Oregon Coast and Beer, what’s not to love?

If you are from the area or looking to vacation along the Oregon Coast this is a great deal. For just $199 you can get 2 nights, a large bottle of beer from a local restaurant and breakfast one day at the Pelican pub.

This little town of Pacific City has lots to offer. The Pelican Pub is known for their beer and great food. As a matter of fact they pair their food to their beers. There is also a cute coffee shop that has plenty of seating and really good coffee. Looking for some exercise? Take time to hike the large sand dune nearby. Not everyone can make it to the top.

I am a big advocate for working on your marriage. Getaways like this are great ways to invest and I think worth every penny.

If you are interested grab your Living Social deal today before they are all gone.

• This great Groupon deal is back!  Last time it sold out quickly, so if you want it, grab it now.
  

World Resorts International is offering a 7 night stay for just $399.This is a $1500 value.

This is a great price for accommodations and you can choose U.S., Mexico or Canada.

Just go to the top of your Groupon page and change the city. The deal is listed under Las Vegas.

Here is what I learned from reading the Groupon site.

• There is a 7 night stay at any of the participating and available World Market International Resorts. There are over 500 locations that are listed on their website.
• You will not have to sit through a presentation even though this is a time share. ( I stand corrected, this is not a time share.)
• Owners get first priority of the properties. World Market will then allow the Groupon users to purchase any that are available after that, so you will need to be flexible and have a few dates in mind.
• Purchases can only be made 60 days prior to travel. That does make planning ahead harder, but you are getting 7 nights for just $399.
• Some of the resorts do have the all inclusive option. You are not paying for that option, but it sounds like you can upgrade to that if you wish.
• Groupon covers all the taxes, fees and gratuities.
• There aren’t many available, so grab one now if you want one. Last time Groupon did this they sold out quickly.

Even with certain restrictions and needing to be flexible and only planning 60 days ahead, I still purchased this and here is why.

• Groupon offers an awesome satisfaction guarantee. If for any reason you are not satisfied you can get a refund with no hassles.

If you can’t find a date that works and you end up not using it, you can get your money back.

Want more information. Head on over to the Discussion board and more of your questions could be answered there.

Once you have purchased your Groupon head over to the company page and fill out the form and a certificate will be mailed to you with further instructions.  (Looks like the Groupon codes won’t be ready to be entered until tomorrow.)

If you haven’t bought your Groupon yet you can also check out this page. It will answer all your questions for you.

Thanks to Frugal Living NW for pointing this out. I have already purchased mine!

We are big roller coaster fans, for those of you that don’t know. (And yes we are in the front seats, and yes there is no one else on the coaster because we ran.)

But I also know many people will be hitting the parks for a summer vacation. Where ever you are headed try some of these tricks and see if you can’t save a buck or two.

1. When flying just a take carry on. I know everyone knows how the prices have jumped, but you can do it. Kids as young as 5 or 6 can pull their own suit case. Just give yourself more time and of course don’t over pack them.
2. If traveling by car take advantage of any gas coupons in the Entertainment Book or the Kroger stores are offering 10¢ off a gallon of gas.
3. If headed to a theme park never pay full price. Look around on pop cans, websites and even deals the companies offer themselves. Six Flags was offering a Buy One Day get a Season Free. This runs through June 5th.
4. Another way to save at a theme park if they aren’t running the above mentioned deal is check on the season pass. Often times it’s cheaper to buy a season pass than 2 day passes. AND you will often times get coupon books and FREE parking.
5. Buy 1 oz size sun tan lotion. These can go on the plane. Often times 8 of these will equal an 8 oz bottle for the exact same price. (provided you didn’t use a coupon) You don’t have to take to time to buy when you get to your location. You can bring the leftovers home as opposed to leaving it behind.
6. When at amusement parks ask for cups of water. Most places give them out for free. All Cedar Fair parks and Six Flag Parks do this.
7. They won’t give you water? Then buy from the vending machine. It will save you a few cents here and there because you won’t be paying tax.
8. Take your own snacks into parks. You don’t need a ton and you don’t even have to pack a separate bag for them. Just make the boys wear cargo shorts and throw in enough to last until your meal.
9. Use Hotwire to book your hotel. It’s a great resource and with a little effort you can figure out what hotel you are actually booking.
10. I say this over and over, but watch Groupon or Living Social for the city you are headed to. See if they have any great deals on activities or food.

