Another month is practically toast. I can't believe it. I never even got around to posting my June budget onto the blog, and I'm working on July. As is my custom at this time in the month, I try to look and see what was a success and what wasn't quite up to custard. Overall, I've had a pretty good month, especially since we took our little vacation and stayed pretty close to our goals. But, as always, I want to do better.
One of my most successful budget months ever occurred in December of 2005. We were saving for Hoot's first trip to Disneyworld in January 2006 and it was going to be tight. It was also my first holiday season to have an active toddler in the house. I was very concerned about time and money. By mid-November, I had devised a calendar of dinners for the entire month of December. You could see what was for dinner every single night of the month, and if you switched worksheets, you could see the weekly shopping list that was attached. If a recipe was new, the notation on the date told me where to find the recipe.
Ah, it was bliss. It did take me quite some time to make my "master plan" but it was well worth it. I didn't get overly excited about making every meal budget and I didn't clip a single coupon or search a single weekly ad. I made a point of having dessert several times a week, and I made two "open in case of dinner emergency" envelopes that held a twenty dollar bill each. Heck, I even bought a bottle or two of wine. Yet, the entire month ran like clockwork and I was completely blown away by how much money we saved.
So, I am toying with doing the same thing for July of this year. I have three days off next week and I am seriously considering it. I know that when I am in a pinch for time, I hate going to the store. I also start rationalizing the drive-thu. Bad, bad Susie.
Think it sounds cool, but you don't know where to start? One of my saving graces is this website: Menus4Moms. They only list five meals each week, but it gives me some great ideas. I also like that you can pull up the shopping list for each week and their archives give endless possibilities. I find myself at this website often and there are others out there if you search around a bit.
Overheard at the bookstore:
Two patrons were playing a demo of a board game that is similar to a word search with a Scrabble board.
I am not giving you points for that.
Why? It's a word. Give me my points.
No way, that's disgusting.
Whatever, it's not like you don't have one.
Still not going to do it.
R-E-C-T-U-M, that's six letters, give me my points.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Did you leave the $$$$ running?
Today, it became official. Summer is here. 100%. I received my first utility bill with summertime, all the time a/c. At least I was expecting it. These things are always nastier when you least expect them. You know, Spanish Inquisition and all that.
My total utility bill, including electricity, water, sewer, and trash, was $318.97. This time last year, it was $287.33. So, there was quite an increase. Of course, last year, I wasn't much of a bill watcher. I was just a payer. Now, I'm a watcher and a payer.
In fact, it wasn't until late last summer that we realized that we had a massive water leak on a faucet out back. The faucet next to our a/c drip pipe went unnoticed because there is always run off from the a/c, so soggy ground was nothing new there. That leaky faucet was tripling our water bill. It wasn't until I became a bill watcher that I investigated the money leak in the back yard. Amazing, it was fixed for $6 and 15 minutes of DH's time.
So, as soon as I ripped open the big bill today, I pulled up my energy consumption from the last twelve months to see how I did. In the last billing cycle, we used 2,379 KWh. (Suffering from insomnia? Click on that link and you'll be out, well, like a light. Holy Cow! I thought I'd get a little info to help me with my blog, and wow, after two minutes, I remember why I cut high school science classes to smoke behind the fine arts building. But, I digress.) So, I'll stop trying to understand kilowatts, and just know I want to use less of them.
Last year, for the same time period, we used 1812 KWh. That's a pretty big difference. So, I asked myself what was different. Well, it rained and rained and rained last June. So much rain, it was like the Vietnam scene in Forrest Gump when he talked about the rain. In fact, it rained so much, Hoot and I about killed each other. It was too soggy to get out and go any where and the parks were all mud pits. We stayed indoors a lot last June.
This June, we have had .02 inches of rain. It's been hot and dry. The air is filled with dust and dried pollen, the grass crunches under your feet, and it is generally miserable outside. Weather wise, Hoot and I are at the opposite end of the spectrum this year, but spending about the same amount of time indoors this year. I hope this is not the way we spend our entire summer.
