Ok, just so everyone can see the total numbers on one page and also because I need to know myself exactly how much I spent/saved...here it is.
Total Spent:
Base costs: $250.00
Metro Card: $50.00
Meals: $100.00
Shopping: $285.27
Groupons: $136.00
Grand Total: $821.27
Total Saved:
Hotel discounts: $550.00
Shopping Sales: $467.50
Groupon: $273.00
Splitting base costs: $250.00
Grand Total: $1,540.50
47% savings.
Holy cow! I knew it was a lot, but I wasn't prepared for it to all come together that way. Even looking at each individual catagory adding up, it just didn't seem like it was that much money overall.
I hope that you all have enjoyed reading about my trip and the savings. I know that this will always be a trip to remember for me.
Now to plan the next one!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
The long awaited Groupon post
Ok, so as I have mentioned in my previous posts, I decided that I would embrace the concept of the Groupawn (see liveoffgroupon.com) and try my best to incorporate as many Groupons as possible on our trip. This particular posts focuses only on the amount spent and saved on the Groupon itself. This does not include additional spent or saved outside of the Groupon.
For approximately 2 months prior to our trip, I began watching the deal sites and trying to find deals that were on our route or close enough that it made sense. I was able to purchase 1 deal from Living Social and 10 deals from Groupon.
This is how the reality of those deals breaks down:
Living Social:
Purchased 1 deal for Mama Mexico in Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Total upfront cost: $25
Total Value: $50
Total Saved: $25
During the holiday months, ShopDiscover was having additional cashback bonuses on certain merchants. Groupon usually gives 15% cash back, but for my trip purchases, I received 20% cash back.
In chronological order of use again:
Groupon #1 Beanwood Coffee
Upfront cost: $9
Total Value: $18
20% Rebate: $1.80
Total Saved: $10.80
Groupon #2 Maratene's Fine Wine and Spirits
Upfront cost: $10
Total Value: $20
Used $1 Credit on Groupon Account
20% Rebate: 1.80
Total Saved: 10.80
Groupon #3 Floyd Hall Arena-Ice Skating Package
Upfront Cost: $29
Total Value: $58
20% Rebate: 5.80
Total Saved: $34.80
Groupon #4 Gencarelli's Cucina
Upfront Cost $20
Total Value: $40
20% Rebate: $4.00
Total Saved: $24.00
Groupon #5 The Body Shop
Upfront Cost: $20
Total Value: $40
20% Rebate: $4.00
Total Saved: $24.00
Groupon #6 Velocity 17
Upfront Cost: $48
Total Value: $100
20% Rebate: $9.60
Total Saved: $61.60
Groupon #7 The Bagel Store
Upfront Cost: $10
Total Value: $20
20% Rebate: $2.00
Total Saved: $12.00
Groupon #8 Via Dei Mille
Upfront Cost: $10
Total Value: $20
20% Rebate: $2.00
Total Saved: $12.00
Groupon #9 La Petite Coquette
Upfront Cost: $35
Total Value: $75
20% Rebate: $7.00
Total Saved: $47.00
Groupon #10 ZPizza
Upfront Cost: $10
Total Value: $20
20% Rebate: $2.00
Total Saved: $12.00
This brings our Groupon grand total to:
Upfront Cost: $200
Total Value: $409
20% Rebate: $40
Total Saved: $249
For approximately 2 months prior to our trip, I began watching the deal sites and trying to find deals that were on our route or close enough that it made sense. I was able to purchase 1 deal from Living Social and 10 deals from Groupon.
This is how the reality of those deals breaks down:
Living Social:
Purchased 1 deal for Mama Mexico in Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Total upfront cost: $25
Total Value: $50
Total Saved: $25
During the holiday months, ShopDiscover was having additional cashback bonuses on certain merchants. Groupon usually gives 15% cash back, but for my trip purchases, I received 20% cash back.
In chronological order of use again:
Groupon #1 Beanwood Coffee
Upfront cost: $9
Total Value: $18
20% Rebate: $1.80
Total Saved: $10.80
Groupon #2 Maratene's Fine Wine and Spirits
Upfront cost: $10
Total Value: $20
Used $1 Credit on Groupon Account
20% Rebate: 1.80
Total Saved: 10.80
Groupon #3 Floyd Hall Arena-Ice Skating Package
Upfront Cost: $29
Total Value: $58
20% Rebate: 5.80
Total Saved: $34.80
Groupon #4 Gencarelli's Cucina
Upfront Cost $20
Total Value: $40
20% Rebate: $4.00
Total Saved: $24.00
Groupon #5 The Body Shop
Upfront Cost: $20
Total Value: $40
20% Rebate: $4.00
Total Saved: $24.00
Groupon #6 Velocity 17
Upfront Cost: $48
Total Value: $100
20% Rebate: $9.60
Total Saved: $61.60
Groupon #7 The Bagel Store
Upfront Cost: $10
Total Value: $20
20% Rebate: $2.00
Total Saved: $12.00
Groupon #8 Via Dei Mille
Upfront Cost: $10
Total Value: $20
20% Rebate: $2.00
Total Saved: $12.00
Groupon #9 La Petite Coquette
Upfront Cost: $35
Total Value: $75
20% Rebate: $7.00
Total Saved: $47.00
Groupon #10 ZPizza
Upfront Cost: $10
Total Value: $20
20% Rebate: $2.00
Total Saved: $12.00
This brings our Groupon grand total to:
Upfront Cost: $200
Total Value: $409
20% Rebate: $40
Total Saved: $249
the shopping...
I don't know if you guys get as excited as I do about shopping, but man, do I! I mean, I'm sorry, but who doesn't like shopping? (my sister ;) )
To clarify, when I say out of pocket, that does not include the amount spent on the Groupon.
In chronological order:
12/30
When we arrived in NJ, I had to pick up 1 last Christmas gift for one of my sister-in-laws. I found out that she really likes Hollister, so in I went.
Hollister was having a sale 40% off everything in the store. I purchased a hoodie for her (reg $39.99) and 2 tanks tops for myself that were already on clearance (reg 19.99, marked down to 12.95).
After 40% off:
Hoodie $23.70
Tanks: $7.74 each
Total: $39.18 with NO TAX!!!
I was able to purchase 3 things for less than the price of one! YAY!
My daughter loves Disney. I decided since I was already in the mall, I'd check to see what they had on sale. Her favorite princess right now is Ariel and my in-laws had themed her whole Christmas around Ariel. They had an ornament (Reg $9.50) with a mark down tag for $4.50. Already this was a good deal. I took it to the counter and when the clerk rang it up, it was actually only $2.99!!! Wow! After adding the 7% tax of $.21, I paid $3.20 for an Ariel ornament that was orginally $9.50!
Deciding that I would explore the mall some more, I ventured into the Sock Drawer. Aerin and I had just been saying we needed to buy socks and they had some decent deals, so why not?
I got 2 pairs of leggings: $25
2) 3packs of socks $10
Total: $35 with NO TAX!
12/31
We went to Maratene's Fine Wine and Spirits to get some libations for the NYE celebration.
I purchased 2 bottles of wine and 1 bottle of Shane's favorite beer and 1) 4 pack of mini champagnes.
The wine was on sale: regular $20 and $15.
I paid $20 for both.
$ 8 for the beer
and $15 champagne
Total: $43
Groupon -$20
Total due $23
Towards the end of the night we realized that my 1 memory card for my camera just wasn't going to cut it. Even though we were downloading the pictures onto Aerin's laptop each chance we got. So we stopped by Wal-Mart on our way to John and Crystal's to get another one.
I purchased an 8 GB SD card.
$19.88
Tax$1.66
Total $21.54 - Paid with gift card I received for Christmas.
