Staycations
Posted by John Draper | Filed under Balance, In the News, Smart Shopper
On Tuesday I was interviewed for a TV spot on “vacations.” With the soaring costs associated with fuel, and airlines laying people off to try and keep fares from going through the roof, vacations may become more of a luxury than many can afford.
So I’m talking to my husband Ken – I try to wake him up when I’m on the road so we can spend the first few minutes of the day together – and I tell him about my interview, when he names my strategy “Staycations.” He’s got a catchy phrase for everything! Wish I’d talked to him before I did the TV interview.
Okay, so here’s the gist of my spiel.
People have come to believe that vacations are a right, not a privilege. Why a privilege? Because you have to earn it. You have to have enough money set aside to go on vacation without coming back to a hangover … debt that continues to eat away at your financial security. If you’re actually worried about how much the trip is going to cost, you probably shouldn’t take it.
So what exactly is a Staycation? That’s when you stay home and pretend you’re on vacation. I’m just about to do this with a family I’m working with this month. They’ve been on loads of vacations and have the debt to prove it.
What do you like to do when you’re on vacation? Whatever it is, when this year’s vacation time rolls around, plan to do it from home. Even if it includes one or two nights in a hotel, you’ll save tons of money and have a great time, with the right attitude and a little planning.
Go and see the sights. So have you seen everything in your community? Been to the train museum? The art gallery? The local pow wow? If you haven’t been to your city’s museum in the past two years, it’s time to go and see what’s new. If you haven’t taken a tour of the local art galleries, hey, they’re there for the seeing. Pretend you’re in a foreign city, and drum up the same excitement as you would if you were seeing these things in a place you had to pay thousands of dollars to get to.
See some theatre. Communities everywhere have productions ranging from the high-school musical to community theatre to professional theatre. Plan to take in a night at the theatre, or go to the symphony, the opera, or a rock concert. With all the money you’re not spending on accommodation, you can have a ball.
Swim, splash and play. Want to spend a quiet day sipping margaritas while the kids swim their hearts out? Find a local hotel with a fabulous swimming pool and book in for the day. You can do this once every two months, having lunch on site and taking a break with the kids for far less than it costs to zoom away to the tropics.
Eat out to your heart’s desire. This is one of my favorite parts of going on vacation: no cooking, no cleaning up. So, hey, if you love to eat out, plan to do it during your week of Staycation. Try new restaurants you’ve never tried before. If you want to go with a theme, decide you’ll only eat in Spanish restaurants and eat your way through a good cross-section. There, almost like being in Spain.
Indulge in luxury. Love to have a massage, a pedicure, a facial. Hey, have one on Staycation. Whether it’s part of your hotel stay (lots of hotels offer this service now) or a day-long self-indulgence, do it.
Pick a start and end date for your Staycation to make it official. Declare a choratorium – no one has to make their bed, do the dishes, sweep (hiring a cleaning service for mid-week to whip the house back into shape). And pack your schedule full of fun and fabulous things to do. Leave a little time for that book you’ve been longing to read. Rent a mountain of videos for the evenings you do stay home. And don’t forget to take lots of pictures of your Staycation. After all, without photos to flip through, you might forget what a GREAT time you had sticking close to home and doing all the things you love to do.
Okay, your turn. If you were to go on Staycation, what would you do to make your week special?
BTW, there’s some heavy-duty site maintenance coming on June 24-26. There’ll be no posts, no way to comment. I will post on the 23, but then we won’t be able to commune again until the 27th. Miss me!
June 19, 2008 at 12:50 pm
A Staycation! Very Clever.
You could also take (or start) a course that you’ve always wanted to do: knitting, quilting, cooking, kayaking, canoeing, photography, riding, etc. Whether it be weekday, weekend, or whatever is inconvenient otherwise. Why not learn something new for the cost of a hotel room or even – in some cases – a plane ticket?
June 19, 2008 at 1:18 pm
I WILL miss you Gail!
We do “staycations” all the time (though we never thought to name them!).
Mostly we challenge ourselves to find a new park everyday (within a 50 km radius) and try a new restraunt once. The kids pressure us to see the local museums, and tourist walks and we check out the art galleries and antique shops (they can be like a museum too). Sometimes we hook up the tent trailer and head just out of town to a nearby family farm, it’s on the waterfront and we get to visit family and get away from our suburb home while enjoying FREE camping on the beach!
I have a money saving alternative to birthdays I’d like to share with you. Since turning 30, me and my girlfriends have opted out of getting each other gifts for birthdays (and Christmas). With all the other money and time obligations in our adult lives, we found that the most precious gift we could give each other was some catching-up time! So we invented “UNBIRTHDAY” parties. We get together (the 4 of us) annually specifically to go to a fancy restaurant and celebrate our friendship. After dinner we watch sappy girlie movies, laugh and catch up till dawn. We all live in different towns, but close enough to make it feasable for an overnight visit. By not getting gifts we can afford to have a terrific time together!
