Outer Banks, Under Budget!

Our family of six recently spent a week in the Outer Banks, NC . Our budget was $1000. In Vacation on a Budget, I shared some things we planned to do to keep our vacation with in our budget. How did we do?

I'm happy to say we stayed well within our budget. In fact we only spent about $720. Here is a rough breakdown:

Housing: $350
Gas : $240
Dining: $110
Tolls & Misc: $12
Entertainment: $8

I did not include the cost of groceries, since that cost is part of our normal budget. I also did not include $30 spent at a thrift store. Though the items were purchased on vacation, I didn't consider them vacation expenses. Thanks anonymous for the tip about the thrift stores there, wish I would have had more time to shop them!

Thoughts on the expenditures.
Of course, the one that glares at me, is the dining. That is always the place we always spend more than intended. We did use Restaurant.com for one meal. We had purchased another certificate, but although the website said they were open for lunch, we never found them open when we wanted to go. We are currently trying to exchange that certificate.

This cost could have been cut out entirely, by making all our own meals. The restaurants we chose weren't exactly high end, but they were nice. We could have eaten at cheaper places, but it was vacation. We enjoy going out to eat, and enjoy eating in nice places. We stayed in our budget. I have no regrets about spending $110 there.

What did we do all week for $8? A lot. The Outer Banks has lots of free or low cost things to do. I posted more about what we did all week at Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood, if you'd like to see.

In the first post, I failed to mention another tip that can save you quite a bit while travelling. Pack a cooler for the vehicle. Stopping for food and drinks along the way can add up quickly. Having food and drink on hand helps with restless children too.

Vacations don't have to cost a small fortune. We had a great time, and we stayed within our budget. How can you ask for anything more?

For more ideas to save money while visiting the Outer Banks see OBX on the Cheap.
Alison, also recently made a trip there. She and her husband had a weekend getaway cheap.



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