Recently I posted a review of the great family resort we had the chance to stay at in Cancun. It was so very worthwhile. But what I wanted to say here today was a little along the lines of sometimes a tiny splurge or a family vacation can be a good investment. These days, in light of our recent break from Canada and the stresses of Canadian winter/ Mommy taxi/ regular routine of running the kids back and forth to doctors, therapists, schools and extracurriculars, I am refreshed. To me that’s worth all the money in the world. Not only that but my family is slightly rejuvenated.
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The Power of Travel
Is travel a good investment? I can’t answer that for you if I don’t know your personal financial scenario. But for me the answer is always yes.
Sun and sand and abundant good food and a break is sometimes the precise reset you need. A week away from this crazy busy treadmill we live on gave me the chance to see my children again in a new light. I watched my fiver hit run a home run on the beach in Cancun and I overheard a tween boy say to another,” Holy smokes that little girl can hit!” I swam in the Atlantic ocean and we got knocked over by waves and I got the joy of hearing my older daughter speaking fluent French with the Quebecois tourist children at the resort. And I remembered that my husband is a really great father and, I think he recalled how to laugh. We are not independently wealthy people and we spent a lot of years grounded with our children, especially the youngest whose diagnoses Sensory Processing Disorder and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder gave us reason to be concerned that she wouldn’t handle travel well. So I think we deserve this occasional break from reality and I know we give our children a great gift when we let them discover new worlds with us.
How to Travel Affordably:
1. Shop around on line first and compare.
itravel is an excellent site with a calendar that tells you when the cheapest days to travel are. If you are nervous about booking on line take the info to a travel agent in person and have her verify.
2. Prepare as much as possible.
Drive yourselves to the airport if able, Robert Q and airport shuttles can be costly.
3. Dollar store.
My flight bag is full of tricks for travelling with kids, mostly bought at the dollar store. Sometimes a trip to the dollar store is an adventure and other times not so much. But I like to stack the deck on my favour so that I have some activities when kids get bored. They don’t have to be elaborate. Even crayons and a colouring page will do.
4. Stash small sample packets of dry cereal or bars in your bags.
for when we are hungry and not near food.
5. Don’t buy all the souvenirs you find.
The trip is enough and so are the pictures. I try to limit my kids to one small souvenir to bring home. Who needs more T-shirts and sombreros?
6. Use Your Rewards
If or when you book your trip make sure you purchase it with Aeroplan or on Sears Travel or whatever other card that gets you rewards. Then pay off immediately with cash. This got me an instant $60 from Sears which I might use on our next flight. Also I have a further 6000 points or more to redeem later. I’m all about the points.
