Eating is a rather necessary and expensive habit when travelling. Fortunately, there are ways to cut down the costs of food and keep within a very reasonable budget, say $5 a day for food.
The reason we spend so much more when travelling is simple, we’re transient and therefore eat out all the time as opposed to just a few days a month. Let’s say you hit McDonald’s for breakfast and get a fairly simple meal that runs you about $4. On the road, you stop to get gas and pick up a $2 bag of chips to munch while driving. At lunch, you buy a sub sandwich, $7, and finally, for supper, you decide to eat a bit healthier and hit White Spot, ordering a meal that sets you back $8. In just one day, you’ve spent over $20 on food! That adds up real fast when you are on an extended vacation.
So, how do we keep the money in our wallets and not die of malnutrition? Well, you can start by avoiding convenience stores and fast food joints. Convenience stores are just that, convenient. They stay open extra late and carry a wide variety of single items, but you pay for that luxury, prices will usually be considerably higher than in a grocery store or supermarket. Fast food places also charge for the convenience of a nearly instant hot meal. While it may seem cheap compared to fancier restaurants, it still adds up to a lot over the day. Granted, there are times when fast food chains come in handy, like when you’re driving for hours on end and can’t actually stop to eat, or when you’re too exhausted from being a tourist to bother making your own meal.
By preparing ahead of time, you can keep meals fairly quick and easy and not have to deal with what to eat each meal while you’re on the road. If you’re travelling by car and staying in hotels, it’s quite simple to bring along your microwave or even just a kettle.
You’ll need a box of Ziplock bags to keep things organized and a black pen to mark on them. Figure out how many days you’ll be away and how often you’re willing to repeat meals. Now you just need to decide what exactly you want to eat while you’re away. Plan at least one or two fast food or restaurant meals per week that you’re away.
The reason we spend so much more when travelling is simple, we’re transient and therefore eat out all the time as opposed to just a few days a month. Let’s say you hit McDonald’s for breakfast and get a fairly simple meal that runs you about $4. On the road, you stop to get gas and pick up a $2 bag of chips to munch while driving. At lunch, you buy a sub sandwich, $7, and finally, for supper, you decide to eat a bit healthier and hit White Spot, ordering a meal that sets you back $8. In just one day, you’ve spent over $20 on food! That adds up real fast when you are on an extended vacation.
So, how do we keep the money in our wallets and not die of malnutrition? Well, you can start by avoiding convenience stores and fast food joints. Convenience stores are just that, convenient. They stay open extra late and carry a wide variety of single items, but you pay for that luxury, prices will usually be considerably higher than in a grocery store or supermarket. Fast food places also charge for the convenience of a nearly instant hot meal. While it may seem cheap compared to fancier restaurants, it still adds up to a lot over the day. Granted, there are times when fast food chains come in handy, like when you’re driving for hours on end and can’t actually stop to eat, or when you’re too exhausted from being a tourist to bother making your own meal.
By preparing ahead of time, you can keep meals fairly quick and easy and not have to deal with what to eat each meal while you’re on the road. If you’re travelling by car and staying in hotels, it’s quite simple to bring along your microwave or even just a kettle.
You’ll need a box of Ziplock bags to keep things organized and a black pen to mark on them. Figure out how many days you’ll be away and how often you’re willing to repeat meals. Now you just need to decide what exactly you want to eat while you’re away. Plan at least one or two fast food or restaurant meals per week that you’re away.
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