Money Matters and More

What’s the best way to skip long security lines at the airport? 

Answer:  Don’t go to the airport. 

Stay in town and spend time on a “staycation.”  Simply put, it means being a tourist in your own town. While one upside of the current economic climate is the lower price of travel–airlines, cruises and hotels are offering plenty of discounts–the truth is, if you can’t or don’t want to spend alot of money on vacation, a winter staycation makes plenty of sense.

Think of it.  No long security lines at the airport.  No lugging around suitcases from terminal to terminal.  No anxiety about flight delays.  Instead, a staycation gives you control over your travel in a way that can only be called refreshing.  Just what the doctor ordered for surviving a down economy.

A staycation is spending time in your city the way a tourist would.  So start with a tourist guide–free from the tourism office, or your local library.  Check the events calendar of the local newspaper for special activities, and follow a couple of rules:

– Plan out your itinerary, and fill up as much of your day as you can manage.  Remember:  you’re on vacation, you just happen to live in your vacation city.

–Keep to a budget. 

–Take a break from chores.  Sure, the sock drawer could use sorting, but save that for a time when you’re not on vacation.

– Take lots of pictures and/or videos of your visits and experiences.  What could be cheerier on those gray, winter days ahead?

Here are a few of the freebies in Washington, DC:

Millenium Stage at the Kennedy Center at 6:00 p.m. every evening — with live instrumental and vocal performances

National Theatre’s “Saturday Morning at the National” — from puppet and magic shows to music and ballet 

Ticketplace.org — half-priced, day-of-show tickets for play performances

(For more information on DC sites and activities, check out the DC tourism office at www.washington.org)

What sites have you wanted to enjoy that you simply haven’t found time to see?  Email me at moneymattersandmore.com so we can include them in future posts.

Thanks.

Heather Taylor