1/1
This is one of the deals that I am the most proud of. We went to the Body Shop to use the Groupon I had purchased. I love the Body Shop because they have a large line of products that do not contain artificial dyes. I am allergic to the most common, Red # 33-40. We happened to get there just at the right timing because they had 1 XL Complete Body gift set left. I asked how much it cost and was told $100, but everything was on sale being after the holidays, so they would check the price. It indeed was on sale for 50% off. That made it $50! I used my Love Your Body discount card which took another 10% or $5 off, making the new total $45.
Original Price: $100
Sale -50%
New total: $50
Discount Card-10%
New total: $45
Groupon -$40
Subtotal: $5
Tax $3.77 (8.375% NY sales tax)
Total out of pocket $8.77
To sweeten this deal even further, I looked up all of the products online. The total value of everything I received in the gift set, if purchased individually, $160.
I had another gift to buy and stopped by the calendar kiosk in the middle of the mall. Everything was 50% off. I purchased a calander and a gift envelope for my aunt.
Calendar: 13.99(reg) 6.99 sale
Envelope: 1.00 (reg) .50 sale
Total: 7.49
Tax .63
Total due: $8.12
Forever21. How I love this store! Even more so that the one in Times Sqare is FOUR FLOORS!!! OMG. Now, I didn't get any insanely good deals in here, but what I bought wasn't expensive either.
I got 2 knit coverups for work. They were $6.80 each (cheap for work clothes!).
Subtotal: 13.60
Tax: .60 (4.375 % NY clothing tax)
Total: $14.20
The good news about this is even though it's not the best deal, I can write it off on my taxes at year end.
1/2
Probably my biggest accomplishment of the entire trip was my purchases at La Petite Coquette. In French, it means "the little flirt". It's a ladies lingerie store.
I purchased 2 pairs of panties, 3 bras and a nightie.
Regular Prices:
$20
$25
$30
$79
$24
$85
Subtotal: $263
tax would have been: $11.50
totalling: 274.50
Sale Prices:
$10
$10
$10
$10
$20
$20
Subtotal: $80
Groupon -$75
New Total: $5
Tax: $3.50
Total due: $8.50
WOW!
We stopped to get tea at Argo Tea.
I purchased a travel infuser mug and a fall tea gift set.
Mug: $19.95
Tea: $9.95
Subtotal: 29.90
Tax:$2.50
Total:$32.40
Later that evening, we went back to Times Sqare to shop some more.
The Disney Store in TS in AMAZING. We purchased a Belle jacket for Caylie. It's a size too big, but I did that so she would be able to wear it this winter and next.
Regular Price: $39.99
Sale Price: $19.99
Tax: .87
Total: $20.86
We also stopped in to Toys-R-Us on a mission to find a yo-yo for Caylie. She has started to like them and I have a good friend that is on Team Duncan USA. He is also the National Sales and Marketing Coordinator for Duncan Toys. So, of course, I was looking for a Duncan. I found a blue Duncan Butterfly.
Price: $5.99
Tax: $.53
Total: $6.52
Next we went to Aeropostale. Shane found a shirt and I got a hoodie that said NY or Times Square.
Shane's Polo Regular Price $34.50
Sale Price: $12.99
My Hoodie Regular Price $44.50
Sale Price: $24.99
Subtotal: $37.98
Tax: $1.66
Total: $39.64
American Eagle had a LOT of good sales going on, but at this point we had spent a good bit of money. So, I limited myself to a small purchase.
Their Aerie Department (which is undergarments and pj's) had the best deal. $15 for 5 pairs of Aerie favorite panties.
So, regular priced at $7.50 each, that would make a savings of $4.50 each or $22.50 total, making them $3 a piece. I grabbed 5 of those.
They also had socks on sale, Regular $8.50 each, Marked down to $4.16 each.
So, 5 pairs of panties at $15
2 pairs of socks $8.32
Subtotal: 23.32
Tax: $1.02
Total: $24.34
Also, you got an additional pair of panties for FREE! So, that brings the total down to $2.50 each, saving $30 just on them alone!
Ok, so to recap on our shopping.
We spent out of pocket: $285.27
Breaking that down:
$31.82 was Christmas gifts
$14.20 Business Expense
$30.58 gifts for Caylie
$21.54 was spent on a gift card I received for Christmas
$187.13 was spent on myself and Shane
Total Savings from Sales:
$467.50 plus the respective sales taxes. (this does not include the Groupon Value)
To clarify, when I say out of pocket, that does not include the amount spent on the Groupon.
In chronological order:
12/30
When we arrived in NJ, I had to pick up 1 last Christmas gift for one of my sister-in-laws. I found out that she really likes Hollister, so in I went.
Hollister was having a sale 40% off everything in the store. I purchased a hoodie for her (reg $39.99) and 2 tanks tops for myself that were already on clearance (reg 19.99, marked down to 12.95).
After 40% off:
Hoodie $23.70
Tanks: $7.74 each
Total: $39.18 with NO TAX!!!
I was able to purchase 3 things for less than the price of one! YAY!
My daughter loves Disney. I decided since I was already in the mall, I'd check to see what they had on sale. Her favorite princess right now is Ariel and my in-laws had themed her whole Christmas around Ariel. They had an ornament (Reg $9.50) with a mark down tag for $4.50. Already this was a good deal. I took it to the counter and when the clerk rang it up, it was actually only $2.99!!! Wow! After adding the 7% tax of $.21, I paid $3.20 for an Ariel ornament that was orginally $9.50!
Deciding that I would explore the mall some more, I ventured into the Sock Drawer. Aerin and I had just been saying we needed to buy socks and they had some decent deals, so why not?
I got 2 pairs of leggings: $25
2) 3packs of socks $10
Total: $35 with NO TAX!
12/31
We went to Maratene's Fine Wine and Spirits to get some libations for the NYE celebration.
I purchased 2 bottles of wine and 1 bottle of Shane's favorite beer and 1) 4 pack of mini champagnes.
The wine was on sale: regular $20 and $15.
I paid $20 for both.
$ 8 for the beer
and $15 champagne
Total: $43
Groupon -$20
Total due $23
Towards the end of the night we realized that my 1 memory card for my camera just wasn't going to cut it. Even though we were downloading the pictures onto Aerin's laptop each chance we got. So we stopped by Wal-Mart on our way to John and Crystal's to get another one.
I purchased an 8 GB SD card.
$19.88
Tax$1.66
Total $21.54 - Paid with gift card I received for Christmas.
1/1
This is one of the deals that I am the most proud of. We went to the Body Shop to use the Groupon I had purchased. I love the Body Shop because they have a large line of products that do not contain artificial dyes. I am allergic to the most common, Red # 33-40. We happened to get there just at the right timing because they had 1 XL Complete Body gift set left. I asked how much it cost and was told $100, but everything was on sale being after the holidays, so they would check the price. It indeed was on sale for 50% off. That made it $50! I used my Love Your Body discount card which took another 10% or $5 off, making the new total $45.
Original Price: $100
Sale -50%
New total: $50
Discount Card-10%
New total: $45
Groupon -$40
Subtotal: $5
Tax $3.77 (8.375% NY sales tax)
Total out of pocket $8.77
To sweeten this deal even further, I looked up all of the products online. The total value of everything I received in the gift set, if purchased individually, $160.
I had another gift to buy and stopped by the calendar kiosk in the middle of the mall. Everything was 50% off. I purchased a calander and a gift envelope for my aunt.
Calendar: 13.99(reg) 6.99 sale
Envelope: 1.00 (reg) .50 sale
Total: 7.49
Tax .63
Total due: $8.12
Forever21. How I love this store! Even more so that the one in Times Sqare is FOUR FLOORS!!! OMG. Now, I didn't get any insanely good deals in here, but what I bought wasn't expensive either.
I got 2 knit coverups for work. They were $6.80 each (cheap for work clothes!).
