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Transcript

Saving Money on Staycations and Vacations · Talking FACS

• 0:01
  Welcome to Talking FACS.
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  What you need to know about family food finance and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized award-winning podcast is hosted by the University of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals,
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  families and communities to improve quality of life.
• 0:24
  Hello and welcome to Talking FACS.
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  What you need to know about family food finance and fitness.
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  I am your host,
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  Mindy McCulley Extension Specialist for instructional support with Family and Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky.
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  We are housed in the Martin Gatton College of Agriculture,
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  Food and Environment.
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  My guest today is Miranda Bejda,
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  a doctoral student in the Department of Family Sciences and she's a graduate research assistant in the School of Human Environmental Sciences.
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  Welcome,
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  Miranda.
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  Hi Mindy.
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  I think that we're gonna have a fun discussion today because our topic is saving on staycations and vacations who doesn't want to be traveling or at least taking um,
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  some time off during the summer.
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  And so this is gonna be a great opportunity to talk about ways that we can save money while we're doing those activities.
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  Right.
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  Right.
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  Lots of people have probably heard the term staycation and maybe they haven't really considered what it actually means.
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  So will you break that down for us?
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  Yeah.
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  So staycation combines the words stay and vacation.
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  So a lot of people think that that means sitting at home in your comfy clothes all day,
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  but it doesn't have to.
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  So a staycation can be any local trip that doesn't require some of those typical vacation costs such as hotels,
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  for example.
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  So you might take a day trip to visit some nearby tourist attractions that maybe you haven't visited before.
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  This lets you have the experience of a fun trip while keeping travel costs low.
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  Oh,
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  and we have some great opportunities here in Kentucky that many people travel and spend money to stay here to visit.
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  But since we live in Kentucky,
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  we don't have to have the overnight expenses.
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  So what are some of those opportunities that we have here in Kentucky to enjoy a staycation or day trip?
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  Yeah.
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  As you said,
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  Kentucky has a lot to offer.
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  So you can look into attractions related to horses,
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  bourbon cars and sports as well as outdoor adventures like visiting state parks or going camping.
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  Yes.
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  And we,
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  uh have the distinction of having just almost as many water miles as land miles in Kentucky.
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  So that's of course,
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  a great benefit.
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  And then we have the National Park and as well as the state parks too.
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  So you can cave or you can boat or you can hike or you can just about do anything that you can do anywhere else and do it.
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  All right,
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  here in the State,
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  there really is so much to offer in Kentucky.
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  So some people would really like to travel and they like to get out and be gone for long periods of time.
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  So,
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  are staycations really the only cost effective ways to spend some time away from home?
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  They're not,
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  there are several ways that you can save money on vacations.
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  Uh One way is to travel with other people.
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  So consider traveling with friends or family to share costs on things like lodging or food.
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  When you're traveling with a group,
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  you might be able to share a rental with a kitchen or a grill and cook food at home.
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  As opposed to eating out,
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  you can also look for group discounts for attractions or split up into smaller groups so that everyone can visit the attractions they're most interested in.
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  And I know that we have some publications uh that are related to this type of travel that we can share in the show notes and then also your money wise newsletter for this month is about this topic.
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  And so we'll share that in the show notes as well.
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  But when we're planning for a trip,
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  what are some things that we really need to consider,
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  consider when you want to take your trip?
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  So traveling during peak days or seasons tends to come with a higher price tag.
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  So summer is a great travel time.
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  But if you're traveling to places like beaches,
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  those might come with a higher price tag than traveling during other times of the year.
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  If you plan to fly,
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  try and take flights in the middle of the week,
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  when possible because flights tend to be more expensive.
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  On Mondays and Fridays,
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  people are trying to extend their weekend.
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  So also consider where you'll be staying.
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  So short term rentals or camping might be more cost effective than hotels.
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  Uh You could also visit your family or friends that might be willing to host you for a day or two.
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  That's right.
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  And I always like to remind people of my grandmother's adage that fish and company start to smell after three days.
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  So you don't want to stay too long and overstay.
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  You're welcome.
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  Right.
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  Exactly.
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  Don't invite yourself for a two week stay.
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  But that's exactly right.
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  So,
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  do you have any final tips for saving on vacations uh for this summer budget,
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  your trips,
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  even if it's hard,
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  try to create a budget before you head out include all of your expenses,
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  transportation,
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  lodging,
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  food attractions,
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  and souvenirs rank what's most important to spend money on.
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  So for example,
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  maybe you really want to try a pricier restaurant and could eat in for some of your other meals to save money.
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  You might also give each family member a set amount of fun money for things like souvenirs and finally look for discounts that may lower costs such as for Children,
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  students or seniors.
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  Many attractions also have discounted prices for certain days of the week or even certain times of day.
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  And I've also found that you might be able to find discounts.
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  If you look at your local grocery store or other partner institutions,
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  you might be able to find discounts for certain attractions.
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  So check out those as well.
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  And if you find that you can't maybe afford that far away trip this year plan for that staycation and,
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  and do something locally because we always like to,
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  to put more money into our local economy,
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  don't we?
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  Yes,
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  we do.
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  Miranda.
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  Thank you so much for your time today.
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  I know that this has been a fun conversation for me and I hope that our listeners will enjoy their time away from home or staying home and doing something fun locally this summer.
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  Thank you for having me.
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  If you are just tuning in,
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  you are listening to Talking FACS and you can find us wherever you listen to your favorite podcast.
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