Day Trip on a Budget

This past Saturday my family, 2 adults and 2 kids went to Gilroy Gardens for the day. Gilroy Gardens was decorated for halloween through October and we thought that would be a fun time to go. Admission for Gilroy Gardens is normally $44.95 for an adult and $34.95 for children. This is pricey since the park is only open from 11am-5pm. This is how our family of 4 got in for $30.00!

Plum District is a coupon site like Groupon for the San Jose area. Recently they ran a deal where you could buy 1 ticket for $15.00. I bought one ticket and my husband bought one ticket, total cost $30.00. 
My husband is a Coke drinker so he gets the codes off the packs of Coke and submits them to My Coke Rewards. He had enough points for 2 general admission tickets for FREE!

Even if you get in cheaply, food is still expensive. If you are a member you can save 20% off all food and merchandise, but we do not have a membership. The last couple of times we went we packed sandwiches and snacks. This past time the security guard checked our backpack and the bag I had our lunch in. He asked how many kids we had and looked at the food items again. We had 2 sandwiches, some hummus and flat bread, string cheese, a lunch size bag of chips and 2 juice boxes. He said that was fine since the food was for the kids (I think he was being nice). My husband and I ate whatever the kids did not eat knowing we were going to dinner at 5:30pm and we both had a big breakfast. We did buy 2 ICEE's for the kids and for ourselves 2 soda's totalling $16.00! And that is why we take the chance and bring food.

For dinner we stopped at the Chili's in Gilroy. I am a member of MyPoints (like a swagbucks type of program) and turn in my points for gift cards. We had a $10.00 G.C. and 2 coupons for free kids meals. Our dinner came to $11.00 that evening after coupons and G.C..

We were able to have a fun filled day for $57.00 and it only took a half of a tank of gas to get there and back to Fresno.