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Tips For Travelling on a Budget

I love to travel. I have always loved to travel. Some of my fondest memories from childhood involve our family vacations. I also enjoyed all my travels throughout my university years and early teaching years in the north. It’s been important to me to continue to travel with our little family, even in the years when funds have been tight. I have really wanted to show my girls lots of different places in our country (and we’ve managed to do a few in the US as well) so I have had to really figure out how to travel on a budget. I want to share my best money saving travel tips with you and I can always go into more specific detail for anyone who wants to contact me.

First and foremost what has helped us the most are the principles we have learned from Dave Ramsey’s book Total Money Makeover. It allowed us to get out of debt and learn to cash budget our money.

Keep a Trip Line in Your Budget You Pay Into

Within our cash budgeting system (that I can talk about at a later time if you are interested), we have a trip envelope that we pay into off every paycheck. Due to this we are always setting money away for when we travel. We don’t take a yearly big trip so lots of times we are just getting away to the city for a couple of nights and our travel cash envelope easily covers those expenses. So my first tip is to plan ahead – not only when you have a trip on the horizon. It doesn’t have to be much! On top of this, when we plan for a larger trip, we start setting extra money aside months in advance. For instance, we just went to Disneyland in November and we saved money for a year to go. We put our tax return in that fund as well as any extra money from each paycheck. Our goal is to pay for all our trips in cash. Doesn’t always quite pan out but usually at least close and a million times better than going all off credit.

CAMP!

We have a little hybrid camper (up until 2 years ago we had a tent trailer from the 1990s) so camping is one way that we travel for very cheap. You really just have the cost of the campsite (average $30/night) and the gas. Food you are bringing with you and cooking there, which you’d be doing and paying for at home so our normal grocery budget covers that. Camping has been a wonderful way for us to see new places and make memories without breaking the bank. Both girls were about 5 months old when they camped for the first time and have been camping ever since. It was NOT easy back in those days when Sophie was a baby who didnt sleep, but we’d go just for a night or two anyways. We have seen and experienced some amazing things while camping and made quite a few stories to laugh about for years (like our camper popping off the hitch on the Ingram Trail in NWT). Now, I am not a camping lover by nature but my husband is and it is an inexpensive way to fill my travel urges. I have grown to love it more as I see how much my kids love it and how much awesome down time as well as adventures it gives us a family. Reading books and eating smores around the fire is one of my favourite things!

Choose To Drive

Another big way we cut costs is to drive if at all possible instead of flying. With 4 of us, driving is almost always cheaper than airfare and a rental care. We drove 31 hours each way to Disneyland and we are so so so glad we did.

Food, Food, Food

My utmost biggest tip for budget travel is food. PACK YOUR FOOD! We roadtrip alot and we always, always, always pack our food for in the car. We don’t buy meals on the road. We pack cereal and yogurts for breakfast in the hotel room as well as lunch and snacks for in the car during the day driving. On our recent trip to California we had meat, mayo, cheese and a loaf of bread in the car to make sandwiches for lunches daily as well as yogurts, fruit, crackers, and muffins I had made and froze before we left. I had pre-cooked chicken breasts and brought them along in the cooler to make chicken salads for myself. I do the same for airplane travel. I bring all our food to save money but also so we aren’t stuck with no food if we don’t have time during a layover. We even packed all our food for our days at Disneyland and let me tell you, it saved us a ton of money. It also meant that the kids could eat while we were waiting in long lines so they didn’t get hangry or too bored. Added bonus, no one felt sick from eating grease and we didn’t then feel bad to pay $8 for an ice cream or some popcorn for the parade. We wanted to make sure the money we had was available for experiences and souvenirs and not being all spent on food that might get thrown out.

I know it seems like most of my tips revolve around food; but really if you think about it, that is where most money is blown on travel. So I need to share one more money saving food tip: roast chickens! When we are staying in a hotel or at an Air BnB we often go to a grocery store instead of a restaurant. We get a roast chicken, bag of salad, and maybe some wraps or buns. This is a very cheap meal for all 4 of us and we all like it. This is a $20 meal instead of $80 or more if we were to go to a restaurant.

Become A Member

When it comes to staying overnight, there isn’t much way around paying some money. Sometimes you can find an AirBnb or VRBO (which we did in California) for a better price, but sometimes you need a hotel. My biggest tip for that is to become a member of the hotel. It is free to become a member and most often it gets you a discounted rate. We’ve been known to use our phone to sign up as a member from the car so we could get a discounted rate for the hotel! Also, if you know enough in advance, you can often get a cheaper rate by advance booking.

