This blog entry is written by guest blogger, Suzette Valle (see bio below). I met her at a blogging event and immediately was fascinated with her perspectives on parenting, but particularly with her passion for finding affordable ways to provide cultural experiences/travel for her family. A resourceful San Diego blogger that surely knows how to find the best for less - Score! Today Suzette shares with SDBM how she approaches her love of travel for LESS.

Winter is the perfect time to start thinking about your family summer-travel plans. You may think it's too soon, but with the travel industry in such disarray, the earlier you can decide on your destination the more you'll save on your transportation expense (which is the largest) . Today, traveling to a nearby city or flying cross country can all be scheduled from the comfort of your home computer - we took a much-awaited trip to Europe last summer and planned the whole journey practically in our pajamas!

The economic downturn isn't doing anyone any favors these days, but it doesn't mean you have to be stuck at home on a 'staycation' this summer. DIY family trips can save you money, in my experience up to 30%, but require your valuable time to plan. On the other hand, investing your time scheduling and booking your own holiday travel results in cold hard savings!

Here are a few tips to get you started thinking about how to plan that special bonding family-time away from home, and on a budget:

• Take into consideration your children's' ages, brainstorm possible destinations starting now; keep in mind that a three-hour car ride both ways takes up to half a day out of your final destination.

• Plan for travel time; a three to four hour plane ride will get you to Chicago or as far as Mexico City from either coast, but you have to add a one or two hour wait time at airports for security checks.

• Start checking out airline websites to get an idea of airfares and availability. If you're thinking of using award travel or miles, book now! The earlier you book, the better your chances of traveling with mileage-award tickets on YOUR chosen date, and not the airlines'.

• Look into hotels in your desired destination to find out room rates and availability. If you don't have enough miles to redeem for tickets, look into using them for a night's worth at a hotel.

Award air travel can be somewhat limiting, but does save you money. Remember these pointers when looking into redeeming miles:

• The most inconvenient times will usually have the most award seats.

• If you don't have enough miles for all passengers, try combining award and regular fare tickets.

• Direct flights usually require more miles and have less award seats available. Connecting flights, though inconvenient, usually are more frequently available.

• If you don't have enough miles for a round trip, compare the cost of a flight half way to your final destination using miles, and purchasing a ticket for the last leg of the flight (worked for us with overseas flights).

I've shied away from familiar volume-travel sites and use them only as price guides when planning our vacations. I usually deal with carriers and hotels directly unless I'm using miles; whether it's a credit card company or your favorite airline, it's a good place to start doing your research and use other sites for comparison. However, do use www.TripAdvisor.com and www.Frommers.com, which offer great advice on hotels and other helpful travel tips.

Doing your travel prep work now will save you from paying high last-minute booking prices and disappointments. I've taken trips on different kinds of budgets; from my expense-account First and Business Class days to my post-family coach-class status, I've endured both cabins. Needless to say I liked the front better, but with two kids, a dog and a mortgage we can't even afford to dream about the smell of fresh baked-in-mid-air cookies anymore!

Suzette Valle is the founder of MamarazziKnowsBest.com and writes about parenting in a celebrity-driven society. She also blogs for TheWrap.com, an online news publication about Hollywood's influence on kids and family values. Suzette recently appeared on Dr. Phil discussing responsible parenting and reality shows.

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