Every time you travel, and sometimes at home, there are ways to save money on many of the things you do. Here are things that helped us save money on a recent trip through three states. And some mistakes that we learned, giving us a new way to save money on the next trip.
Food
1. When in a restaurant, order water, instead of a soda or ice tea. Everyone needs to drink more water, so this is a great way to get in some of that water and save a few dollars as you do it.
2. Also, when in a restaurant, order a large lunch and bring back leftovers for dinner. This will require access to a refrigerator and possibly a microwave. Another option will be to buy the least expensive ice chest you can find, or bring one along – depending on if you drove your own car or are renting one. We did this a few days on our recent trip. Usually, I don’t have leftovers, but usually, I am full when I leave. At one place they gave us free ice cream, so we saved half of our sandwiches for dinner and had ice cream for dessert, which we don’t usually buy. Another place gave us so much food there was no way I could eat it all. Free dinner in my book. You can also save money at restaurants by buying an appetizer instead of a full meal.
3. If you are at a hotel with no breakfast, you can stop by a grocery store or bakery and pick up possible dinner and breakfast. You will likely need at least a microwave in your room. One night we bought TV dinners, another we bought prepared food from a grocery store. Breakfast can be yogurt, fresh fruit, muffins, or sweet rolls. And be sure to carry healthy snacks in your car like nuts, fruit, and popcorn, just in case.
Lodging
4. If you are going to a hotel try to find one with a free breakfast. We stayed in three hotels with a free breakfast. Because we were at that time in the season of Covid-19, two of those breakfasts were not much. They gave us a paper bag with a granola bar, a bottle of water, and a muffin which was not very appetizing when you are used to fresh ones from Costco. One place did add an apple. The first place we went to gave us a choice of beverages, yogurt, fresh fruit, and/or cereal. In addition, they had breakfast sandwiches which were a croissant, cheese, ham, or sausage, freshly made as you waited. Every place offered free coffee. We longed for the days of waffles and pancakes, but alas that was not happening on this trip.
5. Find a site that works for you to get discounts on hotels. Because we were using Southwest Airlines for our trip we got a discount from them and additional points toward our next trip. I also signed up with Best Western and they gave us a $25 gift certificate toward our next stay. It did come with a limited time to use it. I never did try any online search sites for savings, but I’m keeping it in mind for our next trip. I made a mistake and called what I thought was a hotel directly. That place was full and she suggested another place nearby. I hadn’t realized I was using a service. I believe it was the most expensive place we stayed because we paid for the hotel plus a reservation fee of $14.99.
Sight-seeing
6. Go to free activities. In Missouri the state parks were free. Many free historical markers, bridges, waterfalls, parks, etc. are out there if you plan ahead. Another great place we toured was a house owned by the state of Illinois. We showed up not realizing we needed reservations, but we were able to get on the next tour because it was only my husband and me. We went to the largest flea market in the Midwest. It did cost us $3 to park. Hiking is usually free, as is visiting a beach. In addition, if you are on Route 66 you will find a lot of giant things like Rocking Chairs, Giant Tricycle, Big Hillbilly, etc. They make great photo ops.
7. Check with the locals for their suggestions. While in Missouri, my aunt highly recommended a Catholic church that had amazing tile pictures on the walls and ceilings. The tiles were about a one-inch square. This was a self-guided tour due to Covid-19, and couldn’t be viewed during a mass. While visiting the Wakarusa Pro Hardware, known for its wall of drawers, we talked to the owner. He suggested we go look at the Garden Quilt down the road. Annually a bed of dirt is planted with a design in it similar to a quilt. It was really close, but had we not talked to the owner, we would have missed it.
8. Everywhere you eat, every hotel you stay in, every activity you pay for, every flight your take, or rental car you use ask for a senior discount. Or if you have them AARP or AAA discounts. They will usually tell you which is the best discount.
Driving a rental car
9. Gas prices. Try to find the least expensive gas. We were excited on our trip to pay $2.29 a gallon for gas because back in California we paid $2.69 to $2.75. But as we drove around, we spotted places where the gas was $1.99, and even one day it was $1.69. Yes, we were in different states, but we bought the highest price on our trip because we thought it was so inexpensive when a few blocks down the road it was 20 cents or more, less expensive.
10. Be sure that you view your rental car with an employee. It seems like we have always had that happen in the past. We rented our car at a company we have used before that gave us a senior discount. However, the employees were too busy and skipped that part. We didn’t really think much about it, but once we were stopped for the night at our hotel we became aware of two issues that we thought we could end up paying for in the end. One item was sap on the roof, windows, and doors. My husband bought something at the hardware store we visited and spent some time getting rid of all of it, just in case they tried to accuse us of being responsible for something we did not do.
There were also issues with one of the tires, which had sections cut out and the rim was scratched up. Someone had done this before us and it would be too expensive for us to fix. Fortunately, they didn’t find anything wrong with the vehicle. Had they mentioned the tire, we would have had no way to prove that it was that way when we picked up the car.
Toll roads
11. Be careful with toll roads. We tried to avoid them whenever possible. But, we did have a fail, when trying to get into a truck stop my husband turned onto a toll road. We were not familiar with the rules of toll roads in the state of Illinois. So we got off a few exits later and turned around and went back to where we wanted to be. We should have paid the toll once we got off but it was an exit with no toll booth. Fortunately, they had a sign with the website we needed to go to within 7 days to pay our toll. It took a few days for me to figure out how to pay the toll. By then I had no idea which road it had been on. So, in the end, I paid $3.80, which was the maximum fee on any toll road in the state.
Enjoy
If you have a budget for your trip, these money-saving ideas can help you keep within your budget. Are you planning a trip soon? Reply below if you have other savings ideas that you can share.
If you are planning a trip be sure to read this recent post. Click on the title to go directly to the post.
If you want more information about the Catholic Church we viewed In Missouri check out this post. Click on the title and you will go directly there.
I hope you enjoy your vacation! May it be a great adventure that gives you great lasting memories.
