Traveling at Home

Sometimes it just isn't in the budget to plan for a vacation at all.  We have been there many times.  That does not mean that you cannot find a way to get outside and enjoy where you live.

To kick off our family's best budget friendly vacation tips we wanted to start local.  Basically we are starting at ground zero, as in there are $0 in the bank for a vacation.  I'm going to share with you how to enjoy a family friendly outing for free.

I have a few tips to maximize a fun filled day away.

1.  The first and number one rule of vacation on a budget is to plan ahead.  Do not do this research alone.  My husband and I always find different resources in our search that create incredible savings over all.  In your research find out if the place you are heading to has a special event taking place.  That could mean an out of the ordinary entrance fee, or larger crowd.  Will it exhaust your whole tank of gas before pay day?  Is the venue/park/event free, but you have to pay to park?  Can you bring food and drinks?  Which brings us to tip two.

2.  Bring your own food and drinks.  This rule is as important as the first.  You are going to spend more than you should on restaurants every time you eat out.  A picnic lunch from home is already paid for.

3.  Check your local library for free tickets.  No kidding!  Our local library has free tickets to baseball and basketball games, the zoo, the Center for Puppetry Arts, and our State Parks.  It is worth asking.

4.  Here's an unusual tip: try volunteering. We have volunteered in various ways , and have received free parking passes, free park entrance, free tickets, free mini golf, free equipment rental, and free golf games.  We have served as a family and solo in different organizations.  Volunteering can be debris clean up, park restoration, and helping with marathons.  It's worth it in many ways.

5. One other thing to consider on a free day away is to go in the opposite direction from the crowd.  Sometimes the least visited venues have special events to drive people to visit.  There have been many times that we have decided to visit a small place, and found the unexpected pleasure of a special event with no crowd.  There are usually friendly folks to give you a tour.  Sometimes you can find a giveaway.  We have gone to a State Park on Earth Day, and won a free family size tent.  We won because there was only a few in the crowd.  Less crowd is a good thing.

I hope you find these $0 day vacation tips useful.  Please feel free to share some tips you have found for free family fun days.