13 Things I do to Save on Vacation

A late edition for Thursday Thirteen from me today..

I have been very lazy to blog and crazy getting ready for our cruise. So today I want to write about things I did to save for our vacation and things I plan to save during our vacation.

1. Plan vacation during off-peak - I know that not everyone can take their kids out during school year and I'm not at all promoting that. I'm sure my kids would like me to promote that ideas. :) But if your kids are still in Kindergarten like mine, one week before the school break will help a lot. We planned our cruise one week before the end of the school year and was able to save over $500 on the total cruise for a family of 4. The last week of school is pretty much all fun and party. So I don't think they will miss much. Unless you don't want to miss school party.

2. Research about your destination - With the current 21st century information-highway, it's easier than ever to find any information you need from the internet. Heck! You are reading my blog so I'm sure you can google about your destination. Find a forum dedicate to your specific destination. People is really kind out there and they are willing to share their information.

3. Think outside the box - Instead of booking hotel rooms wherever you plan, think about a timeshare rental, a house, or a cabin. Not only you will get a bigger space, you can also cook your own food. A lot of people might argue that they don't want to cook during their vacaion, but pouring cereal to a bowl with milk isn't that hard to do.

4. Power of a group - If you have a group of friends that you think can still be your friends after vacationing together, it might be a good idea to plan a vacation together and share the cost of renting a house.

5. Cruising with Guarantee room - This is a controversial one. So I will just base it on my own opinion. I like booking a cruise with Guarantee room. It's the cheapest room available but you will have a chance of getting upgrade. My first try I get Inside 4G instead of 4A. So even if I don't get a balcony room, I still get a room on the higher deck than if I would have gotten from booking a specific room.

6. Plan ahead and setup your budget - This is pretty new for me. I normally never thought about how much we will spend during our vacation till we saw the credit card statemet. But this time, I have planned everything. Setting up a budget helps me to find a way to save on the unnecessary expenses.

7. Comparison shopping - This goes without saying.. Like every other kinds of purchases, you must comparison shopping to find the best price. But do keep in mind that with traveling and vacations, you have to compare it Apple to Apple. The cheapest one might not be the best one that suit your family situation. So read all the fine prints!

8. Be a Traveler not a Tourist - The reason most of us travel is to see the world, to experience different cultures and people.. So don't be afraid to explore and venture out from the tourist trap. If you want to have American food then eat at home.. you don't need to fly a thousand miles away to eat in McD in Thailand!

9. Using Coupon - Huh? How is it related to vacation you might ask. Using coupon for my grocery shopping has helped me to save on my grocery budget and allow me to add those saving to my vacation fund.

10. Find free things to do - You don't need to do all the tourist stuff when you visit a city or country. With a little research, you will find that there are a lot of free stuffs you can do in each city. Go to the park, enjoy a picnic by the beach, check out the playground or museum and my favorite.. people watching!

11. Don't Procrastinate - This is a tough one for me to adapt to. I normally don't think far enough in advance. After live here long enough, I start to understand the power of advance planning. So if you know where and when you want to go, then put it in motion and start booking it. You normally will get discount for early booking. Unless you can drop everything in a pinch then last minute deal might be your take..

12. Check out your own backyard - Vacation doesn't have to always be about this expensive trip to Europe.. A day trip to a neighboring state or even city can be the best memory your family create. Check out events and make it a weekend trip.

13. Dig out those Mileages - We all have several mileages accumulating that you have never looked at. Well, now it's time to dig them out and see what can you redeem from those mileages. It might help pay for your airline tickets, your car rental or your hotel rooms. Don't let it go stale in your wallet.

So now you have it. My 13 tips to save on your next vacation. What are your tips?

Check out other Thursday Thirteen participants here.

Coming soon to GA Aquarium...

Georgia Aquarium is one of the world largest aquarium and now it will get even bigger! I have been to the Aquarium a few times since we moved here. But one thing that I feel missing from this aquarium is the dolphin show. I guess they must have heard about this via the grapevine because in 2010 the GA Aquarium will be welcoming a new addition to their already large family.

Check out the detail on this announcement here. I don't know about you but I'm excited!!!

Stepping into another whole new world...

We were busy bees this Saturday. Not only we went to Home Deport Kids Workshop, we also went to the outlet mall, Discover Mills Mall. I love this outlet. There are so many great stores but so little time this trip. At this outlet mall, there is one particular that we have never visited, Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World... It's a really a whole new kind of store for us. We don't camp (I'm working on Mr. Rojo everyday on this one). We don't fish. We don't hunt. So everything in Bass Outdoor World doesn't seem to be appealing for us until now. We figured snorkeling is kinda outdoor activity as well. So we went in there to check out some of the snorkeling gears.

I visited Bass in Illinois a really long time ago. The only thing I remembered was we ate Bison burger. Everything else was a blur.. So I was in awe to see this two story waterfall in the middle of the store with Moose and Mountain Lion there. It was neat!!! And we didn't even half way into the store yet. I can tell that this will be a fun store for the kids to just walk around and check out stuff. It seems to me that there are way more gadgets than in Circuit City.

