Living Smart 101: Savay on Vacay!

Be sure to scroll down to my other post. It talks more about the pre-planning side of vacation and this is more about what we do to save once we get down to the beach. The next post will show exactly how we saved today when we arrived.

Headed to the beach today for Fall Break and it's funny how with a little planning, you can still save big on your groceries while away from your stores and your home. So many people think that the beach ritual includes checking into your condo or house, unload the car then head to the grocery store to see how many carts you can fill in record time. I watched family after family head up to the cashier, loaded to the hilt and I could just cringe. And then the biggest thought hit me- they are going to throw 1/2 if not more of that food out at the end of this week!!

It is vacation and you should have fun and we have plenty of fun things planned and don't think being in the "Luckiest Fishing Village in the World" that we won't be eating like kings. I just spent a little time, prepared a game plan and didn't break the bank on the staples and splurges we will need this week to survive and enjoy. I brought some with me, found ways to save on others and brought just enough for the week.

1. I pulled Coupon Mom's lists for the 2 stores in this area before I left, created my list and cut the coupons. Knew how the policies varied in Florida and had my coupons ready and organized.
2. I started paying attention to the lists from Coupon Mom the last 6-7 weeks looking at items not only for lowest price, items needed to add to my stockpile but also items that would be needed at the beach or we would enjoy at the beach. I got printer paper box and just kept adding until 2 full boxes came down with us, Side items, pickles, salad dressing, extra roll of paper towels, bottle of cleaner etc. Just enough to get us through the week and not have to purchase once we got here. Knowing we will be cooking a lot of seafood so a nice wild rice, some mac & cheese for the kids are items I already had so why buy more?
3. In reference to #2: "No crazy ideas like let's take 6 things of mac & cheese." I brought 2 which is reasonable and if we go through 2 boxes and we are out- that's fine. If they are begging for M&C at the end of the week- we'll head to the store and get another box. The goal of bringing food with you is to not take food home with you or the bare minimum. I don't condone throwing anything away unless it's unsafe to travel but minimal is better in this department.
4. Take 5 minutes the night before you leave and go through the frig. Clear a space and put condiments, pickles, dressings, creamers etc you would need at the beach in a group. Get up the next morning and throw in a cooler. If you have a 3/4 bottle of ketchup- why not bring it with you, use it instead of buying a new one a few hours later? This is also a good way to purge the frig and you often use condiments like horseradish more at the beach than at home. (we do)
5. Keep your shopping "eyes" open even at stores you aren't used to shopping at that aren't in your local area. Shopping at the Winn Dixie today- I found the manager specials and I didn't even realize I was looking. Saw a rack in the back by the backroom for produce and hit a gold mine. 2 dozens limes, 2lbs of squash, 2lbs of roma local tomatoes, 1lb of muscadines and 2 lbs of strawberries for just under $7.00.
6. We did get 2 Restaurant.com gift certificates when they were 90% off. One is for Gravel Road which has been featured by Southern Living Magazine numerous times.
7. This area was very rainy last week so I pulled all of my resources and found activities to do before we left home if we aren't having fun in the sun. I had free bowling coupons from a Tony's Pizza deal and found a local alley that will accept them, I had free movie tickets from Pop Tarts so I did the same thing, and I researched the local malls and shops to find Family Nights and Activities during our stay. I have found a jam packed week of things to do at night including free Princess face painting, the Purina Dog Jumping Championships and free ice cream at Stone Cold Creamery on 9/24 for a $1.00 donation.
8. Final last tip- we checked the occupancy of our condo the week prior to ours. No one had rented it so Mike called yesterday to see if we could check in a couple of hours early- that would be around 2pm in our minds. Nope- try 10:30 am! That's a whole extra day in our eyes. We got up this morning and we were in the condo by noon CST. Had we added an extra day, it would have been $77 plus taxes and charges.

It may seem like a little work but when you are excited about a week at the beach, want to get there with a plan, not spend a fortune on staples and the basics, don't waste your time wandering the grocery store everyday... it's worth it in the end. I'll break it down in my next post and show how it really works!

Sorry for the quiet- time is just flying by!