5 fun and frugal ways to immerse yourself in local culture

Enjoying and immersing yourself can be a great, inexpensive way to have some family fun. I promise not to use the word “staycation” during this post, especially since it’s something you can do all year ’round, not just one week out of the year. Here are my top five tips to enjoy your local community and culture and save money.

Get annual memberships

I love getting annual memberships. At most places they pay for themselves after two visits and often entitle you to food and gift shop discounts or special members only times and events. When we get a membership, I try to get there quarterly. The kids don’t get bored and neither do I; a year actually goes by very quickly and I find myself wanting to visit again. You can make the most of going on non-crowded days and when the kids are off from school. With annual memberships and knowing I can return any time, I don’t feel the pressure to “do it all” in one day, thus possibly exhausting myself and the kids right into meltdown phase!

Sesame Place-our #1 favorite place to get a membership!

Subscribe to some local cities for the daily deal sites

Many now have family-friendly specific email lists, so you can weed out what is not applicable. Although not as popular as they were a year or two ago, it can still be a good way to save money and try a new spot. Make sure you read the fine print and pay attention to expiration dates.

Seek our fairs and festivals

Around here we have the huge Mushroom Festival every September, but there are many smaller fairs and festivals that still have a lot to offer. We’ve been to the Polish Festival down in Wilmington, the Cinco de Mayo festival, various apple festivals at the local orchards, fishing derbies held every spring and many others. There are wine festivals, restaurant weeks and so much more. Use a special event, fair or festival as a reason to go, because venues often put their best foot forward during these events and there are often discounts.

disability pride festival philadelphia

The Disability Pride festival gave us another reason to head down to the Constitution Center.

Go on off days

Use your child’s off days for conferences or in-services, or take advantage of their educational travel days and go during the week. Weekends are the most crowded times for just about any venue, so going during the week is often cheaper and since it’s less crowded you can make the most of your time there and not be waiting in line. Milburn Orchards is known for all of it’s autumn festivities, but when we went in June there were no crowds and we didn’t have to pay an admission fee.

milburn orchards

My little guys love going to Milburn Orchards.

Use the internet and apps

The internet can really be your friend for travel. Some places give a discount for purchasing tickets online. Others give a discount if you “check in” to the place with your smart phone or show them something on your smart phone when you get there. Look at their website before hand to see what you can take advantage of to defray your costs.

 

With admission fees for an entire family and then adding in a meal, a simple local day outing can quickly add up! Use these tips so that can enjoy the most of what your local community has to offer, without breaking the bank.

Vacation on a Budget

You hear everyone talking about that phenomenal trip they took – a cruise, Disney, some all inclusive resort, and even more foreign and amazing, international travel.  You are jealous. Good grief, you haven’t had a vacation without kids, let alone WITH kids for longer than you can remember. Those $$$ signs mount in your head and you envision maxing out your credit card just attempting to DREAM of vacation.

STOP!

Okay, reality may be you CAN’T afford a vacation. I don’t recommend going into debt for one but over the next few weeks I want to bring you some ways you can vacation for under $150. Sure, most of them will be day trips, but a day vacation is better than no vacation and offers that break that, well, keeps us from breaking.  I refuse to go into debt for a vacation. One day of fun is so not worth that bill hanging over my head, leaving me stressed out. This is all part of our quest to be debt free and to live within our means. Buy now, pay later does not afford our dream or give us peace.

First some tips – 

1) Set a budget AND STICK TO IT. Only do what you can afford.

2) Go local. Explore your city, your state, the surrounding area – save gas, hotel, and food expenses.

3) Be creative.

4) Have fun and don’t stress.

Stay tuned for a post later today on where your first adventure could take you.

 

Save $$ on vacation–get a City Pass

Click image to see NYC offers--5 for $79!

I just learned about City Pass. It’s an online ticketing thing, where you buy passes to city attractions at a discount. This is HUGE savings if you’re going to visit a specific city for vacation. CityPass is a simple way to vacation in North America’s most popular city destinations. Available in New York, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Hollywood, Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Toronto. CityPass is a ticket booklet containing an actual admission ticket to the top attractions in each city. With CityPass, you pay one substantially reduced price and avoid main entrance ticket lines at most attractions.

If you live near a big city, it’s a great deal too. I’m thinking of doing the Philadelphia offer. I get the National Constitution Center (which I’ve wanted to visit, but have never been) and 5 other attractions for $59. Some of the offers include the zoo and the Please Touch Museum. You know that’s one of my favorites! My kids love it there. And, keep in mind, when you purchase this–you are purchasing the actual tickets to get in. Not vouchers to get tickets. So you avoid waiting in lines once you get there. That’s huge! I hate trying to entertain my kids while waiting in a line, especially in the heat.

See offers below for Philadelphia, or click the banner to see the other cities. I’m going to email this post to my stepmother, who visits NYC all the time.

Admission Pass to Philadelphia’s “National Constitution Center” & 5 other attractions only $59.00 at CityPass – $110.99 value

Admission Pass to Philadelphia’s “Academy of Natural Sciences” & 5 other attractions only $59.00 at CityPass – $110.99 value


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