Affordable Dining On Vacation

We're all trying to get back into the world, but with fuel and airfare costs soaring, it's really important for us budget travelers to figure out how to save on other parts of our vacations. I love trying new food, but all those meals out can really add up. 

Dining can be a big chunk of your budget, so here are 8 ways to save on food:

1. Bring Snacks 
   Trick your stomach by bringing snacks with you in your bag each day. This way, if you’re tempted to nibble on something, you know you have them on you and are less likely to spend money on food you don’t really need.
2. Eat Where the Locals Eat
   

   Just by avoiding touristy areas, you can save a lot on your meals. When you’re out, ask a few people where they recommend. They aren’t going to tell you they prefer a chain restaurant over their favorite local pub. The food is likely more authentic than those that you can find right near tourist attractions, making it cheaper, because it’s local and not shipped in from a different country. 
3. Make Lunch Your Main Meal
If you really want to try one of the “hip” restaurants by a celebrity chef, make reservations for lunch. The food will be just as good, but it’s usually much cheaper at lunch than at dinner.


4. Hit Up the Food Carts
Food carts can have a huge variety of different local and international foods, but can be half the price of (or less) than dining at a sit-down restaurant. With this kind of savings, you can try fare from several carts with no regrets.


5. Rent a Vacation Home Or Stay In a Hotel With a Kitchen(ette)
This is a great way to stretch a food budget, because there are so many options. Renting can be a great value over hotel stays if you’ll be visiting for a week or more, plus it gives you the chance to check out the local grocery store. If you aren’t a big breakfast person, instead of eating out for that meal, shop for new cereals and pastries that you can’t get at home. There’s never a better time to try new foods!


6. Sign Up for Groupon
Groupon is an amazing little site that offers daily deals on a wide assortment of things, not least of which is dining. Each day a new offer goes up at a big discount off the regular price. Dining certificates can be purchased quite often and many times you can grab a half-off gift certificate to a new local restaurant or one just trying to bring in new customers. It works! Sign up at Groupon for the destination of your next vacation (they cover many international locations as well as the United States) and eat for less!


7. Don't Order Off the Kids' Menu
If you travel with children, you’ll notice that all kids' menus seem to have the same small rotation of foods. Obviously, little ones don’t just live on hot dogs, pizza, chicken nuggets and PB&J sandwiches. Not only do they charge an outrageous amount for these “staples” that cost hardly anything to make, but they offer hardly any nutritional value and your kids are likely to eat only half of it before declaring they’re full. Instead, order a meal that you both will eat and share. This saves you money and might get them to eat a vegetable or two.


8. Stay At a Hotel That Offers Free Breakfast
You don’t realize how much dining out can cost until you go on vacation. A reasonable breakfast can cost between $8-15 per person. If you multiply that by the number of people you’re traveling with and the number of days you’ll be staying, that number can be huge. If you find a hotel in your price range that offers free breakfast, you’ve hit a jackpot of savings.

Hopefully, this helps you scale back on your food budget on your next trip and then you can find other ways to save as well. Give us some of your favorite food tips in the comments.

How To Have A Stress-Free Vacation

It may feel as though enjoying a stress-free holiday is unrealistic. There is always something to think about, always plenty to do before you can go, and always something to contend with when you finally get to your planned vacation spot. Sometimes it can genuinely feel as though you’re going from one set of stresses to another or even doubling up on your stress in some cases. This can mean that for some, vacations just don’t seem worth it. 

 

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However, the truth is that vacations are always worth it. When done right, they can reduce your normal stress levels, and if you are careful, they won’t add any more to your life either. Continue reading to find out how this can be done.

Pre-Book Where Possible

One of the things that may make a trip more stressful than it ever should be is not being able to accomplish all you want to do. This is especially true if it is something you have always wanted to do, perhaps the basis for the trip in the first place. 