Looking for more ways to save on Theme Parks this Summer?  Here are some of the things I mentioned, plus more ideas.

Linked to Top Ten Tuesday

We are that Family

Frugal Friday

I think the one thing I hate to do when I travel is arranging the rental car. It’s mostly because I am so frugal that I will compare every single company and try and save myself $2. In the process it takes me an hour to save that $2.

I am trying to let go a little of the “cents” if you will, and just grab a car and go.

In my most recent planning I chose rather quickly I might add ::

1. I went with a company I liked and had a membership with (although I did compare it to 2 others just to make sure, but no more.)
2. I grabbed a small car and hoped for a FREE upgrade when we got there. (She wouldn’t budge)
   
3. I used a special that was being offered on the web page that was just as good and in one case better than any other coupon I had.
4. I booked my car.

When this part is finalized you will see the total, mine was $38 with a statement that read other taxes may apply. I printed this and carried it with me.

When I picked up my car sure enough there were $3 in taxes added. I didn’t ask I just assumed this was part of what I had read.

When I dropped off my car this total had gone up to $46. NOW I ASKED. I handed him my printed statement.  Interesting thing is he couldn’t figure out where those came from. He worked on it for about 10 minutes and just said he would go back to my original amount because he couldn’t figure it out.

5.  ASK When you have questions about your final cost.

Also check 7 Car Rental Tips for more money saving ideas.

photo courtesy of Allway rental @flickr

For those of you traveling this Spring Break here is a deal for you, especially if you have an early morning flight.

For just $119 you can get a suite at Embassy Suites by the Portland International Airport. It comes with an Evening reception, a made to order breakfast and parking for seven days.

This deal is being offered today and tomorrow through Groupon. Just choose Portland, Oregon as your city and check the side bar for the deal. Even though this will be offered through tomorrow sometimes hotels have a limit on how many they will sell and if they run out they will stop the sale even though time remains.

I wish we were flying some place cool for spring break, but no.

I am sure you, along with all of America, has been following the TSA’s new rules with screening.  I just can’t get over all that is going on.  The pictures that have already been leaked onto the web.  I have even heard rumors that they are “profiling” hot chicks for the full body scanners.

If you don’t choose the “porno” scanner then you have to agree to a full body pat down.

What has our world come to?

I have to say this shirt makes me laugh because of the 2 options there is not a good one.  TSA needs to know how we all feel about this.  I think it would be great if everyone wore one of these as they went through security.

My husband flew last weekend between Las Vegas and Portland and he never saw the new scanners or the full pat downs. They aren’t every where just, but they are coming.

So if you are interested in a Don’t Touch my Junk T-shirt,  head on over to Tanga and grab one today.  If you are flying I would suggest you get one.  If I was flying anytime soon, I would consider it.

One of the things that I do spend money on is time with my husband.  Sometimes it’s hard to get away, and when you do get time off you hate to spend a ton of time traveling.

That’s why I like todays Groupon offer.  A great price to stay downtown Portland.  We have actually done something like this a few times and have never regretted it.

The deal is located in Portland, you might need to change your city and it’s located in the side bar.

You can stay at the Hotel Modera in downtown Portland for just $135 a night.  The price comes with and I quote (because it’s so funny) “A host of complimentary amenities includes health-club passes, free WiFi, and newspaper delivery, ensuring guests are nicely toned and suitably informed before striking up small talk in the hotel’s stylish restaurant. ”

They are also offering late checkout so you can explore downtown Portland some more or and I quote again, “Today’s deal includes a 2 p.m. checkout, leaving guests plenty of time to explore downtown or build in-room igloos out of bedding and bath supplies.”

Who doesn’t like to build igloos or forts?  We want to buy this just so we can down and see how they run the joint, sounds fun.

If you are interested in this deal you do have some time.  It’s available until tomorrow.  Although sometimes (but not always) they limit how many rooms they will give away and the deal ends before the time is up.

