Inexpensive (and easy) AIRPORT food!!

It’s “Girl’s Retreat” time for my extended family!!  (I’m still the person who lives the farthest away from where the festivities take place, so I must fly to where I enjoy time with 7 of my 8 sisters-in-law AND my mother-in-law.)    Each year I make this homage back, it is a financial sacrifice to make it happen.  Yet, it is important…so we find a way to make it happen.

Traveling is expensive—especially flying.  I shop around for flights and make sure I’m aware of any “deals” so I can take advantage of them.  This year I flew with Southwest with one of their “Wanna Get Away” deals.  HOWEVER, one of my sisters-in-laws told me about another inexpensive airline that she has used that I had never heard of before called: Allegaint.   

VS. 

WHO has the better price???  It's worth checking!!

They offer cheap flights that compete with Southwest’s cheapest fares.  The only downside to flying with them is they only have a few select times/days to choose from and NO snack service.  BUT, if an inexpensive flight is your goal to get where need to go, don’t rule them out.  It could save you a lot of money!!

One of the more expensive parts of traveling by air is being trapped into buying food at an inflated price at the airport…because they know you are limited to go elsewhere!!  I did a post a few years back on this topic…where I gave a TIP on drinks and a main dish.

I am always on the lookout for ways to expand my meal options while at the airport—especially healthier options.  As I went down the soup isle, I came across a single serve cup of “just add water” mashed potatoes by Betty Crocker AND Idahoan for 98¢. 

Flavor choices: Four Cheese,Roasted Garlic, Creamy Butter, Loaded Baked, and Applewood Smoked Bacon!

Now, I could never justify the expense for such an item for daily use, considering a box of potato flakes is a considerably cheaper route…but the idea of having something pre-seasoned and pre-served held my attention.  Not to mention significantly cheaper than airport prices!!  I chose to give the “Idahoan Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes” a try.

I loaded them up in my carry-on luggage and headed off to the airport. 

I decided not use it on my flight to my destination and saved it for the return trip.  This one serving package made it through two different security checks without a problem.  When I decided to use it, I walked up to a little fast food place inside the airport, behind security, and asked for a cup of HOT water.  They wanted to know what it was for.  Replying it was to make Mashed Potatoes, they gave me a small cup.  Since no one was in line behind me, I mixed it up right in front of the cashier.  They remarked, “That smells good.”  When I was done, I walked away to find myself a nice place to enjoy some mashed potatoes (110 calories) and self-made lemonade.  

Guess what?  It was enjoyable to eat!!  Plus, I will be honest and say that is the most FULL I have ever felt at the airport.  I sustained me for a long time!!  I feel confident in highly recommending this idea to ANYONE who wants to save money flying (or otherwise).  There are many flavors to choose from…so if “roasted garlic” isn’t something that “lights your fire” give a different  flavor a try!!

Happy Penny Pinching….while traveling!!

Vacation Planning on a LOW Budget!

We have been planning our family vacation.  Money seems to always be in short supply, but this school  year it seems particularly tight.  (We’ve had one surgery, one car repair, and replaced one washing machine….all while my husband’s school district hasn’t decided what the teacher’s salary will be for THIS year….and this year is more than half over!  Yes.  If they decide to cut our pay, we will have to “give them back money”.  Yikes.)

Anyway…family vacations are important to us.  We aren’t going to let a lack of funds deter us from have a lot of fun as a family!!

HOW do you select a vacation that is budget friendly? 

1.       The 1^st thing you should think of is: WHERE?  I would recommend looking around at unique locations within 2-4 hours of driving distance from your home.  This will greatly aid in keeping costs down.  Do you have National Parks or State Parks in the area?  Museums?  Concerts?  Pageants?  Summer Festivals?  You can incorporate ALL of these into your summer vacations!  I have done a couple of posts on this.  Check them out!

Community Summer Concerts for FREE

University Events for FREE

2.       The 2^nd things you should think of is: HOW MUCH TIME AWAY?  The shorter the vacation, the cheaper it is.  Try keeping your vacations to 2-3 nights away from home.  You might be surprised to see how much you can pack in such a short time!  OR…you might be surprised to find out how many vacations you can have in one summer when they are shorter.  (Try several short vacations instead of one long one!)

