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This post is sponsored by OneMain Financial.
Austin was amazing and we loved visiting this self-proclaimed “weird” town! Thank you OneMain Financial for sponsoring our adventure and challenging us to stick with a $550 budget. We had such a great time!
Yep, it is true! We spent two days in Austin for a family of five for less than $550!
You guys know we are not budget travelers in the sense that we like nice hotels and good food, but that doesn’t mean we don’t budget for our travels. So when OneMain Financial reached out with a challenge for us to spend the weekend in Austin, on a pretty tight budget, I was a little worried if we could do it. However, we were definitely up for the challenge. This weekend getaway showed that you can travel and enjoy yourself, even on a budget!
We made this quick video of how we were able to experience Austin on less than $550, and I’m sharing a bit more below too!
Our adventure started with a rental car. Because we are a larger family of 5, the rental car was one of the largest expenses coming in at $129.05 for a minivan. It was money well spent because we were comfortable, it fit all of our luggage, and the van took us to some pretty awesome places! That left us with $420.95 for the rest of our time in Austin.
Next up was getting a hotel to stay at. Hotels close to downtown Austin were either already booked up, or outside our budget, so Pete and I brainstormed some ideas and we decided to look a little outside the tourist area to where business travelers stay. We found a great hotel that had a two-room suite available, and also offered a free full breakfast. This not only gave us enough room for all five of us to sleep in, but it also saved us a lot of money on food at a price that worked with our budget. We paid $231.60 for a night at the hotel for the five of us, leaving us with $189.35 left. This is the point where I started to get nervous if we would make it without breaking our budget.
One thing we never skip when visiting a new place is buying souvenirs, so that was high on our list to do! We explored the downtown area close to the Capital building and spent $71.39 on fun things to take home! We were now down to $117.96.
The food in Austin is out of this world amazing and very reasonably priced! We found a fun trailer park to eat at where we enjoyed acai bowls, cupcakes and a fresh tomato and mozzarella platter for a grand total of $31.92, and we only had $86.04 left to spend.
We needed to stretch our budget at this point so we set off to explore some of the free things to do in Austin! We visited when it was raining, but that didn’t put a damper on the fun or stop us from exploring a hidden duck pond! We just got a bit more creative and shifted our itinerary to eat and shop when the rain picked up. As soon as it cleared for a bit, we headed to the duck pond, and it worked out perfectly! Since the duck pond was free, we still had $86.04 of our budget left!
Another hidden gem in Austin was this Cat Cafe we found! Not only can you play with cats looking to be adopted into their forever families, you also get to enjoy really delicious, completely vegan meals! We spent $72.00 on our meal, and it was totally worth it! This was an amazing memory-making moment for our family! After we paid at the cat cafe we had exactly $14.04 left!
Our last expense in Austin was $13.09 for gas when we returned the rental car. Gas in Austin is a lot less expensive than it is in California thankfully! After we paid for gas, we only had $.95 left! Can you believe how close we made it with our $550 budget! Whoa!!!
We packed so much fun into our time in Austin, and didn’t even break our budget!
To celebrate their Customer Appreciation Days, our weekend adventure was sponsored by OneMain Financial, who understands that sometimes you need a little financial boost. With OneMain Financial, lending is made personal.
Their goal is to deliver the best customer experience and empower you to take control of your finances. I feel so empowered after having such an amazing getaway with my family and sticking with the $550 budget!
Do you think you could stay within a $550 budget too?
This post is sponsored by OneMain Financial. As always all opinions are our own.
And it looks like you all had a great time there! Austin is a fantastic place.
Wow that is very impressive that you were able to spend two days in Austin with a family of 5 for less than $550. I love visiting Austin. I didn’t know they had a cat cafe. I’ll have to check that out the next time i’m there.
Wow, less than $550 that’s amazing! Looks like you had a great trip too.
Thanks! It had its challenges, but we had a lot of fun!
I am frugal so I know that I could do this. You did very well with the money
That’s amazing! There’s nothing better than saving on a vacation! I think it’s nice to take the kids there, there’s so much to see!
Austin is a fantastic place and i love visiting it. Post is quite informative and pics are too good. Thank you for sharing 🙂
So much fun!! We are going to Austin in February! Love how you broke down the costs! I’m going to try to do this!
