Travel — Beating Broke

4 Alternative Spring Break Vacation Options

March 5, 2017 By MelissaB 1 Comment

Spring is right around the corner, and for many, that means spring break. However, if you are a college student or you have a child who is one, know that spring break for many kids doesn’t mean traipsing off to a beach location to spend the week drinking and partying. For many others, spring break can be a time to help others.

The best of both worlds is traveling to new locations AND helping others. There are plenty of spring break options to let you do just that, and the opportunities aren’t just for college students.

While there are many reputable companies that you can choose from, these are a few to get you started.

International Spring Break Options

Alternative spring break vacation — Original img: Kristin Klein on Flickr

GoVoluntouring. This company lets you choose your volunteer opportunity based on age, the amount you can spend, duration, and what attractions and countries interest you. GoVoluntouring has projects in many, many different countries from Croatia to Fiji to Iceland, just to name a few, and has opportunities from teaching abroad to environmental programs to wildlife programs.

Earthwatch Institute. Earthwatch Institute’s focus is on environmental trips including climate change, ocean health, and wildlife expeditions. They have trips available in every continent. Another nice feature of Earthwatch is that if you spread the news about the company via social media and other avenues, you can receive a discount on your own travel. Just sign up to be an Earthwatch Ambassador to take advantage of this program.

National Spring Break Options

American Hiking Association. If you’d like to volunteer without getting a passport, you might consider the American Hiking Association’s opportunities to travel within the U.S. and volunteer. You can search by the state you’re interested in traveling to. Then, you’ll see how difficult the volunteer opportunity is, ranging from Easy to Very Strenuous, with three additional grades in between. A moderate project (one step up from easy) might be performing trail maintenance at Fort Pickens in Florida. A very strenuous project might be one that requires 6 to 10 miles of hiking a day in addition to trail clearing and maintenance including removing dead trees and repairing or installing turnpikes on the trails.

If you want to serve here, be aware that each trip generally only has 6 to 13 participants, so space is limited. They currently still have openings in their program.

The United Way. The most cost-effective alternative spring break program is with the United Way. For a cost of approximately $275 to $395, you’ll have the chance to volunteer for a week and work on projects such as building houses, maintaining gardens, and assisting youth.

Of course, you don’t have to go with one of these companies. There are likely plenty of opportunities to volunteer in your own community or to take a trip to a foreign country to help others through your church.

If you’re going to spend money on a spring break getaway, why not also do good while you’re there? You’ll likely experience the country and its people more than if you just sat on a beach as a tourist watching the sunset.

Have you ever taken a volunteer vacation? If so, where did you go and what did you do? If not, would you consider taking one?

Our Cross Country Move: One Year Later

July 13, 2015 By MelissaB 4 Comments

Almost one year ago, our family made the move from Chicago to Tucson, Arizona. Honestly, I wasn’t that excited to be moving so far away from my family in the Midwest, but we thought the move would only be for two or three years. The move was a smart choice for my husband’s career (something we still believe), so I tried to make the best out of it.

Now, a year later, I’ve found that a cross country move can evoke a wide range of positives and negatives.

The Positives

Keeping in touch with relatives is easy, thanks to technology. My mom has made the trip out to Tucson three times in the year we’ve been here, so we’ve been lucky to see her so frequently. Because of the cost of taking our family of five such a distance, we only expect to be able to travel to see her once a year. She’ll likely cut her trips down to once or twice a year to see us from now on. However, thanks to Skype, keeping in touch is easier than ever. Whenever the kids miss grandma, we just Skype with her.

Having a back yard is priceless. In the Chicago suburbs where we lived, we just had a tiny patch of yard. Since we were renting, we couldn’t do anything with it. Now, we have a full back yard for the kids to play in and we have three garden beds (though we’re still learning how to grow anything in this crazy desert).

A cheaper cost of living rocks. No surprise, Chicago was expensive. We could never own a house because property taxes alone were $12,000+ a year, and starter homes in less than ideal conditions were easily $350,000 as a starting price. In Tucson, we’re able to own our own home, and the property taxes are a fifth or less of what they were in Chicago.

The Negatives

All health insurance policies are not the same. My husband’s health insurance policy in Chicago was generous, but we always found it very annoying that medical bills were not paid until 9 to 12 months AFTER the appointment. (Illinois’ tight budget was the reason.) When we moved here, I was impressed that our bills were paid within a few weeks. However, we pay more to insure our family here, and fewer expenses are covered. We did not estimate just how deeply medical bills would impact our bottom line, and right now we’re recovering financially from the nearly $5,000 we had to pay out of pocket for the first four months of medical expenses in 2015. (These expense would have likely been much less with our Illinois insurance.)

Moving is SO expensive. We originally hoped to only be out here for two to three years, but moving cross country is so expensive. Now I find myself hoping we stay here five years so we don’t have to spend so much money to relocate so quickly after relocating here. We need time to recoup our expenses.

Moving cross country has been an experience, but despite the expenses, we’re still glad we did it.

Have you made a large move? What did you learn a year or so into relocating? Would you do it again if you had the choice?

The Power of Facebook When Planning a Cross Country Move

June 5, 2014 By MelissaB 1 Comment

Are you on Facebook? Most everyone seems to be. After all, Facebook is a great place to catch up with old friends, share photos of your kids (and see friends’ family photos), and even look up what old flames are doing now.

However, have you ever used Facebook as a tool to help facilitate a move?

Remember that cross country move my husband and I considered but didn’t think would actually happen? Well, it’s going to happen.

This summer, we’ll be moving nearly 2,000 miles from Illinois to Arizona.

In the midst of all of our planning, I’ve been amazed at how Facebook has helped me to both sell stuff and learn about the new city we’re moving to.

Selling Junk Stuff

I love dressing my kids in Gymboree clothes that I buy for a steal when they’re on sale and I have a coupon. A few years ago, I had good luck selling them on eBay after the kids had outgrown them, but now, the market is saturated. After eBay and PayPal fees, selling there is really not worth my time.

I found that there are several Gymboree groups on Facebook. Since I have about three years of my daughters’ outgrown clothes to sell, this was a great find. The first week I listed clothes on the Facebook groups, I earned over $200! I still have about half of the clothes to sell. Thanks, Facebook for giving me cash and reducing the “stuff” I’ll have to move.

Making Connections to the New City

Many Facebook groups let you ask off topic questions, so on one of the homeschooling Facebook groups I belong to, I asked an off topic question about the city we’re planning to move to. Two women who live there responded and told me I could send them private messages about my questions about the area.

These women went above and beyond in answering every question I had. In fact, one of the women, Donna, invited me to visit her when we took a preliminary trip to Arizona before my husband signed his contract. We talked with her for over an hour at her house, and she gave us great information about things to do in the city, what she likes and dislikes, etc.

When we make our final move there, she’ll also be an excellent resource as we search for new doctors, dentists, car repair shops, etc. Plus, it’s nice to have someone that we already know once we get in town.

How to Make Your Own Connections on Facebook

Have you harnessed the power of Facebook? Doing so is easy. If you haven’t done so yet, you may want to join some Facebook groups for activities and hobbies you’re interested in. Finding one group initially is hardest. Then, once you find a group you like, you’ll see on your sidebar other similar groups that you can join.

Many towns have Facebook pages or swap pages where you can sell and buy items from members in your local community. Other groups like the Gymboree ones focus on people who like to buy and sell particular brands of clothes.

If you need to move or just to declutter your house, Facebook can be a great resource.

Do you use Facebook for more than just the basic social connection with friends and family? If so, how?

Original photo credit: Gordon Joly on Flickr