The cheapest way to vacation is to camp.  However, I realize there are LOTS of people out there who are NOT campers.  This does NOT mean you are doomed to expensive vacations!!  Check rest stops and trucker gas stations to find coupons for motel/hotels.  Usually Monday-Thursdays are the best rates.   Check for deals online.  Even better, contact the university near your vacation location and see if they are renting out their empty dorm rooms and arrange for your family to have accommodations on campus!!  (I can’t think of a better way to promote going to college to your kids!!)

When you choose a place close to home, you can also “pretend” that your home is a rented “cabin”.  My kids are BIG fan of this.  We tell our friends we are going out of town.  All “normal home business” is STOPPED during the “rental” of our own home.  (We are already paying “rent” for the building…it is NO extra lodging cost on top of our mortgage!)  We turn off all phones, don’t answer doors, arrange to have our mail stopped at the post office (so there won’t be a temptation to take care of business) and we don’t check email!  We do not have chores.  We don’t do laundry.  Remember we are on vacation!  All “normal” home type activities are ceased!  We stay up late and watch movies, we explore our town like tourists- doing things we normal term “too expensive”.   (A great feature is this practice is you have everything you need at your fingertips!!  There is NO forgeting anything!)   My best “example” of how much my kids like this….Once we had to go to the store to get milk during one of these “pretend rentals”.  We ended up running into someone we knew.  My children looked at them and promptly said, “You can’t see us!!  We are on VACATION at our cabin!!  You need to pretend we are NOT here!”  Because our behavior is distinctly different, my children can FEEL when it is “life” and when it is “vacation”.

This year we will be going to a nearby National Park approximately 2 ½ hours away.  We have reservations to camp nearby, therefore keeping costs down.  We will bring plenty of food from home.  We are camping type of family, so we have all the gear to comfortably sleep AND cook gourmet food so the cost should be minimal.  There is plenty to do and see.  Sometimes the most “simple” fun is the most memorable.

Happy Stretching Pennies....

P.S.  Someday I will do a post on the virtues of family camping and how to make it a pleasurable experience.....

Disneyland MEALS on a Budget

My mom had a “crazy” idea 2 months ago and decided that taking her grandchildren to Disneyland was one of those things on her “bucket list” (that she just needed to do before she died…or wanted to do before she was unable to because of declining health).  So….for Thanksgiving this year, we headed to Disneyland!!!

This was our "most" Disneyland type picture....guess I was having more fun "doing" than hiding behind a camera!

This is NOT our typical type of family vacation.  In fact, it was my children’s AND my husband’s 1^st time to Disneyland.  AND....Being a frugal person, I decided to see how cheaply we could do things.

Since our time at Disneyland resembled a family reunion (cousins, aunts/uncles, and grandparents), I suggested we rent a house verses hotel rooms.  Ultimately: it was cheaper, we felt more like a group- yet maintained our privacy, AND we had access to a full kitchen.  (We LOVED that dishwasher!!)  The house we rented was within walking distance to Disneyland—so we avoided the parking fee—yet we were able to enjoy the benefit of riding the parking lot tram.  Thus, saving a small walking distance AND saving a $15 a day parking fee.

Since meals can be one the bigger costs of a Disneyland vacation, we planned on NOT using any restaurants. 

BREAKFAST

• House Rental:  Each morning for breakfast we woke up to giant muffins from Sam’s, cereal, juice, bagels, and toast.  (We wanted an “eat-and-run” style breakfast so we could pack in as much FUN as possible.)  And since we rented a house, we just rinsed our dished, put them in the dishwasher! 
• Hotel/Motel:  Had we been in a hotel, we would have hopefully had a continental breakfast, but IF not we would have done the same breakfast but the dishes would have been washed in the sink before we left.

LUNCH

After we finished breakfast, each person packed their snacks and prepared a sandwich for the day. 

·         House Rental:  We just pulled things out of the fridge to prepare sandwiches and then put the supplies back in the fridge.

·         Motel/Hotel:  I would just pull supplies out of our cooler, prepare sandwiches on the typically small, round table and put the supplies back in the cooler with ice from the ice machine as our “fridge” away from home.

Transporting SANDWICHES to Disneyland: 

·         House Rental:  We brought lunch meat style sandwiches in an insulated casserole carrying case (got on sale from World Market) with reusable ice containers, straight from the freezer—keeping things nice and cold.  (No one wants to get food poisoning from meat gone bad—especially on a road trip!!)

