frugal underground

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As a generally-overwelmed business owner, the last time I went to plan a vacation I decided to stick to the tried and true because I was overwhelmed with the number of travel websites to search. For my next vacation, I intend to pleasantly surprise my hubby by planning our trip through SideStep.

SideStep is a website that searches over 200 travel websites to find the best travel deals on the web for you. Over six million people use SideStep monthly to find travel savings. That’s because SideStep checks consolidators, agencies, hotels, airlines, rental car companies and vacation package folks to find the best deals around. They also have partnerships with major travel corporations like as Orbitz.com, Continental Airlines, JetBlue Airways, American Airlines, Best Western, Hilton Hotels, Hotels.com, Avis Rent a Car and Budget Rent a Car.

You can register for free at SideStep and you can save your travel search preferences and register your searches. By joining SideStep, you can also share your travel experiences with reviews and communicate with other members.

Using SideStep for vacation planning will save me time and money in the future. Anyone used it or found any good competitors?

Quality time with family is so important. When money is tight, it is sometimes difficult to figure out how to make a worthwhile vacation on a budget. Here’s how you can get the most out of a family vacation without spending all of your savings.

Photo by elephantsgerald

Take short trips. You can visit amusement parks, local carnivals, local fairs, museums, aquariums and zoos for very little money. Small children will appreciate getting out of the house, and are easily entertained with animals and rides. Site seeing is also a nice change of pace, and you can have a family picnic.

If you want a real get away, drive. Saving money on flight costs will allow some flex in the budget for admissions and food. Also, if you have your own car, you won’t have to rent one. You may also want to find out how much the public transportation in the area is between the hotel and the attraction.

A three night stay in a hotel is just long enough to relax and enjoy a break. If you plan a shorter trip, always budget for the cost of an extra night, just in case. Shortening the stay will save some money, and if you save enough for a longer stay, you can use the extra money for special dinners or souvenirs.

Photo by wild friday

First and foremost, plan well in advance. Survey a few different places to go, and do some quick online searching to get a feel for the costs. We went to Park City, Utah last summer because summer is their off-season, and had a great time in the sun. Check the hotel prices, look into other accommodations, and discount options. Plan the travel method (drive, plane, train, bus). Decide how long you will stay. Also plan what you will eat. Food is one thing people often forget to budget for.

The next step is budgeting the trip. How much will it cost to travel there and stay for x days? How much will the food cost? Will you need transportation to get around in the area? What about souvenirs? Finally, come up with a ball park figure, and set aside a small amount of money to start saving up.

Try to put in some extra hours at work, or cut some luxuries like eating out for several months in advance. Set aside money as “vacation cash” into an interest- bearing account, and don’t use any of it (unless there is a real emergency). You might have to make a couple sacrifices, but it will be worth it if you plan it well.

Photo by JonDays

Do you like to take road trips with your family? Does anyone ever complain about their neck hurting? I’m sure that you have seen those comfortable-looking neck pillows that are made for travel. If not, I should tell you that they can be a bit expensive for a pillow. Here is a way that you can provide some comfort without spending the extra money on the luxury.

Use the material from old clothing as the outside of the pillow. Sew the sides into the shape of a pillow, but be sure to leave a whole open to stuff the pillow. You can shape it to be a square, rectangle, or the U shape that neck pillows come in. You can also add a zipper, or use the zipper from the item of clothing you are using, so you can empty it for a wash in the machine.

You can use other pieces of old clothing, rice, collections of lint from the dryer, beans, or cotton balls to fill the pillows.

Once the pillow is stuffed to your liking, seal the opening.

That’s all there is to it. Be creative. It is a fun and easy project!

If you’ve decided that you’re interested in attending a Trendwest presentation, you can sign up online to go. (You can also get an attending friend to refer you, or sign up for one of their drawings—in my area, there are almost always car giveaways in the mall sponsored by Trendwest.)

Here are some tips for attending the presentation.

• Negotiate on your incentive. We didn’t really know you could do this, but the last time we were invited, Daniel told the scheduler that we just weren’t interested in the standard “vacation package” they were offering. (We have heard horror stories about the vacation from friends… suffice it to say, you’re NOT staying at a Trendwest resort…)

  Then Daniel asked if they were offering any gift certificates to local businesses instead (we’d been offered that on a previous visit). Turns out, they were willing to give us a $50 gift certificate to Home Depot, and $20 at Tony Roma’s. Of course, no guarantees, but you’ll never know if you don’t ask, and you could get something significantly more useful than their initial offer.

