A Budget-Friendly Birthdaycation Extravaganza

This past weekend, my best friend Shawntel of SOA Event Concepts came to visit me here in Orlando for her birthday weekend. I was forewarned that the budget was going to be tight for the weekend, so I had to prepare my budgetista skills to squeeze a dollar out of a dime and have a FANTASTIC time. Here is the breakdown of our fabulous BFFcation, and some of the killer deals we scored.

Friday night, we went to a swanky restaurant in Winter Park. I liken that area to Buckhead in Atlanta, back in the day. Some of the entrees on Luma’s menu were a little on the exotic (and pricey) side, but the ambiance was well worth it. So what do you do when you want to experience poshness, but don’t necessarily have a posh budget? Order off the appetizer menu, of course! When I was in high school working at Plato’s Closet, my co-workers and I would get together for appetizers and desserts, to a) not spend a lot of cash, and b) have a quality girls night out. Think about it - Appetizers are normally large enough to share and reasonably priced. Typically, you’re not going to find an appetizer over $20 on any menu. We opted for the fancy pizza. It was delicious! We saved our splurge for their incredible wine selection. A glass ranged anywhere from $6 to $12, but the selection was astounding. The first night was a great success.

Saturday, we attended a class at Vixen Fitness, which I will elaborate on tomorrow’s edition of Work It Out Wednesday and enjoyed lunch at Crave, an American fusion bistro. When I tell you this place is awesome, it’s an understatement. The décor is chic, but welcoming. The staff is by far some of the best I’ve ever come in contact with. And the food is to die for! Try the lamb burger. I promise you, you won’t regret it. The best part of it all was that we had an ODeals Daily certificate for $30. I only paid $15 for it a few weeks ago. The key to a great trip is preparing in advance with the deal sites. Let THEM decide where you’ll be dining on your vacation and save up to 50% on your tab. Just be nice to your server and tip on the full amount for the service you receive. Our server Blake was worth 40%. Just saying…

No BFF rendezvous is complete without a shopping trip. But not just any shopping trip. We hunt for super sales, deals and steals, and a gem of a find. By the looks of it, it was a great success. Check out her Max and Cleo dress, purchased from Dechoes for $14.99 and my Charlotte Russe romper for just $9.99. 

Max and Cleo Dress

Charlotte Russe Romper

Sunday should have been a beach day, but it was cold and rainy, so we did some window shopping instead (but still managed to come away with some loot). What? Come away with look when you window shop? Who does that?!?!? We do. No, it’s not illegal by any means. I’ve been reading about a store called Lush for what seems like ages. It’s cosmetics store with products made of all natural ingredients. After walking in and basking in the natural fragrances floating around the room, I totally understood the reasoning behind the company name. These simple products make you feel good – literally. The associate demoed Buffy, a soap with granules in it that exfoliate on our hands along with Flying Fox, a body wash with an interesting back story, and our hands felt like silk afterwards. We played in Mermaid Water, a mix of the Big Blue Ball bath bomb and Sunny Side bubble bar and became mesmerized be the waters beautiful colors and skin softening effects. And, our favorite part, they gave us tons of samples! Not just a tiny, one time use packet, but enough for a handful of applications. I didn’t have to purchase anything to get them, even though I did (I’m treating myself to a bath in Mermaid Water for Valentine’s day, but that’s neither here nor there). And the associates were so kind and so helpful that there is no way anyone would leave that store and not come back to purchase something. Great sales tactic, if you ask me.

We ended the weekend at our favorite bakery in town, Sweet by Good Golly Miss Holly for Mini-Mania. Every Monday, they sell their delicious mini cupcakes for $1 each. As a birthday gift to the best friend a girl could ever ask for, I bought her a dozen, and ended up saving $6 on the pack.

Yeah, I saved us a lot of dough this past weekend, and we scored big, but spending time with my Bestie in celebration of her special day was priceless.

♥ - The Bougie Budgetista

Bougie Budgetista Secrets: Big Apple Vacation on a Little Budget

Happy Monday, loves! Over the weekend, a reader emailed me a really great question:

“I’m planning a trip for two to New York City in October. I’m on a really tight budget, but really want to get a feel for the city. How can I enjoy my time there without going broke?”

