$838 Back in 10 Months: I Didn’t Spend More—I Simply Changed How I Paid
Looking for vacation budget tips that go beyond cutting out the things you want? See how I earned $838 cash back in 10 months on travel, bills and everyday expenses.
What if some of the money you’re already spending on travel, restaurants, shopping—and even bills—could quietly come back to you instead of just disappearing?
The best vacation budget tips aren’t always about giving something up. Sometimes they’re about getting more value from money you were going to spend anyway.
I’m not going to tell you what to cut from your plans or which memories aren’t worth the money.
I’m going to show you how I learned to get more back from the money I was already spending.
Over the last 10 months, I’ve received $838 in cash back. I know $838 may not sound like a fortune, but I’m a bit of a Scrooge when it comes to spending money—so if I’ve earned that much back, I can only imagine what happens when someone who actually enjoys shopping gets hold of this.
Not points I might use someday.
Not a coupon toward something else I have to buy.
Cash back.
And here’s the part that makes that number interesting: I didn’t earn most of it by chasing huge discounts or changing where I shop.
Most came from an option that gives me just 2% back and works at roughly 80% of the places where I personally shop.
Two percent doesn’t sound very exciting.
Until you start adding it up.
Groceries. Restaurants. Travel. Household purchases. Business expenses.
Even bills.
These were expenses I already had. Instead of asking, “What can I buy to get cash back?” I started asking a very different question:
“Before I pay for this, can I get something back?”
That little question has put $838 back in my pocket in 10 months.
And if you’re already spending money on a vacation, it’s a question worth asking.
Vacation Budget Tips for the Money You’re Going to Spend Anyway
Booking the accommodations is only the beginning.
There are flights or gas. Restaurants. Activities. The inevitable store run because somebody forgot something. Maybe new clothes before the trip. Maybe an attraction you didn’t know existed until you arrived.
That’s where this gets interesting.
Right now, I can find cash-back options for brands including Airbnb, Hotels.com, Southwest Airlines, Groupon, Panera and Five Guys—plus hundreds more.
And those aren’t even necessarily where I earn most of my cash back.
For many of my ordinary purchases, I use a simple prepaid Visa option that currently gives me 2% back.
I don’t need to completely rearrange my life around rewards.
I just changed how I pay.
What About Credit Card Cash Back?
You may be thinking, “My credit card already gives me 1% or 2% cash back.”
And you’re right. If you use a rewards credit card and pay the statement balance in full every month, that can be a great way to earn something back.
But the math changes when you carry a balance. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has documented just how expensive credit-card interest can be—for example, reporting an average APR of 32.66% for new private-label retail-card accounts in December 2024.
For me, one of the most important vacation budget tips is avoiding a “reward” that ends up costing more than I earned.
The difference with the approach I’m using is that my cash back comes from prepaid gift cards. I’m using money I already have for purchases I was already planning to make. The prepaid card doesn’t leave me with a balance that can keep charging interest later.
That distinction matters.
A 1% or 2% credit-card reward can quickly lose its shine if you carry the balance and start paying interest. With a prepaid card, I’m not borrowing money just to earn the reward.
For me, the goal isn’t:
“How much cash back can I earn?”
It’s:
“If I’m going to spend this money anyway, is there a way to get some of it back without creating debt that follows me home?”
Especially when we’re talking about vacations, I think that’s a question worth asking.
Bring home the memories—not the vacation debt.
How I’m Earning Cash Back on Everyday Spending
It’s called Starfish Perks.
Starfish is a paid membership that gives members access to cash-back opportunities with more than 500 brands nationwide.
Some brands have their own higher cash-back offers, while for many of my ordinary purchases, I use that simple 2% prepaid Visa option.
And it isn’t limited to one kind of spending.
As I’m writing this, I’m seeing offers such as:
- Airbnb — 3%
- Hotels.com — 5%
- Southwest Airlines — 3%
- Five Guys — 5%
- Panera Bread — 5%
- Groupon — 4.5%
- Advance Auto Parts — 8%
- Gap — 9%
- Cruises — up to 9%
Offers and percentages change, so consider these examples a snapshot of what I’m seeing rather than a promise of what will always be available.
That’s also why I check Starfish before I spend.
Sometimes there’s a specific brand with a higher reward. Other times, that simple 2% option makes more sense.
Either way, I’m asking the same question:
Can money I’m already going to spend earn something on its way out?
Yes, I Even Earn Cash Back While Paying Bills
Some of my favorite uses aren’t vacation-worthy at all.
I use Starfish to help earn cash back when paying bills.
There is absolutely nothing exciting about paying a bill.
The money has to leave anyway.
And that’s exactly why I like getting something back when I can.
It’s also where small percentages begin to make more sense. Don’t think about 2% of one transaction. Think about purchases and expenses that happen over and over again throughout the year.
A few dollars here doesn’t look impressive.
Add those dollars together for months, and my own total reached $838 in 10 months.
Then I Started Looking at My Business Expenses…
Running R Vacation Homes means spending money on things guests rarely have reason to think about.
Linens wear out. Supplies need replenishing. Something breaks. Guest amenities need replacing. There are maintenance expenses, household purchases and bills.
Those expenses don’t disappear because I found a cash-back program.
But Starfish made me start looking at them differently.
If my business is already going to spend the money, how much of that spending could be working a little harder on its way out the door?
That’s when this became more interesting to me than simply finding a discount here and there.
There are different ways to use Starfish, different membership levels—including a higher level called Royal Starfish—and there’s another side of the program that became particularly interesting to me as a business owner.
I’m intentionally not going to try to explain all of that here.
Because the first question isn’t really:
“What else does Starfish offer?”
It’s:
“Would this work with the money I’m already spending?”
That’s a much more personal question.
Is Starfish Perks Worth It?
I can only answer that from my own experience.
I use the paid annual membership—the basic membership level, not one of the higher-tier options.
In my first 10 months, I’ve received $838 in cash back.
For me, the numbers have made sense.
That doesn’t mean someone else will earn what I’ve earned. Your results will depend on where you shop, what you spend, which offers you use and what reward rates are available at the time.
And I think that’s exactly why this is better as a conversation than a sales pitch.
I don’t want to convince you to spend money you weren’t already planning to spend just so you can earn something back.
I’d rather look at the spending that’s already happening.
Your groceries.
Your restaurants.
Your travel.
Your bills.
Maybe even your business.
Then you can decide whether changing how you pay for some of it makes sense.
Of all the vacation budget tips I could share, this one is surprisingly simple: before you spend money you’ve already planned to spend, check whether there’s a way to get some of it back.
Curious? Ask Me.
If you’re staying with us at Game Room Oasis by R Vacation Homes, you can simply ask me about it.
Not a guest? Chat with me right here on the website. I’m happy to share how I’ve been using Starfish, what has worked for me, and answer your questions.
And if you’re curious about Royal Starfish or the business side, ask me about that too.
Sometimes it makes a lot more sense to talk through how something could fit your spending than to read another page full of percentages.
For me, Starfish started with one simple idea:
I didn’t need another reason to spend money. I wanted to get more from money I was already going to spend.
Ten months and $838 later, I’m glad I started asking the question.