June 19, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Staycation – your husband is brilliant Gail.
I have been agonizing over a 4 day gap I have in childcare/school in november and was planning on going to Florida for vacation. I was getting stresssed out by the cost, spending time surfing for cheap flights etc. Staying close but going to a hotel for even one day will give us the pool access that will make it feel like a trip. And if I officially declare it “Staycation” then we can do some really fun things with the kids. Like going to the zoo for 3 days in a row and then to a farm or something, with breaks at a pool in between. wow. I’m excited even thinking about it.
June 19, 2008 at 3:50 pm
I`ve mentioned this before but if you haven`t checked out Home Exchange you may want to — it reduces your holiday cost (if you play your cards right) to merely the transportation, and rather than just a hotel room at exorbitant cost you can get a whole house — for nothing! And in keeping with the staycation theme (we also do these
) you could get away from home just by swapping with someone across town or in the neighbouring city, or switch with a country mouse if you`re in a hopping city neighbourhood, or someone who lives a truly CHEAP fight away (may be cheaper than driving when you factor it out. . .) Anyway, my favourite site is HomeExchange.com — they have loads of information, about
18 000 listings and answer FAQs very well. Or you can check out Know Your Trade dot com for an overview of all the home exchange clubs, ratings and tips as to which ones are new and offering promotions, such as free memberships!
June 19, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Staycation! Love it! We were already planning on staying home this year so now it’s officially a “staycation”. I got season passes for Wonderland and we are going to “camp out” in the back yard some nights. Picnics on the beach (we live in a beach of a town). Drive-in theater (yes they are still around) is economical when you bring your own snacks. My husband and I even bring a couple of brewskies for ourselves, shshsh don’t tell. I am quite looking forward to our staycation now. Thanks Gail and everyone for all your great ideas.
June 19, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Tracy – I love the unbirthday idea.. how lovely.
Wonderful post Gail, as always. This year my sister and I are using holiday time to spend a week volunteering at a wildlife sanctuary.. both of us have always wanted to learn a little bit about rehab for injured critters. It will be my first ‘volunteer vacation’ but I expect I’ll enjoy it in a different way than lounging on an exotic beach. Otherwise, I’m taking holiday time on Mondays to make every weekend a long weekend and will definitely apply the staycation principle and make the most of my beautiful surroundings!
June 19, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I try to do this with free weekends or if I leave early from work (so I don’t get bored with things)
As a younger person living in Toronto, I have a few options that I use.
* I use my under 30 discount to see Ballet performances for $20 (though I also make a donation)
* I use my under 30 discount to go to the orchestra for $12 (again, make a donation)
* I browse the city pages for free events, and make a point of going to them. Luminato was great – why not go to the festivals in your own city instead of spending the money to travel somewhere else (my landlord and I were chatting about that a few weeks ago)
* I head over to the city’s islands for a nice walk and spend the evening with my friend on her boat (she lives in her parents’ boat during the summer semester while working on the island) – it’s even better when I stay overnight!
* I make plans to go out in the middle of the week instead of waiting for the weekend for fun things, even if I don’t have vacation time
* I meet up with my friend and her daughter, and find all the free (or under $10) things that we can do with a 4 year old and have fun – we visit parks/gardens/find a farm to pick fruits, etc – we try to do things to promote a healthy and active lifestyle for her and to enjoy time together
* go swimming
* go to wonderland
* sit outside and watch the stars (when they’re visible)
* get the tourist maps for the city and use the coupons in them
* I just go somewhere and explore where it takes me
really, it’s all about taking the time to enjoy yourself and the world around you (even if it’s limited to a smaller locale). Anything can be exciting if you haven’t done it before, or don’t do it on a regular basis. That’s the point of a vacation – to get a break from your everyday and enjoy things on your own terms!
And, even if you have a limited budget to work with, it’s amazing what you can find. Even going for a walk in a new neighbourhood usually uncovers gems of interest.
June 19, 2008 at 8:08 pm
My husband & I have had wonderful weekends travelling around our province. We still haven’t seen a lot of it and we’ve both lived here
forever!
We love staying at nicer B&Bs. It’s usually around $120-140/night but we get to enjoy a beautiful room with our own bathroom with whirlpool tub. We are treated to a fantastic breakfast in the morning too all included. It’s a great way to get away for a night or two and relax. A lot of people think it would feel weird to stay at a B&B but usually you are not staying right in the inn keepers living quarters. The more quality inns are actually very private.
