If your summer travel would not be complete without a trip to a theme park, then we have a few hacks to make your day of taking a few trips on a rollercoaster and all rides that spin your round and round a little more fun.  Since taking your entire family on a trip to an amusement park can also drain your wallet and lead to standing in way too many lines, you’ll need a few hacks to keep everyone in your family happy. From tickets, to food and snacks, and even a few souvenirs, here’s how to save money and have loads of fun this summer at an amusement park.

·         While weekends tend to be easier to attend amusement parks, you might be able to save money during the week. Bonus-there will less crowds on weekdays.

·         Buying your ticket online ahead of time is usually cheaper than buying tickets at the park, and if you have young kids, you might be able to save a few bucks on their admission. Be sure to check park prices because often kids under three do not need a ticket. Also, check for other deal like group rates or senior citizen discounts. Usually a quick Google search will give you all of the possible price discounts.

·         Don’t buy bottles of water! Take refillable bottles of water and fill them up at water fountains or ask for a cup of water at food stands and restaurants. Chances are, those cups will be free.

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There are so many reasons to love living in the DC metro; however, sometimes it’s nice to get away. So if it’s time to plan a little vacation, forget looking up flights or even train tickets because part of the charm of living in the DC metro area is that there are tons of amazing places that you can visit for a weekend getaway. A quick drive can get you to the beach, a winery, a spa, or some small town charm. So whatever you are feeling in the mood for, you can find it close to home. So pack your bags and use this list for a little inspiration. From VA to MD and even PA, here’s a list of 25 fabulous places where can plan a quick weekend vacay.

1. Ocean City, MD
2. Salamander Resort & Spa
3. Morrison House in Old Town Alexandria
4. Primland in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains
5. The Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort
6. Gibson’s Lodgings of Annapolis
7. Baltimore, MD
8. Goodstone Inn & Restaurant
9. The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia
10. Annapolis, MD

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Now that the kids are out of school and the weather has finally warmed up, it’s time to plan a few trips for the entire family. So if you are making a packing list, don’t forget the food because you’ll have some hungry travelers in your car. Instead of packing unhealthy snacks like chips or sweets or spending a ton of money on fast food while on the road, you can whip up snack boxes that have everyone’s favorite healthy foods packed neatly and ready for travel. From fruit and veggies to crackers and cookies, here’s how to make your own DIY snack box.

Start with plastic boxes that are reusable, have a few different compartments, and have lids. These boxes will make packing and storing a variety of food easier.

Fill the compartments with snacks that are healthy, yummy, travel well, and won’t make a mess in your car. So skip the super crumbly granola bars or mushy bananas that quickly turn brown. Not sure what to pack? Here’s a list of options.

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Summer is the perfect time to travel. Long days and even longer nights make summer vacations the most memorable trips. But before you pack your bags and hit the road, download a few of these apps to plan for everything you will need for your trip.

Waze-This is a favorite app for traveling around the country or even in your own town. Waze is the perfect app for planning trips, re-routing around traffic, getting updates on speed traps or obstructions in the road, and even personalized notices of favorite restaurants and stores.

TripAdvisor- With this app you can search user comments and feedback to decide where you want to eat, stay, and visit while on your trip. Reading feedback from others is super helpful when you are visiting a new town.

PackPoint- If you are an over packer and you’d like a little help planning exactly what should go into your suitcases, download this app. With PackPoint, you enter the details of your trip like location, events, and weather, and you will get a customized list of what you should pack.
Uber- Once you get to your location, you don’t need to do all the driving. Be sure to download Uber onto your phone so you can park your car and enjoy your time while someone else takes the wheel.

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Sometimes the key to having happy kids in the car is snacks—lots and lots of snacks. So to you time, money, and big messes in your car, here are snack hacks that will making snacking in the car easier for you and your kids.

• Shower caddies make amazing food and drink holders, especially for tiny hands. Plus, they are super inexpensive and can be easily stored in your car. When your kids are getting ready to eat or have a drink, just load up the shower caddy with the food, drink, and a napkin. Then pass the shower caddy back to them. Your kids will have all of their snacks contained and can leave the caddy on their lap, so they aren’t trying to balance their food and drinks. This will mean less mess and spills for you and happier kids too.
• To-go condiment containers make great snack holders. So, the next time you are eating out, grab a few and don’t forget the lids. You can load up raisins, crackers, or small cookies into the containers and easily pack in your bag and pass the snacks back to your kids if they get hungry.
• To cut down on the times you have to stop to buy food, create an entire lunch inside plastic sandwich container. You can put in half a sandwich, fruit, veggies, and a few snacks. Then toss it in a cooler and place in your bag for lunchtime.