Now, our family tag line has been, "Did you leave the money running back there?" We frequently move from one end of the house to the other, and are bad about shutting off lights. Over the last few months, we've gotten better, but it still happens. Even Hoot shuts off lights when he leaves a room now. It is a fantastic habit, and I hope we keep it for good. Shutting off the water is also something I have to be conscious about. I'm bad about using the water full blast whenever I brush teeth, do dishes, shower, or even just wash hands. I can't say I remember every time, but I try to remember most of the time.
In the mean time, I'm going to hope for some rain. It might accidentally cool something off for even an hour or two, and hey, we can retire the water hose for a while.
My total utility bill, including electricity, water, sewer, and trash, was $318.97. This time last year, it was $287.33. So, there was quite an increase. Of course, last year, I wasn't much of a bill watcher. I was just a payer. Now, I'm a watcher and a payer.
In fact, it wasn't until late last summer that we realized that we had a massive water leak on a faucet out back. The faucet next to our a/c drip pipe went unnoticed because there is always run off from the a/c, so soggy ground was nothing new there. That leaky faucet was tripling our water bill. It wasn't until I became a bill watcher that I investigated the money leak in the back yard. Amazing, it was fixed for $6 and 15 minutes of DH's time.
So, as soon as I ripped open the big bill today, I pulled up my energy consumption from the last twelve months to see how I did. In the last billing cycle, we used 2,379 KWh. (Suffering from insomnia? Click on that link and you'll be out, well, like a light. Holy Cow! I thought I'd get a little info to help me with my blog, and wow, after two minutes, I remember why I cut high school science classes to smoke behind the fine arts building. But, I digress.) So, I'll stop trying to understand kilowatts, and just know I want to use less of them.
Last year, for the same time period, we used 1812 KWh. That's a pretty big difference. So, I asked myself what was different. Well, it rained and rained and rained last June. So much rain, it was like the Vietnam scene in Forrest Gump when he talked about the rain. In fact, it rained so much, Hoot and I about killed each other. It was too soggy to get out and go any where and the parks were all mud pits. We stayed indoors a lot last June.
This June, we have had .02 inches of rain. It's been hot and dry. The air is filled with dust and dried pollen, the grass crunches under your feet, and it is generally miserable outside. Weather wise, Hoot and I are at the opposite end of the spectrum this year, but spending about the same amount of time indoors this year. I hope this is not the way we spend our entire summer.
Now, our family tag line has been, "Did you leave the money running back there?" We frequently move from one end of the house to the other, and are bad about shutting off lights. Over the last few months, we've gotten better, but it still happens. Even Hoot shuts off lights when he leaves a room now. It is a fantastic habit, and I hope we keep it for good. Shutting off the water is also something I have to be conscious about. I'm bad about using the water full blast whenever I brush teeth, do dishes, shower, or even just wash hands. I can't say I remember every time, but I try to remember most of the time.
In the mean time, I'm going to hope for some rain. It might accidentally cool something off for even an hour or two, and hey, we can retire the water hose for a while.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Beach Budget Bingo!
I'm sitting here with a pile of receipts wondering how close I came to my $500 budget. I feel like I did great, but I forgot my trusty moleskin notebook. I just kept stuffing receipts into my purse pocket instead of my usual running tally that keeps me on track.
I filled up the Beetle on Thursday evening. I didn't want to have to worry about it on the way out of town and I was leery that it might go back up in price on Friday morning. I had some gas in the tank, so the damage wasn't too bad. I also made sandwiches for a picnic on the drive and loaded the cooler for drinks and snacks.
I really didn't want to spend any other money on the way down. However, DH is a convenience store fiend. Have you ever seen the beer commercial where they guy buys his girlfriend (or possibly wife, I don't really remember) a greeting card from the register at a convenience store? Of course, he never opens it up, but she absolutely loves it. Well, DH missed the point of the commercial altogether. He did not notice beer being sold, or any social commentary. He only saw validation of convenience store shopping. Overcoming this when we travel is always a bit sticky. Case in point, we stop at Kort's Korner in La Grange (a favorite of ours) and I was planning on buying a bag of their fresh baked chocolate chip cookies after using the restroom. They are 3 for $1.99 and would have been a great addition to our picnic. Well, DH was already in line and purchased $7.46 worth of drinks and candy. Hello, cooler full of drinks in the trunk, bags of M&Ms and beef jerky in the picnic bag. *sigh*
Dinner out was at Joe's Crab Shack, as planned. We had four adults, one child, and no alcohol on the tab. Our total including tip was $77.56. I was pleasantly surprised and even told my mother that I thought we would've done more damage. She promised to make it up for me later.
