Walt disney world
Sunday, November 08, 2009 | By leftthesanebehind
We are planning to go to Walt disney world in a few years, but have no realistic budget to save for. the travel agents are not really any help yet, because the prices change all the time. Has anyone from canada been and can you give me a guideline for saving? thanks!
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Back in the United States
Thursday, October 22, 2009 | By Stellaluna
After a 8.5 months of waiting my husband was finally given his VISA to the U.S. and we arrived in July of 09. We are now married in both countries!
The next step for us to be able to keep him here is to get him a "green card." This process thus far has cost over 3,000 U.S. dollars, not thrifty by any means. So far I have been able to do all the paperwork myself saving in lawyer fees, otherwise it would have been a lot more expensive.
After he has received his green card he will be able to work in the U.S. The Visa at first will be a 2 year conditional Visa and as long as we stay married it will be extended to 10 years. Once he receives his green card he can then start the process to become a citizen. At that point he would be able to hold a U.S. passport and vote. I am sure that whole process will also cost a bundle.
As we patiently wait once again for more paperwork to go through, we are enjoying our life together in the states but also miss something about Viet Nam everyday. I guess that is the life we are set out to have. No matter where we live one of us will miss our other country.
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Our preparation to see The Mouse
Saturday, July 18, 2009 | By babychicken9531
Well our long awaited family trip is approaching quickly. We have our reservations and plane tickets. The excitement in the house is almost overwhelming. This is a trip we have been planning for over a year. We scrimped and saved and are finally taking the family to Disney World. Both my husband and I have been to Disney many times. In fact the two of us were in Disney (without the children) for a working trip in March. We had a wonderful time and only wanted to bring the children more. We have 4 children 1 son; age 15, 3 daughters; ages 12 (she'll turn 13 in Disney), 7 and 4. The 3 older children have been to Disney at one time or another but we have not made it all together as a family since baby #3 was born.
Since we have been several time we have planned this trip using some of the things we have learned. First off we knew we wanted to stay at the resort. The reason for staying at the resort is transportation. Disney will pick you up and drop you off at the airport, this eliminates the need to rent a car. The bus ride from the Orlando airport is about 40 mins or so, but on the bus ride you watch a film about Disney Cruise line. Ok, another Disney commercial. Disney just wants to sell me more, but I think it does add to the anticipation of finally making it to Disney for the kids. Now on this trip we are staying with family a few days before we go to the resort, so G-ma will drop us off at our hotel. We will take Disney transport back to the airport after our stay.
The transportation doesn't end at the airport. When you stay on site, transportation to all the parks are included. Depending on where you stay and where you are going there are buses, boats, and monorails to get you to anything Disney.
We have decided to stay in the All-Star Music. I am a fan of the All-Star hotels. I think they are super fun, I'm really just a big kid. I love the huge, bright sights of the All-Star resort. I think it's very family geared. Great pools too. The rooms are basic, no thrills. I am not planning on spending much time in the room. I like that there is always something going on pool side, games for the kids to play or movies to watch on a huge inflatable movie screen. Oh, and it's nice to have a pool side bar too ;) (oh, but that's not cheap- it's just fun)
The Disney food leaves much to be desired in my opinion. I'm not a fan of the food at the All-Star. I will admit; I am a total food snob. I don't like to eat anything that isn't all natural. I have a legit reason for this. I have quite the long list of allergies and intolerance to food additives. I am planning on packing in some of my own food. Defiantly bringing a collapsible cooler for milk for my 4 year old. It has been said that this child should have her own cow. I will take advantage of the ice machine and the fact that we will have a few days in Daytona to get supplies.
