Vacationing on a Budget: Los Angeles Zoo...

Well that's a lot of pictures......haha I am sure you were thinking that:) It was hard to narrow down from the hundred I took...I'm totally not lying people. I was snap crazy when we were at the zoo for our final excursion in LA. Sunday was the kid's pick and thy decided unanimously on the LA Zoo. Did you know they had a zoo? Before we left, we would tell people what we were planning to do in LA and for some reason very few people knew LA had a zoo....so I am here to tell you they do have a zoo and a pretty awesome one at that! 

It was a great pick by those red heads. We spent all Sunday morning there and part of the afternoon too. The place is so large that we couldn't even see all the animals. We let the kids lead the show and made sure we were able to see at least a few their picks. One of our favorites were the orangutans. Those animals are soo dang funny. We got to see them interact with each other and that had us in stitches. There was a mommy and baby who were so cute together. It was also neat when the mama was nursing her baby. It was a great little intro to a quick little lesson. I am always looking for those teaching moments and that was a really cool one.

To save money, we brought our own lunch and water bottles. The zoo had plenty of water fountains, so we were able to constantly refill our bottles. Other than buying tickets, we didn't spend anything extra on food...oh except the magnet I brought back for my mama. She has a thing for magnets from other places, so I always try to snag her a fun one if we go on vacation :)

Aunt Shelly and Uncle Rei weren't able to come with us to the zoo (my brotherinlaw is very allergic to animals), but they wanted to be able to spoil their niece and nephew (they are the sweetest!), so they gave them each $20 to spend in the gift shop. Libby picked out a pink elephant to add to her stuffed animal collection and Keagan found a really cool shirt. LA Zoo knew what they were doing when they combined their animals and star wars for graphic tees. Keagan has been wearing this shirt non stop! 

After our fun day at the zoo, we drove home...and by we...I mean Hubby. :) It's about a five hour drive (with plenty of bathroom stops). We got into town around dinner time, so we ended our trip with a stop at Taco Bell. Overall we only ate out once a day when we were on vacation. Bringing a lot of snacks and meals from home saved us hundreds of dollars. This helped us keep our vacation budget to a minimum. We chose places that didn't break the bank, but we also splurged a bit as well on the art museum and the zoo. 

We paid cash for EVERYTHING on this trip. EVERYTHING. We did not charge one single thing. Every ounce of gas, every meal bought, or magnet purchased was paid with cash. Paying with cash is huge.! We saved the money before hand and set a budget. We stayed within that budget. We didn't come home feeling like we were super poor. We came home feeling great! That is the key to vacationing. Stay within your means at all times. You can still be budget conscious and have a blast on vacation. Setting a budget allowed us to do a lot of fun things because we knew we had the money for it. There is a sense of peace and freedom when you know for sure that you have everything all budgeted and planned.

So now our vacation category of our savings account is depleted, but guess what? We are starting to save again for our next trip. That's how this budgeting thing works. Once you have depleted a category, you start saving again.

Our next plan is to celebrate the end of this school year (we finish August 28) with a trip to Disneyland for Mickey's Halloween party. We did it two years ago and it was a blast! I'm excited to start planning and saving. It is going to be a surprise so shhh! Don't tell the red heads:)

XO Danielle 

Vacations on a Budget: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art....

Saturday afternoon in LA was awesome! Right next door to The LaBrea Tarpits is the Los Angeles County Art Museum. This thing is huge...like multiple buildings huge! It was free for the kids, so we only had to pay for Hubby and I. Our change in plans actually ended up saving us money and we still had a blast! We took our time walking through the many rooms of art. It was so neat to experience that with my kiddos. I also loved seeing my brotherinlaw and sisinlaw sharing thoughts with the kids on the art. I loved that they were making them think. I feel like life is a classroom, so I am always looking for opportunities to teach them....even when we're on vacation :)

We saw some beautiful clothes from tribes in Africa. They were amazingly colorful. We couldn't take pictures in that room, but let me tell you...it was pretty darn awesome. My all time favorite was the pop art and modern art. It reminded the kids of some scenes from Night at the Museum.

After our afternoon at the Art Museum, we came back to the hotel and swam in the pool. When booking a hotel, we looked for one with a pool. My brotherinlaw was able to get us a deal through AAA, which saved us a bunch too. For less than $300 we were able to stay two nights in The Double Tree by Hilton. It was a beautiful hotel!

After some time in the pool, we went out to The Outback for dinner. My brotherinlaw and sisinlaw took us out, which was beyond generous. We had a fabulous time spending the day with them, getting to explore new places, and enjoying time with family. I did not get one single picture of our night though. We were having too much fun laughing, eating yummy food, and talking. It was a great night!

