I can't wait to tell you how to take FREE Vacations…
I love Dave Ramsey, but he does NOT approve of what I'm going to say today, however it does work for us, so I wanted to share with you how to take free vacations, for real. You probably don't want to try this if you're in debt though, or if you know your spending habits and that this wouldn't be wise in your case. Use common sense when deciding if this method will work for your family…
First, there are a few reasons why we don't generally have a lot of money leftover in our regular budget for vacations:
- We spend more on real food than the average family and it's a big part of our monthly spending, because health is a priority. Yes, there are ways to watch the budget when buying real food though, and if you sign up for my newsletter, you can get a free printable with tons of ideas on saving money for real food (and you'll also get a free grocery store cheat sheet). Plus don't forget how much you'll be saving by not eating junky fast food or buying expensive processed foods. However some things like avoiding mystery meat or mystery milk for two examples, are usually going to be more expensive. And keep in mind what Joel Salatin says: “Pay now or pay later” and “Have you priced cancer lately?“
- We are committed to tithing and helping others, which means at least 10% of our income goes to those in need. Many can't even afford food and shelter or they may walk miles every day just for clean water, so obviously we realize travel is not a big deal in the whole scheme of things. Showing our kids new places and experiences is great, but if we were unable to swing it, there are many more important things that we need to provide our kids with… Such as a solid faith, a good education, and teaching them the value of things like hard work, being a good friend, and especially respecting and helping others in need. So if we couldn't travel, oh well, it's not going to kill them.
- Homeschooling can also be expensive. It's not bad compared to what a private school would cost, but it's more than a public school for sure, depending on how many books or other supplies you need each year. (It lessens the longer you do it though because you can reuse so much.)
- Not to mention how screwed up our laws are and how little we get to keep of what we earn, while many are getting crazy unfair handouts–we won't go there right now…
BUT I decided to make it a challenge and try to come up with a plan to make this happen, especially since our kids are good ages for traveling right now.
Also, since we homeschool, we can go places when others can't and beat the crowds!
Side note: we couldn't do that when we went to Florida in 2013, though, because we were picking up our son from his summer intern job. The crowds were ROTTEN at Disney, as you can see in that shot of the castle above. Also: see those clouds? Yep, we got dumped on. But that was no big deal–it was only 92 degrees, humid as h***, and there were so many people we could barely fit under the one tiny little awning we found… Can't wait to do Disney again. NOT!
So we began implementing a system that's working for us…
***By the way, besides the trick I'm going to show you, another option is getting a side hustle going to bring in more income — check out all of the ideas for that (and working from home) in this post!
How to Take FREE Vacations (or almost free)
So here's what we do…
We have four credit cards. We put everything on these cards that we can, like groceries, utilities, clothing, online shopping, and other bills, and always always always pay it off each month so there's never any interest–this is KEY, because if you're paying a bunch of fees, this plan will cost you instead of save you money! (Also, Dave Ramsey says that people spend more when not buying with cash, so only YOU know yourself, use common sense!)
I have a master list of which items get the highest points on which card. It ranges between 2% and 6%. I have it memorized so it's no big deal. I tried to get our house payment to go through here too, but they won't let you do that. I put all other big purchases through here and when our son bought a new computer recently, I paid for it and had him write us a check. Anytime I can squeeze out more points I'll do it.
This is the card we use mostly and there's no annual fee. The other cards are specialty cards like one for Costco, another for Target, etc.
Note that I usually find cards with no annual fees, but if there's a fee and a higher cash back percentage, then we still may do it–it'll obviously depend on how much you spend and what the fee is. It takes some time to figure all of this out and make sure it's a deal, but it's worth it.
The first year we saved up $1550
Every so often I'll go online and redeem awards, then park the money in our “trip fund”, which is in a separate account that I set up just for this. It's fun to watch it grow and start thinking about where we want to go next. We don't usually vacation yearly, because we can't save up that fast, but every 2-3 years works for us, with smaller long weekends or driving trips in between.
AN UPDATE TO THIS POST: as of summer 2021 we've taken 3 big trips in the past year–we really love traveling and my side gigs help a lot! Now depending on how much you spend, how many are in your family and how far you're going, that will determine how long it will take you to save up. You could do smaller trips more often, and for bigger vacations you can either put some with what you have saved or just save up longer.
By the way: Get bumped from your flight if possible!
