San Diego Trip

Our San Diego trip was great. It was a super long drive (we averaged 11 hours each way!) but the girls did great and we loved seeing our relatives.

We stayed at the Doubletree Club in San Diego (Hotel Circle). We got a family suite (a hotel room with a king bed and a separate room with a bunkbed for the kids). I booked the hotel on hotels.com (going through ebates for 3% back) and I sent in my rebate for $20 for staying at least 3 nights.

We saved money by eating breakfast in our room. I brought a box of cereal, some hostess donuts, some muffins that I made, and I bought some milk and juice when we got down there. One morning we went to my in-laws and ate breakfast there. We used paper cups, plates, and utensils.

We didn't eat out very much, except for when we were on the road. We were lucky to have lunches and dinners with family and friends most of the time. Otherwise, we ate some snacks that I had packed and/or bought when we got into town.

When we did order out, if I could split the kids' meals, I did. This kept the cost down. Those kids' meals are expensive! In fact, the morning we drove home, we stopped at McDonald's for breakfast. I ordered one order of pancakes, which had three pancakes: one for each girl. : )

One thing that helped keep our kids (and us!) sane on this trip was the Disney Songs and Story CD's. They have 5 songs from a Disney movie and then a narration of the story (about 10 to 15 minutes). It really kept my kids' attention. We didn't use videos, which I was really happy about, too. The CD's come in lots of the Disney movies and you can get them on Amazon or half.com (which is where I bought mine).

Cash Envelope Experiment Update: June Report

According to our Microsoft Money software, I was under our grocery budget by $22.49, which is really great. It's actually more than that because I have a little bit of cash in my wallet that I'll use next month, so it will all filter through in the end.

I attribute my success to the cash envelope experiment. I wrote down each receipt total and then would take the "cash" out of my envelope so that I could actually see how much I had left. I always rounded up, so I think I saved around $3 in spare change alone.

Most importantly, I had to weigh my purchases more carefully: do I really need this? If I buy this, then I won't have enough money to buy that...is that okay? What's the best way to stretch my money this week/trip/etc.? Don't assume that it was time consuming because it wasn't. It was just a little reminder every few days that someone is watching you. (In a good way, of course.)

I don't quite feel ready to move on to real cash only...yet. I like my credit card rewards (especially at Costco) and the ease of swiping a card when you have three crowing birds in your shopping cart really cannot be overstated.

At the outset of this experiment, I said that I would put whatever was leftover from my grocery budget into my European Tour Fund. Husband is not convinced of this idea. We do have miscellaneous expenses that crop up (like dance class or other things that you don't necessarily budget for) and my scrimping equals a little more saving in other departments, so that's fine with me.

Don't worry: I've still got some tricks up my sleeve to infuse some cash into my fund.

I am really excited to get into July's budget and start saving away. I just need to sort out my Monopoly money first.

Places to take the Kids: Vacation Edition

Husband and I are planning a vacation for our little family. Actually, we have two trips planned and I'm excited to report back to you when we return. One is a short visit to Sacramento (we'll be going with some of my siblings, their families, and my parents) and the other is a trip to Napa. Since my babes are still really little, I'm trying to find some ideas for places to go, things to see, and places to eat.

I'm putting out a call for Vacation Ideas with kids, espcially in the Bay Area. What are some fun things to do while vacationing in this great state of California? We are so lucky to have so many wonderful things nearby: mountains/camping, beaches, wine country, urban life, etc. Frugal/inexpensive ideas would be great!