Where to Get Money for a Vacation When You're Broke

If you are like me, you need a vacation. My husband would stay home all year, but I need to get away from the hustle of real life every once in a while. I like to go on a few mini-vacations a year, usually without my husband because he would rather stay home, and we always go on one major week long vacation each summer. We have space in our budget for our yearly vacation but not for my mini-vacations. A couple of years ago I became really crafty in coming up with the money. I had just had my second baby and was home on maternity leave. I needed to get away. The kids and I took a few vacations with my mom and one with a friend.

This summer, I am at home with my third baby, who is a month old. We are planning as a family to go to the beach at the end of the summer, but I would like to go a few other places. So here I am, using my old tactics to "find" some money to use for vacation.

Here is what I do:

1. Find holes in my budget. We usually budget $100 a week for groceries. I have found that if I research the sales, use some coupons, and plan my menu accordingly, I can get this amount down - sometimes to half the amount! I have a savings set up just for vacation money and anything I don't spend in that grocery budget, I'll put in my "vacation" savings. I do this with other parts of our budget also. We budget for eating out and coffee out etc. I just don't eat out or get coffee out for a few months and you will not believe how much it adds up!

2. Sell your stuff. I know that I have way too much stuff. I accumulate things like crazy. I love scrapbooking and stamping but honestly I haven't done it in months. I went through all of my supplies and tried to cut them in half. You can sell on ebay, or many communities have online garage sales, where you can try to sell them for free. If you have friends with the same hobby, email them to see if they might want something.

3. Go through your closets, and your kids' closets. The are many consignment shops that will sell your clothes. Also at certain times, there are consignment sales. I made over $100 one year on clothes that were too small for my children, and were about to be donated. Someone convinced me to put them in a consignment sale and I'm so glad I did.

4. Inlist your kids. Talk to your children about the vacation. They may get excited and want to contribute by going through their toy boxes and seeing if there are any toys they no longer play with. I know my kids have way too many toys. Most of them never see the light of day.

5. Take on some extra jobs. I know what you're thinking. You do not need to fill out an application and find a babysitter. You can be the babysitter. Let all of your friends know that you are willing to babysit so they can go out. Offer to clean houses for your neighbors or house sit for relatives. Do you love to garden? Well, I guarantee you know someone who doesn't, maybe you can help them with their garden. I love to scrapbook and design cards. I have made wedding invitations and baby announcements in the past for people who wanted handmade but had no idea how to do it.

I hope that you can use a few of these tips and maybe get out of town a little more than you have budgeted for. Just think about your destination while you are doing them, that always makes doing it easier! Have fun saving money.