Now, before all my fun loving, throw caution to the wind, enneagram 4's or 7's, budget hating folks start groaning, hear me out.
The idea is using frugality SO THAT you are free to vacation in the ways you want!
A budget speaks to more than just money. It encompasses your resources and limitations. Resources like time, energy and of course money. Limitations may be the ages of your party, days off from work or medical constraints.
Being frugal means that you spend your resources to get what you want, and not on things you don't care about.
So... what do you want in a vacation?
Location
The Getaway
Newness (scenery, culture, architecture..)
A favorite same spot
Food (5 star, hole in the wall)
A new coffee shop
Breweries
Wineries
Family (immediate, extended)
Walks/Hikes/biking/surfing
Rest/Comfort/spa
Museums/Entertainment
Historical landmarks
Going to Water, beach, river, lake,
Mountains
Cities
Time to read/write/paint/compose
Experiences/Classes
Length of vacation
Once you identify what you want, then you identify what doesn't matter as much to you.
For us, we love new places that refresh our world view. A unique place to stay is what we look for and I (Kat) especially love decor that inspires.
Food is our area we give on. We absolutely love great food and drink but often restaurants are what we put on the chopping block to make travel possible. For example, Caleb and I were traveling from London to Wales and boiled extra eggs and packed sausage with us and bread so that we ate for a few dollars that day on the train instead of what easily becomes $100 of food.
Just recently our family of 5 drove to big bend in southwest Texas. We packed a crate full of food from Sam's and two ice chests. That food covered us the whole 5 days and even had leftovers!
The point is to vacation on purpose. Not that it has to be a detailed itinerary, but plan where you intend to spend your budget. Even just generally. For example you may value food and restaurant experiences highly, so you may plan to get low cost housing or even a local vacation/stay cation and splurge on amazing restaurants!
Check out our article where Caleb analyzes common cost factors in planning travel and ideas around them.
We hope this helps you frame in planning your fun. I really want to hear from you to learn what matters to you in a vacation! So drop us a line at freeandfrugalfive@gmail.com.
~ K