Ok, the princesses. This is something that I have been working on for a while. I remember when I was a kid and went to Disney I wore my most comfortable, hot weather friendly, play clothes. Hmm... Not how little girls do Disney anymore. All the little princesses want their Bibbity Bobbity make over. For starters it takes a minimum of 1/2 hour, that's after you wait your turn. Cost starts at $50 and that's just for a quick updo and some glitter makeup. Not a fan of the makeup so that's out. An updo for $50!!! No way! We have our own princess dresses that I am bringing with us to Disney, I have packed enough hair product to make any girl look like they have plastic hair. When the girls weren't looking I found some super cute over the top hair thingies at the dollar store. All pink and toole and glittery. I also found some glitter for their hair at Walmart for $1.80. So dresses we have $0, free hair product bought with coupons on sale $0, dollar store fancy hair thingies $3, and glitter $1.80 and I can Fairy Godmother all the girls, all 4 days for a grand total of $4.80! Now if we didn't already have a collection of princess dresses, I would have asked for some of freecycle. I am planning on bringing play clothes to change into when the dresses get itchy. A tank top and shorts will take no space in my back pack.
As a surprise, but really my way of not spending $25 on t-shirts per child. I hit the Disney store in the mall a few months back and bought t-shirts for $2.50 each for the two smaller children and $5 each for the two older children off the clearance rack. I have kept these souvenirs well hidden and am planning on giving them to the children the first day we go to the parks. This sweet surprise cost me $15 as opposed to $100 when we buy them in the gift shop.
So my short list of Disney tips:
*Stay a the park, All-Stars are your best value
*Pack in a cooler and your own food
*Plan on "Bibbidi Bobbiding" the girls yourself (trust me on this one, every little girl in Disney dresses like a princess)
*Bring your souvenirs. Hit your local Disney store before your trip and surprise your kids with something when they wake up their first day.
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Memorial Day Weekend Saturday
Sunday, May 24, 2009 | By Tanya39
Well this weekend was a learning esperience for our family. Never take a trip three hours away and forewarn your family you're coming to visit. My Grandma had a Pulminary Attack. I couldn't go when she had it, as my father didn't want to much company at the hospital, but we did send a card with forever stamps that are a yearly cost, and you never have to pay postage again in your life with how many letters you actually write, and stuff like buying a stamp. It should have been a wake up call that my grandma hates my family, when we got there, and my friend of the family told us our grandma went out, and my uncle told me at the cemetary that she went to the casino for two days on the spur of the moment. My aunt is up from Arizona, so we visited her instead. She loved seeing the children again, and me. She wanted to know if we were moving back to AZ. I said no. We visited 8 graves of family members who died in the past this weekend, and chatted with some family that loved seeing us.
The car ride was one major "skunk" fest too. The new plan is never bring chocolate, and caffeine for snacks again. The chocolate melted, and the sugar rush sent me to the bathroom every other town of the three hour rode trip, and the children were bouncing off the car walls with overly too much sugar high energy. 16 bottles of water next time for sure instead of pop. They didn't even want to eat the sandwhiches I made for the trip. We stopped in Akeley, MN for a picnic lunch. Chaos was the word I would use. Ants everywhere, and children running around to check out Paul Bunyun Statue and Babe the Blue Ox. I wanted to make our visit to see how grandma was doing as burden free as possible, so we ate before we went to grandma's.
Car ride games consisted of identify how far away the skunk smell was from our car, and singing along to our own limericks, which were interesting to say the least. Next time travel scrabble, yatzee, and boggle will have to go, because the songs made me car sick with the smell of skunk too. The youngest child had to pee every top of the hour, so we pulled over to the side of the road using car doors as cover to let her pee, and for the rest to stretch their legs too. That is very important part of the trip planned rest stops anywhere. I never use actual rest stops when there is mother nature abound. I suggest trying it. It is much safer than public roadside restrooms.
Well we did have fun visiting with those who didn't flee when hearing the message that we were coming to visit. Next month my oldest daughter is getting married with the family and only us in attendance at the courthouse in our county, so I will tell you how it went for us. Bye for now!
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RV Travelling
Thursday, March 19, 2009 | By Pennypacer
My husband and I have sold our home and are travelling in our motorhome. The cost of doing this is far less than staying in one spot paying insurance, taxes, utilities etc. The added bonus is the different sites you see from your back door and the wonderful people you meet. If you want a frugal lifestyle then this is a one way to go.