We take along some drinks, some more luxury treats like fancy cheeses and smoked salmon, oysters, fruit etc.
Via Rail often has deals in the summer for travelling with children. My friend & I are hoping to take our sons on there 1st train ride to a town that’s about 100KM away or so. We’re going to go for the day and I don’t think it will cost much more than $40/each (parent & child) for the train. It would cost me $20 for gas, and this way we both get to relax and have some fun. We’re going to visit a nice park there and have a picnic lunch. We’re considering planning it to stay the night too. By sharing a motel room with a kitchenette – we’ll save a ton!
June 19, 2008 at 10:38 pm
I’m spoiled by living in the Niagara Region. There is so much to do, and a darn good lot of it is free! Nothing makes me feel like a better host than parking for cheap along the River, walking with friends to a good spot, and watching the fireworks over the Falls, followed by a nice walk back. I’ve lived here all my life and still haven’t seen everything there is to see in this place!
Staycations are an awesome idea.
June 20, 2008 at 9:29 am
Oh, Amanda, I’m jealous! I *love* the Niagara region. The best small towns with amazing bakeries and little shops, and of course all those wineries. I’d love to live there someday. And wine festivals are usually pretty cheap, about $25/person… can’t beat that for all that food and wine!
June 20, 2008 at 9:40 am
Staycations are the way to go! While it is nice to get out and see some of the world, a true vacation to me is getting to stay home from work for a week or two.
The luxury of going to bed when I want, getting up when I want (and not to the buzz of an alarm clock at 5 am) and doing pretty much whatever I choose for two weeks is enough of a vacation for me! Walking the dogs, visiting my parents, gardening, napping, quilting, staying up late, sleeping in – decadent, to someone who works full time all the rest of the year.
Fortunately neither my husband or I have the travel bug and other than my hubby’s trips to Sask (from Alta) to see family once or twice a year, we haven’t been on an “away from home” vacation for more than 10 years, and I don’t miss it.
June 20, 2008 at 12:59 pm
We’ve been doing staycations, (love that phrase), for years. I’m the first one to admit that I love to travel but hubby and I refuse to go into debt for a vacation so I get my *fix* about every five years or so. It helps that hubby could care less if we went anywhere so he keeps me grounded and I do they same for him when he wants to spend money on guy stuff.
We live in small town Ontario so there are lots of opportunities for daytripping. Love the Niagara area. We usually take a week off in August and will go somewhere for 1 or 2 nights within reasonable driving distance. I always take a cooler filled with pop and water and a snack bag full of munchies that I won’t buy the rest of the year. We try to stay in a hotel with a pool which is fun for our son – and us too! We limit ourselves to one or two touristy things that cost $ and look for free things to do. We also try to eat where the locals do.
The rest of the week we veg out at home, sleep in, sit on the patio with a cold drink in hand, do whatever we want. No chores – I plan ahead the week before so that all cleaning, laundry etc is done and we have groceries in the house for easy on mom meals. BBQ burgers, sausage , salads, veg and dip etc. Maybe a take out pizza. We end the week with a walk to our local icecream shop and everyone gets whatever their heart desires. You want a banana split -go for it. It’s the only time we get something other than a regular cone. It’s amazing how much we look forward to it and it’s become a family tradition.
Love your blog Gail.
June 20, 2008 at 6:51 pm
we had a staycation a month or so ago (in the niagara), booted around niagara on the lake for a picnic and browsing (no shopping) then joined the other 2 families that joined us in niagara, at the fallsview indoor waterpark and skyline inn. packages are cheap cheap cheap! it was fabulous. and plenty of free to do within walking distance. we have another one planned for the fall.
June 20, 2008 at 9:54 pm
The cost of living here is actually very reasonable. Although, the weather is somewhat confusing on one’s system (extreme cold to extreme hot). Still, it’s beautiful, and it can be really cheap for vacationing or staycationing, if you stay away from the tourist traps and explore all the parks and free gardens.
June 21, 2008 at 11:04 am
I think it’s about a balance isn’t it? I try very hard to make sure I can reward myself with a vacation each year, for working hard, paying my bills and debt and saving. I have found very frugal ways to see the world by working my way around the world, I feel these have given me great insight into other cultures and actually made me stop spending – seeing countries with such dire poverty makes me think twice about spending $5 on a magazine and coffee!
I know loads of people that do staycations, but they spend more than if they’d have gone away. I think one important aspect of a vacation is when you’ve turned off the phone and tv and been together – so I try to replicate this on staycations. I’ve done a few staycations in the past and loved them, but I also make sure I get away the following year!
June 21, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Hi Frugal Trenches: I checked out your blog. More interesting and inspiring reading! Great job.