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Back from vacation, and UNDER budget!

July 10th, 2009 at 06:34 pm



DH and I had a wonderful 5 days in Portland!
We had an amazing time. We stayed in a beautiful Victorian guesthouse in the heart of Nob hill, ate and explored to our content, and took several roadtrips to the Willamette valley and to the coast stopping at small towns along the Pacific Coast Highway (101).

Pictures coming soon!

This is what we spent overall:

Roundtrip tix Denver-Portland : $308
4 nights lodging in Nob Hill(inc all taxes): $300
Car rental 4 days (compact): $62
Gas: $38
Food, attractions, etc: $260

Grand total: $970 (rounding up)

We were hoping to stay under $1500, that was about how much we spent in Seattle last year, so we must be getting better and better with each trip Smile


Portland or bust

July 1st, 2009 at 08:06 pm



Today is the end of a three day week for me, and tomorrow my DH and I leave for Portland for a mini 5 day vacation. I am actually getting 5 days off with only having to take of 1 from work, thanks to the holiday!

I am absolutely enamored with the Pacific NorthWest, and my recent trips to Northern California (driving the PCH, visiting wineries, staying at b&bs) and Seattle(best chowder in the world) have only made me love it more. I'm really looking forward to the moisture, the tall redwoods, the smells and sounds of the coast, and all the greenery. Summer in Colorado is arid, desert like and the unrelenting sun tends to turn everything brown and crunchy with dryness, so it'll be a nice change.

The bills are paid, the house is pretty clean and I've got a little packing left to do after work today. I wish you all a fun and festive 4th, see you next week!

Off to our new adventure!

July 23rd, 2008 at 08:23 pm



Our bags are packed, the house is cleaned up and the bills are paid. We leave for our European vacation tomorrow!

I'll post some photos, our travel budget, and tips for keeping it cheap while traveling, when we get back in August.

Take care everyone!


The dollar is down, but we're going to Europe

July 21st, 2008 at 05:54 pm



Oh how the mighty dollar has fallen, and fallen, and fallen... It has been declining steadily for six years, when will it finally stop? While it's true that the cost of everything stateside has been climbing, imagine going overseas where the dollar now buys 30% less of what it used to just a few years ago.

The odd thing is that around two million Americans come to Europe every year no matter what's happening to the dollar. If they're rich, they don't worry about the exchange rate. If they're on a tight budget, they look harder for bargains.

All year long both my fiance and I funnel money into our travel fund, and about once a year we make a huge dent in it heading overseas. While most travelers change their vacations for somewhere closer and cheaper, I don't get the option because I go to see my family and birthplace.

Usually along with our yearly family trip we try to squeeze in a week or two in another country. This year is no exception. And even though we'll be visiting one of the less expensive E.U. countries, we're really feeling the financial pinch.

Here are a few things we are doing on this trip to try and make our dollar last longer:

-- Staying at small B&Bs which include breakfast. These are often just as cheap as hostels and much much better.

-- Hitting the local markets early in the morning for lunch fixings, snacks, water and alcohol.

-- Communicating by email and texts.

-- Taking public transit everywhere and using bikes to get around in some areas.

-- Keeping a log of our spending day by day so it doesn't get out of hand. We've done this on last trips to see where we could have cut back.

We will be thinking and spending like we did when we were students because in the end it's the experiences and the memories that matter, not the thread count of our hotel sheets.