We like to get away frequently and the way we are able to do so is by keeping our costs down. Whether it’s a weekend getaway, a longer road trip or we fly to our destination, we travel with supplies that allow us to be self sufficient. While staying in a budget hotel or treating ourselves to a fancy resort we save money on our meals by bringing a little bit of home with us.
We don’t prepare every meal for ourselves, part of the joy of going away is eating out in restaurants and cafes. It’s a way to experience the atmosphere of your destination, a source of entertainment and way to try different foods. By preparing some of our own meals we can go out for a nice dinner or have the occasional big brunch or breakfast buffet without having to worry about the cost.
Take Advantage Of The Mini Fridge
Many hotels and other types of accommodation supply a small fridge, we take full advantage of that. On road trips we travel with our own cooler to keep things cold en route.
We bring fresh veggies, fruit, yogurt, cheese, small packs of mustard and butter and our own alcoholic beverages. Non refrigerated items include, canned tuna and salmon, crackers, bread or buns for sandwiches, cereal, bagels, trail mix and cookies.
Bring The Supplies You Need To Prepare Your Meals
We travel with a small cutting board, a knife, bowls and cutlery, a can opener and a veggie peeler. What we need to bring depends on how much prep we have done at home. Sometimes veggies and fruits are pre-cut and put into containers, other we do it at the hotel.
The Piece De Resistance, Our Electric Skillet
Our electric skillet comes with us to any destination we have not flown to. We have cooked anything from onions and perogies, pasta dishes, soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, stirfrys and scrambled eggs, all in our hotel room!
Canned Salmon And Tuna Are Our Friends
On road trips it’s easy to find a grocery store or bakery to grab a bun and crack open a can of fish to throw on it. If we don’t have some small packs of mustard or butter with us we can often find some in the deli section of a grocery store.
On a few long stay trips to Hawaii and Mexico we have put an entire case of salmon and tuna in our suitcase. It acts as a great staple for sandwiches and wraps during out stay.
Avoid Having To Buy Bottled Water
If at all possible the first thing we bring is a device to filter water. We happen to use a Brita container and filter. Even though the water is safe to drink throughout North America, some of it has a less than desirable taste. I’m not sure how much the Brita filter actually does in filtering out anything harmful, but it does help to remove any unpleasant taste, such as excessive chlorine.
When we head out for the day to sight see or hike we filter the water through the Brita and fill up our stainless steel water containers. If we add ice on a hot day the steel containers will keep the water cool for hours.
Make Your Own Tea
We are both tea junkies, it’s amazing how quickly the cost of purchasing beverages can add up. We bring our own tea, sugar and mugs and purchase a container of cream on arrival. On this particular trip we got really fancy and brought our own teapot, loose leaf tea and kettle. There’s nothing like starting the morning with a cup of tea made just like we would at home.
We also have stainless steel travel mugs to fill with tea before heading out for a day of sight seeing. That we don’t have to buy tea along the way.
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