Summer Vacation

There is something I haven’t yet talked about as to why I decided to start budgeting and saving my money this semester. In May I will be heading to Los Angeles to intern for my second summer in a row at Dick Clark Productions. Needless to say the cost of living in LA is outrageous. The cost includes a round-trip flight from Philadelphia (my home airport) to LAX, an apartment, groceries, transportation money and entertainment… just to name a few. So each week I’ve been putting $5 into my savings immediately after I take out my weekly $150. I carefully spend only the money I need to spend on groceries, gas every other week, cable every month, weekend fun, and any other small items that I purchase on campus each day like milk, coffee, and fruit, etc. At the end of the week I take what money I have left and I put it in my Los Angeles summer fund. There have been weeks when I’ve had $50 left, some when I’ve only had $5 and others I’ve had none at all. But I always have the $5 that I put in the fund at the beginning of the week.

I am fortunate enough to have parents who want to take care of me while I am still in college. They want to cover my rent and flights to-and-from LA, but I will have to budget my money each week in order to afford groceries and bus transportation each day. Another aspect of the summer that I am saving up for is a weekend getaway with my boyfriend to Catalina Island. We’ve discussed a few options: a cruise from Tampa, FL to the Caribbean, a cruise up the west coast, a road trip to Seattle and a weekend on Catalina Island. Once we mulled over the idea of Catalina Island, it was hard to say no.

We’ve already worked out our expenses so that we can camp for 3 days and 2 nights for under $350. The ferry ride from Newport Beach, CA to Catalina Island is $68 per person, snorkeling at lover’s cove is $39 per person, parasailing at 900ft. is $35 per person, and nine holes of golf, including the green fee, pull cart, balls, and full set of rental clubs is only $65 per person. As for housing, we are opting for camping because the way we see it, there is no reason to be indoors when you’re on an island like Catalina! Renting a 2-person tent in the summer months is only $10; a sleeping bag with a pad is $12, and a lantern with propane and a bundle of wood cost only $20. That brings us to a total of $250. All we have left is the cost of meals and we already plan on bringing small items that we can cook under a fire outside of our tent. Don’t get me wrong though, we will absolutely spend money on the outstanding seafood, authentic Mexican, ice cream and pizzerias that Catalina Island has to offer.

Where are you going on vacation this summer? Have you thought about the activities you’ll do, expenses, and ways you want to save?