You guys did amazing with your budget!!! What a fun city to see and to explore everything looks amazing!
That’s amazing! I need to figure out how to travel more cheaply. Looks like a great trip!
So fun! We don’t live very far from Austin. We’ll probably visit soon.
It looks like you had an amazing time. I went to Austin for the first time in June and I absolutely loved it.
I have always wanted to go to Austin, but I’ve never made it there. You make it look like so much fun I can’t wait to go check it out at some point.
I don’t know if I could do that or not. But if you guys were able to do it, I’ll certainly give a good try!
I hope I could stay on budget. Finding free things to do and a hotel that includes breakfast sure helps. Congrats on being able to stay on budget. It looks like you had a great time.
I am extremely impressed that you stuck within that budget with 5 people, great job! I’d like to visit Austin one day, especially that cat cafe!
I’ve never been to Austin but it’s definitely a place I would like to visit one day! Looks like you all had a great time.
Austin sounds like a great city! You did a good job sticking to your budget.
That is amazing y’all stuck to your budget. It looks like you guys had a very magical time too! Love your pictures!
What a fun family adventure! I have always wanted to go to Austin! I though it was more expensive than that!
It looks like you all had a great time there! Austin looks like a great place! Loved seeing your pics and how little you’ve spent!
What a fun trip! And wow less than $550? That is almost unheard of these days!
Looks like you had a fun trip. Hotels/car rentals are such a big expense when traveling. It is great if you can use points /rewards for some of those big ticket items.
Now that is a discounted trip! I would love to be able to get away for such a steal!
That is awesome that you could save a little money and create great memories together on this trip!
Looks like you guys has such a fun family trip! And $550 for all you is a steal too!
Never been to Texas but it seems you found a great way to have fun in an inexpensive way.
Austin looks like a great place to explore. You did a great job staying on budget.
Wow that is a great two days for only $550. You guys always look like you are having so much fun in your photos.
I love to travel and it’s always nice to not have to spend an arm and a leg to do so. Looks like you all had fun!
I love Austin. It is such a great city and offers so much unique culture and cuisine. 2 days for $500 does seem doable. Plus, I like a challenge.
This is very impressive. I want to get to Austin this next year and will look back at this article for tips. – yolonda
It looks like you packed in a lot of fun on such a small budget! My girls would love the cat petting activity!
Wow – only $500? That’s amazing! I’ve never been to Austin, but it’s on my list of places I want to go (along with Seattle and Chicago!)
I love all your adventure and I think this is one of your best budget trips! Love that you all enjoyed even you had a tight budget. Awesome!
What wonderful time you all had. I can’t believe you only spent $550. Who says you can;t have fun even with a tight budget?
Spending less than $550 is awesome! I would love to go on vacation in Austin if it means saving money while also having so much fun with the family!
What a fun trip! I’ve always wanted to go to Austin, I’ll have to put that on my bucket list!
Looks like a fun trip. Everyone looks so happy. I think we could make a $550 budget work. Now I’m curious to try.
Great photos, your little once is so darling and looks like a character! That is really a good price for a family of 5 for a weekend gettaway!
This post i LOVED! Great photos, great explained and what a happy trip and family!
It sounds like you had a wonderful time on a $550 budget for two day in Austin. The OneMain Financial challenge I know we could do for sure on a $550 budget. I am cheap anyway so I always look for the cheaper better ways to save. This I know we could do for sure.
Way to go on sticking to your budget! Austin is one of my favorite cities.
Austin seems like such a fun place to visit, I’ve heard so many great things about it! looks like such a fun Family trip!
$550 in Austin is probably doable, like you showed! Wow, you are a family of 5 and were able to do all that! I’m impressed!
We are dying to go to Austin and after seeing this post and that we can do it for $550 holy batman we need to do it! Looks like such a fun experience and the price is right!
One of these days I will get to Austin. I have wanted to visit for so long.
Wow, what a great trip. And being able to do it for a family of five under $550! Nice score. I also liked that you didn’t go to the usual Austin tourist spots. LOVE that trailer park restaurant, I’ll have to check it out the next time I’m in Austin.
Bargain. I’m glad you found some good deals.
Spending this little with a family of five is impressive! I doubt my husband and I could go anywhere together and spend less than that, lol
Looks very fun! Great family time. Thanks for sharing