Aug

17

Island Savings Time!

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Fire Island

Greetings from Fire Island, NY, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. (But we only tell our best friends about it, so shhhh.)

When we last checked in, we had reached our first destination, New Jersey, where we stayed with a dear friend and had a delicious dinner.  The next day for lunch, we bought a salad for our hostess and shared a big one between us, total cost $20.  The on to Brooklyn, where $20 bought us (and several of our friends) a few slices of great New York pizza, some soda and a great night with more childhood friends at a free concert featuring Blondie, Pat Benatar and The Donnas.

Next stop, Long Island, where we stayed with family and visited the beach outside their door.  After a stop at a local supermarket, we stocked up on items that would surely be overpriced if we bought them at our next destination, Fire Island, and tiny sandbar of a beach paradise, with nothing but beach, bay, bars and a few little shops.  (Very expensive, but I hear that next week the stores start cutting prices drastically in order to clear out their inventory before the summer ends; will keep you posted).  Supermarket bill, $80.  Savings over Fire Island prices, probably $75.

We parked at a friend’s house, saving over $100 for parking, and another friend drove us to the station, savings of about $5.  The ferry ride over was $34 round trip for the both of us, and we are now ensconced for the next week at the home of another dear friend,  just steps from the beach and a short walk to the town.  So far, we’ve been cooking and BBQing, and our on-island expenditure up to now has been $6 for yummy water ices.  Added to the running total, we’ve now spent, between the two of us, including gas for the car, roughly another $200, bringing us so far to a grand total of about $500 and we’ve been gone a week, and traveled about 1300 miles.  So far, so great!

It’s good to have friends in high places!  (Of course, they’re all always invited to visit us in Florida any time they want.)

Until next time, stay cool!

(BTW, we didn’t win the lottery…yet!)

For more about travel on the cheap, click here.

Aug

14

Postcards from the Road!

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road trip - thelma & louise

The Queen and I have reached our first destination, New Jersey, where friends await and the gas is cheaper — and they pump it for you!  We came prepared with gas and gift cards from cash-back rewards, and we saved by figuring out how to fix a blown fuse ourselves.

We stayed at budget hotels along the road, splurged on Lottery tickets in most of the states we passed through, and joined a dozen of our childhood friends for a delicious family-style dinner and ate more than our fill for a very reasonable price.  We used Dunkin’ Donuts coupons for a few discounted meals and free drinks and snacks, and munched on nutrition bars purchased by the dozen at Costco.

Between us, the total so far has been less than $300, of which real out-of-pocket cash was probably slightly more than half.  This is a small savings over the current airfare costs, not including the luggage fees and airport transfers, and a huge savings over the AutoTrain, which would have cost us over $700 including us, the car and the accommodations.

We’re keeping a running total of money spent and money saved, and will keep you posted as the trip continues.

Here’s a little video of us taken along the way.

Let me warn you, it’s kind of nauseatingly shaky.  But cute, we think!

Postcards from the Road

Meanwhile, click here for other info on discount traveling.

More to come!