First of all, I would like to say that I am extremely impressed with the bloggers out there who can maintain posting 4-5 times a week. You are amazing and how you find the time is fascinating to me. Secondly, I don’t really know where you find inspiration of all your topics but I am glad that you do. These posts for me have become a way of sharing my daily saving money adventures.
I don’t think I have shared this before but I have 3 lovely siblings who I adore and who I don’t get to see very often, even though we live in the same house. So this year, my siblings and I decided to take a trip for 4 days and enjoy some quality time.
We decided to go to Montreal or Boston(we are not picky) and were happy with whichever one was a cheaper trip.
Two of my siblings might have slight OCD with germs so we had to find a 4 star or higher hotel for them. I stayed in the strangest hostels in Europe so I am not picky at all. There are a few ways to save on travel even when you travel with picky travel partners.
My favourite sites to use are Hotwire.com and Priceline.com. Priceline lets you pick our own price and bid on it. We found a great deal on Hotwire this year tho. The hotel was smack dab in the middle of downtown Montreal, everything was walk-able and we save almost $420.
Transportation was another issue. We were going to take the train, but even with the gas prices, it ended up being cheaper to take my mom’s car. Her car is a hybrid so gas consumption was kept to a minimum. Plus we wanted to attempt to catch a Blue Jays game on the way back(we pass Toronto on the way to Montreal).
If you have never been to Montreal and are within driving distance, do yourself a favor and go. You will not regret it. There are some questionable establishments on the main strip, but the city is beautiful and reminds me of Europe with it’s old world charm.
It was a fantastic bonding activity for us. I would like to say that I am slowing infusing my new found frugalness (is that a word) on my siblings as they are all about the deals now for travel. When we got into Toronto on the way back, the Blue Jays game was already in the second inning. We ended up with amazing seats that we got from the scalper(he was a very nice fellow) for 1/5 of the price.
Total cost of the trip is $410 for all us. This included our gas, baseball tickets, meals, hotels and parking. My sisters did go shopping but that was outside of our trip budget.
great knowing your experience. Keep writing at least two per week should be enough, you will have dedicate dreaders
$400 for 3 people is great! I love Priceline for hotel and rental car booking as well. Great deals can be had when you have time to look.
Sounds like you had an awesome vacation and some family time. So very awesome. Vacation and bonding. Not much better in life.
That sounds like a great trip!! Glad you were able to spend some time with your siblings. I went on a “trip” with my sister (sans parents) for the first time a few months ago. By trip, I really meant I went to visit her in Ottawa, where she’d recently moved, and we did the tourist thing for a couple of days. But still, it was really fun.
Oh, and top secret blogging secret? I schedule MOST of my posts. 🙂 I try to post 4-5 times a week (four, minimum, but I aim for five) and it’s likely 3 were posted ahead of schedule. So like, I’ll write them on a Sunday night the week before they go up. If you ever notice something posted as an exact time, early in the morning (I do 3 a.m.), it’s because I probably published it days before. I SO don’t have the time to dedicate to writing every day, but I can spend a few hours on a Sunday doing it and it lasts me throughout the week.
What a great idea for an inexpensive trip! I am not close enough to Montreal for a driving trip but we often take weekend vacations in Florida.
That is an amazing price…I have 2 brothers and we have never really planned anything like that, but we do go out together on the weekends.
Sounds like you had an awesome trip! My sister and I usually meet a few times a year for a week or a long weekend.
I like priceline too. I usually don’t book flights through them but hotels and rental cars, they are great.
I’ve been to both Boston and Montreal and both cities are great places to visit. Good job saving money on your trip.
Great info. Lucky me I found your site by chance (stumbleupon).
I’ve book marked it for later!