Comments on: How We Vacation For $500

By: Selling Your House to Pay Off Debt: Good Idea or Bad?

Selling Your House to Pay Off Debt: Good Idea or Bad? — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:47:52 +0000

[...] rid of other debt. If car payments are dragging you down, get rid of your car. Give up eating out, vacations and satellite TV until the debt is gone. Consider taking on a second job. It won’t be easy, but [...]

By: joeplemon

joeplemon — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:32:10 +0000

Thomas,
Exactly. A vacation on borrowed money is not a vacation at all; it is a recipe for stress, anguish and regret.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:24:06 +0000

Great Post! Vacationing within your means makes the vacation more like a vacation especially after its over. Spend to much and you will spend the next 6 months tying to balance your credit cards regretting you ever went.
Thomas´s last [type] ..Great Blue Heron on Sanibel Island

By: Smoky Mountain Getaway Roundup

Smoky Mountain Getaway Roundup — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 10:04:53 +0000

[...] and I are off on our annual Smoky Mountain $500 vacation. After an unusually busy summer and fall, we are looking forward to kicking back with three [...]

By: joeplemon

joeplemon — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:30:54 +0000

Amanda,
I hope you enjoy renting a large beach house as much as we do. We have vacationed at Topsail Island (North Carolina coast) several times and loved it every time. Always ocean front so we can walk out of our house straight onto the beach.
Our Smoky Mountain vacation is planned for October…great for fall weather and colors.

By: Amanda L Grossman

Amanda L Grossman — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:12:32 +0000

Hello Joe!

Neat vacation you have planned. I think this is a great idea and would like to incorporate it into our own plans to rent one of those large beach houses right on the beach in Galveston, TX.

Thanks for the article!
Amanda L Grossman´s last [type] ..How to Save Money on Your Wedding—Part II

By: Gholmes

Gholmes — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:48:22 +0000

@Joe we think the same, not a silly budget at all.

In Joe’s budgeting you are looking at the variable costs. What is the variable cost of the vacation $500? Eating, buying clothes, etc is fixed monthly costs in the family’s budget. You have to eat. As long as you can get out of town and not spend more on food than if you stayed home then there is no incremental cost of the vacation.

By: joeplemon

joeplemon — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:29:40 +0000

Change,
Good point. My response? Other families who don’t already have money budgeted for things like food and gifts and clothing should start doing so. They could better afford their vacations by incorporating previously budgeted funds into them.

By: Change

Change — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 02:29:34 +0000

Agreed. I don’t think this is a very realistic budget. It may make sense for your family, but for other families that don’t already have money budgeted for said things, It’s not a $500 vacation. And, in reality, you are spending more than $500. So, to say that you are only spending $500 on vacation is a little silly.

By: Link love: Powered by spring rolls and ponytails « Musings of an Abstract Aucklander

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 02:18:59 +0000

[...] Personal Finance by the Book has tips on holidaying for cheap. As always, planning is key. For me, holidays are about friends and relaxing, so accommodation and transport is nearly always shared! Ditto for food – group barbecues are always a winner. [...]