Subtotal: 13.60
Tax: .60 (4.375 % NY clothing tax)
Total: $14.20
The good news about this is even though it's not the best deal, I can write it off on my taxes at year end.
1/2
Probably my biggest accomplishment of the entire trip was my purchases at La Petite Coquette. In French, it means "the little flirt". It's a ladies lingerie store.
I purchased 2 pairs of panties, 3 bras and a nightie.
Regular Prices:
$20
$25
$30
$79
$24
$85
Subtotal: $263
tax would have been: $11.50
totalling: 274.50
Sale Prices:
$10
$10
$10
$10
$20
$20
Subtotal: $80
Groupon -$75
New Total: $5
Tax: $3.50
Total due: $8.50
WOW!
We stopped to get tea at Argo Tea.
I purchased a travel infuser mug and a fall tea gift set.
Mug: $19.95
Tea: $9.95
Subtotal: 29.90
Tax:$2.50
Total:$32.40
Later that evening, we went back to Times Sqare to shop some more.
The Disney Store in TS in AMAZING. We purchased a Belle jacket for Caylie. It's a size too big, but I did that so she would be able to wear it this winter and next.
Regular Price: $39.99
Sale Price: $19.99
Tax: .87
Total: $20.86
We also stopped in to Toys-R-Us on a mission to find a yo-yo for Caylie. She has started to like them and I have a good friend that is on Team Duncan USA. He is also the National Sales and Marketing Coordinator for Duncan Toys. So, of course, I was looking for a Duncan. I found a blue Duncan Butterfly.
Price: $5.99
Tax: $.53
Total: $6.52
Next we went to Aeropostale. Shane found a shirt and I got a hoodie that said NY or Times Square.
Shane's Polo Regular Price $34.50
Sale Price: $12.99
My Hoodie Regular Price $44.50
Sale Price: $24.99
Subtotal: $37.98
Tax: $1.66
Total: $39.64
American Eagle had a LOT of good sales going on, but at this point we had spent a good bit of money. So, I limited myself to a small purchase.
Their Aerie Department (which is undergarments and pj's) had the best deal. $15 for 5 pairs of Aerie favorite panties.
So, regular priced at $7.50 each, that would make a savings of $4.50 each or $22.50 total, making them $3 a piece. I grabbed 5 of those.
They also had socks on sale, Regular $8.50 each, Marked down to $4.16 each.
So, 5 pairs of panties at $15
2 pairs of socks $8.32
Subtotal: 23.32
Tax: $1.02
Total: $24.34
Also, you got an additional pair of panties for FREE! So, that brings the total down to $2.50 each, saving $30 just on them alone!
Ok, so to recap on our shopping.
We spent out of pocket: $285.27
Breaking that down:
$31.82 was Christmas gifts
$14.20 Business Expense
$30.58 gifts for Caylie
$21.54 was spent on a gift card I received for Christmas
$187.13 was spent on myself and Shane
Total Savings from Sales:
$467.50 plus the respective sales taxes. (this does not include the Groupon Value)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The meals...
OK, so in my day by day blog, I told you about the meals we had.
Here I will break down the cost.
Dinner at Sonic 12/29: Shane's meal, approx $7, mine was covered by Aerin since she owed me for a previous meal.
Breakfast at hotel 12/30: included in hotel cost
Beanwood Coffee: We had a Groupon for $18. We got 3 mochas and 1 hot chocolate. Also 4 chocolate chip cookies. After the Groupon, I paid under $2.
Lunch at Mr. Pizza Slice: Aerin also paid as a portion of her trip costs. (Our portion was $10)
Dinner at Mama Mexico: Our Living Social deal was for $50, our meal did go over this amount, but my mother-in-law, was kind enough to pay for the remainder of our tab. :)
Breakfast at hotel 12/31: Included in hotel cost
Lunch/dinner at Gencarelli's Cucina: Our Groupon was for $40.
We had an appetizer: Nonna's Arrancini (Rice Balls) $11
House Salad (to split between Shane and myself): $10
Pollo Rustica (me) $20.95
Cavatelli Ricotta (shane) 17.95
Our total: $59.90
Aerin had Gnocchi Bolognese $17.95
Justin had Calamari Verdura $13.00
Their total: $30.95
Combined total: $90.85
Groupon -$40.00
Tax: $2.31
New total due: $53.16
Late night dinner from Frank's Pizza: $15.63+ $2 tip for 4 slices and 1 pizza dough.
Breakfast 1/1: Included in hotel cost
We decided to skip lunch.
Dinner at my in-laws: Yum-O!
Breakfast: 1/2 Picked up Bagels and Cream Cheese from The Bagel Store. Used Groupon.
Brunch: Via Dei Mille. Had a Groupon for $20.
Shane and I each got a sandwhich and coffee. We shared a tiramisu for dessert. Our total was around $40, I believe, but again, my wonderful mother-in-law, Sandy, was amazing and paid for the remainder of our bill.
We weren't eating dinner until late, so I did get a Sabrett hot dog and soda. $10
Dinner at ZPizza:
We got 1 small California Pizza (me) $9.95
a Napoli Pizza (Shane) $9.95
Also, a California Salad $8.50
and 2 sodas. $1.65 each
Total: $31.70
Groupon: -$20.00
Tax: $1.04
New Total due: $12.74
Breakfast: 1/3 bagels
Lunch at Wendy's somewhere in VA. $15 for Shane and myself.
Total spent out of pocket on trip: $94.37. I will round this up to an even $100 because of snacks or various food things we may have gotten that weren't involved with a meal.
Here I will break down the cost.
Dinner at Sonic 12/29: Shane's meal, approx $7, mine was covered by Aerin since she owed me for a previous meal.
Breakfast at hotel 12/30: included in hotel cost
Beanwood Coffee: We had a Groupon for $18. We got 3 mochas and 1 hot chocolate. Also 4 chocolate chip cookies. After the Groupon, I paid under $2.
Lunch at Mr. Pizza Slice: Aerin also paid as a portion of her trip costs. (Our portion was $10)
Dinner at Mama Mexico: Our Living Social deal was for $50, our meal did go over this amount, but my mother-in-law, was kind enough to pay for the remainder of our tab. :)
Breakfast at hotel 12/31: Included in hotel cost
Lunch/dinner at Gencarelli's Cucina: Our Groupon was for $40.
We had an appetizer: Nonna's Arrancini (Rice Balls) $11
House Salad (to split between Shane and myself): $10
Pollo Rustica (me) $20.95
Cavatelli Ricotta (shane) 17.95
Our total: $59.90
Aerin had Gnocchi Bolognese $17.95
Justin had Calamari Verdura $13.00
Their total: $30.95
Combined total: $90.85
Groupon -$40.00
Tax: $2.31
New total due: $53.16
Late night dinner from Frank's Pizza: $15.63+ $2 tip for 4 slices and 1 pizza dough.
Breakfast 1/1: Included in hotel cost
We decided to skip lunch.
Dinner at my in-laws: Yum-O!
Breakfast: 1/2 Picked up Bagels and Cream Cheese from The Bagel Store. Used Groupon.
Brunch: Via Dei Mille. Had a Groupon for $20.
Shane and I each got a sandwhich and coffee. We shared a tiramisu for dessert. Our total was around $40, I believe, but again, my wonderful mother-in-law, Sandy, was amazing and paid for the remainder of our bill.
We weren't eating dinner until late, so I did get a Sabrett hot dog and soda. $10
Dinner at ZPizza:
We got 1 small California Pizza (me) $9.95
a Napoli Pizza (Shane) $9.95
Also, a California Salad $8.50
and 2 sodas. $1.65 each
Total: $31.70
Groupon: -$20.00
Tax: $1.04
New Total due: $12.74
Breakfast: 1/3 bagels
Lunch at Wendy's somewhere in VA. $15 for Shane and myself.
