Really frugal ways to save money on a family trip?

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to say that my MOST memorable vacations are when my mom threw a cooler together with sandwiches, chips, fruit, etc...and we took off!!! My mom was always budget wise, and she was not going to have little money stop us from a great vacation!!! We went to National Parks, the World's Fair in Knoxville, TN.....many vacations that were SOOOO AWESOME!!!! Don't let others on here get you down about trying to budget your vacation or trying to watch your funds. HAVE A GREAT TIME!!!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Just wanted to say that my MOST memorable vacations are when my mom threw a cooler together with sandwiches, chips, fruit, etc...and we took off!!! My mom was always budget wise, and she was not going to have little money stop us from a great vacation!!! We went to National Parks, the World's Fair in Knoxville, TN.....many vacations that were SOOOO AWESOME!!!! Don't let others on here get you down about trying to budget your vacation or trying to watch your funds. HAVE A GREAT TIME!!!!!!

I agree with this completely.

OP - ignore the haters. My aunt won't travel unless it's 5 star travel only - private jets, suites at the Four Seasons, etc. Unfortunately, they lost a lot of money and can't afford the travel anymore, so she just chooses not to. She's the one missing out. Like many posters on this thread.

I'll vacation/travel anyway I can; it doesn't matter if it has to be frugal.

Good luck and hope you have a blast with your family.

[Anonymous]

Some of these responses are crazy. I travel for work - 5 star hotels, business and first class, three good meals a day, the works.

I also only make high five figures (I've mentioned this job here before). So when we travel for vacation, we're cheap. Planet tickets are usually taken care of with miles, but we stay in Fairfield Inns (free breaksfast!). We do free stuff, hiking and scenic drives and the like...can't remember the last time we paid for an activity on vacation. Granola bars are lifesavers. We generally skip lunch.

It's a huge change from my business travel, but I don't care! There is more than one way to travel.

[Anonymous]

Someone mentioned packing soda for cruises? Soda on cruises is free. Why would you pack that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone mentioned packing soda for cruises? Soda on cruises is free. Why would you pack that?

LOL... Don't bother me with details.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone mentioned packing soda for cruises? Soda on cruises is free. Why would you pack that?

No it's not. I've taken 15+ cruises in my life. Water, tea and juice are free. Soda is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We also are often on a tight budget while traveling. I would much rather be frugal and see fun places than just stay home.
Here are our money saving tips-

-camp at a state or national park
-if in a hotel- always utilize the free breakfast
-do the free activities- hiking, fishing,beach (we usually have one or two splurge activities like white water rafting, theater , etc. )
-use McDonalds dollar menu or Subway sub of the day- great savings
-everyone brings a refillable water bottle from home and pack snacks bought at Sam's or buy at locally grocery store-no convenience stores/gas station purchases
- when driving we often eat meals like bagels/cream cheese, pbj and pringles, ritz, cheese and summer sausage, oatmeal packs- nothing wrong with this- it saves time and money
- check your local groupon site for discounts on activities and restaurants

****most important - do not present the trip to your kids like- poor us, we are so broke we can only afford this but not that

Have a mindset that you are going to explore a new destination and how fortunate you are to be able to do it. Depending on the age of the kids, you don't even need to bring up money or how it factors into how you are eating/ experiences. I mean instead of saying " no soda or juice when eating out because we can't afford it" say " we are going to be eating out a lot and water at meals rather than sofa is so much healthier "

DItto on the mindset. You are 'having a picnic in a beautiful natural setting' not 'eating a sandwich because we are poor.' In a national park, in the Alps, wherever, it's a real treat to have a simple sandwich accompanied by a 'million dollar view'. We also splurged by buying things like international coffee and letting our preteens have that along with lunch. Feels like a treat in a beautiful setting, and the view is actually better than it would be at a restaurant.

Do not dwell on money issues- kids will pick up on this mindset and immediately feel cheated when hiking, free destinations are otherwise fun for them if they aren't presented as - this is all that we can afford to do...

That being said- we usually try and do one splurge meal per trip- east coast- let's go to a lobster place, southern location- one good BBQ meal

Don't let money worries ruin your trip... keep things light. You are building memories and bonding as a family... it is really not about indulging every whim.

