Monday, February 15, 2010

Travel

This weekend, the fam headed to the snow for some skiing (spouse) and sledding (me and my boy). Now, being that we booked last minute and went on a holiday weekend, the lodge room was a steep $259/night, sleeps six (though we were only three). It was pretty reasonable considering we were only one block from the town. Very convenient.

I am always trying to figure out how to save money while traveling. I like eating out as much as the next girl, but it can be expensive and not very healthy (note: we found a cute diner on the way home, and the fries and the wrap were underwhelming).

My goal was to eat breakfast and lunch in the room and dinner out. I figured we could get pizza out and have the leftovers the next night. All in all, w'ed save $120.

Well, I think we saved closer to $80, since we had lunch out on the way home. Our room had a microwave and a fridge, so we were able to keep fruit in the fridge, and use the micro for popcorn.

Here's a list of what we took to eat:
apples (7)
oranges (4)
peanuts
bread, peanut butter, jelly
carrot sticks
edamame
hard boiled eggs
granola bars
muffins (bought from TJ's)
tea
bananas
popcorn
applesauce
rolls

Here's what we got out:
pizza, bread, and salad. We were scared by the waiter who said it would be a 45 min wait for the pizza, so we ordered two appetizers and a salad instead of one appetizer. And it turned out to be only a 20 min wait. So we took one whole cheese bread and 3 large pizza slices home for the next night's dinner.

Being that I really am into veggies, I went out the next day and found a grocery store. I discovered the "steamers". You've seen them. For the extra $$, you get convenience. They are frozen veggies that can be micro'd in the bag for about 5 min. They were $2.29 for 12 ounces, which is expensive.

BUT, they were tasty and easy and really worked in the lodge room. I also bought a small side salad, and we all got our share of veggies with the pizza.

All in all, a successful and relatively healthy trip.

2 comments:

Gelareh @ Nutritious Foodie said...

I agree traveling can get really expensive... by the time you pay for the airfair (or couple tanks of gas), hotel, dog kennel, rental car, airport parking and food a simple couple day trip could turn into an expensive getaway..

I usually write out our vacations we want to take the November before.. I cordinate with my fam and in-laws to make sure there is not last minute "oh we should go here".. I also get all the important dates on the calender like friends' wedding, graduations big birthdays etc. Then I set a travel budget for the year and start with the musts.. ie this year we have SIL's graduation, my sis's white coat ceremony and 2 wedding.. after that comes the budget for the holidays cause those are the musts.. then if there is money left in the bucket I figure out what fun vacations we should take.
As far as eating out... yes it is expensive and when traveling 9 out of 10 you have to eat out. I try to eat meals that are balanced more veggies and fiber and less fat and grease to keep me full longer to eliminate having to eat a bigger portion. I also pack bars and snacks (nuts and raisins) to eat through out the day to keep me full and eliminate the need of an appetizer or extra order to keep full...

Holy moly sorry for the long comment.. this turned into a post.. thanks for the inspiration for tonight's post lol :)

Marcia said...

No kidding on how expensive it is to travel. I love doing it, but boy...especially when we visit family because it requires at least two flights each way, sometimes three.