 

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Traveling with kids can be tricky but if you have the right tools packed, traveling with kids is a breeze. Instead of just throwing a bunch of toys in the car before you hit the road, here are five tips to help keep kids of all ages entertained while on road trips.

• Turn a rolled makeup bag into an entertainment center. Instead of putting your makeup and hair products in the pickets of a rolled makeup bag, fill it up with activities, games, and snacks that your kids will enjoy while in the car. You can even grab small suction cups with hooks and attach them to the window so the makeup bag is open and easily accessible to your child. Then fill the bag with items like crayons, markers, small coloring pages or books. Small electronics and chargers fit well in the pockets too. And don’t forget snacks-! You can load up a few pockets with snacks so if your kids get hungry, they can grab what they want.

• During your next trip to the dollar store, look for small plastic storage caddies, the kind that attach to walls or mirrors with suction cups. These can be placed your child’s window and filled with small toys, crayons, and coloring pages.

• Turn a dollar store cookie sheet into instant entertainment by using the cookie sheet as a surface for coloring sheets, a place to build with blocks or Legos, or the perfect place for to eat a snack. Rather than having your kids balance their crayons, toys and snacks while in the car, the cookie sheet becomes the perfect place to create a masterpiece or play a game in the car.

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·         Use an app to find the lowest priced gas near you. Apps like GasBuddy and IGasUp will help search gas prices in your area. This way you can choose the gas station that will help save you money at the pump. You may have to drive a little further to fill up but, in the end,, you’ll save money.

·         Take advantage of whole sale clubs and grocery stores that partner with gas stations. You can save big bucks while you shop at whole sale clubs and grocery stores that offer deals on gas, points towards gas or have their own gas stations.  Check out the deals in your area and join their gas perks plans to see the deals near you. If you are already going to these stores to shop, you should take full advantage of their savings on gas, too.

 

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If you are looking at the inside of your car and you can’t remember the last time it was clean-we feel your pain. Cleaning your car can be time consuming but having a clean car, even if it’s just for a few short days, feels pretty amazing. So to get your car shining on the inside and out and to cut down on the time it takes to clean your car, try a few of these car cleaning hacks.

If the seats and floor of your car are getting smelly, just sprinkle a little baking soda over the seats and floor, let it sit for 15 minutes, then vacuum up. The smells will be gone and your car will be left smelling clean and fresh.

If you travel with your pets and they’ve left behind their hair, there’s an easy hack to get your car clean. Using a spray bottle filled with water, mist the seats where the pet hair has been hiding. Be sure to not soak the seat, just a few sprays will do. Then using a squeegee, run it over the upholstery a few times. This will pull all the pet hair so that you can wipe it up or run the vacuum over the seats. You will be shocked at how much hair will come up.

There are so many places that dust and dirt can hide inside your car, and sometimes you need a little help cleaning this mess. A can of compressed air is great for getting all of the dust and dirt out your car of those hard-to-reach places like air vents, fans, and the console.

 

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With all of the things you put into your car trunk, it can easily become an unorganized mess in the back of your car. From emergency supplies to carrying groceries, here are simple hacks for keeping your car’s trunk organized.

·         Leave foldable laundry baskets in your car for grocery shopping days. This way you can load all of your grocery bags into the laundry baskets for an easy and organized way to transport them to your home-no spilled grocery bags for you. Plus, you can easily carry the laundry baskets into the house rather than making a dozen trips trying to carry all the bags. When you are done, just fold the laundry baskets back up and store them in the trunk until your next shopping trip. You can also store these baskets in a large plastic container.

·         Another grocery bag option is to attach a bungee cord across the inside of your trunk and string the bag handles through the bungee cord.

·         If you have plastic containers of different supplies in the trunk of your car and the bins are constantly moving and shifting around while you drive, grab double sided adhesive and a few inexpensive book ends. Place the adhesive on the bottom of the books end and attach to the bottom of your trunk. Then place the bins against the book end-which will now work as a stopper, so the bins won’t budge while you are driving.

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