• Do your homework. Ask yourself the questions about Trendwest’s value to you personally. Have a good idea before you go in about what you actually spend on lodging yearly. This will give you the information you need to evaluate the offer that will be made to you.
• Be prepared for high-pressure tactics. Though every sales person is different, in my experience, Trendwest sales associates play hardball. They won’t hesitate to constantly put down your values if they get in the way of a sale. They have suggested financing a Trendwest purchase by rolling it into our mortgage. They told my husband he deserved a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. They tell you that you only get one chance at the deal (clearly not true since we’ve been four times, each time at their invitation). They will do everything they can to make you decide right then and there, and not give you a chance to think it through. This is why it’s so important to come prepared.
• Consider alternative options. Take a look at what Trendwest points are going for on eBay. In general, it’s about half the price per point, compared to what they offer at the presentations. If you buy via eBay, you miss out on some of the perks that go with points sold directly from Trendwest. If you bring it up, your salesperson will certainly tell you what you’ll miss. Typically, these perks are things like Bonus Time and classes. Be cautious, though… they don’t usually react well to bringing up the eBay alternative. We’ve been told it’s not safe, despite the fact that the sellers are reputable and provide mountains of documentation, which suggests more about the salesperson’s fear than anything else.

  The point is, though, that you should know how the market values Trendwest points. You’ll have to decide first if Trendwest makes sense for your family, and then whether the perks are worth the extra money. Due diligence is key.

• Bring a list of contacts who won’t mind being called by Trendwest. As you’re getting ready to leave (you think!), a salesperson will give you a sheet of paper and ask you to fill it with the names and contact info for people you know. Usually they will offer a modest incentive (like an entry in a drawing) if you provide ten names or more. The attitude I’ve felt here is clearly, “You are a waste of my time but I may forgive you if you provide me with leads.” I find this extremely irritating, but this is the point at which you can get your friends invited if they want to partake of the attendance incentives. Be aware, though, that typically only couples with $35k+ incomes will actually be invited.

Now that you know what Trendwest is all about, the value question logically follows. Does it make sense to buy in?

Like most of these questions, the answer is a potentially unhelpful “it depends.” However, in the interest of helpfulness, I’m going to elaborate and tell you some of the things it depends on.

The number one, most important question is: how much do you vacation? I’d say your answer to this question is about 70% of the “big picture.” That’s because the value of Trendwest ownership is greatest if you’re already spending money on vacations. You can take the money that you’re already spending, put some of it into Trendwest, and pay for future vacations as well as the current one.

For me, this is about where the value question stops. That’s because the kind of vacations we take usually involve tents, and our annual vacation expenditures are typically less than Trendwest’s maintenance fee. However, that’s obviously not going to be the case for everyone. For instance, we don’t have kids, and that saves us a bundle in addition to being able to take vacations that would bore kids silly.

The starting point for answering this question is figuring out how much you spend on your vacations annually. If you can, break it down by type of spending: you want to know how much your lodging is costing you, because that’s where the opportunity to save with Trendwest comes in. Armed with that number, you can look at the points cost and the annual maintenance fee, and do an accurate comparison of your long- and short-term costs.

Next question: would you vacation more if it cost less? The Trendwest folks will really push this question, though they’ll treat it as rhetorical. Prepare by coming to your own conclusion (outside of the high-pressure sales environment). If you have more time than money, this might be a good opportunity.

The main thing is to be realistic when answering the question. Frankly, I have a hard time taking time off for the short trips we take, and I can’t imagine telling my clients that I’m going to be gone for two weeks. I am very happy with our weekend camping breaks, and any increase in vacation time based on savings would be minimal… for me. But this is something you’ll need to figure out for yourself, one way or the other.

What kind of vacations do you take? Where you go on vacation and for how long will really impact the relative value Trendwest holds for you. This is because they are all about lodging, but vacations include costs for travel, food, attractions, etc.

If you like to travel in your area, say, for a weekend getaway just a few hours away by car, Trendwest will almost certainly make this more affordable (provided you are vacationing often). However, if your vacations typically involve air travel, or other expensive non-lodging costs, the value goes down.

Another reality check: food. Most of the Trendwest properties boast kitchenettes, which can be a fantastic money-saver… if you’ll use them. But don’t sell yourself on a fantasy of saving money if you really prefer the convenience of dining out. Remember, this doesn’t make you a good or bad person; you just need to be aware of what you’ll really choose when it comes down to it, and make the decision based on accurate info.

Hopefully these questions help you figure out what your accommodations are worth to you. Up next, some tips for actually attending a Trendwest presentation.

Ever since I posted a quick blurb about going to a Trendwest presentation, I’ve been getting comments, emails, and searches about Trendwest. It’s clear that people are looking for info, so I’m going to do a short series on Trendwest and you.

This first post is kind of an overview designed to help you understand what Trendwest does.

Trendwest is basically an improved timeshare program. In a traditional timeshare setup, you buy partial ownership in a property, and then are guaranteed a certain amount of time each year to use the property (a week is common). Typically, you have the same week each year at the same property. It’s much cheaper than owning a vacation home, but provides many of the same benefits.

Timeshares were really big in the sixties and seventies because of their affordability and convenience. After a while, though, some of the owners decided they wanted to mix it up a little, and started trading their weeks (”my week in Arizona for your week in Florida?”). This made the timeshare idea a bit more flexible.

Trendwest has effectively formalized the trading system and abstracted it from the “my week” concept. With Trendwest, you buy points, not time at a specific place at a specific time. Your points can then be spent for time at any of the Trendwest locations (of which there are many). This improves on the timeshare idea because you have more flexibility with less hassle.