·         Motel/Hotel:   I would bring my sandwiches in a small cooler with ice from the ice machine at the hotel.  Sandwiches could be stored in Tupperware or Ziploc baggies.  If you put the ice into a gallon Ziploc bag as well,  there is much less chance of soggy sandwich!!

Transporting SNACKS to Disneyland:  Each person in our group was responsible for filling a small Tupperware of their favorite sacks.  Then each person was responsible for carrying their OWN snacks in their own fanny packs—including my 4 year old!!  (It didn’t feel so heavy to him, because he was transported to rides via stroller…but the fanny pack was still attached to HIS body!)  Everyone liked the convenience of having their snacks within arm’s reach at ALL times, even when we split up to ride different rides for a short time.

DINNER

Since Disneyland is the most “packed” in the afternoon, we liked heading back to our rental for an early dinner before our children got cranky.  (We ate about 4:30-5p.m.)   Before leaving for Disneyland, I had prepared some homemade soups (link to my EASY soup recipes) and froze them. 

I chose several flavors of soups from my freezer to bring with us!  Dinner in a snap!!

We brought the frozen soups from home with us—along with some rolls from the Wonder Thrift Store that we bought right before leaving home.  (link to HOW I buy good bread for less).  In the morning, I removed one of the flavors of soup, defrosted it a bit in the microwave—enough that the contents would slip out- and dumped it into the crock pot we brought from home. 

I turned it on “low” and headed out for our FUN day at Disneyland.  When we returned to our rental home after walking around the park ALL day long, and had a meal waiting for us.  I didn’t have to find the energy to cook, our diet didn’t change, and I didn’t hear my children “whine” about when dinner would be ready.  

·         Rental House:   Again, when we were done eating we had the glorious luxury of rinsing our dishes off, putting them in the dishwasher and we were READY for some more fun at Disneyland.

·         Hotel/Motel:  Using a crock pot at a motel/hotel is just as easy.  Just bring your crock pot from home (or pick one up at a thrift store) and plug it in next to the sink area!!  It works like a charm and we’ve never had any complaints!

Easier MEAL, but a little more expensive:  Open a can of stew, canned chili, canned baked beans, or other prepared food (at your local freezer OR Costco) to heat all day long, (while you are away having fun), in the crock pot.

STORING YOUR FOOD AT DISNEYLAND

Our 1^st day, we rented a locker as a big group.  You have unlimited access to that locker ALL day long.  It was electronic—so our whole group could get in & out of it regardless of our being together or not.  It was a nice way to store everyone’s lunches (ice packs included)…though the locker filled up with everyone’s jackets as they day went on.  However our 2^nd day at Disneyland, our group headed out at different times.  We ended up keeping our insulted casserole carrying case filled with our sandwiches in the bottom of our stroller and it worked out just as smoothly for lunch without the locker.

DRINKS

We brought ONE water bottle per person and labeled them with a sharpie.  During the day, we drank water (refilling them as necessary)—but at lunch time everyone wanted juice.  We didn’t want to purchase anything, nor did we want to bring additional things creating a lot of bulk to keep track of.  Sooooo....

I had previously bought “single serving” ON-THE-GO flavor packets at the dollar store. 

We enjoyed lemonade, cool raspberry, and Hawaiian Punch.

ENTERTAINMENT (shopping)

There are SO many stores inside Disneyland just waiting to empty your pockets.  My children really wanted little plastic guns that resembled a pirate gun until they heard the price: $8.49 for a SMALL one!  They dropped their pleadings when they heard the price.  They didn’t want to spend their hard earned money on that!  But their urge to “buy” was not satisfied until the penny arcade.   If going shopping is just “calling your children’s name”… Promise them you will take them to the Penny arcade on Main Street, where they can watch old time movies for a penny.   (It was next to the candy factory).  Just dropping that coin into the machine and pressing their faces into the view finder helped to alleviate that urge to just buy “something”.

Our total spent:

• Restaurants: $0
• Snacks: $0
• Entertainment/Shopping: $0.06
• Food: Nothing more than if I had been a home anyway....everything came out of my fridge, freezer or pantry!!