We spent Friday evening out on the beach and it was gorgeous. We didn't stay out long, but really wanted to give Hoot some time to run out all his trapped energy. After the beach, we made a quick fresh food run at the HEB down the street from the hotel. We purchased yogurt for Hoot's breakfast and cinnamon rolls for us. Throw in some milk, cookies, antacids, and something I am forgetting, and it comes out at $17.43. This rounds out Friday's totals (including gas bought the night before) at $133.09.
Saturday morning, we had breakfast in our room. My mom made us all sandwiches to take to the beach, so lunch was covered by her. We hit the beach around 11am. We stayed until around 1:30 and headed back to the hotel to chill for a while. It was a great time, however, my DMom put the sunscreen on my back in such a manner that I have a giant red amoeba right in the middle. Oh, it hurts. I haven't had a sunburn like that since I was a kid.
For dinner on Saturday, we went to Wings N More. We had a great time, and I indulged in a margarita on the rocks. I did however limit myself to one. When the waitress asked if I'd like another, I was honest. I told her, "Yes, about six of them, but I'm not going to let myself, so could I get a sweet tea?" The tab included two margaritas (my mom had one) and a beer as well as food for five. Total with tip was $74.00. Hey, that's great! However, Hoot was less than thrilled by our dinner choice. We kept promising him we'd go back to the beach, but he wanted to stop at the Shark store.
So, here's my DH, Hoot and DMom at the shark store:
Sadly, my dad stayed in the car. Sometimes it's hard to get the old man to take a picture.
After the beach, we stopped at another store. Hoot picked out a gorgeous turtle bamboo wind chime, complete with a bobbing head. We were going to ask my Mom if she wanted one, but on the way to check out, I saw that she had a handful of merchandise. I decided to just pay for her stuff instead of offering a matching set of chimes, but didn't convey that to DH. So, I told her to put her stuff in with mine and I would buy. The DH walks up and offers to get her the matching chimes as well. But hey, it made the old woman happy. Cheesy souvenir shop: $78.97. Saturday's total: $152.97.
Sunday morning, we packed it up and headed home. I put $35 even in the gas tank, DH spent another $10.84 in a convenience store, and we bought lunch at Whataburger for $13.13. Sunday weighed in at $58.97.
So, our grand totals for a family of five for Father's Day weekend at the beach:
$170 for two rooms, two nights
$133.09 for gas, groceries, and dinner out on Friday
$152.97 for dinner out and a trip to the souvenir shop
$58.97 for gas, drinks and lunch for the trip home
Grand total: $515.03
Over budget: $15.03 which equals almost the exact amount DH paid in convenience stores or four cents more than my mom's turtle wind chime. So, I guess my mission was accomplished! I know we had a great time and the only out of pocket expense that isn't listed is the gas we used in my Mom's big red truck. I shall declare it a success.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Courage on the beach
Hooray for weekends away! Honestly, I've been looking forward to this for quite some time. I know it's a Father's Day gift for DH and my dad, but I'm gonna enjoy the heck out of it! I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to beach time, hotel time or eating out the most, but I'll take all three, thank you very much!
I have a budget goal of $500 for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This covers all meals out for us plus my parents. It might be a little tough, but I hope to squeeze two decent meals out into this budget. My mom is cooking a brisket to bring, so that should help a lot as we will get several picnic meals out of it. I will also go pick up drinks and snacks tomorrow before I begin packing. The cooler is definitely in on this road trip. Once we're in Corpus Christi, I'll pick up milk and breakfast items to keep in the room.
