WWYD: Stay In Town, Go Away or Do Nothing for Long Weekends?
Zac and I recently took advantage of a rare moment of serenity for our crowded city. Many San Franciscans flocked to Burning Man, and a major bridge was shut down for the entire Labor Day weekend. We decided to be tourists in our own town, partly to avoid traffic hassles, but mostly because we wanted to save money.
The final tally on my expense tracker shows that staying in town wasn’t a significantly frugal choice. In fact, we’re going to have to cut back for the rest of the month to stay on budget. Let’s say hypothetically that we were able to put together a Labor Day weekend escape for a total of $500 (including accommodations, transportation and expenses). Compared to the $375 that we actually spent by staying in town, our total savings in disposable income only added up to 25%. How could two frugal guys end up spending so much?
A ballgame; a night at the club; a BBQ and a few meals out added up to a memorable Labor Day weekend, and some serious money.
Before I got in the habit of tracking expenses, I always had a feeling that holiday weekends were expensive whether I stayed in town or went away. Now I have numbers to back my suspicions. I’m starting to wonder if everyone has trouble staying frugal on long weekends.
Granted, I see that we packed in activities that we usually spread across weeks or a month all into one weekend. Had we gone into the weekend with a spending cap, we certainly would have more money in the bank today. But would we have been as satisfied with how we spent the fleeting days of summer? Probably not.
Readers, what would you do? Do you believe holiday weekends are a money drain one way or another? What would you do to make a long holiday weekend more frugal but still fun?
I think saving 25% and not sacrificing the types of activities you’re doing is pretty significant. After all, you included “accomodations” in your in-town excursion. What?
I think picking less expensive activities and accomodations is a good way to cut money. Camping is cheap, so is staying with friends. How about more cooking and less eating out? All of this depends on what, for you, adds up to a memorable weekend.
Thanks for the comment, Ryan.
Based on your feedback, I made a few changes to my post to clear up any confusion.
We didn’t spend on accommodations. The $500 was a hypothetical estimate of a weekend getaway, which would include accommodations. I compared that hypothetical amount to the total we spent on our in-town excursions, which was $375 total.
You’re right that choosing less expensive accommodations can make a weekend getaway more affordable. What’s scary is that staying in town has potential to cost more than going away.
It wasn’t so important that we had a memorable holiday weekend, just some time outdoors with friends and while the city was less packed. Lesson learned: next time we’ll be prepared to enjoy the outdoors with free or low-cost activities in mind.
Thanks again!
-John
Where I live, summer won’t be ending for a long time. In fact, it’s really still too hot to be out.
For me, the most significant thing about a long weekend is having so many days where I don’t have to go to work. I can easily spend all that free time catching up on books, housework, movies, practicing guitar, etc.
This weekend I did go to a sale at a bookstore, and I did bring munchies to a party, but mostly I slept a lot and cooked at home and did other relaxing things.
I think the best way of saving money is plan in advance. When you don’t have any ideas for what to do, you usually end up spending more money.
If you’re staying at home, that’s even more true because you’ve probably already done some of the free/frugal things in your city.
I’m a fan of taking local trips but staying in town is also nice. Being a tourist in your own town is fun and even better when you’re a total tourist. I find it’s good to take advantage of offers through the Visitors Bureau which often has discounts to places througout the city. Local transportation agencies generally advertise free or cheap events in the area as does the local paper (generally searchable online). There’s also Citypass (www.citypass.com) for those of us who live in large cities – which allows us to save a considerable amount on local attractions and includes public transportation. Then of course there’s also my favorite – the Entertainment book – 1/2 off to attractions & restaurants. Lots of great ways to save for a cheap stay in town.
Even before my partner & I took the vow of lesbian mom poverty (ie-before kids), we took most of our vacations at home, doing the types of things in town that one would take a visitor to (museums, parks, picnics, hikes on nature paths, etc) and maybe eating out a few more times that week or weekend. After we had felt we had seen it all/done it all together, we got more into spending our time on the home fixit stuff that never gets done. It certainly paid off well when her house sold and we were able to move our growing family to a better neighborhood (for us- closer to other family).