TRAVEL WITH SERENA--CASH IN ON VACATION DEALS

With summer vacation upon  us, here are two more tips to stretch your vacation dollars:

First, don’t forget all those points you’ve been accruing on your credit cards. Use them for airfare, hotel, car rentals, and even package vacation deals.

Do you subscribe to Groupon.com, LivingSocial.com, or any of the other sites that offer daily deals? If not, you should. Besides offering deals on restaurants, beauty treatments, etc., they’re a great place to find bargains for both staycations and travel.

TRAVEL WITH SERENA--BUDGET VACATIONS, PART 2

Last week I talked about booking vacation homes and apartments to cut down on the cost of a vacation. Another big budget buster when traveling is food. Eating three meals a day at a restaurant can be very costly, especially if you’re traveling as a family. Here’s a tip for reducing those meal bills:

Eat where the locals eat. If you’re visiting a large city, check out the local coffee shops for breakfast. At lunch time, head for the food trucks and food carts that have the longest lines. Local residents go where the food is cheap and good.

Want something a little nicer for dinner? Before you go on vacation, visit online deal sites like restaurants.com, Groupon, and Living Social to stock up on discounted meal vouchers for restaurants in the places you’ll be visiting.