Did you know that many Americans don't take vacations?
Many Americans are concerned about their job performance And don't feel they make enough money to go on vacation.

Note: The above picture, Is ACTUALLY me. LOL. And all the pictures in this post were taken by me, On vacations that I went on. Not stock photos! Haha

It makes me sad.
I know that we are always working so hard, But it's important for us to relax and enjoy life too!
Whenever I go on a vacation, I bring my frugal mindset with me!
Being frugal even on vacations allows me to save lots of money! So I can go on vacations more frequently.

ALthought frugal doesn't necessarily mean I am having less fun! I am not afraid to spend a bit more money on the things that are important to me.

Make Meals In Your Hotel

Or heck, Stay in a hostel to get serious savings. Sometimes hotels can cost 100 a night or more. Whereas a hostel can cost less than 50.00.
Going out to eat causes your vacation bill to go up fast! Cook in the hotel if you can! You can always go to a nearby grocery store to buy some food or ingredients.
You can even opt for some fresh fruit; These will keep you fuller throughout the day, so you don't eat as much.
When I stayed in Pheonix AZ, With my boyfriend. We saved money by having snacks, And we bought some canned food to heat up on the little hot plate that the hotel gave us. We went to a nice dinner one of the nights! And making simple breakfasts, from the hotel. Usually Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! Because we saved so much money, Other things we wanted to spend money on, Like the Wildlife Park, And a rental car. We were able to without really hurting our bank accounts!

Groupon

At the end of last year, I was broke. But I wanted to see the ocean again! ( I live in Utah) . I happened to stumble across a Groupon "Giveaway" for the same hotel we stayed at a couple of months before when we went to San Diego!
I was baffled. They gave us a discount of over 50% off PER NIGHT!
So we were able to book a second trip to San Diego. In our nice beach side room with a patio. It was incredible. And we were able to get a rental car, And Lego Land tickets, Thanks to Groupon saving us so much money. (Over 800.00 at least).

If you want to go somewhere, Check Groupon. If you don't see anything keep checking. They are constantly getting new deals!
Although make sure you check the reviews for some of the hotels. I haven't had it happen to me yet, But I've heard of some people ending up with bad hotels. So just look into it before you make the purchase. You can check sites like Yelp, And Trip Advisor.

Buy Ahead

Sometimes you can save a lot when you buy tickets ahead. This can be a bit risky though If you end up not going to the place you want.
I saved myself and my boyfriend 80.00 last time we went to San Diego, By getting the "Go" card. If you wanted to go to more than once place they'd give you a discount. So I got two tickets for San Diego Zoo and 2 Tickets for Legoland! And saved 80 on the price.

These types of savings add up quick! Always check for coupons or savings online.

Be a Woofer!

I haven't done this yet, But I hope to try it when I'm ready to go to Hawaii.
Essentially a woofer is someone who works so they have a place to stay! If you are willing to work on your vacation to earn your living place, and sometimes your food. This is a great option for you! You can travel almost anywhere in the world that you want and pay hardly anything.
What I have noticed is a lot of it looks like farm work and such! Which sounds fun because in other places they'll have exotic fruits and vegetables! So you'll be able to do something new! The awesome thing is you can usually pick to have your own cabin to stay in, Or stay in a shared cabin with other people you don't know. If you are used to staying in hostels this may be an easy option for you.