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Can you believe summer is nearly half over? As our annual membership with our recreational district expired recently, we are ready to use our other memberships on our vacation.
With our time away quickly approaching, I am collecting research and making vacation savings plans. My plans are many, and include reviewing and evaluating annual memberships.
Reviewing Annual Memberships
The big thrill of going on vacation in our house is “what are we going to do.” Realizing that most activities cost a pretty penny, my children have begun asking if we can watch for a deal or coupon for whatever they would like to do.
As they are more money-conscience, we share more information with them about how we decide what activities to do. The fun comes when the activities are free due to our annual memberships.
By staggering our vacations late in the summer of 2012 and earlier in 2013, we get two vacations for the price of one with our annual memberships. With this strategy, we can save any extra from this year to put toward annual memberships for next year.
Keeping a watch on daily deal sites, I am able to purchase some annual memberships at 50% off. The following are our current memberships we plan to use on this trip:
As our memberships expire, we can watch for new deals and wait to activate our memberships next summer to get another 2 years of vacation memories on one membership. By working on a two-year plan, we review our annual memberships to stretch our dollars as far as they can go.
Evaluating Annual Memberships
Before purchasing any membership, I check the reciprocal list to evaluate if the pass is a good fit for our family. For example, purchasing a zoo membership down in Florida was a better deal for our family than purchasing through our local zoo in South Carolina.
We visit the Florida zoo 4-5 times a week when we visit whereas we might visit our local zoo 1-2 times a year. We still save 50% off our local zoo with our membership, but admittance into the Florida zoo with unlimited rides is FREE. Therefore, we purchase our membership for the Florida zoo.
We are thankful for the annual memberships and the benefits given to pass holders, as investing once a year reaps hours of fun all year long. In reviewing and evaluating annual memberships, all is good to go. We are ready to head down to Florida for some fun in the sun, or rain, as it has been this summer.
If you are planning a July or August vacation, consider annual memberships. Our costs ranged from $25 to over $200 for these annual memberships. Evaluate your budget and your needs, and then do a little research.
In using time wisely, our research has saved us hundreds of dollars and allowed us hours of fun. But if you don’t have the money to spend, then no matter the savings, an annual membership is not a good fit for your family. Happy savings!