Frugal Living Journal – Another Day In Paradise

I love where we live!  We get 300 days of sunshine a year.  Now that doesn’t mean we get 300 FULL days of sun but the sun does shine for a good part of the time.  But Here it is in December and it is COLD and yet sunny.  My view of the Olympic Mountains is unsurpassed.

Part of a frugal outlook is appreciating the beauty all around you.  People actually pay money to come to where we live!   So in a way, we live in “paradise”.  Who needs to pay for an expensive vacation when all you need to do is plan a trip to the mountains or visit the ocean on the weekend.

Look around you – do you live within a day of paradise?  Why not start saving money by staying nearer to home and seeing the attractions nearby?

Do you like to eat out because the ready-made food feels special?  I do.  But it costs WAAAAY too much.  So, here is what I do for our family.  We like to have icy sodas, deli sandwiches and those big chocolate chip cookies that you see at the National Park Lodges.

We fill the cooler with ice and some favorite soda (found on sale).  I buy some sandwich meat that happens to be on sale that week, chips (on sale) and one of my daughters makes giant chocolate chip cookies.  We make a fancy deli eat out lunch for a tiny fraction of the bought out version.  We even had folks ask us where we “bought” the big chocolate chip cookies that we were munching on.   (smile)

Oh and visiting the National Parks or even amusement parks in the off season is a bonus, too.  The feeling is totally different than during the rush.  When I was young, my mom and dad treated me to Disneyland during the off season.  It was so neat!  NO lines.  Sure, it was cooler outside but being a native Left Coaster, I didn’t mind.  Hey, I was at Disneyland!!  Costs are lower too since the parks and hotels aren’t dealing with summer crowds.

Learning to think outside the box – that is the key.  Having fun doesn’t need to be expensive.