The following post was sponsored by Capital One®. All opinions are my own and not directed by Capital One. To learn more about the GM BuyPower Card, click here.
If you follow my wife on social media, you probably know what we’ve been up to this summer. We’re in the thick of baseball season for our kids, meaning we spend most of our free time and weekends driving to baseball tournaments and cheering them on.
In a lot of ways, we’re having the time of our lives! It’s fun to pack up the car and go on short adventures, stay in different hotels and spend quality time with our kids. Then again, the whole ordeal has also been fairly expensive.
While baseball season has offered us plenty of time to bond as a family, it hasn’t been cheap!
Fortunately, we made a financial move earlier this summer that made getting to and from games easier to manage. While I strongly advocate being smart when financing a car, I don’t actually hate the idea of getting a new car if you need one. And since we added a new “Rose” to our family earlier this year, we needed a bigger ride.
So, we upgraded our “mini” to a GMC Yukon XL big enough to hold my kids, our luggage, baseball gear, lawn chairs and anything else we choose to bring along. So far, having an SUV that actually fits our family size has been great.
Helping to Save Money with the GM BuyPower Card
One way to save money for your new vehicle is with the GM BuyPower Card from Capital One. When spending money on everyday purchases like groceries, you accumulate Earnings that are redeemable for savings on your new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac vehicle.
Here's the deal: Once you are approved for the GM BuyPower Card, you’ll accrue 5% Earnings on the first $5,000 you spend on the card every year. From there, you’ll amass 2% unlimited Earnings.
Best of all, Earnings don’t expire! When you are ready to purchase or lease a new GM vehicle, you can apply your Earnings as dollar-for-dollar savings. Even better, GM Earnings can be used on top of most current GM offers and incentives.
Cool, huh?
6 Ways to Save Money on Travel Ball
When it comes to travel ball itself, there are plenty of ways to save money no matter what you drive. Here are a few of the ways we’re dialing down the costs of travel ball this summer:
#1: Book hotel rooms in advance.
Most baseball teams release a schedule far ahead of time so families can plan their travel and hotel stays. If you want to save money, use this schedule to your advantage.
By booking hotel rooms early, you can get ahead of the crowds and avoid surge pricing. You will also gain peace of mind knowing your hotel rooms are squared away.
If you have a family of six like us, this is especially important when you’re trying to book a suite or get two adjoining rooms. We found out the hard way and found all six of us in one room with two double beds.
When you have three smelly boys I promise this sleeping arrangement is NOT ideal!
#2: Take advantage of team discounts.
Some hotels and restaurants offer team discounts, but it’s not always obvious right away. If you want to know about these discounts, you usually have to ask. As you map out your travel ball itinerary, try calling hotels and restaurants along the way to see what they offer.
I’m also a huge fan of travel review apps, where you’re able to find the best restaurants and hotels based on other people’s reviews. We’ve found some great local food options with these apps and also avoided some potential disasters.
Leave a comment with your favorite travel app!
#3: Earn all kinds of rewards.
Travel provides a great opportunity to earn rewards. You can accumulate Earnings for each dollar you spend on your GM BuyPower Card, including on hotel stays and any emergency gear that you might have forgotten at home!
#4: Plan potlucks!
One of the biggest financial drains of travel ball is definitely food. Obviously, it’s difficult to cook on the road when you’re traveling around with four kids.
Fortunately, our travel ball group plans evening meals where everyone brings a dish.
We’ve even stayed at hotels where they offer a grill by the hotel pool. If you can participate in a few potlucks while you’re traveling, you’ll save big!
#5: Bring your own snacks.
Do your kids ask for 2,341 snacks per hour? Mine do! With four kids, someone is always hungry. To save money, we bring snacks with us.
This lets us avoid the pricey concession stands and feed our kids healthy snacks instead of chips and candy.
Since there’s no getting around feeding them non-stop, this is a win-win for everyone! While some tournaments don’t let you bring in coolers, you can always bring in snacks like nuts and beef jerky.
We also keep a cooler with bottled water and other drinks in our SUV.
#6: Pack wisely….and don’t forget anything!
While you don’t want to bring the kitchen sink to every weekend ballgame, you do want to make sure you bring the important stuff.
So, make a list to ensure that you bring the necessities, but not too much, while also ensuring that the entire family is dressed appropriately for the weather.
When you pack wisely and try to think of everything, you can avoid having to buy expensive gear on the road.
The following post was sponsored by Capital One®. All opinions are my own and not directed by Capital One. To learn more about the GM BuyPower Card, click here.
The post Baseball Season Mayhem: How We’re Saving Money on Travel appeared first on Good Financial Cents.
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