Total spent out of pocket on trip: $94.37. I will round this up to an even $100 because of snacks or various food things we may have gotten that weren't involved with a meal.
The funds...
Starting out planning this trip, I immediately came up with a budget.
Knowing how much gas usually costs on our visits, it was easy enough to figure out how much additional to add for taking my car and the extra driving. When we take Shane's car (2008 Ford Focus) We get a little bit better gas mileage because his car is smaller and has a 4 cyl engine. My car, (2005 Chevy Malibu LS) would cost more because it is a midsize sedan with a V6 engine.
We would also be taking a different route than usual because of the stops we were wanting to make and taking into account the trips to all of our Groupons, would add a few miles as well.
Once we had determined that there would be 4 people going on the trip, I quickly added up the hotel costs, estimation for gas and tolls and figured out our base cost per person.
My beginning estimations were as follows:
Gas: $250
Tolls: $10
Hotel: $150
Total: $410
Knowing this was the absolute minimum we would be paying, I decided to add some cushion to the budget. I would rather be overprepared and not need it (extra spending money!) than get there and not have enough for basics.
I quickly decided to have the cost per person be $125. This would give us a total of $500.
There are always bumps in the road and unexpected costs along the way. Since we decided to add another hotel stay, tolls were a bit different on our new route, and some unexpected parking expenses got added, it was a good thing I made those adjustments.
We had to get gas 7 times. The total amount spent on the trip was $237.06.
Parking came to a total of $35.00.
Hotel for all stays was $201.47
Tolls $25
This brings our grand total to: $498.53, which was $1.47 under our budget of $500.
I don't know if I could've been that spot on without seriously planning.
Now, you have to remember, this was only for the basic costs, in addition to that were all of the fun things.
Between Shane and myself we spent $50 on MetroCard for the subway while in NY. We did have a couple of mess ups that caused us to lose a bit of our fares, and we also have some left on the card for our next visit.
Knowing how much gas usually costs on our visits, it was easy enough to figure out how much additional to add for taking my car and the extra driving. When we take Shane's car (2008 Ford Focus) We get a little bit better gas mileage because his car is smaller and has a 4 cyl engine. My car, (2005 Chevy Malibu LS) would cost more because it is a midsize sedan with a V6 engine.
We would also be taking a different route than usual because of the stops we were wanting to make and taking into account the trips to all of our Groupons, would add a few miles as well.
Once we had determined that there would be 4 people going on the trip, I quickly added up the hotel costs, estimation for gas and tolls and figured out our base cost per person.
My beginning estimations were as follows:
Gas: $250
Tolls: $10
Hotel: $150
Total: $410
Knowing this was the absolute minimum we would be paying, I decided to add some cushion to the budget. I would rather be overprepared and not need it (extra spending money!) than get there and not have enough for basics.
I quickly decided to have the cost per person be $125. This would give us a total of $500.
There are always bumps in the road and unexpected costs along the way. Since we decided to add another hotel stay, tolls were a bit different on our new route, and some unexpected parking expenses got added, it was a good thing I made those adjustments.
We had to get gas 7 times. The total amount spent on the trip was $237.06.
Parking came to a total of $35.00.
Hotel for all stays was $201.47
Tolls $25
This brings our grand total to: $498.53, which was $1.47 under our budget of $500.
I don't know if I could've been that spot on without seriously planning.
Now, you have to remember, this was only for the basic costs, in addition to that were all of the fun things.
Between Shane and myself we spent $50 on MetroCard for the subway while in NY. We did have a couple of mess ups that caused us to lose a bit of our fares, and we also have some left on the card for our next visit.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Day 5...we say goodbye
So, it had arrived. Too soon, of course. The dreaded day we had to return home and back to reality.
I had just drifted off to sleep when the alarm began buzzing to get up. 3 am...dang you.
So, back to yesterday. Aerin and Justin went off on thier own way to meet up with Aerin's friend Ann who lives in NYC. They spent the whole day out on thier own...you have to let them fly sometime... :)
So, I sent Aerin several text messages about what time we would be leaving so that I knew she'd be back in time. 3:09 am, she and Justin walk into the hotel room. Gotta love 'em.
We made it out by 4 am, which was only 30 mins later than I wanted to. There wasn't a whole lot of traffic out at that time of the day, so we made good time getting out of the city and through NJ. I took over around the time we were getting to DE. One of my best friends had just moved that weekend to Glen Burnie, MD and we were going to stop to see her and tour Washington, DC on our way back.
We picked up Jennefer around 8 am and drove into DC. DC is a funny place. We decided to just drive around instead of parking and getting out and about. Apparently, you can't drive within a couple of blocks of the white house. I did not know this until that day, then again, I've never been to DC before. So, we drove in circles, partly because of my lack of knowledge on where we were going and also due to a lack of sleep.
Around 11 we dropped Jennefer back off and said our goodbyes. (I do miss her a lot!) and then it was back on the road to get home.
We made a stop as we got into VA to get some food and gas. Aerin took over driving. She made it all the way to Roanoke where we stopped again for gas and a stretch. She decided that she wanted to continue driving and we were able to make it all the way home by 9 pm.
It was a lot to do in such a short trip, but I don't think I would've had it any other way. We had great friends with us, did some amazing things, and all-in-all, the trip was a huge success!
I had just drifted off to sleep when the alarm began buzzing to get up. 3 am...dang you.
So, back to yesterday. Aerin and Justin went off on thier own way to meet up with Aerin's friend Ann who lives in NYC. They spent the whole day out on thier own...you have to let them fly sometime... :)
So, I sent Aerin several text messages about what time we would be leaving so that I knew she'd be back in time. 3:09 am, she and Justin walk into the hotel room. Gotta love 'em.
We made it out by 4 am, which was only 30 mins later than I wanted to. There wasn't a whole lot of traffic out at that time of the day, so we made good time getting out of the city and through NJ. I took over around the time we were getting to DE. One of my best friends had just moved that weekend to Glen Burnie, MD and we were going to stop to see her and tour Washington, DC on our way back.
We picked up Jennefer around 8 am and drove into DC. DC is a funny place. We decided to just drive around instead of parking and getting out and about. Apparently, you can't drive within a couple of blocks of the white house. I did not know this until that day, then again, I've never been to DC before. So, we drove in circles, partly because of my lack of knowledge on where we were going and also due to a lack of sleep.
Around 11 we dropped Jennefer back off and said our goodbyes. (I do miss her a lot!) and then it was back on the road to get home.
We made a stop as we got into VA to get some food and gas. Aerin took over driving. She made it all the way to Roanoke where we stopped again for gas and a stretch. She decided that she wanted to continue driving and we were able to make it all the way home by 9 pm.
It was a lot to do in such a short trip, but I don't think I would've had it any other way. We had great friends with us, did some amazing things, and all-in-all, the trip was a huge success!
Day 4
Shane and I woke early on our last full day of vacation. We had a few things to do that morning and were on a tight schedule.
Since we didn't get into the city until later on Saturday, we had to move one stop to Sunday morning. So, Shane and I headed out to the subway to catch a train to Brooklyn. We missed the first train by seconds, and had to walk to another stop. This took us right by Ground Zero. I wish I had taken the time to snap a couple pictures, but we were in a hurry to catch the next train.
We finally made it across to Brooklyn to go to The Bagel Store. Groupon #7, come on down! We got a dozen bagels and a pound of cream cheese. OH MY GOODNESS!!! Real, hand rolled bagels! Nothing better!
We then headed back to the hotel, to get ready for brunch. We met up with Shane's family and made our way to Via Dei Mille in SoHo for an awesome brunch. Groupon #8 did not fail us. By this time, everyone was having a good laugh about my groupons and all the places we were going...but by the end of the meal, I made a believer out of my mother-in-law. She said when they come to visit us next, she will be purchasing Groupons to use! Ha!
