Planning Vacation...and Should I Even Take One?

Okay, so I've been promising my little boy that I would take him to the beach for a real vacation for some time now.  I didn't go on vacations when I was little...and I just remember feeling like I missed out.  Plus, the thought of experiencing the beach with him is just so thrilling to me.  Few questions:

1)  How far in advance do you start planning vacations?

2)  Part of me feels like I shouldn't even consider it.  There are other priorities and things to pay for and worry about.  I am planning on moving out next summer and I do have some debt to pay off.  I kinda feel like I don't deserve to take a vacation with him until all my little ducks are in a row...but what if that never happens?

3) Any general vacation planning tips?  This is my first time.

I always went for cheap and cheerful (cheap bed and breakfast or self catering), but I am in England so things are probably very different.  Anyhow, I always found it easy to not spend much, as the boy was always really excited just to be somewhere different.  How far do you have to travel to the seaside?  Here, no-one is more than about 2 hours away from the coast, so it's relatively easy to do.  These days it is a lot easier to research things, and I would ask everyone you know for hints and tips.

1) as far as i can (which with my work, is booking the time off in january for the rest of the year), but i do suffer from planny mcplanitis. 

2) he may need a vacation just as bad as you...even if it's just a couple of little day trips.  or maybe camping? 

3) take them?  i think it's important for children to see new things, so it would be good for him.  AND it would be good for you, since it would get you away from your everyday stresses!

It can be way cheaper to rent a house than to get a hotel - depending on where you're going and how long you're staying. 

Ah lahve vacations!

1) It depends on where I'm going, how far in advance I start planning and saving. We're taking more than a year to prepare for a vacation to Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales. A trip to Chicago or Vegas or Aspen doesn't require much more than finding time and saving some cash.

2) I'm of the opinion that everyone needs a vacation every now and again. If you want to take him to the beach, would you rather go in the summer? That gives you quite a while to think about it. If you go with a modest little trip, the most expensive thing will likely be plane tickets--I'd go with an econo-flight. The farther in advance you book a flight, the cheaper it is.

3) My planning process: where do I want to go? What will I want to do and see? How much time will I have? How much will I want to spend? Do I want to drive or fly? I also think about hotel accommodations and gas costs (if i drive)--I think about the budget for those things separately from my actual vacation budget, because I don't mind pulling cash out of savings for those two things.

http://www.visitusa.com/tennessee/beaches/ind ex.htm

If you camp, sometimes you can reserve a campsite at a beach location which can be cheaper than a hotel...more work though that's part of the fun as a kid.  If you don't already have camping stuff or people to borrow it from then hotels will be cheaper.  A fleabag is fine as long as it's safe, kids rarely worry about the paint and polish.

I like to plan my vacations in advance...in my case since I clear vacation time from work up to a year in advance.  I will occasionally do a weekend thing at the spur of the moment.  I like to have an idea of what I want to do and when I want to do it but then feel free not to do anything that I have planned as vacations are just that to relax.

I also try to have ideas on snacks and food too, taking trail mix or luna bars for handy snacks so that I don't have to eat out all the time.

Credit card debt is smart to pay off if you can or at least get it transferred to lower interest cards.  Credit card debt is the devil!  That vacation that was so reasonable can easily become twice or three times the cost if you finance it with credit cards.

Also check out potential vacation ideas through your local YMCA programs.  Often they have scholarships for low income families and sometimes by signing up as a volunteer you can get the trip for free or for a discount.

When I was first working full-time and was broke I ended up doing vacations this way...yes I was working but I was in a lovely environment...Yosemite, Catalina and had a reasonable amount of free time for no actual cost.

If you're looking to travel far far away you could come up to the beaches of Lake Michigan!  I know you like to camp and you can rustic camp right on the beach in some places.

A vacation does the mind wonders! I've always said " im going to take a vacation" but when i get cash I find other important things to spend it on than some silly trip for pleasure. 

I am saving for a summer vacation NOW( for june)

I live in The East ( New York) and i want some West Coast!

I'm a student who waste money like crazy. besides 100 in train fare a month! I spend 7 dollars for campus food A DAY!

campus food no more. I decided they get enough of my money. And from not eating lunch at school I have $350 dollars already!

I'm planning California (SanFran) for a month, renting a apartment, and buying tickets in advance. I WILL get my vacation! 

Depends on the vaycay.

