Baller on a BUDGET!

You will come to find out, that I am barley ever in town. I am usually on some type of adventure that will steer me away from my local city; Corona. But then again-who really wants to hang out there anyways?

I am not totally knockin' on Corona [or am I], but the local dive bar and karokee gets old from time to time. So then you ask, what can I do and for a REASONABLE price.

Lets recap the places I have been in 2011
Las Vegas [x5]
Laughlin
Flordia
Lake Havasu [x4]
New York
Santa Barbra
San Simeon County
Catalina
San Diego [x3]

and numerous amounts of Newport, Huntington Beach, and Apple Valley trips [yes, I said apple valley-don't hate unless you have been to The Cadillac Ranch]

---thats almost a sold 4 months of STRAIGHT weekend vacationing. You then ask yourself, how the HELL can anyone afford to be on vacation so often; you have to purchase hotels, flights, food, drinks, etc, etc etc!

Here are some TIPS if you are wanting to go on a vacation:

1.) Do you have a friend in the area that you can stay with?

This is a pretty simple money saving strategy. If you have a friend in the area-ask them if you can crash. If you are staying somewhere for a few days, that could help you save over $300 on hotel bills! Just make sure that you take care of your fellow friend with a fun gift or a thank you card--let them know that you appreciate their hospitality!

2.) Consider a lower star option!

How often are you REALLY going to be in the hotel anyways? I am not recommending you to stay at the Motel 6 [done that one before-and do not recommend it!], but something that may be a 3 star instead of a 5 star.

If you are REALLY concerned if the hotel is going to be a dump, feel free to use reviews from multiple websites [ex/expedia, travelocity]. Then you can see what the consumer really thinks about the hotel-do keep in mind that some people just really like to complain; don't take the comments too literal!

3.) COUPONS!

This is my favorite option to use. I don't decide on exactly where I am going to be staying or going, I let the coupon decide for me! Some of my most trusted sites that I use for great deals are: Travelzoo [my all time favorite], Bloomspot [more upscale places for a reasonable pirce], Groupon [the daily deal; however, groupon has been disappointing me lately], and Hotel.com [they usually have decent deals on hotels for that particular week].

Here is an example of a Travelzoo deal that we did:

(2) Night stay at Keating Hotel

(1) Bottle of wine on arrival

(1) 3 course dinner meal for 2 at on site restaurant

(2) Daily breakfasts hand delivered to your meal every morning

(2) Turn down services

$350.00 for ALL of this. Now lets get real-the hotel is $300 a night--and we got the ENTIRE package for $350--now THATS a steal.

4.) CRAM A TON OF FRIENDS INTO ONE PLACE

Say you really want to go out of town, and none of these other brilliant recommendations work at the time of your vacation--INVITE MORE PEOPLE! Like I said earlier, its JUST a hotel room, you are only going to be sleeping there. Bring a few extra blankets and pillows and split the cost of the room. You'll be happy that you did--your wallet will thank you, and then you get to know your friends on a more personal level then EVER before!

5.) REDUCE the amount that you need to spend:

Bring your own snacks, drinks, and food to keep you a happy camper for the entire weekend. You are already having to spend enough money on your vacation, why not save some dough and bring the necessities!

Peace, love and start VACATIONING!