It's been over year since we have been on a roller coaster. It was last June right before my back surgery. It was so much fun, but it's been way too long.

We are in the process of figuring out annual trip that we take every year with our kids. Lucky for us the park we are visiting is located in sunny California and it's open all year long. It has fewer hours in the off season, but it's still open.

The plan right now is to head back to Six Flags Magic Mountain in early November for a few days. Here are the reasons we are choosing this park and that time frame ::

• It's one of the few parks open this time of year.
• It has the most roller coasters of any other park.
• It has a new ride we have not been on.
• We always go during the off season, keeps us from having to use a Flash pass
• With kids in high school trying to work around sports, activities and work gets trickier.  This is between sport seasons.
• It's an affordable time to fly.  It's not yet the holidays and it's no longer summer.
• We will probably really enjoy getting out of the rain into the sun for a few days by then.

So we start the process of watching airfare, figuring out tickets and hopefully using Hotwire to get us a deal on hotel and car. I really like where we stayed last time.

Stay tuned as we put this together, hopefully affordably.

It's back! If you are looking for discount tickets to Cedar Point or Coupons for Cedar Point, I have found them.

I am an avid couponer and I make my way to Coupons.com often.  Just today I noticed that you can click and print a $7 off coupon to Cedar Point.

All you will need to do is install a coupon printer on your computer. This will do nothing to harm your computer. Trust me, my husband is an IT guy and he has even allowed me to put it on his so I can print more coupons.  I am not sure how many people can use the coupon.  Just know that if you need more you can print 2 coupons per computer.

Enjoy the ride!!

This deal is back! Last time it sold out before time ran out, so if you want it you need to act quickly. I purchased mine last time. I have my gift certificate and I am waiting for my window of opportunity. Can't wait to use it.

World Resorts International is offering a 7 night stay for just $399.This is a $1500 value.

This is a great price for accommodations and you can choose U.S., Mexico or Canada.

Just go to the top of your Groupon page and change the city. The deal is listed under Las Vegas.

Here is what I learned from reading the Groupon site.

• There is a 7 night stay at any of the participating and available World Market International Resorts. There are over 500 locations that are listed on their website.
• You will not have to sit through a presentation as this is not a time share.
• Owners of World Resorts International will get first priority of the properties. World Market will then allow the Groupon users to purchase any that are available after that, so you will need to be flexible and have a few dates in mind.
• Purchases can only be made 60 days prior to travel. That does make planning ahead harder, but you are getting 7 nights for just $399.
• Some of the resorts do have the all inclusive option. You are not paying for that option, but it sounds like you can upgrade to that if you wish.
• Groupon covers all the taxes, fees and gratuities.
• There aren't many available, so grab one now if you want one. Last time Groupon did this they sold out quickly.

Even with certain restrictions and needing to be flexible and only planning 60 days ahead, I still purchased this and here is why.

• Groupon offers an awesome satisfaction guarantee. If for any reason you are not satisfied you can get a refund with no hassles.

• If you can't find a date that works and you end up not using it, you can get your money back.
• I also found that there are many within driving distance, making this a great last minute vacation package to have.

Want more information. Head on over to the Discussion board and more of your questions could be answered there.

Thanks Money4ThisNot4That for highlighting this great deal.

Turkey is one of those places I would love to visit. While living in Germany someone bought our van from us to take it to Turkey. That's the closest we ever came.

There is so much to see and do in Turkey and there are plenty of cheap holiday to Turkey. There are resorts in Istanbul, Antalya and Bordrum.

The off peak season for Turkey is April, May and October. During those months you will see less tourists, but you will still be able to enjoy good weather. The summer months of great weather last from April to September. There are 3 different coasts to choose from so having a sand and sea holiday is easy to do.

April and May are filled with many celebrations in Turkey. You can enjoy sporting events, craft exhibitions and even Turkish Children's Day, which is held on April 23rd. This is a great event if you have kids along for your holiday. On this day the Turkish children travel to the Grand National Assembly and they replace the Turkish government for one day. That's right, kids run the country for one day!

There is also a cartoonist festival, in which some of the greatest cartoonists compete against each other. If you are interested in different types of Turkish music you might want to attend the Ankara Film and Music Festival.

During the month of October there is a other list of things worth checking out, like the Ataturk Dam Watersports Festival. If you are interested in exploring more of Turkey's culture they you might want to attend the Alanya International Culture and Arts Festival.

With cheap Turkey holidays there is plenty to see and do during these 3 months. What are you waiting for?

photo courtesy of myhsu at flickr

You should never pay full price for an admission ticket. There are coupons and deals everywhere, you just need to know where to look.

Right now in specially marked boxes of Post Raisin Bran you can get a FREE kid's ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket on weekdays.

Or

Save $15 on a full price general admission ticket on weekends. This offer expires October 10, 2011.

Find out another great tip we found last year at Six Flags for getting into the park quickly. Read on to find out other ways to get the most out of your Six Flag park once you are finally in the gate. Then you can decide before you go if you really need to buy a FlashPass.