This also would make a great Christmas gift for someone, including your spouse.

Without a doubt, time away with your spouse is a Money4This expense.  I would cut back in a lot of areas to make something like this happen.

Book a vacation at a killer price, the most you will pay is the member price, but if more people buy the price begins to drop.

For those of you familiar with Groupon you will be excited to see that there is a Travel group buying site that just went live, called Trip Alertz.

If you aren’t familiar with these types of sites let me share with you how they work.  Basically they are offering coupons or discounts because they get a large number of people to participate.

Groupon does daily deals while Trip Alertz will have deals that will last for 2 weeks.  For instance You can get a 50% discount on Trump International Beach Resort in Sunny Isles, FL.  You will have up to 12 days left to make this purchase.   Also today Trip Alertz has a San Francisco deal at the Wyndham and Hotel El Cid in Cancun for 35% off.

The more people that buy the more the price continues to drop.  So the price you see listed  might not be your final price, it could be lower.  Tell your friends, you do not need to travel together, just get more people to sign up.

• On the side you will see upcoming deals.  You vote on those, the ones that get the most votes become the next travel deal.
• The new deals will go live every TUESDAY and last for 2 weeks.
• The most you will pay is the already low Member Price.
• Once a certain number of people book the same deal, everyone will get the EPIC DEAL.

All you need to do is head over to Trip Alertz and sign up and you will start receiving travels deals as well, get your friends to sign up as well.

Make sure you are also signed up with Groupon.  I like to also receive deals from destinations that I plan on vacationing too.

I like to travel, but I like to do it on a budget.  This seems to work of me.

Today I did another field trip with another local blogger, Inspired2Cook.  This is what we found.

Food carts are everywhere in Portland.  As a matter of fact in one of the recent Portland Monthly issues they talked about all the food carts and rated the best ones from each pod.

The food carts are a growing business for Portlanders.  With the economy the way it is it only makes sense. I mean think about it.  Rent is cheap, so it’s an easy start up and the food is cheap to purchase, which is nice for those needing to grab a quick bite and not wanting to spend a fortune.  It’s a win – win for all those involved.

Unsure of which Pod we wanted to eat at, we made our way towards 2 that are within 5 blocks.  One thing we discovered is the number of Thai food carts.  They were everywhere and my favorite part about that was you could get 2 large salad rolls for just $3.  I love salad rolls, so that seemed like a great bargain to me.

Even though the first pod at 9th and Alder was quite large, we continued on to the pod at 5th between Stark and Oak.  I was looking for something that we had read about.  It was the Schnitzel sandwich.  As we began to peruse around we found many great options.  Even after looking I knew I wanted the Schnitzel sandwich.  My friend went off to order some Indian food and grab a Pulled Pork sandwich to take home to her husband, I made my way to Tabor Czech Food.  I ordered the Original Schnitzelwich for $7.

My goal was to find the best bang for your buck.

I found the best bang for my buck right here.  As she handed the sandwich out the window I gasped, or yelled or maybe just both.  It was HUGE.   I asked for a knife to cut it, but she said it didn’t lend itself to being cut, handed me a plastic knife and sent me on my way.

Here is the description of my sandwich……

“A hand tenderized Carlton Farms pork loin that’s been sprinkled with bread crumbs, panfried, and placed hot and crispy into a Grand Central ciabatta roll amid the company of fresh greens, caramelized onions, a spicy re-pepper spread, and homemade horseradish.”

If you are hungry and needing something filling and big, this is for you.  I even shared a few bites with my buddy, but in the end….I couldn’t eat the whole thing.  I could have easily split this with a friend and been plenty full, making it only $3.50 a person.

Linked to Sundays In My City

Looking for a romantic weekend away?  Looking to do something that feels far away, but really is just minutes from your own door?  How about a one night stay in Downtown Portland.  Not just that, but how about the Benson Hotel?

Today Groupon is offering a one night stay for just $124.  How cool is this?  Well 1,340 have been bought and there are only 160 remaining at this moment.  You won’t want to miss this one.  It’s that cool.  I have not stayed there, but I have eaten there and strolled through and sat in the bar.  Amazing place.

It just dropped to 145!!! Move quickly if you want it.