Next weekend my son and I are driving from NV to an East Coast beach town for at least 6 months. My husband is deployed and we're so far from any family that it just makes sense for us to do so. The House is rented to a coworker, legal loose ends are taking care of, and now it's time to start packing. We are driving across the country because I do not want to be without my car for 6+ months and because I hate to fly. Two birds with one stone I have a membership to Sam's Club for gas and being a military family there are some places that give us good discounts for lodging. My big issue is I don't want to live on fast food for the 5 days it's going to take us to drive, but I'd also like to not spend tons of money on food. I am hoping for continental breakfasts in hotels (hopefully with fruits, oatmeals, etc, not just muffins and Lucky Charms) but lunches and dinners are going to be harder without spending lots of money in restaurants. Does anyone have any tips to make this a bit thriftier?
Yes! Take a cooler with you and keep it in the front seat. That way, you can buy lunch meats and whatnot for sandwiches, for example. Make up some granola for snacks or some fruits. Focus on foods that can be eaten cold or room temperature (so you could potentially make up some in advance and then leave them out of the cooler for a bit to eat room temp instead). You really shouldn't spend any more on food than you would at home doing it this way....even less if you plan on using continental breakfasts (grab an extra set of fruit or bagels/muffins for later in the day, too!).
I hope we will have room for a cooler! I could live off of peanut butter sandwiches, but I want my son to eat better than that
Those are really big expenses when it comes to driving across country so I don't think anything other than the cooler idea will help much. You won't eat as much because you are a lot less active since you are sitting all day while driving so that will cut down. Keep lots of snacks on hand and maybe limit the big meals to breakfast and dinner then pick up a Lunchable or something when you stop for gas.
I took a three week road trip and stayed in hotels quite a bit over that time period. To cut room costs, I did some research beforehand to find out which hotel chain I would be staying at and then I enrolled in the chain's reward program. This helped me earn free nights on the road! In looking for the best hotel chain to stay at, I also kept in mind that I needed to find one with a free hot breakfast, which cuts down on food costs. I also packed a cooler and bought a lot of fresh produce and fruit to snack on and eat along the way. This helped with the cravings and kept my actual meal on the road down to one if any. When you do have to stop for food and you go fast food, try to stick to the value menu and order from the lighter side. The foods that are best for you will help keep you full longer. Drink plenty of water too. I know that makes you have to stop more frequently, but it keeps you full and hydrated which can help cut food and snack costs in the long run too!
2 ideas come to mind. Bring a cooler obviously but also either bring a small crockpot and/or a foreman grill. You can bake potatoes in a crockpot or do all in one meals by layering say chicken thighs, then foil wrapped potatoes then foil wrapped corn. It will be cooked to perfection in about 5-6 hours. You can cook an entire dinner on a foreman grill and they are cheap, less than $20 for a small one.
Obviously, the cooler is the best suggestion. If you can fill 500ml water bottles and freeze them, they'll double as ice blocks to keep the contents cool. I don't know how long you have before you leave, but if you have time, cook some chicken portions and freeze them, then take them with you and eat them as they thaw out. Hard boiled eggs are another healthy snack standby. They'll keep for several days on the move. Another idea is to make a pan of soup and keep it hot in a vacuum flask. I don't know how much time you have, or how much space is at your disposal, but these ideas are just off the top of my head.
Well, you have an option to stay at hotels that have kitchens in them. The type of hotel chains, like Homeaway and Extended Stay Hotel - places were you can live for a few weeks if you choose to - they tend to be affordable, and you can cook in them. They have the dishes and silverware included. I don't know that you can get too much thriftier than has been discussed here, because you will have to load your vehicle with food.
Stock up on some snacks and drinks before the trip to put into your car. So instead of going to a tourist area where you'll have to pay extremely high prices, you can just grab your snacks and drinks from the back of your car.
These are some good suggestions. This is proof that you should plan ahead instead of "winging" it, which is probably what some of us were suggesting to do. Good post
