuments and museums you have never seen and now it’s time you have. Thanks to the great people at Priceline.com you bid on a hotel room again and you are enjoying another 5 star room and 3 star prices. But wait this time there are no children there is just you and that sexy hot spouse/partner of yours! There is a pier with a variety of restaurants, a concert festival and a local boutique where you both buy each other something nice. Then it is back to that fancy hotel to rock each other’s worlds, not caring what the neighbors are going to think. You will never see them again anyway. (Well maybe you see them at brunch the next morning, but so what, just smile because they are so jealous of you right now.)

There you go, another $500 trip that you won’t forget!

3)   Share a Time Share – This is my favorite! You know your friend that has that time share they never use. Tell them to brush the dust off the brochure and check out the choices. Make it a couple’s trip or a family trip. Rent a condo with several bedrooms, narrow your destination options down and check handy, dandy Priceline.com to see where the better flights are. I can tell you that Mexico, Puerto Rico and Jamaica are usually the most inexpensive. Book it for the next school break or long weekend. Tell the friend you will pay their maintenance fee and you all can buy groceries when you get there. If you don’t have passports find a country that allows you to use ID cards and birth certificates or stay domestic.(Puerto Rico is a U.S. Territory so no passport needed!)  

Depending on the flight deals, for a family of 4 you can do this trip for $1500-2000 tops and it will make great water cooler talk when you get back to the office.

You can go on a luxury vacation you just have to use your resources. Don’t stay at home! Travel and explore your hometown, neighboring state or neighboring country. There is so much to see and do in a lifetime; it’s easy to create memories.  Don’t work so hard that you never get away!

Cost effective travel…Now That’s Presidential!

Kine Corder is a Lifestyle Consultant, Financial Advisor and Author of “The Art of Starting Over: A 30 Day Guide to Creating more Power Peace and Pleasure in Your Personal Life!” Stay in touch with her as she blogs about living the “Presidential Life” at www.kinecorder.com and Twitter @AuthorKine.