Friday, we are meeting my parent's at the hotel around the 3 pm check-in time. This will give us a little time to settle in and unload the car. We hope to eat at Joe's Crab Shack for an early dinner around 4:30 or 5ish. I hope to hold dinner to around $120 for the five of us including the tip. I will use my AAA card for a 10% discount, which will help cover most of the tip.
After dinner, we will head back to the hotel, change and hit the beach. Unfortunately, I'm not sure which beach we will hit now. Our usual spot out on Mustang Island is possibly a no go. A sperm whale washed ashore near our favorite access road on Tuesday afternoon. Several marine biologists examined it and decided to euthanize it. Unfortunately, they did not have enough chemicals to totally euthanize it, so they sedated it and bled it out. This caused the beaches to be closed as the blood can attract sharks. The story can be read here.
Ah, sharks. A magical word in our household. Oh, thank you Discovery Channel for your twenty years of Shark Week! It took me years to get DH into the water, Peter Benchley! ARGH! Steven Spielberg, I hold you and your Bruce accountable for DH's complete and utter transformation into Courage the Cowardly Dog every time we wade in salty water past our knees. And just to cap it off, DH went off to bed rambling on about the whale being bled out onto the very beach we have been talking about for over six weeks. His last mumblings sounded close to those immortal words from Police Chief Brody "Come on down here and chum some of this ****!" Which is the line just before popcorn rained down from the top of the theater for those of you old enough to have seen Jaws on the silver screen. But, I digress....
On Saturday, we will hit the beach again early in the day. There's just no sense in us getting roasted by the sun and tossed about by high tide in the middle of the day. So, we'll either eat our picnic on the beach or back at the hotel. Then, I hope again for an early dinner somewhere in a slightly cheaper venue before a third trip out to make DH shark bait.
Since I have already paid for the rooms, I know the total there is $170. With meals out being around $190, that leaves me $140 for gas, groceries, and any souvenirs. It should be doable, even with gas as high as it is.
I'll post how we come out... if we come out! LOL!
I have a budget goal of $500 for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This covers all meals out for us plus my parents. It might be a little tough, but I hope to squeeze two decent meals out into this budget. My mom is cooking a brisket to bring, so that should help a lot as we will get several picnic meals out of it. I will also go pick up drinks and snacks tomorrow before I begin packing. The cooler is definitely in on this road trip. Once we're in Corpus Christi, I'll pick up milk and breakfast items to keep in the room.
Friday, we are meeting my parent's at the hotel around the 3 pm check-in time. This will give us a little time to settle in and unload the car. We hope to eat at Joe's Crab Shack for an early dinner around 4:30 or 5ish. I hope to hold dinner to around $120 for the five of us including the tip. I will use my AAA card for a 10% discount, which will help cover most of the tip.
After dinner, we will head back to the hotel, change and hit the beach. Unfortunately, I'm not sure which beach we will hit now. Our usual spot out on Mustang Island is possibly a no go. A sperm whale washed ashore near our favorite access road on Tuesday afternoon. Several marine biologists examined it and decided to euthanize it. Unfortunately, they did not have enough chemicals to totally euthanize it, so they sedated it and bled it out. This caused the beaches to be closed as the blood can attract sharks. The story can be read here.
Ah, sharks. A magical word in our household. Oh, thank you Discovery Channel for your twenty years of Shark Week! It took me years to get DH into the water, Peter Benchley! ARGH! Steven Spielberg, I hold you and your Bruce accountable for DH's complete and utter transformation into Courage the Cowardly Dog every time we wade in salty water past our knees. And just to cap it off, DH went off to bed rambling on about the whale being bled out onto the very beach we have been talking about for over six weeks. His last mumblings sounded close to those immortal words from Police Chief Brody "Come on down here and chum some of this ****!" Which is the line just before popcorn rained down from the top of the theater for those of you old enough to have seen Jaws on the silver screen. But, I digress....
On Saturday, we will hit the beach again early in the day. There's just no sense in us getting roasted by the sun and tossed about by high tide in the middle of the day. So, we'll either eat our picnic on the beach or back at the hotel. Then, I hope again for an early dinner somewhere in a slightly cheaper venue before a third trip out to make DH shark bait.
