A post-holiday catch-up!

We just got back from a lovely week in Whitby in Yorkshire, the first time we had visited the area. It was fabulous, and we both loved it. The only problem with holidays is catching up with everything when you return. So, I have been running around like the proverbial blue-bottomed fly! Time for a post-holiday catch-up.

Saving money on food and drink on holiday

We always save money when we are on holiday by making lunches to take out, cooking meals at our accommodation most of the time and taking a flask of coffee out with us.

That isn’t to say we don’t allow ourselves some treats on our vacations. We had coffee, sandwiches and cake in cafes a few times, tried the fish and chips from the famous Magpie Cafe and takeaway and purchased a few ping meals for the evenings. I don’t mind cooking super easy things, but I’m not slaving over a hot stove when I’m on my holidays!

Nevertheless, we had a large flask, drinks and food for the five-hour journey there and home, and we took the flask and snacks out every day. Sometimes, we purchased a £4 Coop meal deal. I think these are such good value! You get a sandwich or salad, a snack item like fruit, cheese or crisps and a drink. Just the job when you don’t have time to pack lunch or need a cheap meal option.

Finding cheap activities

We travelled with our cockapoo, Archie, who absolutely loved the beautiful beaches in the area and the streams on the Moors. In some ways, holidaying with a dog is restrictive. There are some places that don’t allow them in – I know! Can you believe it? In other ways, having to walk a mutt makes you explore a place. You have to walk them anyway.

In fact, Whitby is amazingly dog friendly and there are plenty of pubs, museums, restaurants and shops where they are welcome. However, as we were lucky with the weather, we mostly headed outdoors. We drove to Goathland and walked the railway trail for a few miles, climbing up to see the Foss Falls on the way. All free, of course, although we did have to pay for parking.

We went up to Whitby Abbey, but wandered all around the walls rather than going in, so that was free too. The beach is magnificent and we had lots of walks, notably up to Sandsend a mile up the coast and back again. Robin Hood’s Bay was fabulous too, and we sat and drank our coffee on the beach, watching people searching for fossils on the rocks.

We experimented with Archie on public transport by taking the open top tour bus around Whitby. This cost £8 each (the dog was free) but was well worth the trip. He was as good as gold and I always think you learn a lot about a place when you do a bus tour. We also took a short trip on the steam railway across the Moors and he was great on that, so we are going to be taking him on public transport as much as we can in the future.

Dealing with the harvest

My daughter stayed at the house to look after the cats whilst we were away. Stupidly, I completely forgot to ask her to pick the beans and courgettes and give the plants a water whilst we were gone. As a result, the plants were looking somewhat sad. It is the end of the season anyway, I guess.

I picked the last of the runner beans, the courgettes and the tomatoes, and dug up the remaining beetroot. There is still some chard, although some of it has gone to seed. Hopefully, we will get a couple more meals from that.

We are going to have to go back to buying all our vegetables again for a while!

Making money online

I also came back to several sales on eBay and Vinted. My daughter posted a few bits whilst we were gone, but these had been hanging around a few days. As a result, I had to pack them as soon as I got back from Yorkshire in order to post them the following day. So it was a bit of a mad rush!

Straight back to work

I also had my cleaning jobs to do for the first two mornings after we came back, plus a freelance article I needed to finish quickly. It has been a whirlwind catching up! This is the problem when you are self-employed and a one-woman band. There is no one to do the work for you when you aren’t around.

I have sworn to get ahead next time we go on vacation rather than having to play catch-up when I get back. Remind me of that next time!

You can see some of our trip on my YouTube channel here, and there is more to come. Please pop over and subscribe to see more of my money-saving life.

So, that’s my post-holiday catch-up. Have you had any money saving successes this week? Please do share!

For more ideas on saving money, you can buy my book! It is called Extreme Frugality: Save Money Like Your Grandma, and is available from Amazon here*.

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