Photograph Credit: Fotolia

In going down to Florida for our family vacations, we repeat some of the same activities and then branch out to try new places.

In this 5-part series, I am sharing how our family stretched our dollars during our two-week vacation spending less than $1,000.

In Part 1, I gave our cost breakdown; in Part 2, I explained our zoo membership; and in Part 3, I shared the benefits of our science membership. In Part 4, I present a new-to-us gardens membership.

Part 4: Botanical Gardens Membership – $25

Researching the Information

While checking my junk e-mail account to peruse the daily deals to which I subscribe, I found an interesting Groupon – an annual membership to a botanical garden in Florida for $25. In researching the address, I found these gardens next to the Children’s museum we visit.

In addition to the close proximity to the museum, this garden has reciprocal benefits. The American Horticultural Society reciprocal list offers free admission to numerous other gardens with this one membership.

Evaluating the Information

Having never visited a botanical garden and not knowing how our young children would react to the flora, we weighed the cost vs. the benefits. Though the adventure might lack activity, our children would enjoy seeing the plants, flowers, and waterfalls while walking the paths.

Choosing an Option

Taking a chance that one or more of our family members would enjoy the visit, I checked the expiration date on the Groupon to verify we could activate our membership within the time frame. Upon confirmation, I purchased the voucher for the botanical gardens annual membership for $25.

Using our Membership

In planning our vacation day, we chose to visit the gardens before heading to the Children’s museum. When we arrived at the location, the admission counters for both the gardens and the museum were in the same place.

The admission process for the gardens took longer as the cashier verified the Groupon voucher and then activated our annual membership. I had also purchased two additional admissions from Groupon for $10 to admit my parents.

When getting our membership cards, we learned that for the month of August, membership at this garden granted us access into a unique aquarium nearby. We did take a trip over to that location on another day and enjoyed the free admission from our garden membership.

Though the day was very hot and we hurried through the last portion, the adults enjoyed the scenery more than the kids. Thankfully, we saw the garden first as we ended up staying at the museum until it closed for the day. 🙂

In researching, evaluating, choosing, and using our botanical garden membership, this purchase was worth the money. Just giving our children a different perspective was worth the investment. Had we needed to save that money, then this membership would not have been purchased.

By subscribing to daily deal sites, I snagged this garden membership deal with all the reciprocal benefits and paid half price. In stretching our dollars, we saved on the full price and gained at least two new adventures while using time wisely.

If you know your next destination, then subscribe to daily deal sites, check your e-mail, and verify expiration dates before purchasing. In using time wisely, you can plan a fun vacation while stretching your dollars. Happy savings!

Question: What does your family enjoy doing on vacation?