I am here to tell you that traveling like the belles is a possibility for anyone! We are a group of five women that are mothers (17 kids between us) who live on budgets just like everyone else. The difference is that we have made our "belle trips" a priority in our lives! The key to "belle travel" is planning, preparing and prioritizing.
As with any activity planning is key! When we started getting together and realizing that we NEED time with our friends and that we weren't interested in another book club or mommy play group we set out a plan on how to make this work. Key to our plan was being realistic about when we could travel, where we could go and how we were going to pay for the trips! We have found that after Christmas -- January/February has been a great time of the year for us to plan trips. Rates are low after the holiday boom, kids activities are at a minimum and for the most part our husband's jobs seem calmer this time of year. We are open to other times of the year but for the past couple of years looking at our calendars this has worked for us! Next on our planning is where we can go - our motto is be open to anything! When we are together we "dream" together of places to go and they all go on to a list. Then when we see a great deal available or a great event taking place in one of our "dream" spots we put the gears in motion. This year for example was Sundance -- dream trip for me and Angela -- perfect time of the year (January) -- available condo (thanks to Shannon's RCI points) and the trip was born!!!
Preparing started in August, so you can see that we had lots of time to find great airfare, eating establishments, register for tickets, and look for great activities with discounts. We also start saving for the trip as soon as we decide on where to go so that we aren't robbing our family budgets and also so we can pay for as much as possible before we arrive. A tip that many of the belles use is to save monthly -- set aside $50 into a savings account -- most often it isn't missed but there to spend when you need it. We find that budgeting is a key part of our preparation. It gives everyone a realistic view of the trip. We are very mindful of making sure that we aren't over the top with expenses and try and find deals in every possible way. We also prepare our families -- find sitters, plan meals, move appointments so that our travel isn't a burden on our husbands and children.
Once we enter the planning stage the prioritizing becomes very important! We want to include everyone's wants and desires in our trip so that no one is left wishing they hadn't come with us. Communication is key here -- speak now or forever hold your peace!!! We pull all the desires of the trip together and look and see what we can realistically afford to do. We dream big so when we score a great deal on ski lessons for example we add it to the trip. When we find a great dinner spot liked Snowed Inn we book it and find the coupons that make it more affordable. Knowing that shopping is a passion not a hobby for most of us we search for the best local boutiques and make finding them a must! We also decide what is the primary reason for the trip -- in the case of Park City it was to see movies so we bought as many tickets as possible to movies before we went and were able to see 17 movies in one week!
Gathering information about where we are going is key to the preparation, planning and prioritizing stages! We search all over the internet, join facebook pages, send for travel brochures, and ask, ask and ask questions of anyone we can find that has been before us!
Jetsetting with the belles is a pleasure but it is also necessary. We find that spending time together as friends rejuvenates us and revives our relationships with each other and our families. We don't take these trips lightly -- we plan, we prepare and we prioritize. Keep these steps in mind and "belle" trips will be in your future!
