Every Summer in July, we take our 5 children to the beach as our family vacation. We chose the beach as our annual vacation because it is fun and affordable. The kids have a blast and the parents can relax. Parents have more control over how much they spend and can monitor easier during a beach vacation versus a popular resort. The best part about the beach vacation is that there are so many activities that families can do together for free. By determining the duration of your trip, food expenses, necessary toys, and souvenir situation a family can plan ahead and save money.
- How long should you go? Depending on where you live, going to the beach for a weekend can be pretty expensive. If you are only going for the day, your wallet will thank you. Get up early and drive to the beach. At the end of the day, you turn around and go home. This is a great option if you live close to a beach. If you don’t live close to a beach and you decide to stay overnight, try to find a hotel in a less touristy area. Hotels in highly populated areas are able to charge more because everyone wants to be in that location. At one end of the beach, hotels on the boardwalk can charge $280 a night. On the opposite side, the hotels are charging $90 per night.
- Bring your own food! When you get to your location, make a quick trip to the grocery store. This will save you a ton of money! By going grocery shopping, you will not be forced to pay for overpriced food. Nobody wants to pay $3 for a hotdog when they can spend $2 on a whole package. Buying bread, deli meat, and fruit can go a long way. Fruit is a healthy and refreshing snack for children when on the beach. Since you saved so much money you can buy dessert too!
- Who needs toys? The best part about the beach is that you do not have to bring any toys. Everything you need is already there! Sand and water can lead to loads of fun. Every year we go the beach, the first thing we do when we get there is write all of our names in the sand and the year. It is a great tradition that all of look forward too. We also have a theme for what kind of sand model we are going to make during our vacation. The past years we have had a mermaid, turtle, and sand city. Finding seashells for each other is also a great activity.
- Budget for souvenirs. It always happens. The kids want souvenirs. If you plan ahead for souvenirs for your kids, you will be prepared when your children turn around to you and beg you (with those puppy dog eyes that you can not resist) for a souvenir. Even though you know that souvenir they could not live without will be lost by the time you get home; being able to say they can have one under $5 will mean the world to them.
By Courtney, Free Stuff Finder Contributor
