by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer
I love vacations. I love them because I can get away and destress and detox from my busy work-life. However, I’m not in the habit of spending a lot of money during my vacations. I want to have fun, but I also want to get the best price possible.
Packages I am a big fan of vacation packages. In 2008, I took a Halloween vacation to Kings Mill Resort. It was a three day vacation over Halloween weekend and included tickets to Busch Gardens for each day I was there. The weekend package was $400 dollars. I have since signed up for emails from Kings Mill Resort, and every holiday, they have an inexpensive weekend holiday package. They even price the packages according to how many people are visiting. Because I was the only one visiting, I received a $100 discount on the package price. Driving The question of how to get somewhere is always controversial: fly or drive. I will almost always choose to drive. It’s almost always cheaper to drive, especially on short notice. I have found that it doesn’t take that much more time to drive than fly when I add in the layovers, arriving two hours early, delays, and car rental. Plus, I can bring as much luggage as I want if I drive my car. There’s no shopping for throw-away clothes once I get to my destination. Driving instead of flying typically saves me $200. Travel Sites If I have to fly, I always visit one of the many travel sites. My favorite is Priceline. I have also gone with Expedia and Travelocity. Right now, I could fly round trip from Indianapolis to Houston for $250 if I book the flight on Priceline. If I go to the airline’s website, I’m going to pay $350 or more which is a savings of at least $100, and if I book a flight and hotel package, I save even more money. Lodging It’s always cheaper to stay with family or friends than it is to stay in a hotel, so if I’m traveling to a city where I have family and friends, I try to make plans to stay with them. It saves me between $50 and $100 dollars a night. If I can’t stay with a family member or a friend, then I book a flight and hotel package. Food Instead of eating out, once I get to my destination, I check into the hotel room and assess what it has to offer. If it only offers a microwave and a coffee maker, than I take that into consideration. If it has a full kitchen, then I take that into consideration. Either way, one of my first stops is a grocery store. Eating out can cost $10 or more per meal, and I can cook my own food for less than $10 dollars a day. I regularly save between $500 and $1000 per vacation by using these tips. The saved money means I can buy more souvenirs or save the money for my next vacation.
Author Bio:
Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia. She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design. She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know. She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing. Other books by Stacey
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by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer
I drive an eight cylinder 1991 Caprice Classic. It’s the type of car that the government had in mind when they started “cash for clunkers.” That is, except my car was rated at 19 miles per gallon, which made it ineligible for the deal. That didn’t bother me. I didn’t want to get rid of my car back then, and I don’t want to get rid of it now. What I want to do is be smart about my gas usage.
Gas Price Websites Places like gasbuddy.com and gaspricewatch.com are good places to start. GasBuddy even has a phone app. Both websites tell me that gas is currently $2.65 a gallon everywhere in Plainfield, Indiana. From that information, I know that I need to go to the Murphy gas station and buy a Walmart gift card to save 10 cents a gallon. Filling The Tank Once I find the cheapest gas in the area, I fill my tank. Gas prices have been extremely volatile for the last several years and most of the time, the price of gas goes up not down. Filling my tank assures me that I am getting the best price at the time, and I am not subject to the daily price fluctuations. A tank of gas typically lasts me between seven and nine days. Fifty Five MPH Saves Gas And Lives The only places I see speed limit signs for 55mph are on the highways in rural areas. I have one such highway near me, and the 55mph speed limit is only good for about two miles. Accelerating my car from zero to 55 eats up the gas I might be saving for those two miles. What I do instead, is pay attention to old yellow and new red lights. If the light is an old yellow or red, I let off the accelerator 300 to 400 feet out. Chances are I was already going three to five miles over the speed limit so no one behind me is going to care if I go from 48mph to 43mph in 400 feet. They’re slowing down, too. The difference is that I don’t apply my brakes to slow down. I simply let off the accelerator and let my car coast for 200 feet. Then, I apply the brakes. It means less gas usage and less wear and tear on my brakes. Multiple Stops During One Trip I go to the gym almost every day of the week. Near my gym there is a Walmart, an Aldi's, Minshu’s threaded eyebrows, and numerous places to eat. Just because I’m going to the gym and getting all stinky and sweaty doesn’t mean I go home to shower before doing my shopping. I do it all in one trip and save myself 18 miles in extra and unneeded travel. This adds up to a save five gallons a week. The bottom line on saving on gas: Plan ahead. Pay attention to the areas you drive through and look at the gas station pricing signs, keep an eye on the gas price websites, and fill your tank. These simple steps can save you between five and ten gallons of gas a week.
Author Bio:
Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia. She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design. She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know. She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing. Other books by Stacey
by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer
My first job out of college was working as an overnight stocker at Walmart. Even with a college degree, I only made $8.10 an hour. After taxes, my checks were $498.96 every two weeks. That didn’t leave me much wiggle room in the budget and my rent was $474 dollars. That left with me $523.92 for the rest of the month.