Other Tips I would share:

• Use those FastPasses to your advantage.  Whenever you have the chance to get one....do it!  Work the other rides around the FastPasses!
• Go back to your rooms or house during the middle of the day when the park is at its fullest for a rest, swim, or a snack!
• Get FastPasses to Star Tours early...in fact get one 1st...and then ride while you wait for the fastpass to become good.  There are 54 short interactive movie clips....you could never see them all in one day!
• A small vile of bubbles from the dollar store is a wonderful tool when waiting in line.
• Bring a sharpie....its not just for those water bottles.  You can write your cell phone number on your children's arms!
• A highlighter---highlight either the bathrooms...or all the rides that are a "must" for your children on the map you get when you enter the park!
• For MORE ideas and advice than you can imagine...but an amazing resource, check out "The Unoffical Guide to Disneyland" from your local library!

Happy Stretching Pennies...

The GOURMET Picnic--the KEY to low cost "vacations"...

I'm a firm believer that it doesn't cost a lot of money to have fun!I LOVE vacations or "day-cations" (aka.  all day outings)  What are some of the biggest costs in "outings": Food & Lodging.  It doesn't matter what kind of "cation" you are doing...food WILL impact your expenses.

I know it is easier to go through McDonald's (or other fast food) and order from their dollar menu.  BUT that can get expensive!!  Why not consider your own "Quarter Menu"?  Bring your own GOURMET picnic breakfast/lunch/dinner from home?  I'm NOT suggesting you live on sandwiches!  That would get really boring-FAST!

Everyone needs to stretch their legs on a road trip. Consider looking for a park instead of a restaurant---where you will only end up sitting some more!?! They provided picnic tables, usually a decent view or GREAT view and room to stretch your legs. If you have children, it can be a 'sanitiy break' after being confined to the car. The children can run and play on the playground while you prepare the food. If you don't have children, it could be a chance to discover a *new* romantic stroll in the park!

GOURMET PICNIC *essential* items you need:
1. a COOLER--This opens up the possibilities for lots of different types of food!  (Such as: pasta salad, taco salad, bagels & cream cheese, potato salad, fruit/veggies with dip, pita sandwiches, chicken salad, and of course a sandwich.)
2. a TABLE CLOTH- This allows for ANY table to be hospitable.  I've gotten some at Jo Ann's fabric store for 40-60% off and YOU decide how big it need to be.
3. a SIMPLE PICNIC DINNER SET- You don't actually have to buy anything special....any plastic plates, silverware and cups will do. We got ours for FREE at Sportsman's Warehouse (color coded for each person) using our REI dividend. I've also seen a nice set at Big 5 or REI. we also dub our set for camping.

4. a SMALL TUB- When you are done eating you can throw the dirty settings into it to bring home to your dishwasher, motel room bathroom sink, or campsite to wash. FYI: rinsing at this stage is extremely helpful!

5. a WATER BOTTLE- for rinsing off dirty dishes or drinking
6. a SPONGE- to wipe up any spills

To EXPAND your Picnic possibilities---
1. a CAMP STOVE- a 2 burner propane stove or backpacking stove.. (BONUS--you are adding great equipment to your 72 hour kit...and you'll know how to use it!) With having one of these--your possibilities are endless. You can heat up ANYTHING! It could be a stir fry, homemade soup, stew BBQ sandwich, Sloppy Joe's, french dip sandwiches, fish tacos...etc. If time is NOT on your side, you can just bring cans from the grocery store of soup, stew, pork n' beans, Ramen, or even hot dogs! You could even go as simple as heating up water for cup of noodles or oatmeal packets! We have even done Pot stickers straight from the freezer!

In this picture, we were preparing fish tacos on a road trip...

2. a POT- obviously to heat up any of the above  You need a pot or two.  We got ours at REI for FREE using our dividend. 
3. a SALT/PEPPER SHAKER- We picked up some awesome ones at Sportsman's Warehouse. I don't remember the price--but it was definitely under $10.

4. a WOODEN SPOON- to stir and not burn all that yummy food you are going to make.
5. a POT HOLDER- your heating something up...it makes for an easy transfer.

Time can be the biggest factor in your outings in how much you'll spend or do.  We have all of our equipment in ONE place--designated only for outings!  It makes for an easy grab-and-go without forgetting anything!  (And the extra BONUS is your 72 hour kits are condensed!)

Happy Summer Vacationing!