If there is something you want to do, don’t run the risk of getting stressed (or even having your vacation ruined) when it is highly likely you can pre-book the activity ahead of time. When you can do this, you will find your stress levels decrease because everything will be in place, and you will know precisely what to do and where to go. You can arrange your airport parking, your airline can book your seats, your transfer when you arrive can be scheduled through your travel company, and numerous activities can be booked. A good example of this is a package tour by a reputable company you can book from home because everything is included for you and you don’t have to worry about anything.

Don’t Be Too Reachable 

When you're on vacation, you should stay on vacation. What you should not be doing is responding to business emails or participating in conference calls. In fact, work should be entirely ignored for the duration of your trip away. If you are a company owner with no additional employees to cover for you, this may be challenging, but planning for your vacation in advance is, as we’ve already said, a great way to de-stress, and it can also help your business keep going even when you’re not personally available. 

However, it’s not only work that can create stress when on vacation. It could be that your friends and relatives become a problem as well, and they will constantly want to ensure you’re all right and that you’re having a good time. This is incredibly well-meaning, but it can be stressful. If you can drop them a message once a week and make sure they’re aware that this is your plan, you should be able to relax a lot more. Staying away from social media is also a great idea. 

Pack Light 

Strange as it may seem, packing can often be a stressful element of your vacation. It shouldn’t be, of course; it’s just putting the clothes and items you need into a bag to take with you when you go away. However, it can still cause people to become anxious because they don’t know exactly what to take or what they are going to need while they’re on vacation. 

To combat this issue, research your destination. Look at the weather, at the dress code, at the activities. Then narrow down your packing to just the things you know you’re going to need. If there is a laundry room at your hotel or a cleaners in the city you’re staying at, then you can take even less with you. Take as little as possible to make your trip easier and less stressful.

Give Yourself Enough Time

No matter how you plan to get where you're going, give yourself more time than you think you'll need during peak season. This is very important on days with a lot of traffic (such as spring break in the US). On these days, almost everything will take longer than usual, like check-in lines, getting a taxi, and parking at the airport. Business travelers who are used to a certain routine may also find that traveling with their families isn't as easy or quick as when they travel alone. Knowing you have enough time to deal with anything unexpected can help keep you from getting anxious and stressed. If you get to the airport early, remember that working or reading in an airport lounge is much more relaxing than being stuck in traffic for 20 minutes in a taxi before your flight.

Don’t Assume Something Will Go Wrong

Sometimes stress can definitely come from within. Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or you’ve never left your hometown before, the more you think about things that can go wrong, the more stressed you will become. You might not even be able to truly enjoy yourself when you’re away because you just can’t shake the feeling that there is a problem or disaster is just around the corner. 

Although it’s good to have a contingency plan just in case you lose your passport, run out of money, or have an accident, for example, don’t dwell on these potential issues. Have plans in place to deal with them, and then focus on the positives of enjoying your vacation. In that way, you’ll be in a much better frame of mind, and you’ll have a lot more fun, as will anyone you’re traveling with. 

Have Something To Look Forward To When You Get Home

When you get back from a long trip, it can be exhausting and emotional, and it can be hard to get back into your old routine. A 2010 study found that this is very different from how people feel before a trip. People were always happier when they were getting ready for a trip than when they got back.

Make sure that when you get home, you have something fun to look forward to. That could be a neat and clean place to live or some fun things to do in the near future. If you can organize this before you leave, going home won’t be so bad, and you won’t feel stressed out during your vacation, which will curtail your fun. 

Share some of your favorite stress-free destinations below.

Packable Halloween Costumes

I like to travel during the holidays, and one of those holidays is Halloween. I'm an adult who will dress up for any reason. Costumes are fun. Even if you're just looking to pack a costume for the kids, they can end up taking up a big part of your carry-on, which is all priority space.  

