The verdict is almost in

We still have a couple days of gas, food, etc. but, as I crunched the numbers today, it looks like our 7 weeks cost less than 7 days of Disneyworld (and we do Disneyworld for a fraction of what most people do)!! And, as much as I hate to admit it because I love Disney, the memories from this trip are far more varied and far deeper than a Disney trip. Of course, I'll still do Disney any day. :-)

So, were we cheap? No, we never had the feeling that we were denying ourselves at all.

So, how do you do a seven week time away with a family of four and not break the bank? Here's a few of the principles that guided us:

• Camp - I know, for many this doesn't sound like fun, but with a good camper and the right equipment, this is more fun than spending thousands on hotels. Most modern campgrounds have all the same facilities as a hotel, plus you get the same bed every night (we put a memory foam topper on ours -- VERY comfortable).
  
• Bring your own food - this saved us, we figured, a couple thousand at the most, and several hundred dollars at the least. We rarely felt like we were trapped cooking all the time. Plus, it made eating out a special treat.
• Spend time with people you enjoy - we joked about "mooching" off of relatives, but we still purchased groceries, gave thank you gifts, etc. and we both enjoyed time together in a way that is a rarity.
• Stay away from shopping centers, malls and souvenir shops -- this isn't a bad rule when you're home. Don't go where it's tempting to spend money, instead, spend time at places that are fun, promote activity, and don't cost an arm and a leg. This doesn't mean we didn't go shopping and buy fun stuff. We did. In fact, about once a week, we'd go shopping and each boy would get some kind of treat or toy. When you allow yourself to go more often though, your costs skyrocket.
  
• Do your research - When we went searching for a place to stay at the last minute, it always bit us...both in cost and in quality. When we spent time finding places to stay and activities to do ahead of time we always came away having spent less and having found places where the quality was far better than others.