As mentioned, we are on holiday in Mallorca this week and having a lovely time on this beautiful, sunny little gem of an island. Going on holiday isn’t a fabulously frugal thing to do in itself, of course. We could have stayed at home and had a staycation, but this blog isn’t about never spending any money, it’s about having the best life you can with what you’ve got. We love a holiday and it’s Mr S’s big 5-0, so we put money aside to allow us to come away. But can we achieve five frugal things whilst we are away?
Just because we are spending money it doesn’t mean we are wasting it. The first fabulously frugal thing we have done is to make the most of the all-inclusive facilities here. So far we have had all of our meals at the hotel, taken advantage of the free bottles of water to carry out with us and made full use of the free bar (hic!).
On the bus
Today we are off to visit the Caves of Drach in Puerto Cristo. To save money we have found out about public buses to get to there rather than paying for an excursion. This will cost us 14 Euros each for the bus and entrance instead of 30 Euros each.
I have saved money using Boots three for two offers on sunscreen and fake tan, as explained here.
We were fabulously frugal on the plane here, Packing up sandwiches, fruit and snacks rather than purchasing expensive airport food. We found cheap bottles of water in the duty free section to keep us hydrated, which meant we only bought one cup of tea each during the flight.
Carrying a bottle
We will take some fruit and water from the restaurant on our trip today plus Aldi’s version of Nakd bars – raw fruit bars – to give us energy whilst we are out and about.
We have bought spending money with us, of course, but so far we have barely touched it and will be taking a lot of it home with us I think!
I’m linking up with Cass, Emma and Becky in this week’s ‘Five Fabulously Frugal things I’ve done this week’ linky. Check out their frugal achievements this week!
Margaret Powling says
Well done on having a wonderful time without spending much money! That’s the way to do it!
Margaret P
Kerry says
That’s my kind of travelling. We love to travel and are frugal in other areas of our life to allow this. We also like to plan and watch what we spend when we are there, as it is easy to go over budget. To the complete embarrassment of the boys, we often take extra food from the breakfast buffet to take out for lunch!
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
We did take some fruit
Jo Reynolds says
Jane, at all inclusive hotels, you can ask for a take away lunch for when you are out on trips or even going to the beach. They usually consist of a roll, fruit, crisps and a small cake plus they will give bottles of water, fruit juice, etc to drink. We NEVER spend money on additional food and drink on an all inclusive holiday, but we like to get out and about so often ask for a packed lunch. Hope you have a fabulous holiday.
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
Thanks Jo – we had heard this but to be honest we never stop eating here so some fruit was really ok! I am going to go on a diet when I get back
Cass says
I hope you’re having an amazing time!
Thanks for joining in with us this week x x
Jen @ Healthfulsaver says
Love your attitude of making the most of your resources while enjoying yourself to the fullest. We hope to visit England next year and are thinking a a VRBO might allow us to do laundry and have some meals self catering… sometimes when you are on vacation it’s not even fun to eat 3 meals in a restaurant a day.
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
I just had to Google VRBO – is that like Air B&B? If so it’s bound to save you money. I have house swapped in the past too which saved shed load of money
Charlotte says
It sounds like you are having an amazing time! I love your motto, it’s kind of ours too, live frugally so we can enjoy holidays and things!
Charlotte
jane says
Hi Jane,
we too always go All inclusive as we take the 2 grandsons with us (ages 10 & 8) so it could work out more expensive to keep buying drinks all the time as we like to make sure they keep drinking in the heat. We are going to Fuerteventura on the 22nd July for 10 days and are being VERY frugal to make sure we can have a good time. My husband has a hard maintenance job working 12 hour shifts so says no matter what he deserves a holiday but we do live carefully throughout the year to be able to pay for it. I shop at the discount supermarkets and tend to buy frozen fruit and veg to save money and also they last longer.
I don’t eat meat so make a few veggie meals each week and never buy new clothes except underwear. I prefer charity shops and carboot sales and ebay for better quality clothes.
Like someone mentioned already you can ask for a pack lunch with AI holidays and they are quite nice so worth asking about.
Enjoy the rest of your holiday, take care jane xx
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
Thanks Jane – I hope you enjoy yours!
Eloise at thisissixty.blog says
We’ve also been on holidays where we spent hardly anything – Norway. It was so outrageously expensive that I refused to buy anything! It was back in 2006 and the equivalent cost of one diet coke and half a pint of bitter was almost £12. I dread to think what it would cost today.
The nice thing about coming back with most of your spending money intact is that it makes a good start to your savings for the next holiday!
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
I have always wanted to go to Norway but think I would be the same and go without. Iceland is the same I hear
Tania says
You sound just like me and my husband, we always take fruit for lunch, I tend to pack healthy snacks that are small so when we are walking I’m not loaded up. Like you I save money to use it in other areas like holidays and weekends away.
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
They are worth being frugal for