I hope these tips were helpful. I am a HUGE believer in travelling with your kids. I can give more tips on how to travel with little kids specifically, instead of the financial aspect, in another post if that interests people. It doesn’t have to be a big elaborate trip. Some of our favourite times have been in our camper only an hour away from home. It is an amazing way to spend quality time together away from the stress of housework, jobs, etc. It does wonders to foster the relationship with parents and children as well as siblings. And there are so many wonderful educational aspects of it as well! How cool to see so many places. It gives a new meaning to learning about things when you’ve been there, seen it, touched it. I know learning about glaciers meant nothing to my kids until we touched one in Jasper. That was so cool and I dont think any of us will ever forget it.

I hope you found this helpful. Our most recent trip (and by FAR our largest trip ever) was to Disneyland and I am also happy to do a post about that trip specifically if that would be helpful.

Please ask any questions, or even better, share your own tips for travelling on a budget!

xo

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About Me

Hi I am Kristin Stewart. I consider myself so lucky to be a homeschool mommy! Before I was a mother, I was a teacher in both public and Christian boards and I loved teaching so much. However, once my first daughter was born I knew God was calling me to be at home with her. So when it was time for her to start school, homeschooling was a natural fit for us. Read More…

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Kristin Stewart
✨better together✨ Another week of school done ✨better together✨
Another week of school done and enjoying the beach on this beautiful Friday afternoon.
1ish week of school to go.
#raisingreaders #alwaysbringabook #raisingreaders
#alwaysbringabook
Homeschool perk- the freedom to travel. Packed up Homeschool perk- the freedom to travel. Packed up our books and brought them to the land of the red sand. The beach is calling, we must go!
Friends, popsicles, butterflies and tiny pools…. Friends, popsicles, butterflies and tiny pools….we love summer ❤️
Starting our study of Numbers today for Bible time Starting our study of Numbers today for Bible time. It’s important to me that the girls understand the importance of looking at a whole book of the Bible for context and understanding of how each event fits into the bigger picture of Gods salvation. 

The Bible Handbook from @thedailygraceco to overview and introduce the book.

The Story of Numbers by @readkaleidoscope writes it geared toward kids.

And not pictured, our Bibles. We frequently go over checking back to our Bible if we arent sure about something in another book. 

What are you studying?
Cheers to the other mamas just finally getting the Cheers to the other mamas just finally getting their quiet time at 10:15 am because they’ve been in diffuse and correct mode all morning. 

Here’s to the mamas with a child who needs a little “extra” in the regulation department. (If you know what I mean, you know). 

To the ones taking deep breaths and calling on the fruits of the spirit to help her deal with the current “explosion”. 

To the mama who wonders if she’s doing it right but knows it’s worth it. 

God chose me to mother her and He chose you to mother yours. He did that purposefully and He will equip us. If you are a Christian, you have the fruits of the spirit and the help of the Holy Spirit. 

Take a deep breath, a quiet minute and ask God for wisdom and help for this day. It’s an honour and a privilege to have this job of mama.

Hard doesn’t equal bad. 

Here’s to you mama! Keep going. ❤️
All About Reading tip: give them last years reader All About Reading tip: give them last years readers for independent reading.

 She always wants a few minutes to read on her own before bed and she likes to read last years AAR readers because she knows she won’t get a story that’s too hard. 

There’s nothing wrong with letting kids independent reading material be below their instructional level.
It’s a great way to build fluency and confidence and avoid frustration.

Thankful for these readers with interesting stories and colourful pictures @allaboutlearning ❤️
We had a great hike adventure on this beautiful sp We had a great hike adventure on this beautiful spring day!
A look through, and long explanation of, Learning A look through, and long explanation of, Learning Language Arts Through Literature grade 4. 
Let me know if you have any questions!
Sharing the math manipulatives I used today in my Sharing the math manipulatives I used today in my stories. My youngest really thrives when she learns hands on. These are from amazon, except the animals that are from the dollar store.
Read with your kids! 👏🏻Read to them. Let the Read with your kids! 👏🏻Read to them. Let them read to you. Take turns share reading. Read your own books beside each other. READ!

The benefits of reading to your kids are staggering. Not only are there crazy academic benefits, there are also relational benefits. Reading together is such a bonding experience. It helps calm your tiny ones and it brings your older kids to you. 

