Practical Travel Tips to Save Money on the Road

You being on the road equates to you spending money. Of course, you can always hitchhike but that can be downright dangerous; you can paw through trash for food but that is uber unhealthy; you can bed down on any available bench but that can lead to vagrancy. There are other imaginative ways to save money on the road short of begging and stealing. Hold on to your leather money clip!

Beware of Gourmet

True gourmet food is usually expensive, not just because of the ingredients but also because of the care of preparation, not to mention the ambience you pay for. But on the road, gourmet can mean a totally different experience.

Often, you will be served frozen TV dinner that has been nuked in the microwave. It is then placed on porcelain plates, served on your table with complete dinner settings, and a glass of house wine and voila! You have “gourmet” food taxing your humble leather money clip.

It is to your best interest, both your digestive system and your leather money clip, to order take out and eat inside your car or your motel room. You will save money.

Room Security

When stuck in a dubious motel, you can turn on the TV on a respectable volume, place a “Do not disturb” sign outside your door, lock the door and take your dinner outside (if you can find a restaurant with no “gourmet” on it). Hopefully, the maid and her boyfriend will take the hint and keep away from stealing your suit and the leather money clip hidden in its front pocket. And hurry back!

Be Specific with Your Food Orders

You have to specify your order to the waitress. Your failure to do so would result in wasted food, and consequently wasted money. Let her repeat your order and correct her if necessary, but ever politely so.

When paying, do not brandish your wallet about. Just discreetly get your leather money clip out (yes, the one with money just enough for a meal) and pay the bill from it. This way, you will not be tempted to tip your waitress more than you wanted to.

Stock up on Quarters

The modern saying about a traveler setting out in America without a pocketful of quarters is like a soldier with ammunition is very, very true. You have to pay with coins at toll booths, newspaper boxes, and vending machines, among other quarter-hungry contraptions.

Always pay in paper money as much as possible. If the cashier is friendly enough, you can request him to trade your paper money into quarters. Obviously, you will need a coin purse since your leather money clip is useless in this area.

How can this save you money? Well, when you eat your food from vending machines you usually only settle for chips and a soda, mainly because you are presented with very little choice. If you compare that to shopping at a goodies-laden grocery store where you will be tempted to splurge, you will get a better idea of how this method can save you money.

These tips are meant to help you save money. In the end, your miserly ways will save you from arriving at your destination as poor as the church rat.

Travel on the Cheap With Your Money Clip

Finding it impossible to give you family a summer break? Think again. There are ways to travel on the cheap with your money clip.

Can You Afford a Summer Break?

With prices rocketing to astronomical highs, the prospect of vacationing with children this summer can dampen one’s insatiable wanderlust. But before ditching the idea of a summer sabbatical, how about stomping on the less traveled by-ways? There are great getaways in the heartland, which you never heard about yet these are equally enchanting and entrancing without your money clip or your wallet running on empty.

To get things going, the first thing to do is to plan the vacation ahead of time and decide where to go, where to stay, and how to have the fun and adventure on limited resources – meaning, vacationing like the Vanderbilts without having to end up with an empty money clip.

Instead of sailing out to far exotic places, visit the neighboring states – the nearer the better – and along the way, pay a visit to family and friends. You’ll have a good time remembering the good old days, and your kids will have the chance to catch up with their cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents.

Summer Treats for Different Trips

For a successful budget vacation, select nearby states with lots to offer in terms of family fun and spectacular views. Add up the cost of all the bus rides for the entire family and the stops at lodging houses along the way (if necessary). If the expense is just a few hundred dollars more, opt to gas up and drive away into the summer sunset and enjoy the views after stuffing your money clip with the budget for the day.

If you leave in Boston, Pasadena, or New York and love to gawk at old but opulent mansions, head out to Newport in Rhode Island to tour the pre-World War II Rosecliff house. Or, if the Blue Mountains and a laid-back atmosphere is your cup of tea, Carroll County in Virginia is your answer.

Holidaying couples can have stretches of isolated beaches or shorelines without having to go to the Caribbean in Cape May. Drive out there if you’re anywhere near Philadelphia. At the beach, you won’t have to take a bulky wallet; your money clip will do. Like a boy scout, you’ll have to be ready just in case.

Or, you can visit family along the way. A night or two with the relatives can ease up the vacation budget without diminishing the fun. You won’t have to check your vacation fund or your money clip to see if you can still make a go of it to the nearest vacation spot.

Helpful Tips

Here are other tips to vacation cheaply:

* For the road trip bring tons of non-perishable food because restaurant food is costly.

* Instead of checking into hotels and renting a vacation cabin, pitch a tent in a populated and designated camping grounds.

* Cook meals for the family in the campsite. Eating outdoors is exciting and out of the ordinary for the kids long cooped up school cafterias.

* For sightseeing in neighboring counties, take the bus, instead of gassing up your pick-up truck.

See? There are endless possibilities to enjoy your summer on a budget. Just take a good look around and plan ahead and hold to your money clip.