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Rent a room for tourists with AirBNB!
Monday, March 09, 2009 | By freya1970
I was reading the newsletter that i get from another frugal website, and the woman who wrote the article recommended a site called Air B&B: www.airbnb.com If you have a spare room or couch in your house, you can sign up and rent out your space to travellers! The company mails you a cheque a week after the stay has been completed! You can choose how much you want to charge. I am the only one in my area who has signed up, so let's hope I'll get some guests soon!
I am also on couchsurfing.com which hosts travellers for free. I do LOVE doing this, but in this economy I could use the extra money and I have decided to also host a few couchsurfing people too, though at this time I might have to put paying guests as a priority.
It's a fun site to look through, even if you don't want to rent a room. Would be great for small business travellers to use this service, you can get a bed in New York for as little as $15! :) Neat isn't it?
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HAVE YOUR OWN ONLINE TRAVEL WEBSITE
Thursday, March 05, 2009 | By pam woodward
I HAVE HAD MY OWN ONLINE TRAVEL WEBSITE FOR 2 YEARS NOW & HAVE SAVED SO MUCH MONEY & MADE SO MUCH MONEY. ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT AN ONLINE HOMEBASED BUSINESS IS THE TAX DEDUCTION. I HAD MY WEBSITE UP AND RUNNING IN A MATTER OF MINUTES & MAKE MONEY WHILE I SLEEP & WHEN I LEAST EXPECT IT. I AM A VERY FRUGAL PERSON AND OWNING THIS SITE HAS GIVEN ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO ON MORE VACATIONS AND HELP OTHER PEOPLE MAKE SOME EXTRA MONEY ON THE SIDE ALSO. ALSO ALL I DO IS GIVE A BUSINESS CARD TO EVERYONE AND MAKE MONEY WHEN THEY BOOK ON MY WEBSITE. HOW EASY IS THAT? EVERYONE THAT REALLY WATCHES THEIR PENNIES NEEDS AN ONLINE TRAVEL SITE.
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Back from travelling & Spa Experiences
Tuesday, March 03, 2009 | By freya1970
Phew...all this travelling has made me tired but the last trip (in Montreal) was very rejuvenating! On the downside, I spent WAY more money than I wanted to, but luckily everything I bought was heavily discounted apart from the products at Kiehl's.
My Montreal trips are usually filled with shopping trips, because where I live they are still pretty behind with a lot of things so I stock up on clothes (end of season), herbs and other new-agey stuff that is not available here. Breakfast was included with our accommodations and my friend and I were frugal with other meals. We went out one night for a nice dinner which cost about $40Cdn for both of us. It was an indian restaurant and included lots of veggie dishes, rice, naan and dessert. It was worth the money! I also picked up an Eco-Green coupon book for $20 (Similar to the Entertainment Guides but a more new agey version) and included lots of 2/1 restaurant /cafe coupons. I only used 5 coupons during my trip and already got my money back. There are about 10 yoga coupons (free) which I will use when I go back in May. Since I go there 4-5 times a year and the coupons expire in December, I'll definitely get my money's worth: www.conscienceverte.ca
I also booked two services at a holistic spa and was glad I did. I was still sick with a bad flu when I arrived and the massage I received really made me feel better. I purchased my services here: www.spaandtravel.com which saved me about $50. I also had a coupon (code: wholelottalove). For example, I got a Warm Honey Jasmine Wrap which they list for $75 on their website. On Spaandtravel.com it's $60 and with my coupon code I saved another 15%. I saved about $30 on the service. If you rate your experience, you get another $5 coupon! Also try www.wayspa.com for more spas. Since I enjoyed my honey wrap so much, I am in the midst of creating a concoction similar to it and will post the recipe when I've perfected it. In the meantime, here is a nice Chocolate Body Scrub recipe:
Chocolate Body Scrub
Mix together:
1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup white or cane sugar, 1/2 cup canola oil & 1/4 cup cocoa (organic if you have it on hand). Scrub your body and rinse well.
