SavvySugar

Fun Fall To-Do: Go Pick Your Own Produce

SavvySugar — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:15:27 -0700

I'll miss my beloved Summer tomatoes, but there's a plethora of Fall produce to scoop up at the store. Better yet, celebrate Autumn by taking day trips to pick-your-own orchards where you can spend the day outside selecting your own goodies. Apple orchards and pumpkin patches are easiest to come by, but depending on where you live, there may be corn mazes that allow you to wander among the corn rows.

Find apple orchards in your area that invite you to pick your own by scouring the list on PickYourOwn.org and pick a pumpkin patch by checking out Pumpkinpatchesandmore.org. Be aware: this season might be busier than most. Kathy McKay, spokeswoman for the North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Association explained, "Because of the whole staycation-daycation thing, a lot of our members are saying business has been good."

Have you ever visited a place where you could pick your own?

Take a Little Trip: Tips For Getting Away on the Cheap(er)

SavvySugar — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:30:36 -0700

Jetting to the best city in the world may require months of planning and savings, but there are plenty of breathtaking bargain vacation spots you can visit on a budget. Step one: assess how much you can pay to get away. Step two: cruise the best travel websites for a good end-of-Summer deal. Step three: book it! Step four: hit the beach, street, or wild outdoors. Here are some tips and inspiration for exploring a whole new world - or your own backyard - before the season comes to an end.

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How-To: Plan an Awesome Staycation

SavvySugar — Thu, 14 May 2009 06:30:02 -0700

Summer is prime time for putting those banked vacation days to use. The warm weather lures you to be anywhere but the office, but perhaps this year you can't afford to pay for plane tickets and several nights of hotel stays. Take a cost-conscious staycation instead - check out my tips on how to plan the best at-home getaway possible.

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Staycation Is the Best New Word of 2009

SavvySugar — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 04:00:34 -0800

It was a favorite activity in 2009, and now it's your choice for best new word of the year, too. "Staycation" is hands down your favorite word of the year, with 55 percent of the vote. We love the idea of relaxing at home, and turning our own places into vacation destinations. So very recession-chic and savvy, too.

Also popular buzz words of the year are funemployed and green collar, each earning 20 percent of the vote, and tying for second place. Funemployment helped us all to find the upside to being out of work, while green collar jobs have become a budding sector of the economy and a new career focus. We've weathered a rocky year, but despite the economic downturn, we've managed to find some bright spots in, and even when we found ourselves out of, the workplace - plus, we've expanded our created vocabularies.

Staycation Is the Best Word of 2008

SavvySugar — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 13:30:00 -0800

There's nothing quite as satisfying as putting vacation days on your work calendar, even if you're not actually leaving town. While the New Oxford American Dictionary named hypermiling the word of 2008, if you had it your way, you would name staycation the best word of 2008. Runner-up to staycation is the phrase toxic debt, which received 21 percent of the vote.

Thirteen percent of you put the word staycation into practice when you took time off from work without doing any traveling. And whether you were lounging on your porch or on a tropical beach, most of you at least took advantage of your vacation days. Over 60 percent of you took 10 or more days off work this year, although four percent of you said you had perfect work attendance!

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What You Spent on Travel in 2009

SavvySugar — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:00:00 -0800

Despite a money-conscious 2009, most of you managed to make some room in the budget for travel. Twenty-one percent of you spent $5,000 or more on trips this year; coming in second, with 17 percent of the vote, were travel expenses between $2,000-3,000. We know travel doesn't always equal vacation time, so while some of these trips were likely work-related, I'm hoping most of you were able to take time out of the office for a well-deserved vacation.

And for those of you who didn't manage to get away at all this year (11 percent), we hope your staycations were just as relaxing. But if you're saving up for a big trip in 2010, we wish you all bon voyage and want to hear all about your exciting excursions in the New Year.

I’m Asking: Will You Travel This Year?

SavvySugar — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:30:05 -0700

The recession has put a huge dent in the demand for air travel, and consequently, airline ticket deals seem to be getting better every week. Still, experts predict airlines will suffer empty seats this Spring as travelers opt to stay home or take a staycation instead of expensive trips.

Will you be cashing in on your vacation days and joining the ranks of consumers who are still dishing out funds for travel, or do you plan to sit tight at home and rely on exotic foods to cure your wanderlust?

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Can't Afford to Travel? Let Your Taste Buds Take You There

SavvySugar — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:30:11 -0800

If the travel bug has gotten ahold of you lately but your funds are limited, then Budget Travel could provide the solutions you need to get from here to there. For some of us, taking anything but a staycation is out of the question, and the mindful magazine provides something for travelers-at-heart who can't afford to leave town.

In its December/January issue, Budget Traveler features locally recommended Tuscan restaurants with descriptions of the savory Italian specialties. Knowing that readers' mouths would water, the issue includes recipes for typical Tuscan dishes for those of us with budgets that can't stomach a trip to Italy. So when you're feeling antsy about getting away from it all, why not bring recipes from international kitchens into your own?

Have fun experimenting with a new dish and pretending that you're sampling cuisine in another country, and rent a film that complements the theme set by the food you made. It may not compare to the vacation you've been dreaming of, but a fraction of the cost and a little imagination can get you a mini-escape. Check out YumSugar and BuzzSugar for food and movie inspiration!

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How Much You Spent on Travel in 2008

SavvySugar — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:00:08 -0800

Saving up for a trip is one of the best types of saving, in my opinion. The majority of you spent somewhere between $500 and $3,000 on travel this year, so let's just call it an average of $1,500, shall we? Eighty-seven percent of you traveled away from home at some point in 2008. An equal percentage of you either took staycations this year or spent more than $5,000 on travel. Those opposing groups make up approximately 25 percent of the total.

What does your travel schedule look like for 2009?

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