Being that us Arnold's are lovers of travel and being responsible with our money TripAdvisor is our most utilized website when we begin to plan for any kind of trip to a city we're unfamiliar with. Heck, sometimes we check it out to cities we've been to several times just to see if we missed anything before or if there is something new we should do/see. The basis of TA is that it allows travelers/consumers to submit written reviews of their experiences. Reviewers can also submit pictures which is the MOST important thing to browse along with the actual reviews. People from all over the world are writing and submitting reviews to TA everyday. The best thing about TripAdvisor is that it is a FREE tool that we have found to be invaluable when we are planning vacations. 

Usually when planning a vacation we first set a budget(crucial) and then look at the deals available on all of the major travel websites. If anything sticks out we'll quickly look up the TripAdvisor rating to determine if it's even worth our time. If it is we'll begin reading the reviews that have been submitted most recently. We usually glance through a ton of the customer submitted pics as well. We like to see what it's really like rather than just trusting the website of the resort/park or wherever it is that you're going. By that time if we've talked about everything and I have looked for every coupon code available(dig people, dig) then we'll book. You may think YAY we're going on vacation, everything is planned....hold up, the fun has just begun! From then I(Jen) will read HUNDREDS(truly) of reviews about the resort, activities and transportation options before settling on what we want to do and how we want to get around. You may be asking yourself if we're crazy... on the contrary, we are educating ourselves about where we are going and how best to spend our time and money while we're there! While rehashing the resort reviews we usually can decide what restaurants we would like to make reservations at or what room we would like to stay in. While looking up activities we may decide that something we thought we wanted to do is not in fact for us and so we'll pick something different. Just keep in mind that not all reviewers have the same expectations(or they may not have been rational while writing it, some people are natural critics and do not know how to compliment while critiquing) so take the reviews with a grain of salt and look at the big picture and do not focus on one bad review.

Since I am such a heavy user of TA I have decided that I am going to stop being just a user and start being a contributor! Instead of just reading the reviews I pledge to start writing them as well. I want people to be able to use my experiences to help them make good financial decisions about traveling which is not a necessary expense but a luxury and should be treated as such. Even though we are quite frugal we usually set aside money for traveling as we both enjoy it immensely! We have found that traveling to new places and experiencing new things together is good for our relationship and for our stress level so we make sure to plan small trips throughout the year. In 2013 alone we traveled to the Dominican Republic, Walt Disney World and Las Vegas/The Grand Canyon. None of these trips were booked without consulting TripAdvisor first!  You work too hard for your money to be surprised by details that you could have known before hand that would be a deal breaker for you! So if you're like us and think that your money is important enough to check even the smallest of details then add TA to your life planning arsenal!

**This post is NOT sponsored(I wish someone would pay me)I just wanted to give my opinion on one of my favorite websites.