After having our fill, we walked to Greenwich Village to go to La Petite Coquette. This Groupon was probably the best overall money saver out of all of them. It was so nice to be able to shop here. Without Groupon #9, I probably wouldn't have been able to afford even a fraction of what I purchased....stay tuned to see the numbers in the Groupon post!
Since the girls had school the next day, we left the city to get them back home and then drove my car back. Shane and I did a quick change of clothes and then it was back out to Times Sqare for more shopping! We went in so many stores, didn't get to purchase something in all of them, but we did catch some really good sales. I got Caylie a jacket from the Disney Store and a yo-yo from Toys-R-Us. Shane got a shirt from Aeropostale and I got a jacket from there. I also got a few small things from American Eagle.
I was able to do something I had always heard so much about, but was a bit leary of...I ate a hod dog from street vendor. Not just any hot dog. A Sabrett! Such yummy goodness! Probably the BEST hot dog I've ever eaten. Just a forewarning though, for a foot long and a 20 oz soda, it cost $10. Well worth it!
Shane and walked for a long time after that, just taking in the city. We finally jumped onto the subway after walking close to 30 blocks. We then arrived back in the Village to have dinner at ZPizza. Groupon #10 did not let us down. It's all organic food and so fresh! We each got a small pizza and a salad to split. Of course, we couldn't finish it and had to take some back to the hotel.
When we arrived back at the hotel, it was time to start packing. Shane and I made sure to take care of as much as possible that night because we would be leaving around 3:30 am. I ended up finishing the salad and some more pizza before I finally fell asleep around 2:30 am.
Since we didn't get into the city until later on Saturday, we had to move one stop to Sunday morning. So, Shane and I headed out to the subway to catch a train to Brooklyn. We missed the first train by seconds, and had to walk to another stop. This took us right by Ground Zero. I wish I had taken the time to snap a couple pictures, but we were in a hurry to catch the next train.
We finally made it across to Brooklyn to go to The Bagel Store. Groupon #7, come on down! We got a dozen bagels and a pound of cream cheese. OH MY GOODNESS!!! Real, hand rolled bagels! Nothing better!
We then headed back to the hotel, to get ready for brunch. We met up with Shane's family and made our way to Via Dei Mille in SoHo for an awesome brunch. Groupon #8 did not fail us. By this time, everyone was having a good laugh about my groupons and all the places we were going...but by the end of the meal, I made a believer out of my mother-in-law. She said when they come to visit us next, she will be purchasing Groupons to use! Ha!
After having our fill, we walked to Greenwich Village to go to La Petite Coquette. This Groupon was probably the best overall money saver out of all of them. It was so nice to be able to shop here. Without Groupon #9, I probably wouldn't have been able to afford even a fraction of what I purchased....stay tuned to see the numbers in the Groupon post!
Since the girls had school the next day, we left the city to get them back home and then drove my car back. Shane and I did a quick change of clothes and then it was back out to Times Sqare for more shopping! We went in so many stores, didn't get to purchase something in all of them, but we did catch some really good sales. I got Caylie a jacket from the Disney Store and a yo-yo from Toys-R-Us. Shane got a shirt from Aeropostale and I got a jacket from there. I also got a few small things from American Eagle.
I was able to do something I had always heard so much about, but was a bit leary of...I ate a hod dog from street vendor. Not just any hot dog. A Sabrett! Such yummy goodness! Probably the BEST hot dog I've ever eaten. Just a forewarning though, for a foot long and a 20 oz soda, it cost $10. Well worth it!
Shane and walked for a long time after that, just taking in the city. We finally jumped onto the subway after walking close to 30 blocks. We then arrived back in the Village to have dinner at ZPizza. Groupon #10 did not let us down. It's all organic food and so fresh! We each got a small pizza and a salad to split. Of course, we couldn't finish it and had to take some back to the hotel.
When we arrived back at the hotel, it was time to start packing. Shane and I made sure to take care of as much as possible that night because we would be leaving around 3:30 am. I ended up finishing the salad and some more pizza before I finally fell asleep around 2:30 am.
Day 3
It's a New Year, a New Day! Our third day came too soon. No one wanted to wake up. Finally, we did and Justin and I went to eat breakfast at the hotel. We were checking out of this hotel that morning and all had to shower and pack up. I think we actually walked out of the door right at 11 am.
We drove over to Shane's mom's in Closter, NJ. We gave them thier presents and made plans to have dinner there. We then left to finish out our NJ plans.
First stop, back to Maywood, NJ to Velocity 17. We had purchased 4 Groupons, 1 for each of us, for the high powered go-carts. WOW. These things are not a joke. It's hard to steer and goes really fast. It was a lot of fun for us. However, just a thought, if you have people who clearly have not been there before, it might be nice if you let them go on their own instead of letting Joe Schmo who is there every weekend get on the track with them. The main reason that this is annoying is because one of the rules of this track is that when you get lapped by someone, when they come around again, you have to pull over and stop to let them pass. This causes you to not be able to build up a flow and groove, if you will. So, it was a little frustrating. Groupon # 5 was done!
We then drove up to Nyack, NY to go to the Palisades Mall. This mall, is insanely huge. It's not the largest mall in the world or anything, but still. WOW. Four floors, full sized stores, a ice skating rink, bowling alley, theater with IMAX screens, ferris wheel and tons of other stuff all inside one giant mall. I was blown away.
The whole reason for going to the mall, other than to witness it's awesomeness, was to go shopping in the Body Shop. I had purchased Groupon #6 for there. I was able to get an amazing deal which I will detail later in my Groupon blog.
We did a little other shopping and headed back to Shane's Mom's. She made us an amazing dinner! It was so nice to be able to sit and have dinner with our family.
After dinner, we all loaded up into their SUV and drove into NYC. We checked into our hotel which was in the financial district, the downtown area of NY. We could see the Statue of Liberty from our hotel room! Oh my goodness! What a view! Aerin and Justin decided they wanted to stay in, so we headed out with My mother-in-law and Shane's sisters to explore Rockafeller Center. We took the subway up there. My first time on a subway...it's really not that bad.
We got to Rockafeller Center and got to see the Christmas tree and all the lights! It was amazing. Sandy bought us tickets to go up to Top of the Rock observation deck. So amazing. If you ever go to NYC, you should definitely do this. We went up 70 stories and out onto the deck. You could see all of Central Park, the Empire State Building, and most of the city. Of course we were there at night, so you could see everything lit up.
We then did a little bit of shopping in Times Square. The stores stay open til 11-12 at night! Whoa! We went into the Forever21 store and it has 4 levels!
After that we headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep!
We drove over to Shane's mom's in Closter, NJ. We gave them thier presents and made plans to have dinner there. We then left to finish out our NJ plans.
First stop, back to Maywood, NJ to Velocity 17. We had purchased 4 Groupons, 1 for each of us, for the high powered go-carts. WOW. These things are not a joke. It's hard to steer and goes really fast. It was a lot of fun for us. However, just a thought, if you have people who clearly have not been there before, it might be nice if you let them go on their own instead of letting Joe Schmo who is there every weekend get on the track with them. The main reason that this is annoying is because one of the rules of this track is that when you get lapped by someone, when they come around again, you have to pull over and stop to let them pass. This causes you to not be able to build up a flow and groove, if you will. So, it was a little frustrating. Groupon # 5 was done!
We then drove up to Nyack, NY to go to the Palisades Mall. This mall, is insanely huge. It's not the largest mall in the world or anything, but still. WOW. Four floors, full sized stores, a ice skating rink, bowling alley, theater with IMAX screens, ferris wheel and tons of other stuff all inside one giant mall. I was blown away.
