Staycation Joys

This summer I really deviated from the norm and decided to spend my 6 week holiday at home. I have a beautiful apartment with a view of downtown Vancouver and decided that it was time to actually rest on a summer vacation. Last summer, I went to Buenos Aires to take the Certificate in English Language Teaching (CELTA) to help me along the road to eventual early retirement. I enjoyed the city a lot but was exhausted when I came home. I definitely got my money's worth with the course and the fact that work chipped in a few dollars (about 1/3 of the cost) definitely took the sting out of such an expensive summer, but one can't do that every year.
The best part about being home was probably being able to sleep in my own bed. I really took it easy this summer and spent a lot of time cooking, reading, visiting, playing, Internet surfing and writing. I found that I needed very little money, and I came up with the top ten ideas for creating an amazing staycation:
1...Replace household items for the money you save not travelling . I already bought very nice bedding (sheets, pillows, blankets, etc.) a while back, so this staycation, I decided to buy a few kitchen toys. I got new placemats, a set of nice dishes, and an excellent cheese grater. All for what one night in a hotel would cost. I also bought a lawn chair with pillows for the balcony (in early August on sale for $70) that brought me a lot of comfort. I should have bought one earlier as it is so nice to sit on a sunny balcony, drink a glass of homeade ice tea, and read an amazing library book. Wild I am not,but definitely happy.
2...Take 20 minutes every morning to mentally plan your day. Staycations need as much planning as vacations if you want them to be fun and memorable. Caution: Do not plan chores. This is a staycation. You must plan fun and relaxing activities only. Do chores as necessary but the idea is not to get a lot of things done.
3... Cook everyday like company is coming. My best meal was a chutney chicken on rice. My worst one was a mushroom truffle sauce (a gift) over spagetti that when others cooked it was great but my own try was horrendous. If I would spend 25 a day going out for dinner on a vacation, I didn't feel bad spending a few bucks more than usual for dinner at home. One indulgence this summer that kept me happy was buying olives and fancy crackers. Great for nibbling on the balcony!
4...Since you are saving money by not travelling, but presumable not earning much by not working, try to do one thing a week that brings in or saves money without sacrifice. One week while sitting on my balcony sipping wine, I negotated for a new credit card that earned me 15000 airmiles and another week I took in some paperwork to the bank (long forgotten about) that gave me a $50 refund. I also signed up for some coupon sites while I was surfing this summer. I usually don't have time to do this kind of thing.
5...Declutter. The freedom I felt from getting rid of piles of stuff that I never use was amazing. I gave it all to my favourite charity. I did this by designating a particular back for junk. Every week, I would add a few bits to the bag as I came across junk or underused items. I then made the trek to the charity store once a week. It was good for them and good for me. While this may not sound like fun, I really enjoyed it because I am currently on a bit of a kick to see how well I can downsize my possessions to reflect what I really love and use.
6... Use public transit and go on little trips. One of my favourite trips this summer was with my mom to Bowen Island, a small community that is a fifteen minute ferry ride away from where I live. I blogged about our meals on another website and wrote a short article (hopefully someone will buy it) so I hope that part of the cost of this little trip will be covered.
7...See some matinee movies. I loved EAT PRAY LOVE although I found the book impossible to get through. I have travelled a lot to some of the places the author describes so the movie was pretty entertaining. it is cheap to go to the movies during the day and not very crowded. I often smuggle in a can of coke and a chocolate bar as movie treats are expensive. I will buy popcorn though because it smells so good.
8...Take an afternoon and sit down and figure out what happy bits of summer you can make into a regular feature in the rest of your life. For example, I am going to cook decent meals at least twice a week during the workweek. I realized that sitting down to dinner was really nice. I also realized that I need to spend more time outdoors going for short walks. I did this a lot this summer as part of my routine was to go to a different local cafe and read the magazines and newspaper. It basically paid for the coffee as I didnt have to buy any such reading material all summer. I never did this before my staycation as I was always at work.
9...Try hobbies out. I used one afternoon of this staycation to pull out my crocheting. I went to sit on a waterfront bench and look over at the view of vancouver, while basking in the sun and finishing up a scarf for winter. Total cost of this afternoon out was under $3 as I bought a ice-cafe at Macdonalds on the way.
10... Call and ask for any free trials of cable vision, internet service or other goodies that you would never have time to enjoy while you were working.