Being single and female with no kids also meant that I wasn’t eligible for food stamps or rent assistance. I would have had to have been earning less than $800 dollars a month to qualify for government assistance. So, I made due with what I earned. Student Loans I immediately put my student loans into forbearance. At $210 a month, there was no way I could pay them and eat or pay my electric bill. It wasn’t something I wanted to do. I had planned to pay off my student loans as fast as possible, but with the barely over minimum wage job, I couldn’t afford to do that. Car Insurance I scaled back my car insurance from full coverage to limited liability. It cut the bill from $80 a month to $50 a month. It was a car insurance risk I didn’t want to take. If I got into a car accident and it was deemed my fault, I wouldn’t be able to repair my car. Thankfully, I didn’t get into any car wrecks while I was making $8.10 an hour, but I was extra careful when driving. I knew a wreck could mean a financial catastrophe. Car Repairs I found a mechanic shop that listened to me, and I explained to them that I was poor. I also made sure that they were the only car repair shop I patroned. This meant that they didn’t try to sell me anything extra. When the heater core went out, they were willing to bypass it. I spent an entire winter with no heat in my car because I couldn’t afford a $600 heater core, but that was better than having no car. Holiday Pay / Triple Paycheck Months We received Holiday pay for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. During those weeks, I made sure to work my 40 hours to spite my employer's insistence that I take an extra day off. The extra eight hours on my check meant a lot more to me than the extra time off. It meant I could eat and save a little back for emergencies. I did the same thing on triple paycheck months. Typically, those months were in December and June, and I would save most of the money on those extra checks to help with expenses during the next six months. It typically worked out very well. I’d use part of the Christmas money to buy new plates for my car. Rent Rent wasn’t due until the fifth of every month. Sometimes I could stall and pay rent on the second or third with my first check for the next month instead of trying to pay it on the 26th or 27th of the prior month. It depended on how the pay weeks fell, but it was always better for me to pay using the first check of the month rather than the last. My electric and cell phone bills were also due at the end of the month. I survived on $8.10 an hour, but it wasn’t easy. I spent a lot of weeks eating .88 cent frozen meals, kielbasa, and pork and beans, but I made it. The only extra debt I incurred was from the interest on my student loans.
Author Bio:
Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia. She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design. She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know. She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing. Other books by Stacey by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer My biggest issue with grocery shopping and eating at home is spoiled food. I don’t like leftovers, and I can’t eat a pound of meat by myself. The same goes for vegetables. Carrots, celery, onions, and green peppers all go bad in my fridge. I can’t eat them fast enough. Of course, if I buy one or two onions or the smallest batch of carrots I run out long before the week is over. Both issues leave me irritated at the loss of food and the wasted money. However, I have found some solutions. Portion and freeze This takes a lot of plastic baggies so I make sure to always have a box or two on hand after I go shopping. I cut up pounds of hamburger into four squares. Then I shape those squares into patties and freeze each one in its own baggie. For bacon, I buy thick sliced and place four slices into a baggie. For chicken, I place each breast into its own baggie and freeze it. Basically, I make sure that each baggie is one meal. This way I can just dump the contents of the baggie into the skillet and cook it. There are no leftovers and no waste. I do the same thing for onions and green peppers. Except, since I chop the vegetables, I can fill the bags and then break off the amount I want when I want it. This assures me that my green peppers and onions stay fresh for as long as I have them. Pre-cook meals Precooking and freezing meals takes a little more planning. I have to make sure that I have enough plastic storage containers with dividers for individual items before I start cooking. Once I have all my containers gathered, I can cook large meals such as roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and carrots, and then portion out the food into the containers as meals. Once the food is no longer steaming, I put the containers in the freezer. In this way, I can simply take out my pre-cooked and frozen meal, microwave it and eat. Breakfasts can also be done this way. Eggs and fried potatoes taste just the same frozen and reheated as they did the day they were made. Just remember that in order to freeze potatoes, you have to cook them first. Otherwise, they turn brown just like they would sitting cut up on your counter. These two options have saved me hundreds of dollars on wasted food and several hours in cook time during the week. It is very easy to pull out a pre-cooked meal and microwave or toss the contents of a baggie in the skillet and cook. Spices can also be added to the meats and foods so that they are pre-spiced and ready to go. It’s no hassle and no waste cooking. Author Bio: Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia. She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design. She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know. She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing. Other books by Stacey by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer I hate cleaning. However, it is a necessary evil for those of us who don’t wish to live in filth. Since I like a clean apartment, I know I need to clean it, and I need to buy cleaning supplies. However, I don’t want to spend a small fortune on those supplies. I have found some interesting ways to save money on cleaning supplies without digging through the Sunday paper for coupons. Make Your Own There are several recipes online for making various types of soaps. My favorite soap to make is powdered laundry soap. It’s also the easiest with three ingredients: washing powder, borax, and Ivory bar soap. The initial cost of the supplies is about $15. With a half a box of borax, 12 bars of ivory soap, and a box of washing powder, I can make enough laundry soap to last two years. Each load takes two tablespoons of powder. I save about $120 a year by making my own laundry soap. Vinegar I can buy a gallon bottle of vinegar for about $2, and it takes the place of almost every all purpose cleaner on the market. Vinegar sterilizes and cleans and it’s environmentally friendly. The only other all purpose cleaner I need is bleach, and that’s only to get tough stains out from my counters and floors. I save about $200 a year by simply buying Vinegar and Bleach. To save even more money, I water both down to 75% concentration. Shower and Toilet Cleaners I can use vinegar and bleach on my shower and toilet, but I don’t prefer to. I prefer to use chemicals specifically designed to clean showers and toilets. My favorite two bathroom cleaners are Oxiclean and Works toilet bowl cleaner, and I can get both of those at the Dollar Store. I also buy my dish soap at the dollar store. This saves me roughly $100 a year on bathroom cleaners and dish soap. Trash Bags I don’t worry too much about the cost of a package of trash bags. What I am more interested in is the size of the trash bag. I can go through a 13 gallon trash bag in a day, so instead of buying 13 gallon trash bags, I buy 30 gallon trash bags. They cost a little more, but I use one 30 gallon trash bag a week verses five to seven 13 gallon trash bags. It saves me about $15 a month on trash bags. All in all I save about $420 a year on cleaning chemicals by making my own, and shopping at the dollar store. This decreases my cleaning budget substantially allowing me more cash for other items such as food and gas for my car. Author Bio: Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia. She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design. She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know. She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing. Other books by Stacey |
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