Travel Tips
A Simple Travel Tip That Will Save You Money
Hint: it involves food!
Let’s face it: it is overwhelming to keep track of all the ways that you can reduce your travel costs.
So if you are looking to save money and keep things simple, I’ll let you in on a travel hack that saves me money daily.
And there aren’t any tools to use or tricks to learn!
Here’s the fix:
- Stay at an accommodation with a kitchen.
- Buy your own groceries.
- Cook some (but not all!) of your own meals.
Of course, it’s okay to not want to buy groceries and cook for yourself when you’re on vacation. I mean, you’re on vacation! Taking a break from the meal planning you do at home is heavenly.
However, if you indeed do want to save money when you’re traveling, you can choose to balance when to:
- Cook your meals.
- Eat out.
- Splurge on spontaneous treats!
It’s very helpful to plan beforehand since it’ll always be tempting to spend more on food than you initially planned.
When you are walking down the street on vacation, you might think:
“Oh hey, I would love a second scoop of gelato today. Why not? I’m on vacation!”
Or:
“Hey, are those souffle pancakes I see in that café? I heard they’re fluffy and delicious. I want to try one!”
I remember being in Genoa and learning that pesto originated in that region. So what did I do? I ate pesto focaccia! And did I think about my budget? Sure, for a split second! Then I remembered it was okay since I had already saved money by making breakfasts at my hostel that week.
A great rule of thumb is to only spend what you are comfortable with. If you are thinking of buying food spontaneously or eating an expensive meal, but you get an uncomfortable gut feeling because you think you’ve already spent too much, then don’t buy the food.
That’s why it’s great to plan ahead on which meals to cook and which to splurge on. And when it feels comfortable to buy that empanada from that happy street food vendor while you walk down the street in Spain!
How to plan:
Suppose you’re staying in a city known for its breakfasts (like in Honolulu, they have delicious papaya pancakes). In that case, you can go out and eat breakfast and cook your own dinner that day if you also want to save money.
On the other hand, if you’re in Spain and want to try tapas, you can cook your own breakfast and try mouth-watering tapas at dinner.
Or, regardless of the city you’re in, if you enjoy dinner more than breakfast, you can eat out at dinner and make your own breakfast.
You can prioritize the meals that you cook and the meals you eat out.
Similar to what you do at home!
Now, if you want to eat out for every meal, and have the budget for it, by all means, go for it! Treat yo’ self!
But if you’re traveling more on a tighter budget, making some of your own meals is one of the simplest travel hacks that will help you save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars depending on how long your trip is.
Have you ever made your own meals while traveling? I would love to hear about it in the comments!
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I’m an engineer and freelance writer. I’ve worked remotely for five years and have traveled worldwide as a digital nomad. And guess what? If you want to get in touch about writing or travel, my email is: malia.e.gibson@gmail.com
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