My wife and I have had a long discussion about what to do for our summer family vacation this year. And the debate came down to 1 thing, do we spend the money for a vacation or do put that money towards paying down debt? The average vacation is somewhere between $1,000 – $2,000, depending on where you go.

Well, after a lot of back and forth, we decided that it was important for us to get away for a few days for our summer vacation. So, now that the decision had been made, the question became where do we go?  The decision was made to save between now and the trip, push back the trip until off peak season, and look for bargains.  With fewer families taking a summer vacation this year and opting to stay local, there are deals to be had/made. We will be staying a few days with family before heading to the beach for a few days. The boys are still too young for the ocean, but we were able to rent a house that had a pool for a $4,000 discount. That was literally difference between the week before we are going and the week that we rented the house for.  We are going to also take all of our food, so that we are eating at the house and only going out to eat 1 night while we are there. This will be a huge savings for us as well.

So, if you can, enjoy your summer vacation, whether you go to the beach or stay local. Have fun as a family and enjoy your family time together.