Taking a vacation is a serious money adventure. It's not just hotel rooms, it's all the expensive food, souvenirs and gas or plane tickets. It can add up in a hurry and if you don't plan out ways to save a little of that hard earned dough it can get quickly get out of hand.

We aren't obsessive about saving money, but we do find a few ways that help keep costs down.

1. If flying, we price search several carriers, travel sites and routes. Usually buying directly through the carrier is easier, but sometimes not. Consider whether you want a non stop flight or can allow for some connections.

2. If driving we know we'll spend money on gas and hunting for low priced stations seems a bit of overkill. But there are other fuel options at the pump and we'll check to see if an ethanol option is cheaper. Don't forget that ethanol gives you worse gas mileage so if it's not cheap enough (at least 10 cents) then get regular and gain on the economy end.

3. I love to shop for hotel deals and if I'm a member of a hotel chain I like to add up for free nights. Sometimes we have requirements of needing a suite so we look for the best deals on a variety of hotel sites, but again, buying direct through the chain's website is often cheaper.

4. We share meals. Eating out is terribly expensive and there is always so much food. To help our bodies and our wallets we will share as much of the meals as possible. We still splurge on new things we want to try, but there's no reason to eat 2000 calories per sitting when we could easily split that sandwich and have a cheaper snack later.