Enjoy!!

Looking for an international vacation destination? Many will choose well known locations like Paris or Rome. Have you even considered Tenerife, which is located in the Canary Islands? The Canary Islands are located just off the coast off the west coast of Africa. Tenerife is part of the Spanish territory and it is the largest of the all the Canary Islands, and they are just a 4 hour flight from the UK.

The best part is there are cheap holidays in Tenerife.  Prices include accommodations and airfare from London, Manchester and All Scotland Airports.

Tenerife is a great get away location for romantic couples and families. For those that like to visit clubs in the evenings, this place is for you too. It is known for the year round sunshine, great beaches and beautiful green countryside. The country offers tons of activities and amenities.

You will have your choice of hotels to stay in from 3 star to 5 star. All the hotels will have pools and in house restaurants. You can also choose to have a small but comfortable studio or something bigger that even contains a kitchenette. What ever best suits your needs. Come as a couple or bring the whole family. Tenerife will have what you need to accommodate you holiday.

By day you can relax on the beaches and by the pools. At the night the place comes to life with a great selection of bars and clubs.

There will never be a dull moment on this vacation, unless of course, that is just what you are looking for.

Traveling is so fun, but when trying to do it on a budget, you have to get creative. That's why this world of group buying sites is a travelers dream.

It doesn't matter what group buying site you belong too, as there are more than you can shake a stick at, the deals come at you every.single.day.

The best part is you can do something you would have never even dreamed of doing. Like when we did the Pedi Cab Tour in our town. I didn't even know that existed.

I have said often and will continue to tell you, when signing up for any of these sites, make sure you check daily deals of the places you plan on vacationing.

With Groupon you can even do other countries, including overseas. Groupon is by far my favorite, but I am also liking LivingSocial and Trip Alertz as well.

What is one of your favorite group buying sites and why?

If any of you are flying in or out of the Portland International Airport before August 25, 2011 you might be interested in today's Portland, Oregon Groupon.

For just $119 you can get a One night stay at Embassy Suites, including made to order breakfast, evening reception and seven days worth of parking. This deal will last through tomorrow, so if you are interested grab it now. Sometimes hotels have limits and once the limit is reached they stop the sale even if there is time remaining.

Remember anytime you travel watch Groupon for local stays, fare and entertainment. You just might save yourself a few bucks.

We love Groupon, Mobons, Living Social, Jettsetter, TripAlertz, and the list goes on.  We love these sites for finding great deals on hotels, dinning and fun things to do while on vacation.  But there are some things you need to watch out for.

We are headed back to Hood River because we enjoyed it.  Hood River has a Romantic side and a Outdoorsy side.  It's just a great place to get away too and they have lots of great breweries.

We stayed at the Columbia Cliff Villas last time and loved them.  We are headed back. My husband surprised me buy buying a Gift Certificate from one of these companies above for Columbia Cliff Villas.  What he bought was $100 for $50.  Sounds good until you read the fine print (too late) and see it can only be used on one room, the most expensive room.

I was able to call them and tell them what we paid last time, which was a free upgrade since we were celebrating our 20 year anniversary.  She couldn't give it to me at that price, but was still able to offer the room at $50 off.  I then asked if I could use this GC that we have purchase and she did allow it.  FINALLY the deal became a good deal, but it did take some time and persuasion.

I was hoping to book the next room down and try and get upgraded when we showed up using my 7 Ways to Score that Hotel Upgrade.

Read the fine print, know what you are getting.  I personally think you are better off not purchasing a GC, but instead purchasing the room you want at a discount.  Then you know the exact price you will be paying.

Check out 10 Ways to Keep from Getting Suckered Into a Good Deal.  Think before you buy.

What's your opinion on this?  Which would you choose

For those of you familiar with Groupon you will be excited to see that there is a Travel group buying site that just went live, called Trip Alertz.

Group buying sites are offering coupons or discounts because they get a large number of people to participate.  In order to make this work, invite your friends.

Groupon does daily deals while Trip Alertz will have deals that will last for 2 weeks.  For instance You can get a 50% discount on Trump International Beach Resort in Sunny Isles, FL.  You will have up to 12 days left to make this purchase.   Also today Trip Alertz has a San Francisco deal at the Wyndham and Hotel El Cid in Cancun for 35% off.  But the prices will continue to go down…

Here is how it works:

• On the side you will see upcoming deals.  You vote on those, the ones that get the most votes become the next travel deal.
• The new deals will go live every TUESDAY and last for 2 weeks.
• The most you will pay is the already low Member Price.
• Once a certain number of people book the same deal, everyone will get the EPIC DEAL.

All you need to do is head over to Trip Alertz and sign up and you will start receiving travels deals as well, get your friends to sign up as well.  Even if you friends sign up you won't need to travel together.

Make sure you are also signed up with Groupon.  I like to also receive deals from destinations that I plan on vacationing too.

I like to travel, but I like to do it on a budget.  This seems to work of me.