The whole reason for going to the mall, other than to witness it's awesomeness, was to go shopping in the Body Shop. I had purchased Groupon #6 for there. I was able to get an amazing deal which I will detail later in my Groupon blog.
We did a little other shopping and headed back to Shane's Mom's. She made us an amazing dinner! It was so nice to be able to sit and have dinner with our family.
After dinner, we all loaded up into their SUV and drove into NYC. We checked into our hotel which was in the financial district, the downtown area of NY. We could see the Statue of Liberty from our hotel room! Oh my goodness! What a view! Aerin and Justin decided they wanted to stay in, so we headed out with My mother-in-law and Shane's sisters to explore Rockafeller Center. We took the subway up there. My first time on a subway...it's really not that bad.
We got to Rockafeller Center and got to see the Christmas tree and all the lights! It was amazing. Sandy bought us tickets to go up to Top of the Rock observation deck. So amazing. If you ever go to NYC, you should definitely do this. We went up 70 stories and out onto the deck. You could see all of Central Park, the Empire State Building, and most of the city. Of course we were there at night, so you could see everything lit up.
We then did a little bit of shopping in Times Square. The stores stay open til 11-12 at night! Whoa! We went into the Forever21 store and it has 4 levels!
After that we headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep!
Day 2
We woke fairly early. Around 8 am. Everyone began getting ready, we had breakfast at the hotel before we departed.
It was New Years Eve, so in preparation of the evenings festvities, we headed to Waldwick, NJ to Maratene's Fine Wine and Spirits. We were supposed to go there on Day 1, but our delays caused this to be moved. We had purchased a Groupon for wine and would be using it to buy our supplies for the night. We were able to purchase 2 bottles of wine with Groupon #2. I also grabbed a 4 pack of mini champagnes for our celebration. Shane found a beer that he loves and is hard to find where we live and Aerin got a bottle of gin.
We then ventured to go ice skating in Little Falls, NJ at the Floyd Hall Arena. There we used Groupon #3. Admission, skate rental, popcorn and soda for 4 people. Shane, being from NJ, has been ice skating numerous times in his life. Aerin had been a few times. Justin and I, however, had NEVER ice skated before this day. We did ok, no one fell down and it was fun. I used muscles I didn't know I had, and my calves hurt the next day, but overall it was a success!
By the time we finished ice skating, we were starving. So we drove to Montclair, NJ to eat at a quaint Italian restaurant by the name of Gencarelli's Cucina. I had emailed the owner, Debbie prior to our arrival to make reservations. She met us at the door with open arms. Never before have I been greeted with such a welcome from a stranger. The food was absolutely amazing. They had hundred year old recipes from Italy. It truely is a treasure. A war was almost started between Aerin and Justin over the rice balls, they were just that good. It is here that we used Groupon #4. And man, was it worth it. We are all STILL talking about that meal and how we can go back on our next trip.
We headed back towards Maywood, NJ to go on our next adventure, but we arrived too late, which caused another change in plans.
We decided that was enough excitement for the day and went back to our hotel room to get ready for the New Years Eve celebration at our friend's house. On the way we stopped at Frank's pizza to pick up a few slices and dough so that Crystal could make zeppolis.
We rang in the New Year with great friends at the home of John and Crystal. Unfortunately for Justin and I, we were worn out. So, not long after the ball dropped, we fell asleep on the sofa curled up with Raina, one John and Crystal's dogs. At some point in the night, Shane and Aerin woke us up and we went back to the hotel.
It was New Years Eve, so in preparation of the evenings festvities, we headed to Waldwick, NJ to Maratene's Fine Wine and Spirits. We were supposed to go there on Day 1, but our delays caused this to be moved. We had purchased a Groupon for wine and would be using it to buy our supplies for the night. We were able to purchase 2 bottles of wine with Groupon #2. I also grabbed a 4 pack of mini champagnes for our celebration. Shane found a beer that he loves and is hard to find where we live and Aerin got a bottle of gin.
We then ventured to go ice skating in Little Falls, NJ at the Floyd Hall Arena. There we used Groupon #3. Admission, skate rental, popcorn and soda for 4 people. Shane, being from NJ, has been ice skating numerous times in his life. Aerin had been a few times. Justin and I, however, had NEVER ice skated before this day. We did ok, no one fell down and it was fun. I used muscles I didn't know I had, and my calves hurt the next day, but overall it was a success!
By the time we finished ice skating, we were starving. So we drove to Montclair, NJ to eat at a quaint Italian restaurant by the name of Gencarelli's Cucina. I had emailed the owner, Debbie prior to our arrival to make reservations. She met us at the door with open arms. Never before have I been greeted with such a welcome from a stranger. The food was absolutely amazing. They had hundred year old recipes from Italy. It truely is a treasure. A war was almost started between Aerin and Justin over the rice balls, they were just that good. It is here that we used Groupon #4. And man, was it worth it. We are all STILL talking about that meal and how we can go back on our next trip.
We headed back towards Maywood, NJ to go on our next adventure, but we arrived too late, which caused another change in plans.
We decided that was enough excitement for the day and went back to our hotel room to get ready for the New Years Eve celebration at our friend's house. On the way we stopped at Frank's pizza to pick up a few slices and dough so that Crystal could make zeppolis.
We rang in the New Year with great friends at the home of John and Crystal. Unfortunately for Justin and I, we were worn out. So, not long after the ball dropped, we fell asleep on the sofa curled up with Raina, one John and Crystal's dogs. At some point in the night, Shane and Aerin woke us up and we went back to the hotel.
Day 1
After we checked in to the room Aerin called dibs on the shower, so the rest of us napped. At this point it was 5:45am We slept til the breakfast opened at 6:30. After we all refueled and showered it was back on the road.
Shane took over as our chauffer while in NJ. At around 7:30 am we were loaded and moving. The nap had put us little behind, but definitely worth it.
Our next stop would be in Bordentown, NJ at Beanwood Coffee.
This would be where we used...wait for it...Groupon #1!
So, we stopped to get coffee. They are said to have amazing Latin food, but since we were so early getting there, espresso it was! 3 mochas, a hot chocolate and 4 cookies later, we had used our first Groupon of the trip! HUZZAH!
Onward to Ocean Grove. I love Ocean Grove. It's a beautiful seaside town that is practically untouched by modern society. I don't know why I'm so drawn to it, but I am. Shane thought I was crazy for wanting to go there since they had gotten so much snow, but I insisted. If you've never seen snow on the beach, I highly recommend it. What a sight!
We spent an hour walking and taking photos. Then we began driving toward our next destination, Red Bank, NJ, home of Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash.
What should have taken 15-20 minutes at most, turned into 2 hours. The snow was not completely cleared and that caused major backups. It also caused major schedule changes. As we were riding at a snail's pace, I'm was reviewing tripit plans and figuring out what could be moved. After changing 2 plans, we were looking good.
Once we arrived in Red Bank, we had to conquer another great feat. Finding parking. Wow. There was so much snow that most of the parking spaces were being used as places to pile the HUGE piles of snow. We finally did find a spot and headed into the Stash. Aerin wandered around taking pictures while Shane and I shopped. I decided to purchased an signed BluRay copy of Zack and Miri by Kevin Smith.
We then ventured aroudn the corner to Mr. Pizza Slice. We ordered a pizza and a couple of sodas. And then got back in the car to drive to Leonardo, NJ. The roads were a bit cleaner, so it didn't take as long to get there.
We were goign to the Quik Stop where the first Clerks movie was filmed. This is where the horrible 2 hour delay worked out nicely for us. While we're standing there, out walks one of the people who appeared in the movie.
We left Leonardo and drove to our hotel. After checking in, I ran across to the mall to pick up a last minute gift and I found out there is NO sales tax on clothing in NJ. AWESOME!
