Another guest post from Missy M. from the USA for the first Thrifty Thursday post of the month …… and she is on the road enjoying a vacation at the moment.

Lets face it. Vacations are expensive . There are ways to make them cheaper. Plan a trip somewhere you can stay at a friends house. I am actually on vacation right now. We went to Wyoming . I am blessed to have friends scattered across the globe. We spent the first night at a friends house in Minnesota. The second night we stayed at another friends house in North Dakota.

We took advantage of my dad being a senior and he bought a senior national park pass for $10. We drove through Theodore Roosevelt National Park seeing lots of great animals and scenery. We Then spent a couple nights with another friend in Wyoming and was able to visit Yellowstone . To save money on food we ate picnic type meals at lunch time and found coupons when possible for dinner.

You can use gas buddy to find the cheapest places for gas. If your grocery store offers gas points and sells gift cards you can purchase gift cards through the year for gift cards you know you can use during your travels. This will give you more savings offf your gas and allow you to get more bang for your buck.