If you are going somewhere like Mexico live like a local. So much fun and interesting.

Pre plan activities, look for deals, book in advance,

Saving and traveling aren’t related.

Don’t eat all meals out. Bring a cooler / buy fruit, yoghurt, sandwich supplies - much healthier.

Now that we have a kiddo, I find the beauty in all-inclusives, all your activities are included, all within a close proximity of your room for nap time! I am a frugal traveller, and one thing that has worked for us, is booking last-minute. So usually 1-3 weeks before departure date typically. Although this doesn't work for everyone with their work policies on vacation, but my husband and I only need to give 1 weeks notice before taking a week off. I also find, aside from bringing a bit of cash for the airports and tipping (we plan the tips out over 3 meals/day x 7 days) and that's all we factor. It can be cost effective if you don't indulge in the upgrades or go into town to shop. I budget about $5K/year for travel and activities and I had a rollover the last 2 years and we did Hawaii in 2023 and Mexico in 2024. This year we are hoping to either do Mexico or explore East-coast Canada.

Several of my most recent vacations have entailed renting a large beach house (the kind that rents by the week for several thousand dollars per week) and sharing the house with extended family members. I have young kids, so sharing a house with other adults able to help watch them makes for a more enjoyable vacation, plus we can take turns cooking big family meals. It's a much nicer experience than renting hotel rooms.

I don’t try to save money while on vacation. I save all year so I can not give a shit

We do a few things to try to save on vacations. I'm a big one for doing a grocery run for quick in room breakfasts if none is provided at the hotel along with grabbing some quick snacks and water. I usually will bring a refillable water bottle also.

Depending on what we are doing, I'll try to stock up during regular sale cycles for things we may want to use during our trip. An example is we are planning a beach vacation so I purchased while on sale some blow up floats that can easily be packed.

Otherwise, go a little off season to get cheaper hotel rooms. I have flight alerts set up on flights.google.com and I'll get emailed when prices go up and down. You can open a credit card for the airline and get bonus miles. When you book an award flight you just pay a few dollars in fees per person. I also book one way tickets instead of round trip so when that particular leg has a good sale I will grab it. Speaking of airline credit cards, I have one for American with a $99/year fee, but I earn quite a few miles when I use it and all of my AA flights I get a free checked bag for me and 4 additional people on my reservation. For how often we fly, the $99 fee saves me money.

I also try to have a plan well in advance so I can monitor prices, know how much we need to save, etc. The more time you have the more time you have to monitor deals and understand the costs of the more base costs (hotel, airfare, etc).

ETA: We cash flow our vacations. Everything goes on a card, but it's paid off monthly. I also keep a spreadsheet vacations especially our Disney vacations (we take one yearly). Because we do that one yearly I like to understand year over year how much we've spent, how many people went, etc. Knowing the historical helps me plan the future.

I set aside around 7% of my income into a HYSA bucket that is specific for vacations in general. Could be 1 big trip, could be several small trips. Contribute every paycheck.

Smart. We use VRBO to get rentals because they cast a wide net of advertising. When renters arrive, they see a QR code on the fridge that leads them to our houfy web site that offers 25% off VRBO prices for the same property. We also communicate with guests off VRBO plarform to snare repeat renters. There's always another platform with better pricing.

If you scroll down to the bottom of every VRBO listing it shows you the name of the host. If the host is a property manager (rental agency) their name will be right there in the listing. It’s the same way with Airbnb. .

If you can’t track down the host specifically, reverse image search is your best friend. Screenshot the first few listing photos then Google image search for where else those are being used online. You can find a direct booking site pretty easily that way

I have my vacation rental on VRBO, AirBNB, and...Zillow. STR listing sites must-have the address because I've not gotten one request for my monthly rental which is almost 60%% less than they would pay.

If you are interested in renting a short-term rental on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, or Nantucket, use https://www.weneedavacation.com instead of Airbnb and VRBO. It's a site run by realtors that lists properties, so you know the place is legit, but doesn't charge fees, etc.

If you are flexible, just search about a week or two before you plan on going down. Select those that will work and low ball the sh*t out of them. I've rented houses for 50% off about a dozen times.

The PMA (Property Management Agreement) requires that they notify owners of ALL offers. Some PMs will out right lie and say they don't negotiate. Tell them you have the owner's mailing address from the tax records and will send them a letter telling them their PM (named) refused to present an offer. They will play ball. They'll pout, but they'll play.