Recently when coming back from speaking at the WAPF conference in Alabama, I got to the Montgomery airport bright and early and Delta said they'd overbooked the flight. They asked if I wanted to take ground transportation to Atlanta instead, and they offered me a $1000 travel voucher!!! So just for sitting in a car with a shuttle driver for two hours to Atlanta instead of sitting in the airport for a while and then on a plane, and I still got to Atlanta in plenty of time for my connecting flight to Grand Rapids, I got $1K for future travel! I did have to go through security again, but that was no big deal. (And yes, I opted out of the cancer machine again as I always do — it's easy.)
A screaming deal on flights for our trip to Alaska…
Alaska isn't necessarily where Kent and I would pick as a first choice for a vacation but it turned out to be AMAZING and one of our favorite trips ever, we even went again 3 years later! Our son dreamt of going there for years, and since it was his senior year, we decided to go there instead of someplace warm. When we first started checking flight prices, they were all around $650 each, and for six people = OUCH. But I knew I had this travel voucher, so that helped ease the pain a bit. I called Delta and told them we could be flexible on dates (that's another KEY to help you save money on trips, and it's another homeschooling perk), and she found us tickets for $435! THEN I called our credit card that gives you money off travel, and we had another chunk in there that came right off the top, so our tickets ended up costing us only $89 each!!!
Thankfully we still had a nice chunk of cash still in our trip fund for hotels, a rental car, eating out, and activities.
So that's it, that's how to take free vacations, or dirt cheap vacations anyway.
As I said, Dave Ramsey wouldn't like this plan.
Many don't pay off their credit cards each month and would end up losing money on all of that interest. Thankfully, Kent and I have never paid even a penny of interest and this works great for us, but take an honest look at your habits before deciding if this will work for you. This method for how to take free vacations isn't for everyone, because for some they'd just end up with a lot of debt, which is NOT cool. If you need help getting out of debt, check out The Total Money Makeover.
Let me know if you have any other suggestions, or tell us YOUR tips for how to take free vacations?! 🙂
Update: last year Kent and our oldest son went to Europe–they went all over, but mostly they went to see their favorite soccer team play: Liverpool, who went on to win the Champions League! Their plane tickets were totally free using our rewards; they stayed in youth hostels (cheaper hotels), and found inexpensive places to eat too–it was so cheap! They're planning another trip this fall to Prague. 🙂 The kids and I are taking another KBC reunion trip to NYC this summer (again using points for flights), and then after that maybe we'll stay home for a bit… or maybe not–we're really starting to love this traveling thing!
More you might like:
- Our Real Foodie Vacation CIRCUS in Florida and more about my favorite pan!
- Have you seen my Real Food Rookie Version of Dave Ramsey’s Money Principles?
- 4 tips for eating healthy on vacation (healthy food NOT pictured below!)
- Does grocery store meat make you fat?! (If you don't have a good local source, click here to find a safe online source for pastured meats.)
Lisa says
We love this game! We have opened up 6 credit cards in the past few months when signing bonuses were super lucrative, and as a result, we have almost $5000 worth of travel and a Southwest companion pass good for 18 months, and combined with the signing points, hubby and I will be able to take roughly 10 free round trip flights! Plus the $5000 towards hotels! We always pay off the card at due dates and never carry a balance. We are flex, too and can take advantage of deals during slow times. Gotta love free travel!
KitchenKop says
Lisa, I need to find out how you take advantage of signing bonuses or how you find them?
Kelly
snyderman says
This is an entire hobby in its own right. My wife and I have 36 open credit card accounts (I’ve paid interest all of 3 times, *only* because I messed up juggling payments, not because we didn’t have the money). I’ve become somewhat of an expert in “travel hacking”. We’ve literally “saved” over $15,000 on trips over the past 3 years (from face value in cash….that we would never pay). Sure, we’ve spent money on vacations, but when you can do a six-country, month-long vacation in Europe for less than $2,000 all said and done, it’s a *major* win. I went to Australia in January for about $300. Flew business/first class in one direction, even.
kitchenkop says
Wow! Why do you need 36 cards? I do well with just 4. And I need to learn more about how to get a bump out of flying coach!
Kelly
Barbara Kelly Geatches says
You are going to love Alaska!!!! I have been twice (one was the WAPF trip that FTCLDF fundraiser a number of years ago) and then last year we took a cruise… I would go back to Alaska in a heartbeat!
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
Yes we did love it!!!
Inger Grape says
icfgirl, if you’re willing to set up auto-pay with them, they would probably use the credit card with no fees ?
icfgirl says
Kelly, do you pay utility bills if there is a charge for using a credit card?
We’re looking into this, but every utility we have checked out charges a fee (low, but they add up!) that seems like it wouldn’t be worth it. Maybe it is, if you charge that much and get enough back every year.
Love your site!
KitchenKop says
The only way I’d still use my credit card to pay for utility bills is if their fee was lower than the cash back that we’ll get. None of mine charge fees… But I’m double checking that now that you’ve reminded me!