Since I have already paid for the rooms, I know the total there is $170. With meals out being around $190, that leaves me $140 for gas, groceries, and any souvenirs. It should be doable, even with gas as high as it is.
I'll post how we come out... if we come out! LOL!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Curtains, I tell ya! Curtains!
One of the things that I truly love about my house is its windows. In the living room, I have five large windows across the back of the house. When I gaze out them, especially in the summer, it feels as if we are out in the country. I have thick trees across the top and the fence is obscured in honeysuckle and trumpet vines. With the slope at the back of the yard, from my chair in the living room, I can gaze upon the treetops. I also love my trees. I have a decent size magnolia, which was a surprise as they aren't usually seen here, and when they are, they are usually very small. Just off of my back porch, I have a giant crape myrtle. It is so big, that it towers over the roof and when you are in the front yard, it can be seen. When it is in full bloom and the wind blows, it litters the back yard with its delicate petal snow.
With such a view, I have always shied away from covering my windows. I keep saying that when we finally paint over the odd turquoise blue and choose some new furniture, I will make some nice roman blinds for my windows. Since this is still quite some time away, I have always had some guilt over the electric bill in the summer and heating in the winter. The windows are original to the house, and the early fifties didn't produce the energy efficiency that is available now. So, I came to the conclusion that I should go ahead and cover them.
I spent a few days trying to decide my plan of attack. Hoot is very much a curtain destroyer. Since he was old enough to stand, he has pulled down curtains around the house. He easily bends normal curtain rods until they snap, or wither enough to reward him with the prize. In the bedrooms, I have given over to using metal straps, like they use to hold conduit to walls, on the curtain rods. But, I don't want to go that route in the living room. At the same time, I wanted to keep it below $10 a window since this isn't a long term solution. I decided to make light colored curtains that would easily come down if Hoot was to pull them. I spent just under $3.50 for some simple rods on sale. Then, after cruising fabric departments at several places, I found myself looking at twin sheets. Walmart had their cheap twin sheets for $3 each. The dimensions of the sheets would easily allow me to split each sheet into two curtains, so I would only need one sheet per window. So, I spent $7.50 for each living room window.
I hung a rod, and stood back to try and picture what I wanted, hoping to plan out my attack on the energy bill. To help me out, I slung a sheet over the rod and pulled the back down so that it was doubled. As if by magic, Hoot immediately came over and pulled the sheet off of the rod. Ha! The rod stayed and the little angel came away with nothing more than the sheet! I figured this was a good starting place and that I could cover all the windows as such until Hoot gave up trying to uncover the windows every time I turned my back.
So, I hung the three rods that I could easily get to and covered the windows. I put off two windows until this week when I would have some time to move furniture and vacuum up any dust elk that might be lurking. Then, I remembered I still had two tension rods tucked away and put them up with my curtains. So, voila, my windows were covered and my beautiful trees were gone. Oh, it was sad, I miss my view something fierce. The living room is darker and sadder. But, the next day, I was folding clothes when I realized the air conditioning shut off. My immediate impulse was one of horror! It was almost noon, and usually the a/c runs non-stop for most of the day in the summer. But, when I checked it, I learned that the curtains had done their job. The a/c wasn't broken, it just shut itself off for a bit. Hm, maybe I can learn to live with this new taupe view after all.
Now, I just need to put up the rest of the permanent rods in the living room and tackle my dining room windows. Those shouldn't be too bad as they are short and mostly covered with shade from our big trees out front. I will drag out the sewing machine for those curtains as the windows are visible from the street. Really, I already feel redneck enough with the curtains that no one can see being sheets, I would hate to pull into the driveway and be greeted with the like from the front of the house.
Overheard in the bookstore:
Did you know Susie is on vacation?
With such a view, I have always shied away from covering my windows. I keep saying that when we finally paint over the odd turquoise blue and choose some new furniture, I will make some nice roman blinds for my windows. Since this is still quite some time away, I have always had some guilt over the electric bill in the summer and heating in the winter. The windows are original to the house, and the early fifties didn't produce the energy efficiency that is available now. So, I came to the conclusion that I should go ahead and cover them.