When you buy Trendwest points, you’re buying them permanently. For instance, if you buy 12,000 points, you get 12,000 points each and every year for your one-time cost (plus an annual maintenance fee). Trendwest emphasizes this (as they should) because of the long-term value. They like to point out that you can even leave your Trendwest ownership to your kids. The comparison is “owning vs. renting”, and it mostly holds up.

In addition to their core program, Trendwest also offers some other associated perks. The one that interests me the most is something they call Bonus Time, which allows you to pay cash (instead of points) at a drastically reduced rate. You can also save up points over time and borrow ahead, both of which are convenient options for longer trips at more exotic locations.

The bottom line is, Trendwest is very convenient. In the next post, I’m going to help you consider the value they offer, and whether it might be a bargain for you.

A very short post to tell you that I’m going to a Trendwest sales presentation on Wednesday, and if you’d like to go to one, email me at bookchiq@gmail.com with “TrendWest” in the subject and your address and phone number in the message.

What is Trendwest? A timeshare-esque company that wants you to buy into their program.

Why would you want to go? They give you free stuff. The standard offer is a trip, but we didn’t want the trip (based on the unlikeliness of our actually taking it) so we asked about gift certificates—turns out they negotiate: we will be receiving a $50 gift certificate to the Home Depot and $20 at Olive Garden.

I’m going to try out a couple of strategies for dealing with the high-pressure sales tactics (we’ve been three times already, and flat out told the scheduler that we’re not interested in buying in, but they still want us, so what the heck, we’ll take their incentives…). I’ll report back and tell you which strategies were most effective later this week. In the meantime, email me if you want me to “refer” you.

I’m writing this from an affordable vacation rental, which happily came with wi-fi—hence the reason I feel free to dole out advice on this subject. Here’s what worked for me:

• Be as flexible as possible. Originally we were thinking about going to Yellowstone. I’ve never been, and we were going to be in the general area for an obligatory trip, so we thought, why not extend it into an actual vacation?

  Good idea, but trying to find someplace we wanted to stay in the general Yellowstone area was downright depressing. First, it’s high season in Yellowstone. Mid-summer is when all the cool kids want to go there. Even the dive motels were relatively expensive and mostly booked solid.

  So what did we do? We considered other options. We consulted a map of to see what was in a reasonable distance of our route back home, and came across several good options. There were two areas that are well-known for their winter activities, and as a result, end up having abundant (and low-season-priced) accommodations in the summer. They’re still very nice areas in the summer, with lots of biking and nature attractions.

  Bottom line: being flexible means can help you find a nice location at low-season rates.

• Carefully consider your needs. Travelling with kids is a lot different than a “just the two of us” getaway. Attraction-centric trips are also very different than trips where the goal is to just lay low.

  Think about your schedule, and what you’ll need out of your accomodations. If you’ll be in or around your lodgings most of the time, it makes sense to find something with a kitchenette—you’ll be able to save on meals. If you’re going to be at Disneyland all day, or meeting friends and family members for meals out, then the extra cost of a kitchenette may be just that: an extra cost.

  Likewise, staying somewhere with a pool may or may not matter to a single guy or someone with a full agenda, but it can be a huge benefit on a family vacation—for the included cost, you have hours of fun and entertainment.

  Bottom line: being specific about your needs will save you time searching and money on your trip when you don’t pay for things you won’t use.

• Look for individuals. Property management companies can be a good resource to find lots of options, but in my experience, working with an individual can save a lot of money. Obviously this isn’t an issue with hotel/motel/lodge kinds of places, but when you’re looking for a house or a condo, you can sometimes find really excellent deals when you move away from the “standardized pricing” of a larger agent.
• Try alternate sources of information. This made the biggest difference for us out of all the tips here. It can be fast and easy to use Travelocity or its competitors to find a place to stay, but you’ll pay for it—especially if you’re looking for something other than a hotel.

  I mentioned our trip idea to my mom, and she told me that her sister has a cabin in the Yellowstone area. The timing didn’t work out (it was already rented for some of the days we were looking for) but it brings up an important point: you don’t know who your contacts know, and this could be a great resource. It’s easy enough to just mention that you’re thinking about taking a trip in such-and-such area, and see if anyone knows someone with an unrented vacation rental.

  The method that was successful for me was craigslist. It eventually occured to me that I use craigslist for all sorts of work-related things (finding freelance gigs, finding contractors to do work for me, that kind of thing) so why not use it for finding a place to stay on vacation? This ties into the “Look for individuals” tip since most listings on craigslist are from individuals.

  Once we’d narrowed our locations down to the two summer-is-low-season spots, I pulled up the respective craigslist sites and looked under vacation rentals. This involves a lot of sorting the wheat from the chaff, because there were all sorts of things listed that were out of our price range, but it wasn’t hard to find several properties in both locations that were within our budget and actually had a lot more features than we expected.

  In the end, we chose a craigslist-located condo that is much nicer than the standard hotel setup, and much cheaper. In fact, when we drove in yesterday, we passed a standard hotel, so I just looked up their rates: a full $60/night more for something comparable. Multiply that over our four-night stay and it really adds up!

I hope these tips help you the next time you plan a vacation… and now I’m off to go enjoy some more of mine!

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