Safe travels!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We also are often on a tight budget while traveling. I would much rather be frugal and see fun places than just stay home.
Here are our money saving tips-

-camp at a state or national park
-if in a hotel- always utilize the free breakfast
-do the free activities- hiking, fishing,beach (we usually have one or two splurge activities like white water rafting, theater , etc. )
-use McDonalds dollar menu or Subway sub of the day- great savings
-everyone brings a refillable water bottle from home and pack snacks bought at Sam's or buy at locally grocery store-no convenience stores/gas station purchases
- when driving we often eat meals like bagels/cream cheese, pbj and pringles, ritz, cheese and summer sausage, oatmeal packs- nothing wrong with this- it saves time and money
- check your local groupon site for discounts on activities and restaurants

****most important - do not present the trip to your kids like- poor us, we are so broke we can only afford this but not that

Have a mindset that you are going to explore a new destination and how fortunate you are to be able to do it. Depending on the age of the kids, you don't even need to bring up money or how it factors into how you are eating/ experiences. I mean instead of saying " no soda or juice when eating out because we can't afford it" say " we are going to be eating out a lot and water at meals rather than sofa is so much healthier "

DItto on the mindset. You are 'having a picnic in a beautiful natural setting' not 'eating a sandwich because we are poor.' In a national park, in the Alps, wherever, it's a real treat to have a simple sandwich accompanied by a 'million dollar view'. We also splurged by buying things like international coffee and letting our preteens have that along with lunch. Feels like a treat in a beautiful setting, and the view is actually better than it would be at a restaurant.

Do not dwell on money issues- kids will pick up on this mindset and immediately feel cheated when hiking, free destinations are otherwise fun for them if they aren't presented as - this is all that we can afford to do...

That being said- we usually try and do one splurge meal per trip- east coast- let's go to a lobster place, southern location- one good BBQ meal

Don't let money worries ruin your trip... keep things light. You are building memories and bonding as a family... it is really not about indulging every whim.

Safe travels!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why anyone would take a trip that they are so stretched to take that they are literally looking to skip meals on the trip! Dang.

I guess you could sleep in your car or pitch a tent rather than staying in a hotel room. Are you staying with friends overnight? The only thing left to reduce is the cost of food.... so I guess you will be eating granola bars and brown bag lunches a lot -- which is fine -- but really, what is left to cut?

I don't understand why anyone would do this.... do you think it's really a vacation when your whole family is pinching pennies and eating PBJ everyday? (FWIW, I actually like PBJ and eat it for lunch regularly... but my family wouldn't want to be stuck eating PBJ for a whole vacation!)

I did this when I was young and backpacking through Europe. Sleep late, have brunch and dinner...or lunch was a baguette and cheese or something. Ah, those were the days!

But with kids in the pic, usually we stay at an AirBnB or similar to be able to cook at home some. And look for hotels that have a fridge in room (not a minibar), and/or breakfast included. It really helps to be able to keep leftovers when dining at restaurants (portions are always so large!) and stick them in the fridge. Also if you don't have breakfast included at hotel, there's often free coffee/tea and you can have yogurt and fruit for breakfast. There are even pre-boiled eggs sold these days.

BTW, it doesn't mean you have to eat PBJ every day...but I find that not eating out at every meal (1) really helps the budget and (2) is quicker and easier with kids.

[Anonymous]

Are you staying in one hotel, or going hotel-to-hotel?

If the former, go to Walmart, and get an inexpensive crock pot and liners. Make yourself crock pot dinners in the morning, before you head out for the day. Simple stuff like salsa and chicken breasts for tacos, ravioli casserole, etc.

The liners help with the clean up. If you are flying on SWA, you could pack the crock pot instead.

