What's the ONE thing you'd be willing to give while ON VACATION??

Mine: an $$$$ gourmet dinner or a $$$$ bottle of wine. Hmmm.....maybe a bling, too!! Geez, I hate to give stuff up......


Contessa

I truthfully would not give up anything in particular. Where I would give up things is more around the home base. My opinion is that once on vacation, this is the time to forget about any worries. If I had to give up anything on vacation, then I would not go on vacation. It just wouldn't be the same. At the very least frustration would take hold and would not be able to relax.

Then again, we have always been careful with our spending while on the island. We do go out and have nice dinners but we don't go out every night and when we do, sometimes it's pizza and sometimes it's Filet Mignon so maybe for some this would be what was being given up (high end meals) but we do that already.

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Life is not a child's game of follow the Leader. Instead, life is more about finding one's own purpose in life....your life's plan, and then making a positive difference on earth.

Hey!

Things are indeed getting tighter...I'm a Realtor and haven't had a deal in over a year.

We have not made any adjustments while on vacation because we travel bare bones. I drink DIET PEPSI and Michele Presidente. We buy her beer at the grocery store with the cheapest prices.

Food is no problem, I haunt MAHO and the Food Express is my b'fast spot of choice.

Baguettes and salad are prepared for the beach.

NO Euro-dining....that's all about LA Something and how many times we went and who was there to be translated to the travel forums. I could care less about Chef Louis LaGourmande, the third, and his assistant Carlos from Nicarauga in their new place in Grande Case.

If we do eat out at a SPECIAL place it's Bajatzu for the ambiance and consistency.

The majority of our dinners are at TOPPER, BUCCANEER or PINEAPPLE PETE and often we just order 3 appetizers.

Air travel is FF normally and we go when we get a cheapo fare and worry about a room after booking, It's never failed, as there are better and better room deals out there and we have some TS and a friend's house as back up.

So, giving up something for the majority might be meals etc, but if you lower your requirements and concentrate on what REALLY makes you happy you can save $$$$. IF you leave the credit cards at home and pay cash you will be less likely to overindulge. SXM is the least expensive true Caribbean destination and as we all know, there is something there for everyone.

BIGGEST wastes of $$$$:

Foo - Foo drinks

Hotel rooms

Gourmet dining

Duty Free shopping ( except alcohol and tobacco)

Casinos

Side trips to Barts ( my weakness)

Ma Dou Dou products...cheap rum and fruit juice in bottles.

IMHO

Denis

Geez, Denis, sounds like you've already got it down to bones! I must admit I do enjoy a fine dinner @ Bistrot Caraibes!! My weakness because it's not just the food it's the entire experience. Plus, I get to see those adorable boys!! Don't think I'd give that up, but would another fine dining. We're not extravagant people under ordinary circumstances, so we don't have to give up a lot. Hubby drinks Diet Coke/Pepsi so that's quite the savings. I'm not a huge drinker (most of the time ) so that's not a problem. However, I do enjoy a really nice bottle of wine. I'd give that up. Staying on the French side it can get a little $$$ for dinners. We tend to seek out less pricy restaurants or drive to the Dutch side to save a few $$$. But, we've been doing that for years so it's not because of the economy.....it's the EURO! That's had it's problems in the past.!!
Re: RealEstate. UGH! Sorry about the way that's gone. Friends of mine own a R.E. lending company. They're struggling......too bad. Thank goodness hubby got out of doing R.E. passings 4 yrs. ago!! That was a blessing in disguise...
Keep on truckin'....things will change!!
Be well....


Contessa

BIGDENX Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> BIGGEST wastes of $$$$:
>
> Foo - Foo drinks
>
> Hotel rooms
>
> Gourmet dining
>
> Duty Free shopping ( except alcohol and tobacco)
>
> Casinos
>
> Side trips to Barts ( my weakness)
>
> Ma Dou Dou products...cheap rum and fruit juice in
> bottles.
>
> IMHO
>
> Denis

I agree with all of these except the gourmet dinners. That's our primary reason for choosing St. Martin as our annual vacation. Now that we are watching our pennies a little more (I retired two years ago and have watched my 401K tank in this horrible market), we are eating out less often and looking for more local dining experiences. We always eat breakfast on the balcony at our timeshare. Lunch is either on the beach or at the timeshare (if we've decided to spend that day just chilling around the pool) If we lunch at Orient, that's our main meal of the day, and the food is just as good as in Grand Case and generally less expensive. On big lunch days we usually just have cheese, crackers, and fruit on the balcony for dinner. Otherwise we go out for dinner and don't worry about the cost.

AND....cutting back a little on the fancy dining had the added benefit of my not having to rid myself of five pounds when we got home!

I do buy a couple of bottles of Ma DouDou as Christmas and thank-you gifts.

Hey Contessa and Kaye!

So actually the "cutbacks" are limited.

The "fine dining" experience is motivation for many to visit and I can certainly understand that. If you do it daily with wine, it could cost upwards of a grand a week for 2 people.

A grand a week is a $750.00 TS suite for a week PLUS a YARIS and gas.

YOU GOTTA EAT SOMETHING is the expression heard a lot when you say you're cutting down on this and that and that's difficult to argue.

Our activity increases when we walk, swim and generally get out more; thus both of us LOSE a few over a 7 day holiday. ( No trouble finding those lost LB's when we get home tho ! )


Denis