Summer Vacation Planning yet?

If your like me chances are you have already booked or are in the process of planning and booking your families summer vacation. Being a Military family there are many benefits available to us for travel. However did you know many of the same discounts given to Military are also available for Nurses, Doctors, Firefighters, Police Officers, and Teachers?

• An easy way to save on family travel is BOOK early! The earlier you book the longer you are able to pay down your vacation before you even get there.
• USE those Hotel points! Whats the point of racking up hotel point if you never use them. They are there to give you and your family FREE ( the best word ever) rooms!
• Stay within a 5-6 hour drive for your trip. The closer you stay to home the more you'll save on gas. For Example: You live in New York and want to get away for a 3-4 day trip because that's all that will fit in the budget this year, did you know ALL the Museums, The National Zoo, and Monuments in Washington DC are FREE for everyone, everyday of the week, 365days a year(except some holidays of course)? YES they are and they are AMAZING! Hotel rooms in Washington DC area run anywhere from $100- well over $400 a night. So staying away from the direct center will give you a better value, and you can take the Metro to the attractions.
• Use those savings you get from your grocery shopping and purchase gift cards to Mc Donald's, Pizza Hut or other eatery places and use those on your trip in stead of eating at expensive restaurants. You can reserve White House tour tickets through your Congressman, just try and do it far enough in advance to ensure you'll be accommodated.

Last summer my family of 6 vacationed in Washington DC, and Williamsburg for under $350 for 4days 3nights over 4th of July Weekend! We used our hotel points for 2 free nights in Williamsburg, and only paid for our 1 night hotel stay in Washington DC( which was a little over $100). We had pizza our first night in DC and used a gift card to pay for it. We toured the White House, Library of Congress, and the National Zoo. Since I coupon of course I brought plenty of drinks, snacks, easy fix stuff along with us( always get a room with a Mini fridge & Microwave). In Williamsburg we went to Busch Gardens Theme Park (They have a program that allows Military 1 day at any of their theme parks and up to 3 additional family members for free: Heroes Salute) we had 1 full meal at the park and snacked the remainder of the day, full breakfast at the hotel(always try for a hotel that offers a FULL breakfast). We took pictures, saw great shows and had a ball just enjoying our day and never felt rushed. Our family had and amazing time that was easy on our wallets!

Couponing isn't about shelf clearing, hoarding, or first come first serve you should've gotten up earlier, couponing is about supplying your family with the essentials by spending the least of money out of pocket to be able to enjoy other things life has to offer, like a vacation with the family! If you start this week couponing you can easily save $40-60 this week, if you take those savings every 2 weeks and put them in a coffee can or a separate account you would have saved $320- $480 by July, where could you go this summer with those savings. Miss Tina