Travel on the Cheap With Your Money Clip

Finding it impossible to give you family a summer break? Think again. There are ways to travel on the cheap with your money clip.

Can You Afford a Summer Break?

With prices rocketing to astronomical highs, the prospect of vacationing with children this summer can dampen one's insatiable wanderlust. But before ditching the idea of a summer sabbatical, how about stomping on the less traveled by-ways? There are great getaways in the heartland, which you never heard about yet these are equally enchanting and entrancing without your money clip or your wallet running on empty.

To get things going, the first thing to do is to plan the vacation ahead of time and decide where to go, where to stay, and how to have the fun and adventure on limited resources - meaning, vacationing like the Vanderbilts without having to end up with an empty money clip.

Instead of sailing out to far exotic places, visit the neighboring states - the nearer the better - and along the way, pay a visit to family and friends. You'll have a good time remembering the good old days, and your kids will have the chance to catch up with their cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents.

Summer Treats for Different Trips

For a successful budget vacation, select nearby states with lots to offer in terms of family fun and spectacular views. Add up the cost of all the bus rides for the entire family and the stops at lodging houses along the way (if necessary). If the expense is just a few hundred dollars more, opt to gas up and drive away into the summer sunset and enjoy the views after stuffing your money clip with the budget for the day.

If you leave in Boston, Pasadena, or New York and love to gawk at old but opulent mansions, head out to Newport in Rhode Island to tour the pre-World War II Rosecliff house. Or, if the Blue Mountains and a laid-back atmosphere is your cup of tea, Carroll County in Virginia is your answer.

Holidaying couples can have stretches of isolated beaches or shorelines without having to go to the Caribbean in Cape May. Drive out there if you're anywhere near Philadelphia. At the beach, you won't have to take a bulky wallet; your money clip will do. Like a boy scout, you'll have to be ready just in case.

Or, you can visit family along the way. A night or two with the relatives can ease up the vacation budget without diminishing the fun. You won't have to check your vacation fund or your money clip to see if you can still make a go of it to the nearest vacation spot.

Helpful Tips

Here are other tips to vacation cheaply:

* For the road trip bring tons of non-perishable food because restaurant food is costly.

* Instead of checking into hotels and renting a vacation cabin, pitch a tent in a populated and designated camping grounds.

* Cook meals for the family in the campsite. Eating outdoors is exciting and out of the ordinary for the kids long cooped up school cafterias.

* For sightseeing in neighboring counties, take the bus, instead of gassing up your pick-up truck.

See? There are endless possibilities to enjoy your summer on a budget. Just take a good look around and plan ahead and hold to your money clip.