Planning a Cheap Summer Vacation

If there's one thing that Spring Break exists for, it's getting people fired up for summer in a major way. People start ramping up their plans for the May through August months, ready to set out on trips across the country and beyond. When I was growing up, my mom would always take my brother and I on camping trips, which I loathed at the time but kind of miss now.

Anyway, summer vacations, while fun, can tend to be expensive. Unless you live somewhere gorgeous and plan on taking a stay-cation (please don't tell us who you are, for the rest of us will hiss), traveling costs money, especially if you're bringing a family along. Recently, Trent over at the Simple Dollar posted some tips about keeping the summer vacation costs low. While there's nothing super specific in terms of "the perfect equation to save you x dollars this summer", he offers some good general guidelines about saving money when planning a trip.

I think one of the most helpful tips that he offers are about announcing your plans to your social network prior to your trip. You never know who might let you know that they have a place for you to stay, or perhaps even discounted tickets or coupons to something that you want to go do. Who knows, you could even get a free meal out of it as well. In addition, he also points out to be resourceful. If you're going camping, don't just buy firewood - collect it yourself. Fill up a thermos at water fountains if you're at an amusement park, etc.

For anyone that's currently in the middle of planning their next big trip, it's certainly a must-read. So, who's already made their plans for the summer?

Source- Simple Dollar