I spent a few days trying to decide my plan of attack. Hoot is very much a curtain destroyer. Since he was old enough to stand, he has pulled down curtains around the house. He easily bends normal curtain rods until they snap, or wither enough to reward him with the prize. In the bedrooms, I have given over to using metal straps, like they use to hold conduit to walls, on the curtain rods. But, I don't want to go that route in the living room. At the same time, I wanted to keep it below $10 a window since this isn't a long term solution. I decided to make light colored curtains that would easily come down if Hoot was to pull them. I spent just under $3.50 for some simple rods on sale. Then, after cruising fabric departments at several places, I found myself looking at twin sheets. Walmart had their cheap twin sheets for $3 each. The dimensions of the sheets would easily allow me to split each sheet into two curtains, so I would only need one sheet per window. So, I spent $7.50 for each living room window.
I hung a rod, and stood back to try and picture what I wanted, hoping to plan out my attack on the energy bill. To help me out, I slung a sheet over the rod and pulled the back down so that it was doubled. As if by magic, Hoot immediately came over and pulled the sheet off of the rod. Ha! The rod stayed and the little angel came away with nothing more than the sheet! I figured this was a good starting place and that I could cover all the windows as such until Hoot gave up trying to uncover the windows every time I turned my back.
So, I hung the three rods that I could easily get to and covered the windows. I put off two windows until this week when I would have some time to move furniture and vacuum up any dust elk that might be lurking. Then, I remembered I still had two tension rods tucked away and put them up with my curtains. So, voila, my windows were covered and my beautiful trees were gone. Oh, it was sad, I miss my view something fierce. The living room is darker and sadder. But, the next day, I was folding clothes when I realized the air conditioning shut off. My immediate impulse was one of horror! It was almost noon, and usually the a/c runs non-stop for most of the day in the summer. But, when I checked it, I learned that the curtains had done their job. The a/c wasn't broken, it just shut itself off for a bit. Hm, maybe I can learn to live with this new taupe view after all.
Now, I just need to put up the rest of the permanent rods in the living room and tackle my dining room windows. Those shouldn't be too bad as they are short and mostly covered with shade from our big trees out front. I will drag out the sewing machine for those curtains as the windows are visible from the street. Really, I already feel redneck enough with the curtains that no one can see being sheets, I would hate to pull into the driveway and be greeted with the like from the front of the house.
Overheard in the bookstore:
Did you know Susie is on vacation?
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Hip to be square
Lately, with gas prices and every newscast throwing chicken little themed stories about the economy at the public, it has started to become hip to be thrifty. Huh? Am I getting hip again? I suppose this is a good thing.
I know that Clark Howard has commented on his show that he is getting a lot of requests for articles and appearances in the media. I've seen more than one article online, such as this one at MSN, that has mentioned family vacations and Greyhound in the same paragraph. Yeah, like I'm going to spend all that time on a bus with Hoot.
Just for kicks and grins, I put in our travel information for next weekend's Corpus Christi trip to see what it would cost on Greyhound. $290 round trip. Huh? It will only take around two tanks of gas for our entire trip. Even if gas was to jump to $4.50 a gallon, it would only cost us $117 for the trip.
Hey, I only paid $432 for our September plane tickets! I guess if we were going a long way, it might make a difference. But, again, for kicks and giggles, I put in our September vacation information: $630! Let's look at that. I have 3 round trip tickets from DFW to Orlando's MCO that I bought on Hotwire a while back. We leave September 14th and return September 20th. I paid $143 for each seat including taxes and fees. We fly non-stop. I have budgeted $160 for gas, (including oil prices at worse case scenario), parking, tips and travel meals. So, we will spend around $592 for transportation for our September trip. That's $38 less than Greyhound tickets, which wouldn't include meals. That's just crazy.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for saving money. I think it's great that frugality is "in" because maybe it doesn't make me seem so freaky. But, please, enough of the articles that don't really give any info, okay?
Overheard in the bookstore:
I'd like to return this map of Europe.
Is there anything wrong with it?
Yes, the cities are all listed in foreign languages.
