How to Plan a Frugal Gatlinburg Family Vacation

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When you’re paying off debt, vacations are typically a luxury you can’t afford. Unfortunately, we don’t always have the discipline needed to forego vacation. Luckily, I have tips for how to plan a frugal Gatlinburg family vacation without completely derailing your financial goals.

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Collage of photos of Gatlinburg with text overlay: How to Plan a Frugal Gatlinburg Family Vacation

 

[bctt tweet=”These tips for how to plan a frugal Gatlinburg family vacation will let your family create memories together and protect your bank account.” username=”diyadulation”]

Growing up, we didn’t take family vacations. When you don’t have the money for groceries, trips out of town aren’t even on the radar. That is why family vacations are so important to me. That is also why it is the area of our budget I splurge on from time to time, despite paying off debt.

If you follow me on Instagram then you know I recently kidnapped my family for an impromptu road trip to Gatlinburg. It is one of our favorite vacation spots and we hadn’t been in years.

Unfortunately, the condos we normally stay in were destroyed in the fires. They are rebuilding but until that happens, we have to find alternatives. Guess what. You can still plan a budget-friendly trip for a family of 5 easily!

 

City in the valley of the mountains

Choose Your Lodging Strategically

While the Highlands Condos will always be my favorite, until they are rebuilt we have to find alternatives.

Cabin or Condo

These are a great budget options because you can cook your own meals and give your family a place to hang without being on top of each other. Cabins work best for longer stays. If you are only taking a weekend trip, they probably aren’t worth the cost.

Hotels

When picking a hotel, there are a few things to consider for ultimate savings. Food and amenities should make the list in addition to location.

 

Boxes of food on a kitchen counter

Cardboard box full of food

Cardboard box full of food

Food

If you can go the cabin or condo route, do it. This is one of the most economical ways to eat while you’re on vacation. Cook all of your own meals with food that you bring down.

Try to choose hotels that have a hot breakfast included. This keeps you from bingeing on Pop-Tarts all weekend or worse, spending money on breakfast out.

Speaking of food, make sure your room has a mini-fridge and a microwave. Packing your own food saves you a ton of money. The microwave ensures your can have some hot meals instead of cold cuts or PB&J constantly.

Amenities

Try to choose a hotel with an indoor pool. Then you will have a free indoor activity if you get rained out one day. Kids love spending time in the pool and won’t feel like they’re losing out, trust me.

Location

Try to get something within walking distance of activities. You will still need to drive to some of the trails but you can also stroll the strip when you’re within walking distance.

 

Moss covered boulders in a stream

Vacation Activities

Hiking

This is our favorite way to save money in Gatlinburg. You can spend days hiking different trails and still not see them all. Make sure you are prepared for the day with sandwiches, snacks, and lots of water.

I also recommend having baby wipes on hand and some basic first aid supplies. Check out Camping Items You Didn’t Know You Needed for more ideas.

 

Road winding through trees

Man and Woman posing together with mountains in the background

2 children climbing on jungle gym

Kids posing together in front of wooden cabin

Plant specimen in a museum case

Free Attractions

Did you know that a lot of the visitor’s centers have free museums you can go through. You can learn a ton about the area and kids will love getting up close and personal with the nature and wildlife.

Parks are another great way to enjoy free entertainment. There is a little playground right as you come into Gatlinburg from Pigeon Forge. Our kids love stopping there every visit.

Don’t forget to check out the driving trail for more free nature-filled fun. There are plenty of spots to pull off and explore trails together. It is worth every minute.

 

Front of Wonderworks

Child standing next to Optimus Prime Sculpture

Family sitting in Flinstones Car

Bundle Activities

If you are going to spend money on activities, bundle them. This will save you money and allow for multiple attractions.

Ordering online can also save you some money. Many of the attractions will scan the PDF of tickets on your phone if you don’t have printer access.

Bring Games

This is a big one for saving money. Instead of visiting attractions after the sun set, go back to your lodging and play some games. Card games are great for traveling. Here are a few of our favorites if you need some ideas:

 

Two Women sitting in front of a sign for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Man and Woman Sitting Together on a Rock

Bring Friends

The last tip for how to plan a frugal Gatlinburg family vacation is don’t do it alone. Consider vacationing with friends and family to split the cost of lodging and food. It also makes game nights a lot more fun!

This is especially great for cabins since you will have rooms that you can retreat to if you need space. It can also cut the cost of the cabin rental significantly.

 

Man and Woman posing together with mountains in the background

Now, you can splurge on vacation without totally derailing your debt payoff goals. These tips for how to plan a frugal Gatlinburg family vacation will let your family create memories together and protect your bank account.

Don’t forget to pay cash for all of your vacation. No credit cards or loans. If you don’t have the cash upfront, wait until you do before going anywhere. Putting your family in more debt for a vacation is not an option.

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How to Recover Photos When Your External Hard Drive Dies

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Do you have a back-up plan for your digital files and photos that are stored on your external hard drive? If you don’t, you should. That doesn’t help you if your hard drive dies before you get your back-up plan in place. In that case, here are ideas for how to recover photos when your external hard drive dies.

Affiliate links may be used in this post. Ordering a product through these links may result in a commission. Read the full disclosure here.