She’s almost 10 and she’s been reading since she was 4. She’s a voracious reader, reads constantly. I might need a job just to keep her in books. She can read as well as people twice her age. Some might naturally think there’s no point in reading to her anymore. She doesn’t need me to, she’s capable on her own. 

I disagree! We always have a book on the go together. It’s so bonding to be mutually enjoying a book and into it together. It allows her to relax or draw while I read to her. It gives us something to do just the two of us when we have time but I’m tired. Sometimes we just snuggle up like this reading our own books, pausing when she wants to talk about her book. Benefits here are we are physically connected and I get to know what shes reading and be available for discussion. 

All that to say, read with your kids!! Even when they’re older!! 

Together, she and I are loving the Tuesday’s with the Castle series. We’re on our last one!! What are you reading with your big kids?
What a great fsmily hike today to the southern tip What a great fsmily hike today to the southern tip of our island! 75 ish min hike for the whole crew!
Mystery of History Level 1. This is the history p Mystery of History Level 1. 
This is the history program we are using this year and I love it. This is likely what we will use for the next few years. I think this level will last us 2 years since we don’t do History daily.
This is a Bible based curriculum. It begins with creation and goes through history chronologically from there. Each lesson is short with a lesson in the text to be read (I read it out loud) and then a selection of activities. Each lesson has an activity for younger students, middle students and older students. 
There are some written components you can choose, such as matching characters with descriptions or answering comprehension questions. But as the teacher you can pick and choose what you want your kids to do. It can all be oral if you prefer. 
You can order timeline images and work throughout this whole curriculum to make a timeline. This is neat as it allows the kids to see how it all first together.
I love using this resource to learn together as a family!! 

#mysteryofhistory #homeschoolhistory
Merriest Christmas from our house to yours!! Looki Merriest Christmas from our house to yours!! Looking forward to this week off of school and next week we will be back at it!! My plans this week are mostly to read! How are you spending this week?
We are all so excited to see the snow and hope it We are all so excited to see the snow and hope it stays for Christmas
Grumpy mom goes to the beach. If you hear report Grumpy mom goes to the beach. 

If you hear reports of a crazy lady walking Stanley beach in the downpour and singing at the top of her lungs, have no fear, ‘twas just me. 

Do you know the best part of homeschooling? Being with your kids all the time. Getting to make so many memories and develop a strong bond, laugh together, train them, shape their character, disciple them, see them grow up….

Do you know the hardest part of homeschooling? 
Being with your kids all the time. All the mess, all the noise, all the discipline and discipling and correction. Not being able to outsource the tiring and hard parts of parenting. 

Homeschooling isn’t neat and tidy that’s for sure. It’s loud and messy and tiring and hard. And it’s beautiful and rewarding and bonding and the best decision we ever made. 

Doesn’t have to be one or the other. Both can be true. I can love it and think it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done all at the same time. 

So that’s what brings me in my raincoat and boots, worship music blaring out of my pocket and out of my lips, to the beach…getting myself ungrumpy and ready for another week of the hardest and best thing I’ve ever done. I wouldn’t change it for all the money in the world. ❤️

@valmariepaper a nod to your grumpy mom takes a holiday book. ❤️
“I believe in God the Father, I believe in Jesus “I believe in God the Father,
I believe in Jesus Christ,
I believe in the Holy Spirit
And He’s given us new life.
I believe in the crucifixion, 
I believe that He conquered death.
I believe in the resurrection
And He’s coming back again
I believe.”

Last Sunday our oldest daughter publicly declared her saving faith and allegiance to Jesus through the act of obedience through believers baptism. What a glorious day! And for her daddy to do the honours was even more special. 

We will continue to disciple her as she grows in knowledge, understanding and love for God. 

You do not need to share my beliefs to be welcome here. I’ve got a seat for you at my table regardless of your religious views. But may where my belief, love and allegiance lays never be in question. 

We love you Hailey girl ❤️
One row of carrots and a few onions harvested. Abo One row of carrots and a few onions harvested. About 1/3 of what’s there so lots more work to do.
Thank you God for this harvest and it’s provision for our family
I accidentally cut myself off! Here is part 2! I a I accidentally cut myself off! Here is part 2! I also forgot that there are usually individual white boards down below with the binders but they used them this morning and they’re not put back yet!
Showing the rolling cart we use for school this ye Showing the rolling cart we use for school this year
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