Do lunch meat, rolls, chips, and fruit for lunch, and eat the hotel breakfast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We also are often on a tight budget while traveling. I would much rather be frugal and see fun places than just stay home.
Here are our money saving tips-

-camp at a state or national park
-if in a hotel- always utilize the free breakfast
-do the free activities- hiking, fishing,beach (we usually have one or two splurge activities like white water rafting, theater , etc. )
-use McDonalds dollar menu or Subway sub of the day- great savings
-everyone brings a refillable water bottle from home and pack snacks bought at Sam's or buy at locally grocery store-no convenience stores/gas station purchases
- when driving we often eat meals like bagels/cream cheese, pbj and pringles, ritz, cheese and summer sausage, oatmeal packs- nothing wrong with this- it saves time and money
- check your local groupon site for discounts on activities and restaurants

****most important - do not present the trip to your kids like- poor us, we are so broke we can only afford this but not that

Have a mindset that you are going to explore a new destination and how fortunate you are to be able to do it. Depending on the age of the kids, you don't even need to bring up money or how it factors into how you are eating/ experiences. I mean instead of saying " no soda or juice when eating out because we can't afford it" say " we are going to be eating out a lot and water at meals rather than sofa is so much healthier "

DItto on the mindset. You are 'having a picnic in a beautiful natural setting' not 'eating a sandwich because we are poor.' In a national park, in the Alps, wherever, it's a real treat to have a simple sandwich accompanied by a 'million dollar view'. We also splurged by buying things like international coffee and letting our preteens have that along with lunch. Feels like a treat in a beautiful setting, and the view is actually better than it would be at a restaurant.

Do not dwell on money issues- kids will pick up on this mindset and immediately feel cheated when hiking, free destinations are otherwise fun for them if they aren't presented as - this is all that we can afford to do...

That being said- we usually try and do one splurge meal per trip- east coast- let's go to a lobster place, southern location- one good BBQ meal

Don't let money worries ruin your trip... keep things light. You are building memories and bonding as a family... it is really not about indulging every whim.

Safe travels!

Love this!

[Anonymous]

When traveling with kids I prefer eating in most of the time. By the end of the day, we are so tired -- chicken noodle soup and deli turkey sandwiches hit the spot.

I always take our favorite snacks, then go to the grocery store when we get there for staples. be careful not to buy TOO much so you don't end up with a lot of extra food if you have to fly home. You can always dart in another store later in the week.

breakfast can always be "in" pretty easily. if we eat out, it's a lunch somewhere. Then dinner in at the hotel. As kids get older, more fun to go out for dinner so you might do sandwiches for lunch.

Have a great time! I would reconsider flying next time -- a long road trip can be made enjoyable and saves a lot. We drive 2000 miles each way to visit family every summer -- it's very manageable. Then you also don't have to rent a car.

[Anonymous]

When we were kids, my dad started doing this thing where he would put a few dollars in a ziplock bag every few days. Then, when we went to the beach and wanted to do stupid but fun crap like mini golf or bumper boats, we would use the mad money he had been collecting all year.

[Anonymous]

I don't know where you are going or what you are doing and if you have kids or not, by here are some general ideas.

As you know, save on food and not eating out or eating out cheap (try to stock up on non perishables - PB / bread, granola bars, apple sauce, etc.). Plan ahead so you're not starving with only one option around.

If you don't want to camp, stay in cheaper places and look on air bnb type things and see if you can get anything cheaper than hotels. Get only one hotel room if possible, even if you have kids with you. In my day (pre-kids), I have stayed at $5/night youth hostels abroad.

Some places you might want to go to have free / reduced admissions on certain days or certain times so you could look into that.

I very rarely buy food on the airplane. If it's a long flight, food will be given to everyone, and if the flight is not that long you should be able to do without or bring your own. Look into how much checking luggage costs before yoU get to the airport and adjust your packing as needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're flying to another state, then renting a car for a road trip.

I'm looking for some tips to save money. For instance, I heard that you can bring a packet of oatmeal on a flight and ask for hot water and a coffee cup to make it. You can go to grocery stores and make sandwiches for lunch instead of eating out.

So stuff like that - super cheap - anything to do with flights, being on the road, staying in cheap places, etc. We're already way over budget just on the flights

Don't do hot water on planes-- not sanitary. There was just an article I was reading about flight attendants never drinking coffee or tea as it's not bottled and comes from the airplane tap...

As for frugal tips, how do you save money at home? I often will stay at a residence in which is slightly bigger for my family but offers food/breakfast and a kitchen to cook.

Former FA and no, no, no, we NEVER drink the water! So gross.

Are you referring to HOT water for coffee/tee or water in general?