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I know "vacation" and "money saving" aren't normally words you find in the same sentence, but I've never been one to follow the norm. I do believe in taking strides in becoming financially secure and enjoying life's pleasures, so this past year, my boyfriend and I aimed to do just that. Let's rewind real quick. Last February, we took a vacation to the Cayman Islands. It was a gift to my boyfriend for Christmas, and I didn't think much of it except that it was a quick flight and I’d found a good deal. We ended up falling in love with the place due to its gorgeous beaches, safety, proximity to New York, and excellent food. We felt like, of all the places we've traveled together, this might be the one place we'd love to come back to year after year to escape the freezing New York winters. So a week after we got back last year, we booked again for this year.
The difference between last year and this year, however, is money. If you've been following along on the YBC® App, where I've been sharing a weekly blog series called Money Diaries, you know that I paid off my student loans (he's on track to pay his off in May). The student loan payment did a number on my savings, so I started to pad my savings immediately after. Throughout the year, we have been taking a portion of our paychecks and putting them into our own respective savings. Then, we take another small portion and put it in cash in a safe for our trip. The rest goes into our own respective accounts to pay for bills, entertainment, etc.
By the time this trip came around, we had a nice stack of cash to bring, and our goal was not to charge anything on our credit cards. While we are both good with our credit cards and pay them off every month, we just wanted to go into this trip knowing that everything could be paid for with cash.
While we wanted to enjoy a couple nice dinners out, we also wanted to be cognizant of our money, and spend wisely while saving where we could. It's a fine line to walk because we really didn't want to be pinching pennies but we also wanted to be smart with our money - make sense? Here are the 10 things we did to save here and there while still enjoying a fantastic vacation:
Bring what you can. I want to start this by saying that if you’ve ever been to an island on vacation, you know that things are generally pretty expensive because they have to be imported. A few years ago I received a Breville Barista Express as a gift, and the upside was that I suddenly had incredible gourmet coffee made right at home. The downside is that I turned into a total coffee snob. I'm particular about the beans, and want to be sure the coffee beans are organic, as pesticides can contribute to hormone disruption and beyond. So, we brought a bag of our own beans down since we were staying in an airbnb. Organic coffee beans were going for about $25 a bag at the grocery store, so we saved a bit there. Yeah, it’s just $20, but every little $20 adds up. We also aren't huge drinkers, but on vacation, we will have a glass or two every other day or so. Since we'd received wine as a gift at Christmas, we ended up bringing a bottle down, again, saving a bit. Other things we brought that saved us money: sunscreen , snacks, resistance bands and sliders (we are also into fitness and bringing these items meant we could get a decent workout on the patio at our AirBnB rather than paying for a drop in session at a gym).
Eat at home for a few meals. Food, with the exception of a great dive restaurant here or there, is really expensive in the Cayman Islands. You are looking at around $75 for a lunch of two entrees (no apps or drinks), and at least $100 for a dinner. We knew that going into it, and were okay with it, but wanted to save where we could, so we did breakfast at our AirBnB every day except for one, when we went out to brunch. We spent about $20 on a quart of yogurt and fresh berries, and that got us through for breakfasts. We did one dinner at home as well.
Plan meal times strategically. We often did a late breakfast at home and then a late lunch out. Because we'd eat later on in the day, more often than not, we weren't super hungry for dinner, so we'd have a light, relatively inexpensive meal.
Look for free water. In the Cayman Islands, if you're on the main Seven Mile Beach, there are a bunch of hotels all along that you can walk up to if you need to use the bathroom or if you want to order food. In the lobbies, on the beach, or near the pool area, there were always little water stations or water fountains, so I'd use those to fill up my water bottle. Less plastic waste and free water was a win in my book, especially because water can run around $7.50 a bottle around that area.
Drink at home. As I mentioned, we brought a bottle of wine down because nearly everything is expensive in the Cayman Islands since it’s imported - but if you're somewhere where you can stop at a liquor store and buy a bottle of your favorite stuff, it'll be less than what you'd spend on a bottle at a restaurant. You can have your dinner out, and then come home and have your drink at home. Often, the scenery will be better, and it'll be easier on your wallet. Plus, you won't be driving!
Bring a luggage scale. Luggage scales are inexpensive, and I've had mine for over a decade. It's saved me so many times. Know the weight limit for luggage, and weigh your luggage before you go to the airport. If you're over the limit, you have to pay insane fees, so it's better to be safe than sorry. And, to curb weight issues, I try to only bring what I need. So, for example, even though I have a big bottle of shampoo and conditioner at home, I also have a bunch of travel size and trial sizes from my travels and being a Beauty Insider at Sephora (it's their rewards program - free to participate and the points earn you small items you can use for travel). I brought a travel size shampoo and conditioner, a single hair mask because the beach crushes my hair, and a travel size body lotion. Bringing the smaller sizes I already own means I'm bringing less weight in my bag, which leaves more room for the other unconventional things we brought down like the coffee and wine.
Pamper wisely. Ok this doesn't apply to this trip because I didn't get a massage, but while I was in Austin once - again at an AirBnB, I wanted to get a massage but was on a tight schedule, so I couldn't drive to a spa. Instead, we used an app called Soothe and booked a massage therapist to come to me. It was honestly such a great experience. She was so good, I had her come back the next day. It was nice being in my own space, too - I felt so comfortable, and it was less than what I'd pay at a spa.
Use miles. If you're not signed up for an airline miles program, you're doing yourself a disservice! I'm signed up for all of them - it's free to sign up - and down the line you can use points to fly. We paid for the first leg of this trip with United points, so we only had to pay for our flights home ($379). Speaking of flights - I use the app SkyScanner, and you can set an alert on your phone when prices drop for the dates you want to go.
When you run low, be smart. Despite bringing a whole bag of coffee down, we ran out on the second to last day. Instead of buying a cuppa at a restaurant (again, you’re looking at around $16 for two cups of coffee to go, depending on where you go), we decided to check out the supermarket. At the grocery store, we almost bought an entire pound of coffee even though we only had one more morning left, and then we saw the bulk section, where you could fill up a bag with just what you needed. Instead of spending a ton on a bag of coffee, we ended up spending $2.79 Cayman - about $5 USD. Similarly, I didn't want to buy milk when we came down because I knew we wouldn't go through an entire gallon, and I couldn't find anything smaller at the grocery store. Like I mentioned, everything is pretty expensive on the island, so while I didn't want to spend the equivalent of $10 on milk, I also didn't want to waste food, either - it wasn't just the money, you know? I really hate being wasteful. So - and I say this as I'm laughing because my boyfriend was so embarrassed - we went to a pizza place (it was Sunday, nothing was open), and I ordered two cups of milk to go. It was ridiculous - they didn't even have it in the system as something they could sell me, so they just gave it to me, haha. Anyway, I wound up with exactly the amount of milk I needed, and it was free. (To be fair, we also ordered a pizza and a salad from the restaurant - it wasn't like I stiffed them on two cups of milk!)
Stay at an AirBnB. I love AirBnB's so much. Aside from having more space than a hotel room at a far cheaper price, you also get so many perks. At this particular AirBnB, we had beach chairs, beach towels, and a cooler. This meant that there was no need to rent chairs on the beach, and we didn't have to bring our own beach towels. If you haven’t stayed in an AirBnB before, you can get $40 off your first trip here.
And those are my tips for saving a few bucks while on vacation. Like I said, these tips are just meant to help us continue to save here and there - not get into the habit of pinching pennies to the point that we can't enjoy ourselves. If you have any tips I missed, I'd love to hear them in the comments section below!
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