How to plan vacations on a budget

Hello hello lovely people! I know I said I was going to post a few days ago but with working 10-12 hour shifts.. I needed my beauty sleep. But now I'm off for three days, and I am sooo ready.
Today I want to talk about how I plan my vacations and give you my own guide on how to go about planning the best vacations ever (on a budget, cause ya know ya girl is on one). I love to travel and I'm a big planner so I thought this might give some of you some good ideas. My last vacation was this past December to North Carolina in Banner Elk, and one of the most memorable vacations I've ever had. It was just perfect. But mainly perfect because of my oh so strategic planning. So without further a do, here ya go:

• Decide on where you want to go. If you know where you want to go and you're totally set on it, then awesome! This won't be hard. But for most, you're probably deciding on a couple different places cause I mean, there is just so much in this world we all want to see. And if money is an issue, which for most of us it most likely is, definitely take that into account. When I was planning my last trip I was deciding between Las Vegas, Vail (Colorado), Disney World, and North Carolina. One of my major decision breakers was the fact that we were going the week before Christmas. Sooo..

• Take into account the season/what time of year it is. I was able to cross out Las Vegas on my list because of this. Since I already live in Florida, and I LOVE Christmas time, I really wanted to go someplace that would give me that wonderful Christmas aesthetic, because Florida definitely does not. Las Vegas was not going to do that for me. Plus, even though it was winter time and the prices for hotels (seemed) incredibly cheap, when you stay at one of the hotels on the Las Vegas strip, the taxes and extra fees are outrageous. At the time, we were moving out of our apartment the following month, but we really wanted to go somewhere, so spending that kind of money (not to mention soo much extra spending cash we would need for shows, food, drinks, and other entertainment). I'm going to save Las Vegas for another time for sure.

• Are you going to need a rental car? How are you going to get around? When you're thinking of a place you'd like to travel and you get all excited about going there, don't forget this! If you're going to a major city like New York or Chicago, you don't need to worry about this because of all the easy transportation like subways and cabs, not to mention just being able to walk to places. But this is definitely something to think about. This was kind of my deal breaker with Vail, Colorado. Since it was further away, airfare was more expensive and I couldn't just get a rental car and drive it all the way from Tampa, Florida to Colorado. I mean I technically could... but that would be a long ways away. So buying plane tickets PLUS having to get a rental car was just not in the works for me. Also, if you're getting a rental car, take into account the money it will cost to buy the rental, plus don't forget filling it up with gas back and forth from both destinations. If you're setting up a budget, put that in there.

• How much is there to do in the area you're going to? What do you want to do while there? Finding an exact location. This was also a big deciding factor on where I was going to go too. Just searching around for new places to go, somewhere may look cute or fun, but how much is there to actually do? Look into it! When we decided on North Carolina, I had no idea where I wanted to actually go I just knew I was going to use AirBNB to find a cute cabin with a fireplace or small home to really soak in all those Christmas feels. Plus, my boyfriend was set on snowboarding. So, Asheville was kinda out of the question. It wasn't near any ski resorts or snowboarding. And even though I was taking a rental car, I didn't want to drive an extra hour and a half one way to do that. That's when I found Banner Elk. I googled some ski resorts and found one called Sugar Mountain. (We ended up going to Appalachian Ski because it was recommended by our AirBNB owners, and only about 15 minutes away from where we were staying). I saw multiple ski places so I started to look into more. I found a cute town another 15 minutes away with antique stores, breakfast places, artsy bars and more and was like "um, yes". Then I found some local trails we could go on with beautiful views, gem mining, a local cave, and more. Just by researching a little bit and taking that time I was able to plan an amazing trip on a budget!

• Go somewhere new! If you're a creature of habit (and I am a bit), step outside your box and experience something new. This is why I crossed Disney World off my list. I can't count the number of times I've been there on both hands because it's just too many, with it being an hour and a half away from me. I mean, I love Disney and during Christmas time it's even more magical, but I'm so happy I did something new.

• Write out your exact plans! I love planning and getting organized, so this was a no brainer for me. First I decided that we were going to be renting a car to drive up there. It was about a 10 hour drive. (I didn't want to use my own car just out of preference, I don't like putting all that mileage on my car, but that's totally up to you). It was about $130.00 for the rental car for six days. Plus I estimated how much gas I would likely spend at I believe it was about $70 bucks each way. I knew we wanted to go snowboarding so I reserved one whole day just for that and estimated the cost. The first day I wanted it to be kind of a relaxing day, so I decided we could probably go to that town, check it out, go into antique stores (my boyfriend likes antiquing which is awesome) and get breakfast. The rest, for the most part, I wrote down the things to do in the area, one was Blowing Rock (a little nature trail with incredible views and I guess a famous rock?), a cave tavern, alpaca farm, gem mining, and more. I decided to just wing the rest, since everything was so close to us and depending on our mood, what we felt like doing that day.

• Utilize AirBNB! This is what I used on my trip, it was my first time, and oh my gosh, it was absolutely perfect! Anddd not to mention, cheap! Ours was $79 a night for two bedrooms. If we had another couple staying with us, it would have been even cheaper, the couch in the living room was also a pull-out. It was the most adorable two bedroom cottage guest house, complete with a huge stone fireplace, kitchen, private outdoor patio area with hammocks and an outdoor couch, aesthetically pleasing distressed wooden floors, and just the most perfect mix of old fashioned charm and modern updates, including a real Christmas tree and stocking on the fireplace. 

• Go grocery shopping! If you're staying someplace like an AirBNB for your vacation and they have a kitchen, utilize it! We saved so much money going grocery shopping the second day. We had breakfast out once and lunch out once as well, but besides that we cooked food where we were staying. Honestly, our place was so cozy and charming we didn't want to go out to a fancy dinner, we just wanted to kick back, put on the fireplace, make hot cocoa and snuggle up. 