Because it’s off season… (before Memorial Day or after Labor Day)

I have been renting for 25 years or so in the OBX so have seen it all. Lately I have noticed a fairly wide discrepancy in the various fees charged - cleaning, pets, etc. My advice is don't fall in love with a particular house or rental company. The wider net you cast the more likely you are to find a decent price. Read prior guest reviews carefully.

Lately I have been using Vacasa as they let you check in and out any day you want. The old system of Sat/Sun turnovers is just a hassle traffic wise and if you can be flexible I avoid it. I know others complain about them but I haven't had an issue.

September is the most cost effective month.

I'll take $2000 for a week that was $5000 a few weeks before with the same weather.

Find a private owner, build a relationship and rent directly from them instead of through a company. It’s much cheaper. I started with airbnb and now I just contact the owner directly.

No, the usual property management companies. Here is what Sun Realty has open for July 5-12.

https://www.sunrealtync.com/outer-banks-vacation-rentals/search#rcav=%7B%22rcav%22%3A%7B%22begin%22%3A%2207%2F05%2F2025%22%2C%22end%22%3A%2207%2F12%2F2025%22%2C%22adult%22%3A1%2C%22child%22%3A0%2C%22flex%22%3A1%2C%22flex_type%22%3A%22d%22%7D%7D

If they aint rented by now, it is extremely unlikley they will rent and the owners know it. So I'd pick up the phone and tell Sun I'll pay half of whichever one I like most. If the owners decline, I move on to my second choice. And on and on. Someone needs their house rented that week. Not many people will choose nothing over $3000. The obstacle is the PM because thehey get a 1/4 of whatever it rents for but their turnover costs (cleaning, etc) are fixed.

They'd rather the owner take it on the chin then work for peanuts. That's why you need to let them know the owner will be told if they don't do their job.

Most cost effective way to rent for a week is early May or September

I may be old, but I don't get the allure of vacation rentals. I like staying in hotels. Plus, the few times I looked at Airbnb they had cleaning fees that made it comparable or more than a nice hotel room.

We did the air b n b thing 5 years ago on two different trips. Then stayed at hotels the more recent years. I haven't looked at an air b n b since those two trips. For us the hotel locations are more convenient and accommodations are more convenient.

Plus the cleaning fees etc basically cancelled out any 'saving' you thought you had.

I would never rent someone's place without bringing a gun. They could literally walk in on you anytime and do anything to you.

I had to move because the new landlord decided to convert to 100% airbnb.

Probably lost money during covid.

Well, I’m certainly not going to host a furry party at my own home.

AirBnB has convinced everyone that they will be millionaires if the use short term rentals. People are jacking up prices to make as much money as possible.

Everyone travels over Christmas break and you’re late to the game so you’re paying a pretty big premium.

The busiest travel time of the year and you’re looking last minute. I’m sure the nice cheap places got booked up long ago

I booked NYC 6 months ago at $600 a night…you’re waiting too late in the game.

Christmas is in two weeks. You needed to be making these reservations months ago.

And while I understand the struggle of fitting vacation lodging into a budget, this doesn’t feel like it really qualifies as “poverty finances.”

For me, I tend to save money when I go on trips by doing the following:

1. When it comes to housing, I get AirBnbs, and I travel in groups. Dividing the cost of housing with all that are going saved you a good amount of money, and AirBnBs are overall cheaper than hotels, even if you're renting the entire apartment/house.

2. An obvious one, but if you plan on buying new clothes, use coupons or go to a nice thrift store. You can find a ton of nice stuff in thrift stores, and tons of coupons.

3. Flights, try to book it as far away from the date you're leaving as possible. The more in advance you do it, the more money you'll save. There is also a flight website (not sure what it is, cant remember but my friend and several other women I know use it, however a quick search will help) that helps you find the best priced tickets possible.

To book a flight search for it in anonymous mode and only in a one way flight (no roundtrip, just to see the chepeast airline and days)

Stay at hostels or airbnbs, check in advance cool and free places to visit and try to make your meals

If you're going to spend $100/night on a hotel, go ahead and find a bed and breakfast. They're usually about the same price and you can have a really unique and relaxing experience, depending upon the place.

Don’t travel.

Skiplagged.com for flights (otherwise just setting up price alerts). Travel off-season for significantly better deals. Travel without checked luggage. I can regularly do trips abroad with just a school-sized backpack.

Stay in hostels when possible, or look for shared-space AirBnBs. You can get great local tips from an AirBnB host. If you are traveling light, you can sometimes find hosts who will let you do your laundry, which is helpful too!

Most of all, travel with a budget. Know the things you want to spend on before you go.

I think Airbnb is a great choice over hotels because of the lower overheads on the hosts’ end😃