It’s the end of another summer. This one flew by faster than I could believe. We realized that we both already had the time off and threw caution to the wind and went on a cruise! It was very, very fun and relaxing! While going on a cruise isn’t entirely inexpensive there are a few things that we did to make it a very affordable vacation. If you look closely you can see B floating in the water near the ship.

A few frugal things

– Frugal things about our cruise vacation-

– When booking the cruise, we compared prices for all of the cruise lines and found a great last- minute deal.

– We live close to the port (actually 4 ports), so we don’t have additional travel expenses to fly to a port.

– We brought our own alcohol so we actual only bought a few drinks the entire trip.

– We actually spent almost no money the entire trip. We paid for it in advance and then took full advantage of everything included including filet minion for breakfast, steak dinners, dancing and music shows, comedians, etc.

– In the ports, none of the excursions appealed to us. We ended up walking to the beaches. This cost us nothing and we still got to experience the islands a bit. Some excursions are amazing but the point of this trip was relaxation and we were just as happy to explore on our own.

– We didn’t buy any new clothes or luggage (besides a few small things we got at the thrift shop for next to nothing) but mostly made due with what we have.

– The end of summer was great. We enjoyed our pool and walking in the neighborhood.

– We helped our friends move. I guess you can call them “our couple” and we are very excited that they moved within walking distance of us. We saved them money by not having to pay for movers and got some exercise. In exchange, they went above and beyond and fed us Publix subs and goodies for lunch and then took us out to dinner. We had fun with them and are looking forward to a shorter drive when we all get together.

– We have been eating leftovers and making dinner at home.

– I rewashed our reusable napkins and hand towels when we had a full load. So much easier than buying them and better for the earth!

– We actually cut the puppy’s nails. It’s a battle but we once they reach a certain length we have to do it for his own sake.

– – My father replaced the break pads on my car. It was $100 cheaper than taking the car to our very affordable family mechanic.

– I was able to get myself 2 pairs of Lucky brand jeans and B a pair of Lucky jeans and a pair of Gap jeans. All of them fit us perfectly. That’s over $300 worth of jeans for just $10 at our local thrift shop and the money goes to fight homelessness.

Not so Frugal

– The cats got worms so we went to the pet store and treated them right away. It would have saved us $20 if we ordered the medicine online but I didn’t want to risk waiting the two days for them to arrive. I think we made the right decision. It was still much cheaper than taking 3 cats and 1 dog to the vet.

Extra Income

– I sold a fabulous thrifted vase for $85 that I bought for $5.

– I sold a crazy pair of thrifted overalls for $45 that I bought for $2.

– I earned another $25 PayPal cash through Swagbucks