I returned to the hotel and we all prepared to leave for dinner. After being rerouted due to ice on the road, we made it to the restaurant. We were having dinner at Mama Mexico in Englewood Cliffs. I had purchased a deal from Living Social for this meal.
The food was great and they prepare the guacamole fresh beside your table! WOW! Yum-o! After we ate, we returned to the hotel and crashed. I don't think any of us could have done any more that first day.
Shane took over as our chauffer while in NJ. At around 7:30 am we were loaded and moving. The nap had put us little behind, but definitely worth it.
Our next stop would be in Bordentown, NJ at Beanwood Coffee.
This would be where we used...wait for it...Groupon #1!
So, we stopped to get coffee. They are said to have amazing Latin food, but since we were so early getting there, espresso it was! 3 mochas, a hot chocolate and 4 cookies later, we had used our first Groupon of the trip! HUZZAH!
Onward to Ocean Grove. I love Ocean Grove. It's a beautiful seaside town that is practically untouched by modern society. I don't know why I'm so drawn to it, but I am. Shane thought I was crazy for wanting to go there since they had gotten so much snow, but I insisted. If you've never seen snow on the beach, I highly recommend it. What a sight!
We spent an hour walking and taking photos. Then we began driving toward our next destination, Red Bank, NJ, home of Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash.
What should have taken 15-20 minutes at most, turned into 2 hours. The snow was not completely cleared and that caused major backups. It also caused major schedule changes. As we were riding at a snail's pace, I'm was reviewing tripit plans and figuring out what could be moved. After changing 2 plans, we were looking good.
Once we arrived in Red Bank, we had to conquer another great feat. Finding parking. Wow. There was so much snow that most of the parking spaces were being used as places to pile the HUGE piles of snow. We finally did find a spot and headed into the Stash. Aerin wandered around taking pictures while Shane and I shopped. I decided to purchased an signed BluRay copy of Zack and Miri by Kevin Smith.
We then ventured aroudn the corner to Mr. Pizza Slice. We ordered a pizza and a couple of sodas. And then got back in the car to drive to Leonardo, NJ. The roads were a bit cleaner, so it didn't take as long to get there.
We were goign to the Quik Stop where the first Clerks movie was filmed. This is where the horrible 2 hour delay worked out nicely for us. While we're standing there, out walks one of the people who appeared in the movie.
We left Leonardo and drove to our hotel. After checking in, I ran across to the mall to pick up a last minute gift and I found out there is NO sales tax on clothing in NJ. AWESOME!
I returned to the hotel and we all prepared to leave for dinner. After being rerouted due to ice on the road, we made it to the restaurant. We were having dinner at Mama Mexico in Englewood Cliffs. I had purchased a deal from Living Social for this meal.
The food was great and they prepare the guacamole fresh beside your table! WOW! Yum-o! After we ate, we returned to the hotel and crashed. I don't think any of us could have done any more that first day.
Night 1
After leaving, we drove approximately 30 miles to Cleveland, TN, where we stopped at Sonic to pick up dinner. Since there were four of us, we had some separate orders. I'm driving at the point, so I'm really watching the time. I am usually a very patient person, especially with people that work in the food service industry. I've been there before and I understand what it's like. However, when you have 3 separate orders, something is bound to be wrong.
For whatever reason, it's always Shane's food that gets messed up. I knew as soon as I had to repeat his order 3 times, that there would be a problem. When they did bring the food out, everyone's orders were right, except for his sandwich. So, then I had to call them back out and have them make a new one which took another 10 minutes.
At this point, I'm just trying to let it go. Repeating in my head that it will be fine...Now we are 1 hour and 15 minutes behind schedule. We leave Cleveland and I drove to Roanoke, VA where we stopped for gas, to stretch and use the bathroom. We didn't run into any traffic problems so by the time Aerin got behind the wheel, we were back on schedule.
Aerin drove fro Roanoke to Newark, DE where we checked in for the shortest hotel stay I've ever had.
For whatever reason, it's always Shane's food that gets messed up. I knew as soon as I had to repeat his order 3 times, that there would be a problem. When they did bring the food out, everyone's orders were right, except for his sandwich. So, then I had to call them back out and have them make a new one which took another 10 minutes.
At this point, I'm just trying to let it go. Repeating in my head that it will be fine...Now we are 1 hour and 15 minutes behind schedule. We leave Cleveland and I drove to Roanoke, VA where we stopped for gas, to stretch and use the bathroom. We didn't run into any traffic problems so by the time Aerin got behind the wheel, we were back on schedule.
Aerin drove fro Roanoke to Newark, DE where we checked in for the shortest hotel stay I've ever had.
Getting Ready
Traveling during the holidays is always hectic. There are so many places to be and poeple to see. Having a 3 year old, Christmas is a major deal. So, Christmas was full of things to do. The problem with that is, right after Christmas it was right back to work.
Thanks to my husband, all of the laundry was done and ready for me to do last minute packing as soon as I could get around to it. He also was great enough to clean all the junk and car seat out of my car. I got the oil changed, new tire, new windshield wipers, everything was going according to plan and on time. This should be a good sign, right?
At 12:45 am on Wednesday, December 29th (the day we are leaving for the trip) I received a text message from my sister. She and her boyfriend had just broken up and he was not going on the trip. At this point she wasn't sure if she wanted to go either. This was scramble time. I REFUSED to panic. I called for Shane, told him what happened and we began to brainstorm. There was no way we could keep to the travel schedule after this kink was thrown into the plans. We both had to work that day and I still hadn't packed.
I began looking online at the maps. We determined that we could make it the 6 hours to Roanoke, VA and would need to stop there at a hotel to rest for approximately 3 hours. I booked it. Right after, my sister said they would still pay for their potion of the trip, which lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. She wasn't sure if she would still like to go. I told her she would have until noon to decide.
After arriving to work that day, I attempted to contact other friends and family members to see if anyone would go with us, just so we could have help with the drive and so we could stay on schedule. Unfortunately, no one was able to make the trip on that short of a notice. Now I WAS begining to panic.
Luckily, before the noon deadline, I spoke with my sister who did, in fact, decide to go on the trip. She asked if she could bring a friend, Justin. I knew Justin, and was comfortable with him, so I said sure.
Now, back to changing the plans. I cancelled the hotel room in Roanoke since we wouldn't need to stay. Instead, I looked at the trip maps again and found a spot that we would hit just before our first scheduled stop. I made a reservation with the plans to get the room for the sole purposes of showering, a short nap and breakfast. At thr rate, it was an amazing idea.
I got home after work at approximately 5:45. My sister, Aerin and Justin were waiting for me. I ran in and got packed, loaded the car and we left my house around 7 pm. Only 1 hour behind schedule.
Thanks to my husband, all of the laundry was done and ready for me to do last minute packing as soon as I could get around to it. He also was great enough to clean all the junk and car seat out of my car. I got the oil changed, new tire, new windshield wipers, everything was going according to plan and on time. This should be a good sign, right?
At 12:45 am on Wednesday, December 29th (the day we are leaving for the trip) I received a text message from my sister. She and her boyfriend had just broken up and he was not going on the trip. At this point she wasn't sure if she wanted to go either. This was scramble time. I REFUSED to panic. I called for Shane, told him what happened and we began to brainstorm. There was no way we could keep to the travel schedule after this kink was thrown into the plans. We both had to work that day and I still hadn't packed.
I began looking online at the maps. We determined that we could make it the 6 hours to Roanoke, VA and would need to stop there at a hotel to rest for approximately 3 hours. I booked it. Right after, my sister said they would still pay for their potion of the trip, which lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. She wasn't sure if she would still like to go. I told her she would have until noon to decide.
