My wife and I went to Scottsdale, Arizona, for a nice getaway and a change of pace from staying at home. It had been several months since we had been in the Phoenix area, so we took a short trip to celebrate the July 4th holiday and my wife’s birthday. We found out very quickly that we were taking advantage of off-season travel and pricing.
Last year, while sitting by the empty hotel pool in Scottsdale enjoying a glass of wine, we heard the sound of explosions and fireworks being launched. We couldn’t believe it: we had a perfect view of a large July 4th fireworks display only about a mile away. The view of the show and weather were both wonderful at that time of night.
It became apparent to us very quickly that we would turn this into an annual event. It is surprising how inexpensive, beautiful, and crowd-free the desert is in the summer. ☺
To save money, travel to the desert in the summer
We started our drive to Scottsdale right after a light lunch at our home on Friday. We soon found that there was definitely a difference in the traffic leaving the Phoenix area as compared to going to it. Traffic was backed up for miles with people traveling north toward the Grand Canyon, the mountains, Utah and who knows where. Lucky for us, we were traveling south and the highway traffic was breezing along at 75 miles per hour.
I kept thinking about this famous quote from the Oracle of Omaha:
“Be Fearful When Others Are Greedy and Greedy When Others Are Fearful” – Warren Buffet
In our situation, we try to travel off-season to save money. My new mantra: Travel to the desert in the summer, go boating in the winter.
The cost of the hotel was 50% to 70% less than the price we would pay during peak season during the winter months. I could have used points to pay for the stay; however, I like to redeem points when the standard rate of the room is much more expensive. As we strolled around the shopping areas and restaurants, we noticed that numerous discounts and early bird specials were in abundance. Walking around without bumping into people was an added bonus.
We dropped by Starbucks for breakfast and to enjoy my reverse latte factor practice. It appeared no one was there either.
Once we had our coffee and breakfast for two at a total cost $3.74 (2 free coffees for turning in empty bags, 2 free refills because I am a Gold customer, a free breakfast sandwich redeeming an award with stars, and purchasing a breakfast sandwich) we went for a walk around the Kierland Commons outdoor shopping center. What a beautiful place to visit. There was hip music playing and overhead water misters to keep patrons cool while checking out all the things we probably won’t be buying for a while. I guess they call that window shopping.
Take a look at the beautiful plant life and empty sidewalks:
We walked across the street to more empty shops. The weather was about 10º cooler than normal and just beautiful in the late morning.
Buck the trend and be rewarded
The residents and tourists in Scottsdale appeared to have abandoned the area for the weekend and provided us our own private retreat. The restaurants and shops were deserted. We traveled back to the hotel to enjoy the pool:
After we had plenty of down time and lounging, it was time to go see an IMAX movie and be surrounded by premium sound and air conditioning. Naturally, we did that in the afternoon when the temperature hit 100º.
Creative use of coupons, discounts, and birthday money
We used a combination of discounts and coupons for our trip to save money where we could. Here is a breakdown of what this cost:
- $208 for two nights at a Marriott
- $129 in dining for seven meals for two. Many of these meals were very nice. I used a combination of Restaurant.com coupons, points, and discounts. We used a $50 birthday gift to offset this cost.
- $10 Movie – 3D IMAX. I used points through work to get two free vouchers. We had to pay a surcharge of $5 per ticket for the 3D and IMAX upgrade.
- $30 Gas to drive round-trip from Sedona to Scottsdale.
We stayed two nights and three days in the heart of North Scottsdale for $377. Granted, we could have stayed at a cheaper hotel and picked less expensive places to eat. These costs were reasonable for us and we budgeted for this expense. If we were to book this same two-night stay on December 4, 2015, it would cost $373 just for the room. I can only imagine what the costs for dining would be during the peak of the tourism season!
We will continue to look for travel hacks to save money!
I think this trip provided us with a glimpse of what life will be like once we have reached our financial independence. With our flexible schedule, we will be able to take advantage of off-season deals. No worries about organizing vacation time or piecing together days to create long weekends. Perhaps we will sign up for last-minute flights or cruise deals.
We are willing to visit places during the off season to take advantage of deep discounts on pricing. A side benefit is that sometimes it is nice to avoid the crowds in resort areas, although sometimes I do like the interaction with people since I am chained to the desk for most of the week.
