Boston Cost Breakdown: Do More With Less

As guest blogger Ryan Latone always tells us, "Do more with less". We practice this in our every day lives as well as on our travels. Unfortunately, Americans do not believe in vacation days the same way other countries do, so we already START with LESS. We spent 3 days and 4 nights in Boston for this visit (only 2 vacation days). Below is the cost breakdown.

Category	Total	Per Person
Flight	$300	$150
Transportation	$126	$63
Activities	$159	$80
Food	$312	$156
Accommodations	$308	$154
Gifts	$62	$31
Total	$1,267	$634

The big money saver were flights and accommodations. This DID NOT involve using any type of rewards (hotels or credit card). This was purely looking for deals. Deals can help you do more with less. 

Flights
On average, people like planning in advance. They love having their flight booked and a roof over their head. We can't blame them, it is a great feeling to know everything is done... but what is it worth? United has "last minute" deals that are very time restricted. The offer usually has to be purchased by the end of the week and actually take off by then too. Typically the trip ranges 3-6 days. Southwest has a similar offer, but it is seasonal and usually gives you more time the prepare. This is actually how we found our flight to Boston. For those that need the comfort of purchase in advance, United has a Special Offer page.

Get with your preferred airline and set e-mail alerts for deals and specials! You are only hurting your wallet if you don't!

Sleeping

Accommodations are a make or break deal for vacations. After all, you do spend about a third of your day in your bed.  For us, that is all we use it for... and storage for our luggage. There are many types of accommodations, including hotels, condos, hostels, bed and breakfasts, and apartments. We wrote a compare and contrast article for Hostels and Hotels, but don't let that limit your choices. Hostels aren't as prevalent in America as they are in Europe. Bed and Breakfast places are usually in remote locations. Renting apartments/condos is on the rise though. We tried out AirBnB which does exactly that. Guest Blogger Ryan Latone tried this in Puerto Rico with great success, so we gave it a shot. We found a great deal and honestly, we got what we paid for. It was a bed in a room with a shared bathroom. Not once did we see the other guest. Our room had it's own key and we had clean sheets... we were set. 

Don't be afraid to try new things.

Budget travelling makes you feel so accomplished that so much was done on so little. Check out some of our previous trips like 9 days in Alaska for $150/day or Saving while visiting Chicago on a holiday weekend