I don’t care how often I say it: booking vacations online through a booking agency is an instrumentally important way to save money, especially when you’re travelling with a family. Hotwire is another excellent resource for scheduling travel and hotels and rental cars—with the use of coupons, the savings you’ll walk away with will be remarkable, especially when compared to booking directly through airlines.

Hotwire also has an easily accessible “deals” section right on their website, so if you’re really looking to book a frugal vacation, Hotwire is the place to be. It’s sometimes a temptation to get into the mindset that vacation always needs to be a “staycation” if you’re a thrifty spender, but I’ve found that with the help of sites like Hotwire, Expedia, and Travelocity, you can actually take the family to see the world without compromising your financial responsibility. Speaking from experience as well, being able to travel on a dime is a very valuable experience, too.