I know that Clark Howard has commented on his show that he is getting a lot of requests for articles and appearances in the media. I've seen more than one article online, such as this one at MSN, that has mentioned family vacations and Greyhound in the same paragraph. Yeah, like I'm going to spend all that time on a bus with Hoot.
Just for kicks and grins, I put in our travel information for next weekend's Corpus Christi trip to see what it would cost on Greyhound. $290 round trip. Huh? It will only take around two tanks of gas for our entire trip. Even if gas was to jump to $4.50 a gallon, it would only cost us $117 for the trip.
Hey, I only paid $432 for our September plane tickets! I guess if we were going a long way, it might make a difference. But, again, for kicks and giggles, I put in our September vacation information: $630! Let's look at that. I have 3 round trip tickets from DFW to Orlando's MCO that I bought on Hotwire a while back. We leave September 14th and return September 20th. I paid $143 for each seat including taxes and fees. We fly non-stop. I have budgeted $160 for gas, (including oil prices at worse case scenario), parking, tips and travel meals. So, we will spend around $592 for transportation for our September trip. That's $38 less than Greyhound tickets, which wouldn't include meals. That's just crazy.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for saving money. I think it's great that frugality is "in" because maybe it doesn't make me seem so freaky. But, please, enough of the articles that don't really give any info, okay?
Overheard in the bookstore:
I'd like to return this map of Europe.
Is there anything wrong with it?
Yes, the cities are all listed in foreign languages.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
For Father's Day this year, we wanted to take a long weekend at the beach. We didn't want to drive too far, but we didn't want to endure the murky water at Galveston, either. So, we settled on Corpus Christi.
Corpus Christi is where we took Hoot to the beach for the first time. Well, not the Corpus Christi beach, but out on Mustang Island, which is just above the top of North Padre Island. The beaches are nice and clean, and some of them are still open to vehicles, which is super nice. Ok, well, not if you get stuck, but then the hunky guy in the truck pulled me right out and made my day in so many ways. But, I digress.
Now, we picked where we really wanted to go, but I had to make it happen. We are paying for my parent's hotel room as well, as a Father's Day present, so I really didn't want to break the bank.
As with all travel, I always start with what I really want. That way I know if I'm being realistic, and it doesn't always work out, but I'm not just going to say I can't afford it and not try. So, for the last four or five weeks, I've been surfing the web. I would really like to stay here, at the Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort. It's right on the beach out on the island and self contained. Not that I want to eat every meal at the restaurant in the hotel, but heck, I could if I wanted. No driving, just get up, hit the beach, shower, relax, go back and so on.
The cheapest I could find at the SunSpree was Pre-paid at $153 a night for a regular room. Total for two rooms, two nights: a whopping $704 when the fees and taxes were added. Um, no thanks. I could cut it in half and only spend one night, but that still leaves it at $352 for the hotel, plus we would only be there from 4 pm on Saturday until 11 am on Sunday. That's only 19 hours, which makes their rate just under $19 a hour for two rooms.
I kept looking. Directly across from the Holiday Inn SunSpree, is a Comfort Suites that I stayed in with Tee in the fall of 2006 when it was brand new. It's still out on the island, with the beach across the street. The price was a little more manageable than the Holiday Inn, but still it the price tag came to around $600, but the next time I checked, the hotel was sold out.
I dug around some more on all my favorite travel sites, especially Hotwire. On Hotwire, I was looking at a two star out by the airport for $49 a night. It's not on the island, but I've shot that price range to the ground. Two rooms, two nights plus taxes and fees would cost me $227. That's way cheaper than our other options! But, you know me. I've got to do better!
Priceline is a thing of beauty in my eyes and pocketbook. I've loved it and used it for so many years. I get a buzz off a great Priceline steal. I really do. So, I decide I'm going to start bidding. I know I can get a two star for $49 off of Hotwire, so I won't go over that price when I bid at that star level. But, I want to see if I can land a bit nicer of a hotel. So, I start out on the 3 stars on the island for $49 a night. Nope. I progress through the areas, never going above $49 and never below a 2 and a 1/2 stars. I'm not really bummed that I'm not landing anything because it's the first day of bidding. Heck, I've got my eye on that Hotwire deal so the pressure is off. So, when I have only one bid possible (I never go below a two star), I click on the two star option and decide to low ball. I bid $35 a room, a night. And I get one!
