The aim of this information is to pass on some of the money saving ideas a lifetime of holidaying in Cornwall has taught me. However before I start I would just like to outline my own ethics on money saving. I believe money saving and tight waddery on holiday create a symbiotic relationship between holiday maker and local. The local needs the holiday maker’s money in order to survive until next summer. The holiday maker needs the local’s facilities in order to stop their children from complaining about being bored and demanding expensive gadgets as recompense. Neither should wind up feeling ripped off. If the holiday maker feels ripped off they won’t return, meaning no survival for the local; if the local feels ripped off and unable to maintain their facilities than there will be less for the holiday makers next year.
Coupons are a part of this relationship – they provide a means for the local to set lower prices without ending up unable to survive until next year and also allow the holiday maker to feel like they have got a bargain.
Cornwall is not a county rich in sterling; lots of local people have difficulty in affording property as second homers drive up house prices two or three times beyond the reach of local average wages. With the traditional industries of tin mining and fishing dead or dying locals rely more and more on tourism to simply pay the bills. I’m sure the same is true of other areas around Britain – the Lake District immediately springs to mind.
As a result when I am out and about, armed with my purse full of coupons, I try not to stand on my rights and demand all the voucher-combined discounts to which I think that I am entitled. Put simply if I do a local economy that I want to see thrive will be put under pressure unnecessarily. For the same reasons I choose to buy my weekly shop whilst on holiday rather than bringing it down with me. Tescos, Asdas and various other supermarkets have infiltrated the Tamar boundary, thus reducing my need to make my car smell of cheese for a five hour journey.