Later next week I'll share our pictures from Sunday. That was zoo day and it was seriously the best!

XO Danielle

Vacations on a Budget: The LaBrea Tarpits...

So I'm finally getting around to posting those pictures from our trip to Los Angelos. We were there for two days and were able to check out The LaBrea Tar pits, The Los Angelos County Art Museum, and The LA Zoo. They were all amazing and I am so thankful we were able to spend the weekend there over Memorial Day and enjoy some much needed family time.

When we started planning our family vacation, we looked up all the many attractions that are in the LA area. There were so many to choose from we could have planned a four week vacation. To narrow it down, we each picked something that we really wanted to do. Jason has wanted to do the LaBrea Tar Pits for years, so that was an obvious choice for him. The kids picked the zoo and I really wanted to do the Natural History Museum, but once we got to LA I realized it may not work out with logistics. Our plan was to do LaBrea Tarpits and the Natural History Museum in one day and we weren't sure how that would work with LA traffic and with the kids energy levels, so we decided to do the Art Museum instead (it was next door to the tar pits). I am so glad we did because it was pretty amazing. Wilshire Blvd (where the tar pits are located) is like museum central. It was so neat to see everything in that area. The parks were beautiful as well. Perfect for picnicking for lunch. 

We went when the park first opened, so we had no trouble finding a place to park. I had looked up the area before, so I knew that we would have to pay for parking. I factored that in when we were planning our trip. To cut done on the cost, we brought along our Nutri-bullet to make smoothies in the morning. Our hotel room had a mini fridge in it, so it was perfect for keeping our almond milk and fruit cold for smoothies. We also had a cooler, so we could bring sandwiches and snacks to eat. This really cut down on the cost of our trip as well. We did this on both Saturday (tar pit and art museum day) and Sunday (zoo day). Not having to buy food for breakfast and lunch saved us $40+, which this mama was very happy about.

After a guided tour of the tar pits, we stopped for lunch and were able to visit the county art museum. It was full of art from around the world. It was really cool when my Keagan and Libby recognized art done by Matisse and Andy Warhol. It made this homeschool mama proud. My brother and sisinlaw came for the day as well, so it was really cool to explore with them. 

Tomorrow I will share our pictures from The Art Museum. There was this really cool art piece in front of the museum that you were able to walk through and play with. Seriously the coolest thing ever! I can't wait to show you tomorrow. 

XO Danielle

P.S.

Thank you to everyone that pre-ordered my book and those who purchased it yesterday. From the bottom of my heart, thank you! Your support means the world to me! :)

We Went To LA....

Over Memorial Day weekend, we went to LA. We packed those cute red heads up and went away for the weekend for some much needed family time. My brotherinlaw and sisinlaw came along as well. It was two full days of absolute fun and relaxation. Surprisingly we didn't get lost once (this added to the relaxation. Stress free driving). We missed a turn or two (those freeway on ramps come out of no where), but thanks to Google we were able to turn around and get right back on track. LA freeways were one of my biggest fear when planning this trip. I get lost really easily, but Hubby drove...I was the co-pilot with my GPS active on my phone. Thank you Google Maps :)

LA was awesome! Full of amazing sights to see. We went to an art museum, the LaBrea Tarpits, and the Los Angeles zoo.  I can't wait to share and tell you about our family vaca! I will be sharing our pictures over the next day or so. Oh and I haven't forgotten about the home tour I haven't finished yet. I'm going to work on some more home posts this week. Oh and don't forget today is day 1 of my June Spending Freeze. I love how so many of you are joining in. You can learn more about it here.We are going to save this month lovelies! I think a budget detox is a great thing to do a few times a year. It really puts your spending habits out there for you to see and analyze. Share your progress on instagram using the hashtag #junespendingfreeze and follow me on instagram so I can cheer you on too! :)


XO Danielle


My Book is available for preorder on Amazon. Check it out HERE! 

5 Ways to Save Your Way to Disneyland

 

This is a Guest Post by Karen

@ Neat Doctor

Disneyland is such a magical experience, and was a wonderful part of my childhood. We definitely want our kids to experience it, but not at such a high expense! Here are some tips and tricks I’ve gathered to help make the trip a little more financially manageable. 

