Last weekend we booked a couple days in a downtown Chicago hotel for $54/night complete with a fridge, pool, and great location right off State Street. I'm grumbling about nothaving a "real" spring break this year, but although this is no Orlando, it'll be nice to get away for a few days.

I used a great site to help me decide on the Hotwire Hotel offerings. It's called betterbidding.com. They helped me identify the hotel by the amenities offered before I bought it. I highly recommend them.

So we're off to Chi-town armed with snacks, beer (hey--maybe this is like my students' break!), wine, and the membership card from our science museum to get us in free to several Chicago museums.

My frugal self solemnly swears to come back and list stuff on ebay and balance my checking account. And try to figure out how to help those ailing retirement accounts.