I think we will do this whole trip again next year. Our empty pool and lounge chairs will be waiting for us.
Abigail @ipickuppennies says
Way to go. It really is cheaper to visit any hot state in the summer. I advocate going to Las Vegas in the summer on a weekday. It gets you the best rates, and it’s not like you plan to spend a lot of time outdoors, one way or another.
I’m just glad that FinCon is in an off-season. Helps keep airline prices down.
Bryan says
We are looking at a trip to Las Vegas perhaps in August as well. I think we might actually be able to do it cheaper than our recent Scottsdale trip! 🙂
I am looking at trip to FinCon in September and reaching out to a couple other fellow blogger about sharing a rental car to save some costs. We will have to hook up since we both with be flying out of Phoenix.
I will reach out and contact you.
Abigail @ipickuppennies says
We went to Vegas in August, and rooms were ridiculously cheap.
Unfortunately, I doubt we’ll meet up at the airport. I’m flying in Wednesday to be sure I’m well-rested for activities on Thursday. Then I fly out the following Wednesday. Mom (Donna Freedman, if you’ve heard of her) and I like to get a couple extra days in.
But I’m sure we’ll see each other at the con. I’m even on a panel this year.
Bryan says
I agree with you on the cheap rooms in Vegas. I have stayed for as little as $25 per night…. off the strip of course. We also “save” a ton of money by not gambling!
We have definitely heard of Donna Freedman and have enjoyed her writing for years. I had no idea you were related. I knew there was something I liked about you and Tim! 🙂 ….And of course we are fellow Arizonians.
Redeemed Finance says
That picture near the pool is epic – “Welcome guests to your own private resort”. Really goes to show a little planning makes you feel all types of “are you smarter than a 5th grader”.
Sounds like a great getaway!
-Rich
Bryan says
Rich,
LOL – I won’t take the comment “are you smarter than a 5th grader”. 🙂
It is cool when you get some awesome travel experiences for a fraction of the normal price. It feels like you are getting over on the system!
Back to your comment – I have sure made some decisions in the past that make me wonder what my “smartness” level really is sometimes. I guess those choices can now be racked up to experience and all those gray hairs I have earned through the “school of hard knocks”.
Take care!
Redeemed Finance says
I’ve been doing the reddit.com/r/churning thing lately – trying to keep the frugalness going with some cheap/free travel miles. Coupled with off season vacations I don’t see myself actually paying for many vacations in the next few years.
Rich
Bryan says
Rich,
There a lot of sites and blogs that describe some of the travel hacks you can do to get free travel. We get credit card offers in the mail every week. In the past I traveled extensively with my work for 10+ years and racked up a ton of miles and points, that we are now slowly using. I still have a lot left and can do multiple trips with my wife for free if we choose.
I believe that once we leave work, we will take a more aggressive approach to searching out these deals. Today I don’t have the time to really maximize those reward and program offers.
Take care!
Holly@ClubThrifty says
Sounds like an awesome idea to me. I don’t really mind the dry heat all that much!
Bryan says
If I leveraged all of the travel hacks and credit card offers you have been able to accomplish, I could have done trip for nearly no cost. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, take care.
Luke Fitzgerald @ FinanciallyFitz says
Awesome idea! Looks like it turned out great! A good reminder that there are a plethora of ways spend money more wisely while not sacrificing ANY enjoymeny. It just requires a little diligence!
Bryan says
Thanks for visiting Luke!
We do try to take an approach to our spending by planning and budgeting for purchases in advance. Taking a look at your recent credit card post, I can see that you are like minded. The use of cash definitely will save you money over the long haul. We intentionally do not use our credit card for impulse purchases and large purchases, unless we have already saved the money in advance.
I like your approach of budgeting off the prior month’s income. I know this is the same method that Holly and Greg use to budget their expenses. 🙂
Take care.
Katasha @BrokeGirlBlogging says
Are you a fan of Airbnb? I’ve found pretty inexpensive (and NICE!) places to stay using that site, especially if you’re in an off-season.
Bryan says
Katasha,
We have not tried AirBnB as of yet. From what we have read, it seems like it can be a great way of traveling with the added benefit of saving money.
We have thoughts of spending a month at a place offered by AirBnB in the Colorado mountains in the next year or so. It will be interesting to see how it works.
Thanks for stopping by!