Towards the end of the store, there is a freshwater fish aquarium with native Georgia fish. It was really neat for the kids to see the fish in the tank. We enjoyed watching different kind of fish swimming by and trying to identify what kind of fish he is. It wasn't that hard because they have a sign with picture and fish name. It was fun and educational at the same time.

We got to follow the fossil footprints around the store and discover different type of animals displayed all over the store. We would have spent more time there if we didn't have to rush home for a potluck. So I'm sure that we will be going back there soon.

Handyman in a making...

This past Saturday we took the kids to Home Depot Kids Workshop. It's a great free activity that we just recently decided to give a try. I have heard about this workshop for a while but never managed to wake up in time or to remember to get there since it's only offered once a month on the first Saturday of the month. This time around, I made sure to put it on my calendar!

We got there around 9:30am and it already looked pretty busy. The entry was fairly simple. We registered at the check-in table and then they supplied the kiddie apron (if you don't already have one). Next, we go to any available space on the work bench. The package for the daily project should already be at the table with the tools needed. We were able to squeez in the last 2 seats and started working on our project.

This week project is the flower pencil holder. It's fairly simple even for the home-improvement-challenge like myself... and Mr. Rojo... The wood was already pre-cut and pre-drilled. We just need to put it together with a little glue and a few nails. Mr. Z was doing pretty well hammering it away. Miss J was working with Mr. Rojo and they had fun time together. Then they got to decorate it with stickers. What a fun day to spend our Saturday morning on! In addition to the benefit of it being free, they gave us a certificate after we finished our project and we got a pin to put on our brand new apron.

The pin is perfect for a collector maniac like me. I'm hoping this mania will rub off on at least one of my children. It will change every month so it's another way to entice me... err.. I mean you... to come back month after month. When I look at the pin more closely, I can see that the picture reflects the project that was built that month. What a neat pin! I think I go a little overboard with my enthusiasm for the pin... Reminder... It's the children's project and pin... not mine... not mine... not my precioussssss...

To check out your local Home Depot time and schedule go here.

Lowe's also has similar program called Lowe's Build and Grow Clinics. I have never made it to Lowe's yet. So I don't know what is the details on their program. But you can check out their schedule here. I hope they offer a precious... err.. I mean pin..

Pizza in a Park

Pizza in a Park on Friday is our family's new ritual. It's Spring time and it's such a nice time to get out and enjoy the great weather. So, we decided to do pizza in a park on Friday. So far, we have been going to Windermere Park. A close second, is Central Park in Cumming,GA.

It's a small park but it has everything we need. It has fenced-in dog park area and a big field with bike and jogging trails. Next to the doggie area, there is also a small playground for the little ones to run wild and burn off their energy. Afterwards, we hit the bike trail around the field for a couple rounds. Perfect for a Friday evening to help the kiddies and us have a nice restful sleep.

The park also has a small creek. I'm sure they will have fun playing in there when we allow them. But not now.. It's too much work for me if they get wet and messy. One step at a time.. :)

Underwater Camera

For our cruise, I have planned a couple excursions at the ports of call. Since we will be going to the Carribean, it is logical to have a good chunck of water activities. One of those activities is snorkeling. Then, it occurred to me that we don't have an underwater camera. I don’t plan to be a professional photographer for National Geographic magazine.. But I would still like to have the ability to take some pictures underwater while we are swimming with the Stingrays.

So I started searching for our options. Basically, you can go two ways. One is to get a waterproof housing to protect our current digital camera. Now with this option, there are a cheap way and a right way. The cheap way is universal waterproof case. For less than $30 you can get a DiCAPac WP-500 Underwater Waterproof Digital Camera Housing Case. I have never used one but I have read a lot of horror stories about it. Plus, Mr. Rojo said.. why don't we just use the Ziploc if we are gonna buy this! Point taken.. Next!

Next option for the housing is to buy brand specific housing that make for your camera. For our case, Sony has a Marine pack for our camera. But... yes.. there is a 'but'. Ready.. Sony MPKTHE Marine Pack for the DSC-T Series Digital Cameras costs $199.. Ouch!!! With that much money I think I'm better off buying a new digital camera. Plus, Mr. Rojo said it didn’t actually list the model of our camera.

Hence, we moved on to our 2nd option. Getting a waterproof digital camera. There are several choices to pick from. I started to feel overwhelmed. But we have narrowed down our choices quickly by budget.

The first choice is Olympus Stylus 850SW 8MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Silver) for the price range around $260-270. It's a better alternative than a Sony Marine pack. The nice thing about the Olympus is that it allows video recording for a wee bit of 10 seconds.. Hey.. 10 seconds is a good chunk of time underwater I might say. :) Also this won't be a choice for a serious diver. It will only go up to 10 feet deep. But for us, we just want something for the snorkeling. I mean if Mr. Rojo decides he wants to take up on Scuba diving then I will be happy to oblige to a better camera.. shhhhhh

The second choice is actually another Olympus. Olympus Stylus 1030SW 10.1MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Wide Angle Zoom (Silver) has bigger resolution and can go down deeper. With slightly higher price, I am still thinking about it. So it's the tough decision that needs to be made soon. We are running out of time if we want to order it online.. By the way… This is the camera that Mr. Rojo is jockeying for. I guess this is his way of buying a high tech device for the trip. And no Mr. Rojo, you still can’t get those high tech infrared goggles…