 

1. Save the money outside of your current budget

If you stick to a planned out budget, chances are you have some sort of allowance for entertainment. We decided to save for this trip independently of our entertainment budget. Sell household items, toys, earn some extra cash on the side, and put it towards your Disney fund. Our trip so far has been funded by a combination of selling toys and household items, a monetary gift from a family member, and a small amount of some unexpected money that came in.  This has also been a great way to teach financial principles and numbers to our kids.  Each time they sell a toy, we track the money earned towards our trip on a flip board. Also be sure to add the costs of gas, travel, food, and souvenirs to your budget.

2. Go for the cheaper ticket options

Be sure to familiarize yourself with all of Disneyland’s ticket options. The Annual Pass may seem like a better deal, but it comes at a steep price. Do the math. If you are going to visit the park more than 6 or 8 times a year (the amount of visits necessary to just break even with the cost), then it may be worth it. However, you’ve also got to factor in all of the expenses that go along with those trips such as the gas, food etc. That’s where it really starts to add up. The 1-Day (1 park) tickets and the 2-Day (1 park per day) tickets with the AAA discount are great options if you want to spend less. Beware of the Park Hopper upgrade too. Realistically, it is very hard to see and experience a lot of both Disneyland and California Adventure in one day.

3. Pack your own food

We like to pack our own lunches and snacks on trips.  I cringe at the theme park food prices - and for junk food!  Yikes!  I allow for some treats and junkier food on trips because, well it's a treat!  So, about a week before the trip I head to the 99 Cent Store first to see if they have some pretzels, granola bars, and other snack items that are junky enough that they are a treat, yet aren't entirely chemical laden. After seeing what I can score there, I also make sure to pack peanut butter, jelly, bread, organic apples, cereal, ziplocks, and a big flat of bottled waters.  We use reusable water bottles during the year, but on trips we opt for these because who wants to do dishes on a trip?!  If I've had time to do some couponing, I may throw some of those food items in our bag too.  Lunch and snacks are therefore covered.  We probably will have 1 or 2 snacks or meals at the park, but at least this limits the amount spent on food. 

4. Buy souvenirs ahead of time

Gift shops can be money suckers!  I want to buy my kids something to enjoy and remember the trip by, but I do not want to spend a fortune.  So, I like to buy some gifts ahead of time at discounted prices then surprise them with it while we are there.  I usually aim to get something practical like a clothing item as well as something fun. I also like to strategically avoid the gift shops.  Steer clear of them in the park as best you can!  Look at the park map ahead of time to proactively avoid the shops. If you live near a Disney Outlet Store, go there without the kids sometime and get a few things to surprise them with.  Zulily also routinely has Disney branded items at a discount. 

5. Buy Disney Gift Cards . . . and a Word About the Disney Credit Card

To save even more, see if Raise.com has some Disney Gift Cards available.  Raise sells gift cards at a discount.  If you have some extra gift cards laying around that you will not be using, sell them on Raise to make some extra cash! Then, use those gift cards at the outlet to purchase your souvenirs, or you can also use them at the park itself.  Be sure to read restrictions carefully!  Also keep your eyes open for Disney Gift Card deals at stores like Target, and grocery stores.  If you have a Target Red Card, you will get 5% back on your purchase. I've also seen some grocery store promotions throughout the year like get $10 in groceries for every $100 in gift cards spent.  Every little bit of savings counts!  You can also use the gift cards as a way to budget out your trip, only allowing yourself a certain amount to be spent in the park.  I will mention that Disney offers a credit card with some interesting perks. Be sure to read the fine print carefully! You get 10% off Disney Store transactions with a minimum $50 purchase. The discount cannot be applied to theme park passes. By opening an account you also get a $50 credit after your first purchase. Other perks include a character meet and greet for card holders (with one complimentary 5x7 photo), select dining discounts, and reward dollars can be earned to redeem towards merchandise, theme park tickets, resort stays and Disney movie tickets. You can find more details about the card Here. Just be sure to weigh out the pros and cons. I generally steer away from opening new credit cards. If you currently have a card with a rewards program, you may find that you will use those rewards more than the Disney rewards after your trip. Also, remember to pay that card with the budgeted cash you saved quickly upon your return!

6. Minimize hotel expenses

If you have friends or family within a close driving distance of the park, stay with them. If you live in Southern California, also consider making it a day trip and pack pj’s along for the kids to change into as they snooze away on the way home. If you need to stay in a hotel, you can find many options near the park that are much cheaper than the Disney branded hotels.  Trip Advisor is a wonderful resource for finding such hotels.

-Karen

-----------------------------

Thanks Karen! I love all the amazingly simple tips and tricks you shared! Don't forget to check out Karen on her blog!

XO Danielle

Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube Channel!