how to afford vacation when you are broke

That's good that you are so into being self-sufficient! You have it right. Live each day happy. I wake up and always find something to be happy about and just decide to be a happy person. I give myself things to look forward to doing, that I enjoy. I am definitely going to look into the link that you have posted. Thanks for sharing!

Yes, we have done the staycations!! We found amusement parks, sites to see in the area, or within driving distance. Many times you don't see that stuff because you are busy going elsewhere, but every state has great vacation spots. We have taken those free hotel stays that you have to do in trade for sitting through a time share presentation. One week, we went away, stayed at 3 places, 2 nights each, in Florida. We went to four places, and one gave us free tickets to Disney. Trade homes. If you have friends or family who would trade with you, trade homes, or we have just gone to visit relatives or friends in different areas, from 2 days and up to a week. We do all the site-seeing yet get to visit with friends. You save on food as they usually feed you, but you take them out for a meal or pay for the food and trade in cooking, too. Share a vacation. We will go away with a group and rent a house, cabin, villa, apartment, whatever, and share the cost. If you fly, and they offer to give free tickets to bump your flight, take it, if you can. My daughter and her BF got free tickets. They visited friends in Miami, flew for free and hung out at the beach and just visited free things in the area, for a week. It only cost them the cost of some food. Their friends took them from and to the airport. Camping. It does not have to be tent, either. Places like KOA camps offer cabins, too. YOu have to bring your own stuff. They are either empty but with electric or offer just cots. When we were growing up, we did not have a lot for trips, but took them every year. We would borrow camping equipment (tent, cots, Coleman stove, etc). Most campsites have tables and you bring folding chairs. Some people, who have vans, rent a campsite and sleep in the van. They up put up a cheap tarp you can buy at Walmart (or wherever) and do it for little. Some long-term campers keep their RV's set up all year long at some campsites. They will rent them out for very little and they have all amenities. Take last minute vacations. Many cruises have last minute sales, really cheap, to fill cabins. Most people think cruises are expensive, but the aren't. They are all-inclusive (meals, it's your transportation) and if you take an inside cabin that's small (you RARELY stay in there, anyway), you can get it SO CHEAP!! You don't ever have to leave the ship because there is so much to do, you need 30 cruises just to do it all on one ship. Shop, shop, shop around!! I have seen people rent their places, on eBay, for dirt cheap. My sister bought a great timeshare, in Florida, top of the line, 3 seasons, for $99 and closing fees of a few hundred bucks. These timeshares go for $20 grand or more, new. We owned a timeshare for 20 years and used it and traded it a lot. We rented it sometimes but eventually sold it when we needed cash one year. I would have kept it if we did not have to sell it. I also looked around and found this great website: http://www.gomestic.com/Personal-Finance/How-to-Take-a-Free-Vacation.50971 Keep the ideas coming, y'all!

these are great tips, nanajanet! I think I would try one of these some time. First would be the staycation. You really have flowing ideas here. Thank you very much!