College, the word brings great memories, with friends and endless nights partying, but also memories of living on a shoe string monthly budget. Living on your own for the first time is extremely hard trying to learn how to make your small paycheck stretch. All your 'spending' money (about twenty dollars after all your bills are paid) goes to buying alcohol for that weekend.
However, if you're like me, and would rather go away for a weekend to get away from all the craziness of college, you need to learn how to budget for a two night get away.
1. Visiting Old Friends
One of my favorite ways to get away for the weekend would be to go visit old high school friends at their college. One of the perks of going to visit a friend would be that you do not have to pay for a place to crash. All you really need to budget for is food and maybe a movie or another fun activity offered in their town.
2. Budgeting Meals
When you're away for the weekend, a good rule of thumb for budgeting meals for would be to spend a maximum of ten dollars (including drink) on breakfast, a maximum of twelve dollars on lunch, and a maximum of fifteen dollars for dinner. Instead of eating out, bring food to their house. Going to the grocery store and buying something pre-made, can help you save money.
3. Take A Quick Drive To A New Place
For the more adventurous type, going somewhere you've never been for a weekend is a lot of fun. I love doing this, as well as visiting friends. For this type of weekend getaway, limit yourself of driving a maximum of two hours away. Any more than two hours and you're going to be spending too much time driving and too much money on gas.
Bringing a buddy or two with you, can make your trip cheaper and more fun. Sure, you'll be cramped in a small hotel room with them for forty eight hours, but that's all the more motive to leave the hotel room and go out and do things. On these type of vacations it's always fun to explore what kind of free activities you can do.
Whether it's just people watching in downtown or visiting a local park and or landmarks, there's always something the town as to offer. I very much like hiking in unique places, which can be a great free activity. Or even just picking a unique dining experience for one of your meals can be a fun activity.
Traveling in college is possible, with the right budget you can find yourself seeing the great state you decided to go to school in.
