Stay-At-Home Vacation

You work on your home, day after day, and week after week. Housework and yardwork never seem to end. When it comes time for vacation, all you can think of is getting away. But instead of buying expensive tickets out of town, have you ever thought of staying right where you are and enjoying the fruit of your labors?

A stay-at-home vacation is the answer to the frugal person's quest for a quality vacation at bargain basement prices. How many times have you heard a resort advertising itself as having "all the comforts of home"? But no resort will ever be as tailored to your personal tastes as your own home can be.

Staying at home during your own vacation also has the advantage of freeing up your resources. Whatever money you budgeted on travel and lodging can now be put to better use. Spending even half of the money you would have spent on lodging and travel will buy you a first-class at-home vacation. Rather than buying a bed and a plane ticket, you can use your vacation money to buy experiences. Either the experience of lazing around your home with the best of food, drink and home entertainment, or the experience of any adventure within driving distance of your hometown.

If you crave the laid-back feeling of the first type of at-home vacation, plan to spend your money on DVDs you've been wanting to watch, games you've been wanting to play, and treats that have been tempting your palate. Don't forget the little extras like a few comfy new pillows to snuggle down into at night or a couple new gallon pots of flowers to brighten the view out your back window.

If you're more in the mood for adventure, go onto your city's website and research what fun there is to be had outside your front door. Every city is famous for something. Sometimes residents miss out on their own landmarks. All the tourists go visit the Grand Canyon, but there are residents of Arizona who've never seen it. Pretend you've never visited your county before, and go try out everything a tourist would. Go bungee-jumping, go to the beach, go ride a horse, go hike that famous nature trail.

And when you come back home, at the end of a happy, exhausting day, smile. Because you, unlike a tourist, don't have to unpack.

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Take the Next Step

• Make a list of all the things that you can do and places you can visit and still sleep in your own bed at night

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