Traveling on a Budget!

Since we love to travel, I knew we had to come up with a way of doing it on a budget! Here are some helpful tips for traveling on a budget...

Coupons:
--We try to stop at the Welcome Center of the state or town we are visiting and look for coupons for different places (eating, entertainment, etc). 
--When available, we will purchase a Entertainment coupon book for the city we are visiting. We bought a Memphis coupon book for only $12, which also included free shipping. What a deal! Anyways, the coupon book has loads of coupons for places to eat, attractions, hotels, etc. With the help of the coupon book we will be able to see Graceland for two of us, for only $36, because of the B1G1 coupon! There are several other attractions that we have considered visiting, that we have a coupon for as well.

Food:
--When booking a hotel, we like to look for hotels that offer continental breakfast. That is one less meal that will have to be purchased. 
--We also will stock up on snack foods when traveling. For our upcoming trip to Tennessee we will be pack peanut butter, grape jelly, bread for sandwiches and various snack foods to have a few days during the week. To keep the jelly cold in the cooler, we will use the ice from the different hotels we will be staying at! :)

Gas:
--When available, we will try and stock up on gas cards whenever Publix offers $10 off a gas card with a purchase of certain amount of groceries. $10 off on gas, really makes a difference!
--We also use the "gas buddy" app to find cheap gas nearby.

Hotels:
--I have signed up for e-mails from Groupon Getaways and Living Social Escapes for discounted deals on hotels all over the world! We have purchased getaways from both websites and have always been satisfied with the great price we got! We were able to purchase our hotel stay in Gatlinburg, TN for only $45 a night.

Do you have any helpful tips to add to traveling on a budget?? Please share! I would love to hear them!

Blue Springs State Park

Recently traveled to Blue Springs State Park in Orange City, Florida. We were only there one night, but had a wonderful time! The main purpose of this trip was to tube, but we quickly realized this park has more to offer than just tubing!! They offer kayaking, canoeing, hiking, a bike trail and a river boat tour! There are plenty of picnic tables and even a playground for the little ones. If you are looking for a fun, family getaway, I would totally recommend Blue Springs State Park!

Link to the park:

http://www.floridastateparks.org/bluespring/ 

Map of the park:

Happy Travels!

Ginger

My 30 before 30

I have seen several bloggers post their 30 before 30...so here's mine!!

1. Graduate college: X-Ray Technologist. July 2006
2. Get a job. July 2006
3. See Graceland. October 2012
4. Get married. October 18, 2008
5. See Newsies on broadway.
6. Go to New Orleans.
7. Go to a Sandals Resort. Antigua: Honeymoon 2008
8. Have a real Christmas tree at Christmas time. December 2008
9. Own a home. August, 2009
10. See Spiderman on broadway.
11. Go to Alaska via cruise. June 2010.
12. Go to a college football game: GA/FL: October 2010
13. Go to Philadelphia.
14. Go to Key West, Florida. September 2011
15. Go to NYC at Christmas time. December 2011
16. Run a 5k. February 2012
17.  Go camping in the North Ga mountains. May 2012
18.  Start a blog. June 2012
19. Run a 10 mile race. September 2012
20. Go parasailing. 
21. Start a family.
22. Travel to Hawaii.
23. Go to Stone Mountain. October 2012
24. Go to a professional football game. Jan. 2012
25. Visit California. October 2011.
26. Have a big party for my 30th birthday!
27. Visit Disneyland. October 2011
28. Take a SPONTANEOUS trip somewhere!
29. Go to Central Park
30. Last but not least: Visit LAS VEGAS BABY!! January 2013

I am not sure if I will be able to see/visit all these places before I turn 30, because I will be turning 28 in a few weeks, but it never hurts to dream B-I-G! :)

Share with me your 30 before 30 or 40 before 40 or even 50 before 50!! 

Hello! My name is Ginger Joiner and I married my best friend Clint Joiner, on October 18, 2008. It was the happiest day of my life and I have been living the fairy tale ever since! Clint and I love to travel and try and do so as much as we can and as much as our work will allow! A co-worker and friend of mine, Donna Patton told me that I should start blogging our travels. I thought..."sure, why not!". Maybe I can give some insights on places to visit for other people out there that might want to take a cruise to Alaska or visit NYC at Christmas time. And maybe, my followers can give me recommendations on places I can visit as well! Hope you enjoy my blog!

PS--I am new to this "blogging", so any of you blogger's out there, please feel free to fill me in on the in and outs of blogging! :)