I got a free facial at Kiehl's (www.kielhs.com) (we all know they do this to sell products) but I was surprised that they didn't push me into buying anything. I loved the men's scrub, foaming face wash and some eye concentrate so much that I did splurge. Because they knew I had a limited budget and that I expressed interest in other products I couldn't afford, the woman threw in tons of samples for me, one which is an eye cream I liked. She told me to poke a hole in the sample pack, use a tiny bit and it should last me a year!! I wanted to get something for my friend's birthday but really all I could afford was the small tube of handcream...the woman again threw in tons of samples for my friend of other expensive products I was looking at for her and wrapped it all beautifully in a box. So for the $15 I spent on the handcream, she's getting tons of goodies! I was pleased :)
Since there are no fashionable men's clothes in my city, I shop for my sweetie too. I ended up at Mexx and they had 75% off alot of their winter clothes. I purchased two pairs of pants and a shirt for him. I also ended up at Banana Republic and bought three things for $30!! A tie that had been marked down from $75 to $9.99 and two white t-shirts for $20. My sweetie keeps his clothes a long time so I always buy quality stuff that is heavily discounted. He was so thrilled and loved everything. I must admit, I prefer shopping for men's clothes than women's!
On a good note, I am now earning twice the money i used to make as my job hired me on separate from the temp agency till the end of July. So with all that money I spent, I should be able to pay off my credit card bill with one cheque, so things could be worse!
So being back home, I am tightening my belt. My boss is gone for a week so I am getting extra hours as well. I purchased a transit pass so I don't have to limit my bus trips as well.
Stay tuned for more :)
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Back from Vacation
Thursday, February 19, 2009 | By freya1970
I never thought I would be so happy to get home after a vacation. Flying standby is stressful too and sadly I got a bad flu which left me in bed the last two days of our 5 day trip. I managed to save money while we were there because I didn't eat much as I was feeling rather ill most of the time there but mostly just the last two days where I couldn't leave the bed. I definitely don't need to lose weight but I think I lost 5lbs in a week's time. When I arrived home, my sweetie said I really needed to eat. I had tried to eat but wasn't happy with the food there (I'm not even really picky!). Being vegan there was next to impossible too, so my choices were limited and i mostly just went to the grocery store to get rolls and fruit to eat.
Got first class on the way back too which was very nice. Because I was ill, the flight attendant served me some hot tea and gave me a blanket; gotta love that first class service! I tried to eat some of the hot meal they served but couldn't get through it, so my friend ate it for me.
Since we arrived last night, I didn't get a chance to cook anything and I went straight to bed since I couldn't afford to miss work today even if I do have the flu. Lucky for me, th cold medication was on sale for $4 at the drugstore so that's keeping me going even though I am usually opposed to taking that kind of stuff. I'll have to venture out for a cheap healthy lunch and make sure I have food for tomorrow.
I never thought i'd say this either but it's nice to be back in the cold. I never really did like the heat! A few days of sun was enough, now I will be happy to cuddle in front of the fire with a nice cup of hot tea.
More travelling next week but luckily not standby! I won't have much cash for this other upcoming trip but luckily I have a free place to stay. Stay tuned!
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Off to Mexico, no blog for a week!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009 | By freya1970
The day has finally come! I am off to Montreal this evening, then Mexico in the morning assuming we make it on the flight with our standby passes. *crossing fingers*
I will be mailing a letter & gift card to my sweetie so he can get a nice surprise while I am gone. I also made a sale on etsy.com and have to ship that out today as well.
After work, I will head down the street to pick up my paycheck and send the mail, then off to go home and finish up packing.
I will be making a nice sit down dinner tonight, probably a veggie sheppard's pie which is easy to prepare. No time for baking so there won't be dessert but I do have some dark organic chocolate on hand!
Hope everyone has a frugal week, I will try to report back with some good frugalt travel tips upon my return, assuming I stick to a strict budget while I am gone (still planning to cook in the communal kitchen where we are staying!)
If you're going anywhere in the world, try this website for cheap accommodations:
http://www.hostelbookers.com (I get a free $5 international phonecard when I book on there)
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