After arriving to work that day, I attempted to contact other friends and family members to see if anyone would go with us, just so we could have help with the drive and so we could stay on schedule. Unfortunately, no one was able to make the trip on that short of a notice. Now I WAS begining to panic.
Luckily, before the noon deadline, I spoke with my sister who did, in fact, decide to go on the trip. She asked if she could bring a friend, Justin. I knew Justin, and was comfortable with him, so I said sure.
Now, back to changing the plans. I cancelled the hotel room in Roanoke since we wouldn't need to stay. Instead, I looked at the trip maps again and found a spot that we would hit just before our first scheduled stop. I made a reservation with the plans to get the room for the sole purposes of showering, a short nap and breakfast. At thr rate, it was an amazing idea.
I got home after work at approximately 5:45. My sister, Aerin and Justin were waiting for me. I ran in and got packed, loaded the car and we left my house around 7 pm. Only 1 hour behind schedule.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Our vacation...
So, the whole reason I really decided to start this blog was to spread the word about our amazing savings on our vacation to NJ/NY.
I am a planner. You could even say I'm OCD. Seriously, I made a tripit travel plan with down to the minute directions and stops. Now, that's not to say that I'm one of those people who freak out when things don't go according to plan. Nope, not I. I just say, ok, now how to I modify my current plans to fit everything? I feel like if I don't already have a plan, it would just be too overwhelming to make adjustments.
We decided that we would take this trip around the holidays to visit Shane's family and do a little bit of sightseeing. My daughter would be spending a week with her Dad so it was the perfect timing. It started as a small trip, just 5 days, 5 nights...but oh, did it grow. Just like others out there, our finances are tight. Especially during the holiday season. We have so many to buy for and that meant we had to find ways to make this trip the most cost effective possible.
So, the first step, how to take the trip and use as little vacation pay from work. We decided that it would be best to go over the New Year's Holiday. It's too hard to travel the week of Christmas. If we went during a holiday week, that meant an extra day that we would get paid for without using Paid Time Off.
Step two, how to maximize the time. It is a long drive from our home in Tennessee to Northern New Jersey where my in-laws live. Something to the tune of 13-14 hours. This would take up a whole day! I hate spending my valuable "fun" time driving. The solution? We leave after work and drive through the night. Obviously, on the return trip, we would have to drive through the day because it would be nearly impossible to go back to work without rest. Shane and I have made this drive before and we have it worked out fairly well so that neither of us get overextended, but we wanted to make sure we could rest and also afford to have a good time.
Step three, find someone who would like to tag along. Now, I know some of you are shaking your heads and saying, "Why in the world would you want to take other people along with you on your vacation?" Well, it's simple, extra drivers and splitting the trip costs. A trip like this could potentially cost a rather large amount. If there is someone that you are comfortable enough to sleep in the same room with and drive your car while you sleep, why not? After asking a few friends and family members, it was decided that my sister and her boyfriend would go with us. What does that mean for the trip? Driving resposibilities and total trip costs are split between four people. AMAZING!
Step four, find lodging. I work for a hotel. For the purposes of this blog I will not disclose that information or my rates. I'm sorry, but I value my job WAY too much to risk losing it. So, I started researching what hotels were in the area that are owned by my company or the brand that I work for. We would be staying four nights in a hotel. We decided to spend two nights in New Jersey and two nights in New York City. I was able to go to my company's hotel in New Jersey and a branded hotel in New York. Let me just tell you when I told my husband and mother-in-law the rates that I would be getting, I thought they were going to pass out. Now, add to that fact that we would be splitting the cost with two other people, it got even better.
Step five, what do we do while we're there? I don't know about you, but I hate sitting around on vacation doing nothing. Seriously, if I wanted to do that I'd go to my family's lake house that is only 1 hour away. The prospect of getting there and not having a plan was out of the question, but again, how do we afford to have a fun-filled vacation? My answer to this: Groupon. Shortly after the above steps were completed, I began to research the daily deal sites to see what I could get/use while we were on our trip. Let me just tell you, it was the best decision I made in this whole process. For two months, I scoured the sites looking for deals across New Jersey and New York City.
I am a planner. You could even say I'm OCD. Seriously, I made a tripit travel plan with down to the minute directions and stops. Now, that's not to say that I'm one of those people who freak out when things don't go according to plan. Nope, not I. I just say, ok, now how to I modify my current plans to fit everything? I feel like if I don't already have a plan, it would just be too overwhelming to make adjustments.
We decided that we would take this trip around the holidays to visit Shane's family and do a little bit of sightseeing. My daughter would be spending a week with her Dad so it was the perfect timing. It started as a small trip, just 5 days, 5 nights...but oh, did it grow. Just like others out there, our finances are tight. Especially during the holiday season. We have so many to buy for and that meant we had to find ways to make this trip the most cost effective possible.
So, the first step, how to take the trip and use as little vacation pay from work. We decided that it would be best to go over the New Year's Holiday. It's too hard to travel the week of Christmas. If we went during a holiday week, that meant an extra day that we would get paid for without using Paid Time Off.
Step two, how to maximize the time. It is a long drive from our home in Tennessee to Northern New Jersey where my in-laws live. Something to the tune of 13-14 hours. This would take up a whole day! I hate spending my valuable "fun" time driving. The solution? We leave after work and drive through the night. Obviously, on the return trip, we would have to drive through the day because it would be nearly impossible to go back to work without rest. Shane and I have made this drive before and we have it worked out fairly well so that neither of us get overextended, but we wanted to make sure we could rest and also afford to have a good time.
Step three, find someone who would like to tag along. Now, I know some of you are shaking your heads and saying, "Why in the world would you want to take other people along with you on your vacation?" Well, it's simple, extra drivers and splitting the trip costs. A trip like this could potentially cost a rather large amount. If there is someone that you are comfortable enough to sleep in the same room with and drive your car while you sleep, why not? After asking a few friends and family members, it was decided that my sister and her boyfriend would go with us. What does that mean for the trip? Driving resposibilities and total trip costs are split between four people. AMAZING!
Step four, find lodging. I work for a hotel. For the purposes of this blog I will not disclose that information or my rates. I'm sorry, but I value my job WAY too much to risk losing it. So, I started researching what hotels were in the area that are owned by my company or the brand that I work for. We would be staying four nights in a hotel. We decided to spend two nights in New Jersey and two nights in New York City. I was able to go to my company's hotel in New Jersey and a branded hotel in New York. Let me just tell you when I told my husband and mother-in-law the rates that I would be getting, I thought they were going to pass out. Now, add to that fact that we would be splitting the cost with two other people, it got even better.
Step five, what do we do while we're there? I don't know about you, but I hate sitting around on vacation doing nothing. Seriously, if I wanted to do that I'd go to my family's lake house that is only 1 hour away. The prospect of getting there and not having a plan was out of the question, but again, how do we afford to have a fun-filled vacation? My answer to this: Groupon. Shortly after the above steps were completed, I began to research the daily deal sites to see what I could get/use while we were on our trip. Let me just tell you, it was the best decision I made in this whole process. For two months, I scoured the sites looking for deals across New Jersey and New York City.
Just a litte info about me...
Before I get too much into my story, I wanted to give you a little bit of background, I am a southern girl at heart, raised in South Carolina for the younger years, now I reside in Tennessee with my husband and daughter. My husband, Shane, is from New Jersey, and we are polar opposites on most every category there is in life. I have a beautiful, amazing 3 year old daughter from my first marriage. Her name is Caylie Taryn. She is my salvation. I also have a guardian angel, Olivia Grace, whom I delivered when I was 4 months pregnant on 11/4/2005.
We all struggle.
So, to start off my blog, I just want to say, this is my way of doing things, it may not work for you. We all struggle in our own ways. For some, it's financial, others emotional, etc. This is how I cope with my struggles. I would like to share that with you.
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