We'll be staying at the Extended Stay Deluxe Corpus Christi. I know some people don't care much for the apartment type hotels, but as a budgeteer, I love them! We'll have a full kitchen, and while I don't want to cook every meal, hey I am on vacation, it does save a chunk of money to have a few groceries in the fridge. We especially love to keep breakfast items on hand!
Of course, I have to know just how good of a deal I've gotten, so I price the same hotel on Travelocity. Two rooms, two nights, plus taxes and fees: $486! Priceline bid, two rooms, two nights, plus taxes and fees: $170! Roughly a savings of 65%! Oh, I just got that Priceline buzz again!
Current reading:
The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer
Corpus Christi is where we took Hoot to the beach for the first time. Well, not the Corpus Christi beach, but out on Mustang Island, which is just above the top of North Padre Island. The beaches are nice and clean, and some of them are still open to vehicles, which is super nice. Ok, well, not if you get stuck, but then the hunky guy in the truck pulled me right out and made my day in so many ways. But, I digress.
Now, we picked where we really wanted to go, but I had to make it happen. We are paying for my parent's hotel room as well, as a Father's Day present, so I really didn't want to break the bank.
As with all travel, I always start with what I really want. That way I know if I'm being realistic, and it doesn't always work out, but I'm not just going to say I can't afford it and not try. So, for the last four or five weeks, I've been surfing the web. I would really like to stay here, at the Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort. It's right on the beach out on the island and self contained. Not that I want to eat every meal at the restaurant in the hotel, but heck, I could if I wanted. No driving, just get up, hit the beach, shower, relax, go back and so on.
The cheapest I could find at the SunSpree was Pre-paid at $153 a night for a regular room. Total for two rooms, two nights: a whopping $704 when the fees and taxes were added. Um, no thanks. I could cut it in half and only spend one night, but that still leaves it at $352 for the hotel, plus we would only be there from 4 pm on Saturday until 11 am on Sunday. That's only 19 hours, which makes their rate just under $19 a hour for two rooms.
I kept looking. Directly across from the Holiday Inn SunSpree, is a Comfort Suites that I stayed in with Tee in the fall of 2006 when it was brand new. It's still out on the island, with the beach across the street. The price was a little more manageable than the Holiday Inn, but still it the price tag came to around $600, but the next time I checked, the hotel was sold out.
I dug around some more on all my favorite travel sites, especially Hotwire. On Hotwire, I was looking at a two star out by the airport for $49 a night. It's not on the island, but I've shot that price range to the ground. Two rooms, two nights plus taxes and fees would cost me $227. That's way cheaper than our other options! But, you know me. I've got to do better!
Priceline is a thing of beauty in my eyes and pocketbook. I've loved it and used it for so many years. I get a buzz off a great Priceline steal. I really do. So, I decide I'm going to start bidding. I know I can get a two star for $49 off of Hotwire, so I won't go over that price when I bid at that star level. But, I want to see if I can land a bit nicer of a hotel. So, I start out on the 3 stars on the island for $49 a night. Nope. I progress through the areas, never going above $49 and never below a 2 and a 1/2 stars. I'm not really bummed that I'm not landing anything because it's the first day of bidding. Heck, I've got my eye on that Hotwire deal so the pressure is off. So, when I have only one bid possible (I never go below a two star), I click on the two star option and decide to low ball. I bid $35 a room, a night. And I get one!
We'll be staying at the Extended Stay Deluxe Corpus Christi. I know some people don't care much for the apartment type hotels, but as a budgeteer, I love them! We'll have a full kitchen, and while I don't want to cook every meal, hey I am on vacation, it does save a chunk of money to have a few groceries in the fridge. We especially love to keep breakfast items on hand!
Of course, I have to know just how good of a deal I've gotten, so I price the same hotel on Travelocity. Two rooms, two nights, plus taxes and fees: $486! Priceline bid, two rooms, two nights, plus taxes and fees: $170! Roughly a savings of 65%! Oh, I just got that Priceline buzz again!
Current reading:
The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer
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