#dashee

 Vacation. The thing millions of us are waiting impatiently. We work to earn enough time to take a week or two away jobs that we are stressing. The problem is once we have time, leave the city is not always affordable. Well it may be more affordable than you think! First and foremost, decide what your limits are. Of course, you need to know how much you're willing to spend. However, remember to take the other end of the spectrum into account. Are you comfortable with living in a hostel, or does the idea of sharing a bathroom with a group of strangers make you sick? If you want to stay in a hostel, will you stay in a European style hostel? Would you stay in one of the most "modern" places of Hostelling International? Can you deal with the basics of a budget hotel, or is a good deal on a great chain of more your style? Remember that if you go too far from your comfort zone, you can be very painful during your trip. Once you set your limits, do your homework. For example, say you're going on a trip to Chicago. If you search on Hotwire or Expedia, you will find that three and four stars are much more expensive than the hotels of the same quality at O'Hare Airport by. Although hotels are farther from O'Hare many attractions you can see, this really is not too big of an injury. If you choose a hotel with a complementary shuttle to the airport, you can take the shuttle and pick up the Blue Line. The Blue Line takes you downtown in about 45 minutes. The Chicago Transit System is effective enough and it is much cheaper than driving and trying to find parking. That's another thing. Do you really need a rental car? Find out if the place you go has decent public transportation. Sometimes renting a car is a necessary evil, but other times you can give it up. Some places, like San Francisco can be tricky. As long as you do not leave town, you can avoid the rental car. However, if you want to leave the city limits, a car is becoming increasingly imperative. In this case, you can rent a car for a day or two instead of rent for the duration of your stay. How will you get there? What will it cost to drive? How long will it take to drive? Is the cost worth it? Search multiple sites for air travel. You might even be able to find good deals from airlines themselves. Expedia, Hotwire, Orbitz and adults can sometimes save you some money. If your days and hours are flexible, you can bid on Priceline and see if someone will take his word. Do not forget Amtrak! If you book well in advance train tickets can be cheaper than flights. More seats are more comfortable and you actually get to see the landscape. Greyhound is another option for cheap travel, but it may be more expensive than Amtrak. What do you do once you're there? Sites like the city research often have events listings for free / cheap. These can be a resource. Another option is to participate in forums like Lonely Planet (www.lonelyplanet.com), Fodors (www.fodors.com) and TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com). There you can ask other tourists and residents that exists. When posting a comment, please remember: These people do not know you. While you will simply stating Chicago Date Date A to B and you are looking for something fun to do does not work. Give them some help. Tell them about yourself, your age, some of your interests and what you are looking for. Otherwise, you may find people will not answer, or suggestions that you get just not very useful. Just because you save money in the planning does not mean you can skip the rest of the food and souvenirs. Budget money carefully. Set aside enough money for food and enough money to buy some things for yourself. If you are staying in a hostel, you can save on food costs by using the kitchens they have on several occasions. Holidays are not just for the rich! Whenever in so everyone needs to get out of town, you can now do with emptying your checking account.