We have visited Disney parks multiple times with costumes and still packed light and accomplished carry-on-only travel, so I think we've done it right. Here are some fun costumes that you can easily pack:

Sports Fan

This was a back-up plan of mine, because one October we visited Disneyland and it was suuuuuuuuuuuper hot. I knew the outfit I'd brought wasn't going to do me any favors, so I pivoted and ran to a sports store and purchased an LA Angels t-shirt, hat, lanyard, and matching sweat bands. Because it was the local baseball team, people got really excited seeing me coming. I was able to rewear that t-shirt on the rest of my trip, too. You probably already have some sporty gear for your chosen team. Add multiple pieces to really push it over the top.

Ice Cream Man or Barista

Eric doesn't like to wear involved outfits, because the added layers make him too hot. Ice cream man or barista really only requires an apron, hat and name tag. You can wear your regular clothes underneath, since most everything works. Purchase pieces separately, or buy the complete costume:

• Barista complete
• Green Apron
• Name tag
• Ice cream man/woman
• White apron
• Name tag
• hat

Free Guy

I really loved this movie and you don't have to be Ryan Reynolds to pull it off. You can purchase the above costume from Amazon, or you probably already have a shirt and tie that will work, and you can just order a name tag to go with it. You can add a set of blue light glasses or carry around a cup of coffee to complete the look.

Postal Carrier

Three easy pieces - a vest, hat, and bag - make this great outfit, plus you can use the accessory as your day bag and it'll look stuffed with mail. You may need to add some better stitching and a good closure before you head out, but that's not too hard to do. You don't want all your snacks and whatever leaving a trail behind you. 

Another idea for you is to use a blue bag you already have and add a logo to it with double-sided tape or sticky-backed velcro. I really love this Travelon bag for travel. The blue is a lovely dark color and it has anti-theft features.

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Basic Witch

Most of us travel with a little black dress. If this is true of you, then you don't have to do much more. Pack a fun witch hat (these are great, don't require much maintenance, and you can add a variety things to them) and maybe some chunky jewelry that really says "witch". You can wear whatever black shoes you've brought to go with your dress. I, generally, just bring black flats that go with everything. A wand really caps things off, if it's not going to be inconvenient to tote around with you. It will make for fun, magical photos though.

Squid Game

This was such a phenomenon that almost everyone is going to get this costume. It's also laid back and comfy, and great for cooler climates, because you can easily layer warmer pieces underneath it if you need. You can get the official costume or add your own numbers to a generic track suit that you can wear again not on Halloween.

Clark Kent

Want to be a (somewhat) secret superhero? You probably have a white button-down shirt and a tie. Get yourself a Superman t-shirt to wear underneath and arrange your shirt partway open and your tie askew to look like you're Clark ready to quick-change. If you don't have a pair of glasses already, head to your local dollar store and buy a pair of black glasses that you can pop the lenses out of. 

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Artist, Beatnik, Mime or French Person

I really loved this outfit that I wore for work one year. It's easy to do and still allowed me to move around like normal. I have several striped shirts, but if you don't, you can buy the whole costume. This makes a fun couple's costume, too. Here's the whole outfit for women and for men.

Robber

Replace the beret above with a black knit cap and carry a money bag (if you're lazy and cheap like me) or get the whole look with gloves and a mask to be an old-school robber. All you need is a pair of black pants and shoes and you're good to go. Get this in short sleeve or long sleeve if it's cooler out. If you're in need of a real purse to hold your credit cards and keys and stuff, there's always this bag. 

Sorry for this terrible picture. Good thing I've learned to take more and better ones since this.

On Safari

I feel like everyone has one of these outdoor shirts in khaki, brown or white. Get yourself a matching hat and add some cheapo binoculars and now you look like you're on safari. Easy peasy.

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Tourist

You are one, so this should be easy. All you need is a Hawaiian shirt, a camera, and a map. Ask people for directions for more effect. I like these phone cases that look like cameras that you can wear around your neck, so you aren't carrying around something unnecessary.

You may see more costume suggestions before Halloween, because I love being creative with just a few things. I hope your Fall travels are looking good. Have you ever tried to travel with a costume?

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