Kelly
Chris says
Several years ago, I got a new credit card with an offer of a cash advance with NO FEES and no INTEREST. I put around $11,000 on it since I was already paying my house off early and used it for my mortgage. I paid that off from the credit card in around four months.
KitchenKop says
Yeah, Dave Ramsey would have a COW over this, but again, if you’re disciplined, it’s a great way to pile up cash!
Kelly
CK says
It still doesn’t seem to be working. I tried clicking on it again, but it just takes me to chasereferafriend.com, as if I’m the one who wants to refer a friend.
KitchenKop says
Wow, I’m such a dingbat, I’m sorry!
I realized after reading it better that you just need to email me your name and I’ll enter you in. Again I apologize!! (And I updated the post.)
Kelly ([email protected])
CK says
For those who have trouble keeping track and not overspending, I highly recommend youneedabudget.com.
Also, Kelly, the link for the Chase Freedom card isn’t working.
KitchenKop says
Thanks for telling me! I think I fixed it now.
Kel
Monika says
We do the same thing to be able to fly home to Europe once a year with our two kids to see my family and home country. We still pay for most of the ticket price out of pocket, but usually one kid flies free and we get 5% back after the trip. On our next trip, because we now have the same card for our business, too, and they let you combine points, we’ll have at least two tickets paid on points.
Sam Jacokes says
We just got back from Disney yesterday! Free flights from our Capital One pts. Got a deal on a 2 bedroom condo on vrbo.com and also used points for that. It was only 800 for 8 nights!
KitchenKop says
Isn’t it so fun to get a great deal?!! 🙂
Kimberly says
I use one for a cash back bonus. EVERY TIME I use the card I subtract the amount from the checkbook so it isn’t a shock when the bill comes.
Maryjane says
We do this too, but recommending this to others should come with a huge disclaimer attached:
DON’T DO THIS IF YOU CAN’T/WON’T PAY OFF YOUR CREDIT CARD BILL EVERY MONTH!!!
I think Dave Ramsey swings the pendulum the other way because SO many people can’t or won’t pay the bill every month. They tend to view credit cards as “free money”, rather than as instant deductions from their bank account (like debit cards).
That said — it’s a great way to save a little bit of money on all your purchases.
KitchenKop says
Maybe I should add caps to my post??? 🙂
Seriously, I hope I made the point clear enough!
Shellie says
Something I do that helps me is to still keep envelopes, and put the receipts in there to tally. That way I’m not overspending or trying to keep it in my head!
Laura West Kong says
That’s the way we use credit cards too, for cash back, not credit.
Susan says
My former MIL used to do this. I never saw her pay cash for anything. At the end of the year she would use all of her points to do exactly what you’ve laid out here: Travel. Now granted, my former in-laws were fairly well-to-do, so they were going to travel anyway, but they would take all their points and use the money to bump up into first class, or go from a 4 star resort to a 5.
Another way to make money is shop at Kmart or Sears. We shop periodically at both and they kept hammering me to sign up for one of their cards (not credit), so I did. I really didn’t know what advantage there was until the next time I went to Kmart and the cashier told me I had $9 in unused points and would she like me to apply it to my purchase. Well, duh! So the next time I shopped at Kmart, I paid closer attention to the little stickers that told me “buy this and get an extra 100 points” so I did. I started buying all the things that promised points. With the tools and stuff my husband buys at Sears, and the household paper goods I get at Kmart, I am typically getting between 5 to 15 bucks off each visit. The catch is, however, that the points you earn today, you cant use until the next shopping visit. But whatever, I typically need stuff from Kmart every 2 or 3 weeks anyway, so I just use them up the next time. Plus they will also send you extra coupons in the mail, too.
Now couple the free cash they give you in points for shopping there AND the free cash you get from your credit cards, and you are golden!!
MrsD says
I haven’t shopped at Kmart in years. Hmm…I might have to start. Thanks Susan!
DS says
Funny you should post this now. We have had a lot of stays at Hilton on HHonors this year, and my husband went to a convention on HHonors pts. and “erase your air fare” with another card. We are now spending on a new card that gives a bonus amount of airline points so that he can go to next year’s convention. I am not on that card since I will apply for one myself later this year. I have done this in the past and it does take a lot of record-keeping. I do not want to pay for a credit card, so I have to remember to cancel this airline card.
Our water and garbage bill can go on the card at no extra cost, and we now pay even small amounts on credit cards that we used to pay in cash. It adds up. I agree–only do it if you pay your card off every month. My mother always told me “you COLLECT interest, you do not PAY it.”