Island Savings Time!

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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.

Jul

21

Road Show

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road trip

My sister, the Rebate Queen, and I are hitting the road in a few weeks for an extended road trip to NY and the Northeast. If there’s anyone who is better than me on saving money, it’s her. We will report on our money saving techniques and successes (and failures!) as we plan and go.

One stop: Visiting my little country house in the Catskill mountains to bring home some of my stuff. Talk about a deal: I bought this house for only $30,000, fixed it up, expanded the porch and deck, filled it with lots of Vintage Catskill furniture and knick-knacks, and now have it on the market for much more, after 10 years of enjoyment.

But I digress. First job is finding the best and cheapest way to get there. Do we fly? Do we drive? If so, which car? And who’s going to do the driving anyway? As a Florida newbie and ex New Yorker (i.e., not a daily driver) I don’t always make my passengers comfortable). Where will we stay? Actually, I’ve never meticulously budgeted my travel expenses. This will be an adventure for sure!

If you’re traveling this summer, there’s lots of good news — gas prices going down, tons of great deals, lots of people taking the summer off (i.e. laid off) so easy to find travel companions. At the same time, Continental, like other airlines, just announced the addition of checked baggage fees, Spirit Air is now charging for seats and drinking water, and other airlines are trying similar tricks. So buyer beware.

We’ll do our best to help you find ways to travel cheaply this summer. Here are a few links to get you started.