5 Tips for More Affordable Holidays and Timeshare Vacations

Common sense tells you to take more vacation time. You doctor, spouse or significant other, and best friend probably say the same thing, too. But with money tight for many people, how do you manage this?

Here are five ways you can enjoy your vacation without blowing your budget:

1. If you fly, the more flexible you can be, the more you can save. Besides being flexible about your travel dates, consider if there are nearby or alternative airports for your departure. If you are willing to drive a little further first, you may be able to save as much as 40 percent on airline ticket cost.
2. Look for membership benefits. Members of the American Automobile Association and members of AARP are frequently entitled to savings on theme park and attraction tickets. Bank of America cardholders get free admission to more than 100 museums across America. And Target stores offer a program called “Arts & Wonder” that offers reduced admission prices and sometimes even free admission to select cultural events and museums. Anyone can take advantage of Target’s program; just go to their Arts & Wonder webpage and search by city for the events and the days of the week Target underwrites.
3. Check out Restaurant.com for discounts at your favorite eateries. Through this website you can buy discounted gift certificates for restaurants in cities across the country; for example, you might pay $30 for a $50 restaurant gift certificate that you print yourself and then “gift” to yourself to offset the cost of vacation dining.
4. Buy your theme park tickets online before your trip. By purchasing in advance on the website for the theme park you plan to visit, you will be able to not only take advantage of discount pricing but you will not be standing in line to buy a ticket once you arrive at the park.
5. Discover the deals available to you in timeshare rental. Many timeshare owners are eager to use their timeshare or vacation club as a rental during times they cannot make use of it themselves. Renting timeshare offers a way for timeshare owners to offset or cover their costs of annual fees and taxes while offering vacationers some of the best opportunities around in travel accommodations. And don’t assume that these plans have to be made months in advance. The inventory of last minute timeshare rentals is excellent, with some timeshare owners highly motivated to negotiate. As Howard Nusbaum, ARDA president and CEO, explains, “Many vacationers don’t yet realize that they can rent a week or two at a fabulous resort and stay in spacious accommodations with one or more bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room – all the comforts of home.”

Maybe you are one of the millions of Americans who worked their job today, and if so, the rest of the country is very appreciative. We need hospitals to run, fire stations manned, and servers in our restaurants. But whether you take time off today or you select another day, just be sure you schedule as many Un-Labor Days as you possibly can.