By Stephanie Olsen
Family budgets can be the cause of enormous stress, especially when you're a single parent. Denying your child anything is always hard and the choices never get easier, which is why exploring new methods of saving money is worth your time (at the very least).
Upfront, vacationing by home exchange neatly removes two of the highest travel-related costs: hotel bills and restaurant tabs. If you swap cars with your exchange partner, you've managed a further savings of at least a few hundred dollars. If you're trading with a family of animal lovers who agree to care for your pet when you're away, you've again saved a fairly substantial bit of cash. Of course, any home you're in will have a washer and dryer, which will save you a bit of change, and is certainly worth its weight in gold with respect to convenience.
The more flexible you are as to date and destination, the more you'll save: airfare specials should obviously be considered. If you find a $19 bidding-war special, see if there are any home exchangers in the area interested in swapping over those dates, then book it. If you're concerned that the destination may be of no interest to you, consider this family's exchange experience:
This was our first exchange, and our expectations were not so high since part of the reason for our trip was business and not in a destination we would have chosen otherwise.
[But] our 'home away from home' was super comfortable, with a fantastic pool overlooking a great view, hiking trails minutes away that only the locals knew about (and graciously told us of course), and plenty of bikes and tennis rackets!
We saved so much money (not wasting it on hotels and eating every meal out) that we were able to enjoy a few choice meals in really good restaurants (recommended by our host again) and treat our teens to many of the extras such as white water rafting.
Always take advantage of off-season dates, when venues often lower their entrance fees and line-ups are comparatively non-existent. For instance, instead of arranging a ski trip during the March break, pull the kids out of school a week later and grab the slopes (and specials) for yourself.