• Don't forget about automatic payments! (Or any other bills due while you're away). This got me once when Alex and I went to New York. I have most of my bills set up on automatic payments, except for a couple at the end of the year, and while we were away, I moved a certain amount of money into my checking account and totally forgot that I would lose $140 of it during my time there because of my car payment. So don't forget about bills! If you can, pay them before you go or just add it into your budget.

• Plan your outfits ahead and mix and match them; so bring some basic tees/tanks. To best budget your money, plan ahead and find ways you can mix and match your outfits. There are often so many times I'm looking through my draws and closet and find a completely new way to wear something. By bringing some basic white or black tees/tanks, you can easily mix and match them with your favorite jeans, some flowy pants or a cute skirt. To me, it's just so fun picking out some cute new outfits, and it gets you excited for your trip. 

• Plan on what to bring according on the weather. And check the weather app! Don't forget this! If there's a possibility you may go swimming, even if you aren't planning to (if you're going somewhere in the summertime) don't forget a swimsuit. Or if you're going somewhere cold during winter, don't forget gloves, scarves, and some cute winter hats! Also, make sure the week following up to your trip, you check the weather app for that area. If it's going to rain the first two days of your trip, you don't want to forget your hoodie, maybe bring an umbrella, and you might want to find some alternative plans if you were thinking of hitting up the pool or beach that day. Or maybe there will be a weird cold front the week you go, then bring a jacket and some long sleeves!

• Take time away from your phone. Nothing to do with being on a budget, but just something that many of us should do from time to time. Sometimes the best memories are made when phones are put away.

• Plan early on for the best rates and shop around for rates! This is definitely a must. I like to have an idea of where I want to go on my next trip, always. Even if I'm planning it out six months ahead of time, it's never too soon to plan out a trip. Especially because if you plan too close to your vacation, hotels and even AirBNBs could be more pricey, not to mention booked already (especially AirBNBs, plan ahead so that you can get the place you want and don't have to worry about it being booked). And also, shop around for different rates. I like to use different apps or websites because honestly, you can almost always find a cheaper price for the same place somewhere else. If you're booking a flight, look on different airline websites. I've tried using the app Hopper, but it honestly isn't that great to me. And I personally rather travel round trip without stops, if it means paying extra. If you're using that app, watch out to make sure there aren't multiple stops if the price seems too good to be true.

• Travel on a weekday. Tuesdays are usually the best days to travel, if you're booking a flight. For some reason they're the cheapest. But click through different days of the week when booking a flight to make sure you grabbed the cheapest. Even traveling on a weekday in a car is better, weekends are always busier for travel no matter what.

• Travel to a location during the off-season. Now, sometimes I like to do this, but other times I just really want that seasonal vibe you can only get going the busiest time of the year (Example: Christmas in New York or a cruise in the summer). Obviously, it's always better to do this because you'll save more money. So if you're planning a trip on a cruise, the best times to go is September through early January. Typically, most people go on cruises in the summer time, when kids are out of school and because, who wouldn't want to go on a cruise in the hot summer? But if you can, definitely go during Sep - Jan. It's much cheaper and it stays warm in the Caribbean even in December, so it's really not an issue. Same thing with amusement parks such as Universal or Disney, go during September through November. (But October may may be busy due to Halloween). 

• Most importantly... have fun! That's about all the tips I have for you guys. If you're not already planning a vacation, maybe plan one! Even if you don't have the money now or it wouldn't be for a while, it's never too early to start dreaming of traveling. Never stop exploring, beautiful people :)

I wanted to also leave some of my pictures from my North Carolina trip, this past December 2018. Since I was gushing about this place in my post, I figured you might as well see what it looked like. Remember, if you think these pictures are awesome and you would want to plan your own vacation here, we were staying in Banner Elk, North Carolina.

Our guest house actually had two separate private upstairs and downstairs units. Ours was the upstairs and it had a private door to the side that led up to our unit from an indoor staircase. Walking inside was so charming, the owners really outdid themselves. The owners lived next door in a big beautiful white farmhouse. The place we stayed at was originally a Carriage house 100 years ago where they used to store old fashioned cars and horses. How freaking cool is that?! Since then it has been updated to a two unit cottage for AirBNB guests but they kept a lot of the original charm. Alex and I loved using the fireplace at night. The owners even decorated it for Christmas! There was a real Christmas tree inside along with stockings on the fireplace. They had sun windows on the ceiling that automatically opened up in the mornings. Literally so aesthetic. Oh, and they had the cutest sheep dog puppy on their property we got to meet, some chickens, and their outdoor/indoor cat who actually followed us inside the second night and decided to be our cat for our stay there, haha.

Enjoy my pictures,

- Lots of love,

Sammi

 

(This whole patio was ours, by the way. How awesome is that? I came out here in the mornings with my cup of coffee.)

Can it get any cozier? 

This place is called Appalachian Ski. Also nearby is Sugar Mountain, but our AirBNB owners suggested this place. It was so great.

I fell riding this snowboard a million times (my first time ever), but so worth it.

Surfs up! I mean.. snow's up?

This is Aspen. We met him at the cutest Alpaca farm. He loves the camera.

Blowing Rock is a pretty cool attraction that was about 20 min from us. Beautiful views and a pretty famous rock.

This was a delicious breakfast we had the first morning of our trip. Some type of mushroom sauce was on my biscuit. And yes, my silverware is rolled in a bandanna. Adorable.

You never say "no" to an opportunity to drink cappuccino. 

My mood in a picture. Because the fresh, crisp winter breeze felt AMAZING.