Booking a holiday is just the start of the spending. Transfers, activities, spending money and souvenirs add to the cost of having a good time. Then there is the eating. We all have to eat - right ? How many people factor in the cost of eating everyday ? Sure they say they'll eat out every night but that can be unrealistic for budget conscience people.
Depending on where we are holidaying we try to bring as much food as we can to keep our food bill right down. Here are some examples of what I pack -
INTERSTATE HOLIDAYS
* Tea bags
* Coffee sticks ( when Darren was a coffee drinker )
* Biscuits - a couple of varieties
* Tinned tuna or salmon for sandwiches or salads
* Sugar sticks or a small container of sugar
* Single serves of Vegemite, peanut butter, jam, honey
* Packet of jelly crystals
* Custard powder, milk powder and sugar in a snap lock bag to make custard
* Seasonings for a variety of main meals each in a labelled snap lock bag. For example, all the chop suey seasonings are portioned into one snap lock bag. All I need to do is cook the meat and veg, then add the entire contents of the snap lock bag. Tastes just like what I cook at home.
* Muesli bars
LOCAL HOLIDAYS
We take all of the above listed items plus these -
* Fruit and veg from our fridge - Whatever needs using.
* Cheese, grated and block
* Potatoes
* Cereal ( wheat biscuits or porridge )
* Pasta, tinned tomatoes and seasonings to make spag bol
* Spag bol meat sauce from the freezer
* Tinned fruit
* Milk
* Tinned spaghetti and baked beans
* Tinned chunky soup or homemade from the freezer
* Homemade meat pie from the freezer.
* Chips and chocolate ( always bought on sale )
* Thermos for tea and coffee drinking
HANDY HINTS
* Take packets of biscuits in your backpack on the plane. If you are worried about them crushing, put them in a container. I use the Tupperware collapsible containers. When we've eaten the biscuits, I collapse the containers to save on room.
* Take some containers as well as foil, cling wrap, bread bags and snap lock bags wherever you go. It saves on wastage or spoilage of food.. Also great for taking snacks on outings instead of buying.
* I always menu plan before we go away. Then I pack the food accordingly. We always allow for a couple of lunches out and one dinner out especially when we travelled with our girls. It as too expensive to eat many dinners out so we always looked forward to the treat.
* Write a shopping list for your holiday destination before you arrive. Then when you've unpacked, duck up to the shops with your list in hand. This avoids buying unnecessary food with the family in tow.
* Pack at least one water bottle each and make sure you fill them up each night ready for the next day..
* Pack at least one insulated bag and a couple of green bags to buy your groceries.
We are going to have to undertake an unexpected road trip to our farm 18hrs away to have a school interview with the whole family. The petrol alone will stretch our current budget. But we will take the caravan and park it on the farm, and stay in a free campsite on the way. We are going to have to pack for the trip very carefully food wise, as with the five of us eating out is super expensive. Prepreparing meals the raw ingredients for healthy meals is a great idea. No one feels like cooking after a long day in the car!
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We are currently planning a trip to Europe. We have been saving really hard. We usually do the same as you but really struggling to get my head around this one.
ReplyDeleteWe've just returned from a month in the UK and Italy - the supermarkets are very similar and quite cheap, so we had a collapsible backpack for stocking up on muesli bars, fruit, Nutella, etc. for the next few days. A few places we stayed at had a fridge, but not many. Generally we'd buy salad stuff, cheese and rolls and eat them that day. Invaluable packing was my couple of melamine plates and some cutlery (in checked in luggage), as well as my favourite tea bags (which I checked were allowed online first). It is possible to eat cheaply overseas - have a great trip!
DeleteMy sister and I travelled through England last year. We stayed in a lot of B&Bs so breakfast was covered and we did often eat dinner out but a lot of the time we just went to a local supermarket every couple or 3 days and bought cheese and crackers, fruit and veg. Picnic type foods. We “splashed” out and got ready prepped carrots and often salad or fruit bowls. I would never do that at home but it still works out way cheaper than buying take Always or restaurant meals.
DeleteWe go away each year for three to four months. We go in the caravan. The major cost of a caravanning holiday is fuel. When we leave the van is full of food. We usually dont need to stock up again for a week or two. We also free camp most of the time. If we can access water to fill the tanks we dont have to go into a caravan park. Caravan Parks range from $30-$40+ per night. We tend to cook all our own meals so keep the van pantry well stocked.
ReplyDeleteLots of gteat ways to save money, Wendy. When we went to Canberra earlier in the year, in Winter, I took porridge oats with me. We had warm porridge everyday. Cheap and filling! Meg
ReplyDeleteTimely blog Wendy. The girls and I are going to Merimbula in a couple of weeks for 6 days. (Tony has to work 🙁). Have paid for our accommodation through air bnb so now looking at what to menu plan for meals whilst there as we will have a kitchen. Fuel will be the biggest cost I think 🤔
ReplyDeleteGreat tips Wendy. My husband and son travel a lot for sport. If on a plane they take weet biscuits, honey, tea, coffee and drinking chocolate. They buy milk and bread from their local supermarket. If n the road I add two or three cooked meals. Usually spaghetti bolognaise, curry or chicken pasta bake. Not only does it save them money, it saves time and the need to go out after a long day, in search of a healthy dinner.
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