What is a Staycation?
While a few of our compatriots within the Money Life Network have written a few articles about their experiences on vacation, I have an article that I have been meaning to put together and hope that I am not being contradictory. I don’t feel too bad suggesting an alternative due to the fact that I know they took the frugal route and all had a blast. ( I must admit that PT’s trip seems tempting!)
A staycation is simply not going anywhere but staying at home or very close by. You tell your work that you are going to take a week off and instead of traveling somewhere, you just stay home and relax. Its pricey to fill up the car and stay somewhere (unless you do some nice research for deals), and then deal with traffic. This idea is neat for a few reasons:
- Obviously save money: no traveling
- Catch up with little projects around the house that you normally wouldn’t have time for
- Play games at home with other friends or kids
- Movies!
- Catch up on reading
- Do some research on more elaborate vacations for the future that need careful planning (Free From Broke has a nice one on Disney World)
Here is what a staycation should not be:
- Lay in front of the TV all day and night
- Sleep egregiously
- If its “romantic,” keep visitors at bay
If you feel as though you might be in danger of one of these, set some guidelines to follow and stick with them: A time the staycation starts and finishes so that the days don’t all run together in a blur. Or perhaps have set activities on certain days.
This article is part of the Summer Savings Series on the Money Life Network…Check it out for more info on how you can win $100!
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Comments
I had a Staycation last month. If you do it right, it can be incredibly relaxing. However, it did take me 4 of my 10 days to realize that cleaning the house and catching up on laundry is NOT what a Staycation is about.
@ PT & Momma: I try to build a little staycation into my weekend every week, just one afternoon, or a few hours, where I am not running around doing things. While 99% of it is fun, I still value the downtime and focus on trying to remember what its like to be “bored.”
I admit, we were thinking of a staycation for this Summer. We live in NYC and there’s so much we could do right here. I think the fact that my wife already has the Summer off (works in education) she wants to get away for a week. We’ve done mini-staycations though. Rather than go away for a holiday weekend, like Memorial Day, we stay home and just enjoy hanging out and being outside with the kids. So much more relaxing than being stuck in traffic!
@ FFB: Oh man, I work with a woman who is in education on another site and she has the whole summer off as well. It makes me want to go back and teach math again. 3 months of working for myself sounds awesome! Have fun on your staycation and by all means stay out of traffic.
When I do get the odd day off for a mini “staycation” I still get called up to 20 times a day from work. The only time I can get a true relaxing time is on a plane when no one can get me. Of course, that is few and far between.
What ever happened to sabbiticals?
I really like this post and agree with PT. What’s the point of spending a ridiculous amount of money on a vacation to enjoy yourself temporarily, only to come home to a pile of debt because of the trip. Staycations are vital in today’s society, especially with the economic downturn, it’s important for all families to rethink those annual summer vacations. If you need help with staycations, I’ve written both of these resources:
http://www.become.com/resource-center/vacation-staycation.html
http://pocketchange.become.com/2009/07/top-10-essentials-for-a-staycation.html
I really like the idea of the staycation. We put so much into creating a great home for ourselves and then we run away from it when we have free time to enjoy it. I should do one of these soon.