Last year I took the kids to Florida for the first time.  I started planning about a year in advance (which was really too early, most places didn't have their prices set for the next year until Nov. )  But by planning in advance I: 

a) Spent only $250 on hotels for a 2 week vacation (mainly by using someone else's timeshare).

b) Got a free ticket to Disney, Bush Gardens and Universal (by using a points credit card)

c) Got major discounts on the other tickets that I had to buy (save $79 on each Disney ticket, $20 on each Universal, etc)

d) Knew when and where the "special event" days were, for instance went to Universal during Mardi Gras celebration at no extra charge and even got the kids on the children’s float which was a special promotion available only to users of a certain sponsoring credit card.

e) Knew when to avoid certain locations.  For instance the amusement parks were crowded on certain days due to conventions, etc.  We went elsewhere on those days.

f) Knew where the best and cheapest restaurants were, how to get discounts at the outlet malls, etc.

g) When we were in the parks we knew which were the best rides, which had the longest lineups, how to bypass the lineups (fastpass), which rides were closed for maintenance, and even had a route planned out so we could hit all the major attractions first before the crowds got thick.

h) We knew what we wanted to do.  We had a flexible plan.  If it rained we'd choose activity A, if it was hot we'd choose activity B.  We didn't plan to go to a certain place on a certain day (with a couple of exceptions such as the Mardi Gras day and a shuttle launch) but we did know what we wanted to do and could adjust on the fly depending on the weather or what we felt like doing (we found that hitting amusement parks too many days in a row leads to burnout and crankiness).

On the other hand this year our vacation was 2 weeks with the grandparents.  I didn't do any planning beyond picking the date and saving gas money.

If it's your frst it might be an idea to keep it short and don' travel too far. How far are you from the next decent beach? Check online for an appartment you can rent for a week. make sure it's walking distance from the beach or you'll need to rent a car (Unless you go there by car, which makes things a lot easier)

In Eurpoe there are the main season and the 'side season', which are spring and autumn. Those are a lot cheaper and less busy - but aso a fair bit cooler.

Bring tons of stuff to keep your son occupied. Lounging all day is great for grown-ups but I remeber being bored to pieces on our family trips (where all five of us were crammed in a Volvo and we drove six hours to a nice place in Denmark where we stayed two weeks)

Self-catering means you have to cook (and clean up afterwards) but it is way cheaper and leaves you independent.

Thanks for all the tips guys!

I am pretty sure we are going to Tybee Island in GA (near Savannah).  It seems to be the closest beach and overall less costly than Myrtle Beach, which is a big tourist trap.

I actually hunted around and found a campground near the beach...with campsites and cabins.  Either would be much cheaper than the hotels and resorts and condos.  And I think he would love it.

I'm beyond excited.

General tips:

a) Know what you want to do in advance.  But don't set a rigid schedule.  You'll need flexibility.

b) Add up all the costs (hotel, entrance fees, food, etc). Add about $100/day for misc expenses (souvenirs, snacks, etc).  This should give you a rough budget.  Now double it.  This is about how much you're really going to spend.

c) Given your son's age (7 I believe?) you don't need a fancy hotel.  He'll have the best time ever at a campground.  A basic motel (with a kitchenette if possible to save on food expenses) will be like paradise to him (especially if it has a pool).  Once he's a teenager he'll be more interested in the fancy hotel stuff, but at your son's age fancy would be wasted.

d) To save both stress and money, give your kid an allowance.  Give him $20/day and let him spend it however he wants, with the understanding that the "mommy I want"s will be always denied.  If he wants that really cool souvenir hat, he has to buy it from his $20.  Now don't be totally ridged, if you see a really cool hat and think it would look wonderful on him they you can buy it for him, but only do this infrequently (no more than once a day) and don't do it if he starts begging you, or the begging will never stop the entire vacation.

e) To save even more money, don't GIVE him $20/day.  Make him earn it.  Start him a savings account.  Reward him for doing chores, put half of it in the account.  Ditto for birthday money, Christmas money, etc.  Put at least half of it in the account.  By the time you go on your vacation there should be a sizable amount in there, which he is free to spend during his vacation.  But it is very important that you dole it out!  Don't give him the entire amount on the first day to spend as he wishes or it will be gone.  Give him a certain amount every day to spend.  If he doesn't spend it let him carry it over to the next day.  If he doesn't spend ANY of it and it starts getting ridiculously large then stop doling it out, as he's likely to lose/misplace it (he will lose some of it, that's almost guaranteed.  Don't freak out about this, he'll be punishing himself enough).