– Cheap & Lovin’ It

Cheap,

I’m all about living the champagne lifestyle on a Kool-Aid budget, and vacationing is a HUGE part of that. There is no reason why you can’t stay in nice hotels, eat at amazing restaurants, and explore the city’s best offerings all while keeping your budget in check. When I travel, I love meandering around the city like a local would, especially in New York City. I feel it’s the only way to get the true essence of city. Sure, you could visit the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, snap pictures of everything in sight, etc. But if you really want to experience NYC and avoid inflated tourist costs, take a few tips from the natives, and find the hole in the wall places for breakfast and lunch, take the train everywhere, and get local hook ups through your favorite Budgetista approved sites.

First, you’re going to have to get there, right? Start your search for airfare NOW! I have found that the farther in advance you book a flight, the better deals you’ll find. It’s “Supply and Demand” at its finest, ladies and gentlemen. When all the seats of the plane are empty, the prices are lower. But once the flight starts to fill up, the cost starts to go up too. Check out Kayak to compare and contrasts the prices of different airlines. Don’t be afraid to play around with options like “Flexible Dates” or “Include Nearby Airports” because you may find a gem of a deal by flying into Newark, NJ versus directly into La Guardia or JFK. The cost of getting to your hotel from either airport is pretty much the same, so try it out and see what you come up with.

Next finding a hotel. There are two ways you can do this, the easy way, and the Super Savvy Budgetista way. We’ll start with the easy route. Sites like Travelocity and Priceline will find package deals for you. In other words, they’ll find your flight and hotel for one reasonable price. Most of the time, they’re going package you with a Three- or Four-star hotel in the city, which gives you the best bang for your buck. But if you’re not picky about where you stay, you could always take the cheapest route, stay in a lower rated hotel, and use the money to spend on other activities. I did a quick search for two travelers going from Seattle to NYC, staying in the city for six nights, and the lowest price I found was $612 per person for flight, hotel, taxes and fees. Not bad for a cross country vacation, eh?

If you’re really adventurous and are willing to spend some time doing research and comparing prices and you have the patience, you could earn your Travel Budgetista Wings and become a Priceline Negotiator. Most people avoid bidding for travel because they’re afraid they’re going to get stuck on a red eye flight and in a dump of a hotel. Has it happened? Yes. Has it happened to ME? Absolutely not! All it takes is a little preliminary research. Begin at Bidding For Travel. It’s a forum where the hardcore bidders share their winning bids and strategies for getting the lowest price. There you will also find the list for the hotels that accept bids from Priceline. Once you’re on the home page, scroll down until you find the state you’re looking to stay in. In this case, we’re going to click directly on “New York State – New York City”. Find the post entitled “HOTEL LIST” there you will find the hotels listed by zone and star rating. Make note of the hotels you really want to stay in, jotting down the zone and rating. Next, scroll through the different threads. Most of the users will post the star rating, the name of the hotel and the amount they paid for the hotel in the title of the thread. Of you click on one of the posts that is on your hotel wish list, you’ll see how they were able to get that bid accepted for that price. Once you’ve determined what hotels you’re ok with staying at, and how much you’re willing to pay, proceed to Priceline and negotiate! Right now, they’re listing winning bids in New York City. A 2.5-star in SoHo went for $70 (35% savings). Some negotiators were able to score places at 61% off regular nightly rates! All it takes is a little know-how and you could win big too.

Once you’ve secured travel and lodging, you need something to do, right? Sign up to receive Groupon and LivingSocial emails specifically for NYC. Sure, you’re going to get emails for things you have no intentions of doing on a vacation (like learning to read faster), but you’re also going to get half-off gift certificates to great restaurants around town, relaxing spa treatments (your feet will need them after all that walking), and reduced admission to all types of entertainment (comedy shows, Broadway plays, Cirque du Soleil, etc). Do a little research on Urbanspoon for restaurants in the area. Sometimes, the best eats are the little hole-in-the-wall places that you’d never notice walking down the street. If you MUST do touristy things I’d suggest the Double Decker Bus Tour. It gives you the opportunity to see all the highlights of the city with the opportunity to “Hop on and Hop off” at any of the major stops. You can buy a 48 or 72 hour pass. Currently, they’re running a special on the 48 hour pass if you buy online, and once you’ve purchased, it’s good for one year.

Cabs and car services can take a HUGE bite out of your vacation budget. To get around, I suggest getting the MTA route maps and getting a 7-day pass. For $29 per person, you’ll be able to head from borough to borough day and night. No per-mile costs, no tolls, and no tipping. Ask the front desk person at your hotel for pointers on navigating the subway trains and buses.

With all the money you save by preplanning, you’ll have enough money left over to enjoy the swanky night life in the city that never sleeps.

Have a question you’d like answered? Email me!