by Tammy Jenkins

Created on: June 18, 2008

I love the Smoky Mountains and you may also, but things are tight right now. Tell me about it!Everytime you walk out to your mailbox to get your mail it most likely costs you! Used to I could fill my car up with a twenty dollar bill and go to the Smokies and come back. Now it's thirty dollars. I have a Ford Focus and it is good on gas, but gas don't go very far now. But there are other ways to cut and have more to buy gas and go.

First, we limit our air conditioning. If it gets hot where you live ad you have children plug up a sprinkler. Go out for a 'let's see what we can find' hike. We make sure if we go in one room and turn a light on then we turn it off when we come out. Make sure the door is not opened too much if the air is on. Be sure to have a remodeling day.Where all the windows are checked to see if air is escaping there.Check around doors, floors, and corners. As you can stick a five on a gift card. Some can make crafts. In case you might have pencils make birdhouses and take them to the flea market and sell them. That can be a family project. One can put a wall on,one can put a decoration on the front.If you can crochet, knit, or sew.By September or August there may be some mothers checking at flea markets for school clothes. Use your imagination. If you are about to climb the walls and you must go somewhere.Go to Pigeon Forge.Believe it or not you can save money there.Park your car at the hotel and walk!You can walk to the restaurant, stores or speciality shops! I lose ten pounds every time I go.As far as hotels, depending how many are going with you should be considered. If it is one to four then it sounds like a good idea for a hotel.But if there are five and up it might be cheaper for you to get a cabin.There is a secret about those cabins. If there are two adults and three children get a one bedroom cabin. Because in every cabin there are fold out couches,beds in the closets, and all sorts of things like that. I know because we stayed at Nantahala every year growing up.Most of them say two beds.But you go downstairs theres two more beds! By the way that is a wonderful place to stay in the Smokies! I learned to swim in that pool. You can cut money up there and still have a blast.Just in case you get up there and come up short make some crafts and go to a huge flea market up there for one day. Think up simple ways.I do research every little. There is a wonderful work at home program.Research someone's history. If they are Cherokee go to Cherokee, N.C. and research.

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