Desk with computer and decorative items with text overlay: How to Recover Photos When Your External Hard Drive Dies

Newsletter subscribers already know that last month my external hard drive died. After getting over sticker shock at the recovery cost, I grieved again when they were unable to recover it. The data was literally scraped into dust when there was a mechanical malfunction.

Tears don’t even cover the feeling of loss. I lost 3 years of my business, including posts that weren’t even written yet. That wasn’t even the most devastating. It means additional work on my part but I did it once, I can do it again.

[bctt tweet=”I can’t take away the devastating loss of a failed hard drive but these ideas to recover photos will help ease the heartache.” username=”diyadulation”]

The loss that hurts the most is the 10+ years of family photos that are just gone. Photos of holidays, my children being born, and birthday parties… they are all gone. Initially, that weight was crushing.

Take the time to grieve if this happens to you. The fact is that it is a huge loss and you need to take the time to deal with that loss. Eventually you have to pick yourself up and move forward, though. Here are some tips to help you recover what you can when you are ready to take action.

 

Social Media Icons with text overlay: Check Social Media

Check Social Media

First, check your social media profiles. The one plus in our era of over-sharing is that a lot of our photos end up on social media. I was able to recover a ton of photos from my Facebook profile. Although the photos will not be the original quality, it definitely helps ease the loss.

 

Group of People on sitting on a lawn with text overlay: Ask Friends and Family

Ask Family and Friends

Family and friends likely took pictures of the big events and holidays like Christmas and birthdays. Reach out to them and ask if they mind giving you copies of those photos. The bonus is that this is a great excuse to spend some extra quality time together as well.

 

Camera and photos with text overlay: Check Printing Services

Check Printing Services

Another place that I found a lot of our photos was on Walgreens’ website. I use them to print a lot of my photos for scrapbooking and they save all of them. Unfortunately, there isn’t an option to bulk select and download the photos that I found. It is still nice that you can recover the photos, however.

 

Baby bathing in the kitchen sink with text overlay: Scan Printed Photos

Scan Printed Photos

This is definitely a last resort because it is incredibly time consuming. However, in this day and age, digital copies are the longest lasting. Scan in the very important ones and burn them to a DVD-R for safe keeping in the future.

 

Desk with computer and decorative items with text overlay: How to Recover Photos When Your External Hard Drive Dies

I can’t take away the devastating loss of a failed hard drive. Hopefully these ideas for how to recover photos when your external hard drive dies help ease the heartache. Once you get the photos you can recovered, make sure you put your back-up plan in place. I will share tips to do this next month. Until then, if you need a shoulder to cry on, email me and we can commiserate our loss over some wine and Buffy.

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Cheesy Crispy Baked Asparagus | Easy Summer Side Dish

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Healthy side dishes don’t have to be difficult to make. Asparagus is a delicious side that is easier to make than you think with this fail-proof recipe. This cheesy crispy baked asparagus is amazing and takes zero effort on your part.

Affiliate links may be used in this post. Ordering a product through these links may result in a commission. Read the full disclosure here.

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[bctt tweet=”The mixture of crunch and tenderness with this cheesy crispy baked asparagus gives a fresh new spin on a summer classic.” username=”diyadulation”]

I seriously love asparagus. I could eat it all day. In fact, I don’t even mind the canned stuff. Of course, fresh is always the best kind.

Even if you’re not a big asparagus fan, you will be after you try this recipe. The crispy edges and salty cheese take the vegetable to a whole new level.

 

Baked asparagus on a parchment-lined baking sheet

Ingredients

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 400° F.

Step 2

First, cut the ends off of your asparagus stalks. This ensures the ends aren’t too tough to chew.

 

Fresh asparagus on parchment lined baking sheet

Step 3

Add half of your trimmer asparagus in a layer on a 12×24 cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

 

Fresh asparagus on parchment lined baking sheet drizzled with oil, salt, and pepper

Step 4

Next, drizzle olive oil over the asparagus.

 

Cheese topped fresh asparagus on a parchment lined baking sheet

Step 5

Add a dash of salt and pepper to the asparagus and top with 1/4 cup of shredded cheese.

 

Cheese topped fresh asparagus on a parchment lined baking sheet

Step 6

Then add the remaining asparagus to the pan with the stalks facing opposite the first layer.

Step 7

Again, drizzle the stalks with olive oil.

Step 8

Finish seasoning by adding another dash of salt and pepper.

 

Cheese topped fresh asparagus on a parchment lined baking sheet

Step 9

Top everything off with your remaining shredded cheese.

 

Baked asparagus on a parchment-lined baking sheet

Step 10

Bake your asparagus for 25 minutes or until the ends have darkened.

 

Baked asparagus on a parchment-lined baking sheet

Baked asparagus on a parchment-lined baking sheet with text overlay: Cheesy Crispy Baked Asparagus

The mixture of crunch and tenderness with this cheesy crispy baked asparagus gives a fresh new spin on a summer classic. The ease of the recipe makes it a new favorite for mom. The melted cheese makes it a family favorite for everyone else.

2 out of my 3 little ones even request it. (It is still a struggle with the veggie hater… but I refuse to give up!)

It is the perfect side dish for summer grilling and pitch-ins. Pair it with delicious kabobs like these Spicy Pomegranate Pineapple Chicken Skewers for a summer menu home run!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:26]

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