Gails Blog

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!

We live in a society where you have to spend money to have fun. People go to the movies and drop a hundred bucks. People go out to eat and drop a couple of hundred. People go to the theatre, to a concert, to the symphony. Even when we head off to a friend’s house, we take flowers, a couple bottles of wine, and gifts for the kids. It is virtually impossible to have fun without spending money.

Or is it?

In my parents’ day, they had Basket Parties. Everyone bought something to eat, and they all shared. They spent loads of time together, laughing, having fun, and it cost no more than feeding themselves dinner at home that night.

People got together for Poker Night (and played with chips, not money). People sat around talking about the music they liked, the books the read and the crap their kids were doing.  People enjoyed each other.

Now, we’re so busy showing off, picking up the bill, returning the invitation, that we’ve lost sight of the original purpose of friends: to share ideas and have fun.

I got a letter from Daphne bemoaning her “poor student” status. She’s a smart girl who is not only working hard all year long while she studies, but is also trying to establish a safety net for herself so that if, after graduation, she has some trouble getting a job, she has some money to fall back on.

Now Daphne wants to know if she should be saving for retirement along with all this other saving she’s doing. She’s working hard, and her credit card presents a constant temptation to go shopping for some small indulgences.

Daphne, girl, you are doing so well, I think you should just go out and buy yourself whatever you want.

Ha!

Just kidding!

Okay, Daph, you ARE doing really well. You’re getting a good education, and you’re not going to end up with a ton of debt. Smart girl. You’re setting something aside for the near future too. Even smarter girl. And you’re thinking about the long term.

You know what, chick? You can’t do it all at once. Part of being successful in managing your money is prioritizing. What you’re doing right now is enough. Wait until you’ve graduated to start the long-term retirement planning thing.

As for being tempted to buy a book or a new CD, is it the shopping, the owning, or the using? I mean, you can borrow a book to read. You can download great music. So is it the shopping you miss? Or the owning? And why would you have to do it on credit?

If you want something new, find something else you’re prepared to give up. Prioritize.

Living so close to the edge right now, there’s no extra money? Think how much worse it would be if you had a debt repayment that was due.

Need to treat yourself? Find something you can do that doesn’t cost money and do it. Playing cards with friends, taking advantage of free events in your community, have fun without spending money. It can be done.

Many communities have websites that list free events. Search your community name plus “free event”. So do local community papers. Revel in experiences rather than in acquisition for now (and maybe forever). Take up bird-watching, star-gazing, or marathon-running. Make friends with people who have similar interest, that don’t involve spending money.

 

• A lot of museums have a free admission day once per month. Call your local museums and inquire.
• Visit art galleries.
• Some theatre companies offer “pay what you can” performances. Or you can check to see if there’s a “dress rehearsal” rate.
• Visit a library to borrow books, audio-books, music, videos and DVDs.
• And for truly life-enriching experiences, volunteer your time.

 

So, what do y’all do for fun for free? Share your ideas. I’ll send you a virtual kiss for every great idea you bring to the blog.