Bargain Quest

My husband and I took a weekend getaway to Kitty Hawk, NC last Thursday through Saturday. Unlike our California trip, I didn’t do extensive research on getting the best deals, but here is how we saved money:

Lodging - We had a voucher for 2 nights free stay at a hotel to which my husband is connected. Value: approx. $200. This was our biggest savings, but it isn’t a particularly helpful tip to anyone reading this blog.

Meals - Our room came with a mini fridge and microwave, so I was able to pack food to save us some restaurant meals.

Breakfast - I had planned for us to eat both breakfasts in the room with food I brought, but I was pleasantly surprised at check-in when we received 4 vouchers for free breakfast in the hotel restaurant. This is because I recently registered my husband with a Hilton Honors Gold membership through information found on Slickdeals. This hotel was Hilton-affiliated, and free breakfast is apparently a perk that comes with Gold status. Value: $40.

Lunch - We had a picnic lunch on Pea Island Refuge beach with supplies brought from home (Approx. cost: $4), and stopped at a roadside cafe once to split a flounder sandwich, fries and drink (Cost $8.80).

Dinner - On the drive down on Thursday, we picked up a rotisserie chicken from Kroger and had microwave veggies and bread. (Cost: $7) Friday night we tried a restaurant that I found a Restaurant.com gift certificate for, and saved $10 on our bill (Cost for 2 entrees and 2 alcoholic beverages and tip: $32 + $.75 for certificate)

Plus a $6 splurge on ice cream!

Transportation - We drove the Audi and achieved a respectable 29.0 mpg on the trip. A total of $4 in tolls and approx. $40 in gas driving to, from, and around. (Fortunately we missed a major bridge traffic jam that was backing up traffic for miles in the other direction.)

Entertainment - All free, mostly just walking along the beach. It was much too cold to swim! We also scaled the dunes at Jockey’s Ridge State Park and watched the kite flyers. I had printed out several “buy one, get one free” coupons from my Capital One No Hassle Perks access for activities like mini-golf, but we never got around to using them.

Total cost for 2 nights’ trip: Just over $100