I've been on vacation the past week, and if I do say so myself (which I DO!), I very successfully cheapskated my way through it.
It started with airfare. The roundtrip flight was $179 but I used a $100 credit from Travelocity to get the cost down to a reasonable $79.
Then I met up with friends who had a timeshare at Lake Tahoe. I know what a bad investment timeshares are, but I'm not at all adverse to using those owned by my less financially savvy friends. (To be fair, this particular friend's family has owned the timeshare for over 15 years and use it a lot, so maybe it wasn't a bad investment for them.) The timeshare was at a resort that provided unlimited use of various spas, hot tubs, pools, and tennis courts. It also provided two free movies per day and "get acquainted" Margarita nights.
Since there were six of us, and we had a kitchen, my share of the food bill (which included copius amounts of Ben & Jerry's, and Mike's Hard Lemonade) came to $37.00. Plus the guys got into a grilling competition so we primarily ate dinners in. (Feed me good food, and I'll willingly do the dishes!)
For the most part, I hung around the hot tubs and pools, read books I'd brought from the library, and once, for $20 and 45 minutes, went to a casino. I apparently don't have what it takes to become a gambler--I thought the slot machines were silly (i.e. took no skill beyond pushing a button and watching the pictures roll), and Blackjack, boring.
But having a week away from home and office was, indeed, priceless.
Okay, not exactly priceless, but spending less than $300 for 8 days constitutes a true cheapskate vacation in my book!
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7 comments:
I'm with you, I'm not opposed to being the beneficiary of other peoples' time-share investments. I'm currently at a beautiful one with friends in Las Vegas.
Sounds fun! Good for you!
That is definitely the way to vacation!!! I love going with a group of people and sharing the food/drink costs. It makes it so much more reasonable. I haven't had that opportunity because my immediate family is a "group" in and of itself, and for some reason, the kids don't want to split the cost! Go figure.
Glad you had a great time!!!
Sounds like it was a great time and price. My sister has owned a time share at Sanibel Island for 20years. On the years they can't use it they rent it out for about $1800for the week. They have never regretted the investment. When it got damaged during a hurricane it was re-done and now it's updated and beautiful.
You deserve a vacation!
Patti
That's how I "vacationed" in Hawaii last year. But my friends who own the timeshare are quite well off and use their timeshares regularly so I make no judgment.
Glad you were able to spend a nice time on the cheap!
Clearly, you kick frugal-vacation ass. :-)
My current plan: Find house-sitting jobs in cities I want to visit. I have Maryland-near-Washington on the line and am hoping it comes through. Smithsonian, baby!
Sounds like a great vacation. My husband and I are joining my sister and her husband at a timeshare in Peurto Vallarta later this year.
I can only hope our share of the groceries is as low as yours!
P.S. Love Mike's lemonaide.
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