Comments on: Cheaper and Better

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:00:22 +0000

I can’t really remember much of any restaraunt stop we made on trips with our sons. But the times we stopped with a picnic and ate somewhere were memorable and picture worthy. I can distinctly remember conversations we had that were deep because it was just us and no one else within ear shot and we were away from the usual dinner conversation of schedules, plans for that week and what happened at work that day. Even if it cost more, it would be worth it to dine this way on a trip.

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:10:53 +0000

Packing a picnic is great for couples traveling without kids too! My husband and I just got back from a trip to Iowa last weekend and we packed a picnic lunch for the drive up. We stopped at a rest stop and had a very nice, relaxing meal. Iowa rest stops are beautiful by the way. Big grassy areas, sheltered picnic tables, free Wi-fi and very clean bathrooms. It was a great experience.

By: David--Your finances 101

David--Your finances 101 — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 02:49:34 +0000

Trent:

Once again, lessons about money along with lessons about life.

I completely believe that there are always added benefits to adopting new money saving ways into my life. Usually, the two biggest are that I can spend more quality time with my family (i.e. picnics, fixing something around the house with my son, etc) or it allows me to begin teaching my son some of the lessons it took me a lifetime to learn. Either way, its priceless stuff

By: Richard

Richard — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:51:28 +0000

I agree wholeheartedly.
My grandparents have driven across more of Australia than anybody I know – and I know that they would never consider stopping in at a fast-food restaurant. They always packed a picnic basket with a few sandwiches, a thermos of coffee, and perhaps a little treat inside. What a lovely thing to be able to share – the care that goes into its preparation, and the enjoyment you have when it’s shared.
Great post, Trent. The money saved is just a bonus.

By: dsz

dsz — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:55:45 +0000

We were financially comfortable when I was growing up. My parents had paid off the mortgage, always paid cash for a new car and we always had a camper for weekends at the campground and road trips.
I joke that I grew up in the car-we were never home on the weekends and took a two-week car trip every year and I don’t remember ever leaving the house without a cooler. Part of it was nutrition, part security (Daddy used to say if we were stranded in the woods for a month we’d be OK-Mama packed enough for an army) but I never considered the frugality aspect until I was grown. I tend to think nutrition/security was more important to her than saving money, it was just fortunate it worked out that way. They certainly were careful with money (hence the paid off house, cars, toys, and vacations) but my mother was passionate about caring for her husband and children and homemade food is always better-at least it was in my house. We ate out often both on the road and locally, but Mama’s meals always tasted better and the memories we shared are priceless (they’re not kidding that you SHOULDN’T feed the bears). On more than one occasion we were able to share with others we met in our travels-I was too young to understand the circumstances but at one point she just handed over the whole cooler to a family. It was just something we did, I can’t imagine travelling without a cooler full of goodies. Eating out is overrated, IMHO.
Now we keep plug-in coolers in the cars (they heat, too) for our travels. I agree with Trent, I’d do it even if it didn’t save a cent.

By: Maureen

Maureen — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:53:02 +0000

Roadside restaurants have washrooms.

By: Kevin@OutOfYourRut

Kevin@OutOfYourRut — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:15:48 +0000

Ethel (10)–We’ll also do the grocery store run, but we also live in the deep south where the heat makes it uncomfortable to pull over somewhere.

The main reason for not packing food though is that when we drive long distances, it’s often to visit with family so we’re usually, shall we say, overpacked to begin with! There are always things that need to be ferried back and forth.

But thanks for the suggestion!

By: ethel

ethel — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:54:34 +0000

Like other commenters, I fondly remember such times as a kid. We took lots of road trips and always stopped for picnic lunches. To this day, when I travel with my parents, we always stop for a roadside picnic lunch, and I do so with my family now. Even when the food isn’t great, the overall experience is superior in every way to the vast majority of restaurants (though the internet has made it much easier and more fun to find great local road eateries for dinner time). It’s also a great way to find and enjoy local parks. To your point about frugality not just being about money, Trent, we sometimes use the money we’ve “saved” by having a picnic to get an ice cream treat for the kids later in the day. So, we don’t always save money, but it still makes for a great way to spend time together and DIY.

@Kevin: even on long road trips we still do this. (Many of ours are about 1000+ mile trips into the mountains.) We just stop at a grocery store in the morning and refresh supplies. We keep a small cooler and rotate out ice, etc. Anything that doesn’t need to be kept cooled stays in the trunk. It works great for us and doesn’t take up that much space. Honestly, I’d much rather we minimize the other stuff we bring along with us so that we have room for the food and can enjoy a picnic.

The biggest downside for me is living in a very hot weather climate, it can be less than idyllic to sit out in the sunshine at noon in August. But we still do it–we just make it a quicker meal.

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 10:56:57 +0000

A lot of our road trips in my childhood came with packed meals, snacks and picnics at parks. To me spending time with the family mattered more than the type of restaurants or meals we had out. My parents did their best to provide good times and a variety of experiences while also keeping the expenses down to be able to do this.

Keep up the good work, I’m sure your children will feel the same way about this as they get older.

By: Emily @ Under$1000PerMonth

Emily @ Under$1000PerMonth — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 09:00:57 +0000

This post made me smile. Frugality is freedom to figure out how to do things your own way. Although a picnic isn’t a revolutionay idea, it perfectly demonstrates this freedom.

By: Kevin@OutOfYourRut

Kevin@OutOfYourRut — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 02:40:16 +0000

Our road trips tend to be on the longer side, 500-900 miles so packing meals can be a space killer. We keep it to fast food restaurants, bad as they may be for you, they are a good deal cheaper than any other eating establishments you go to, especially if you order off the dollar menu.

We also try to pack snacks and drinks in an attempt to hold ourselves to two meals a day rather than three while we’re on the road. For overnites, we always stay in a hotel/motel that offers a complimentary breakfast. That alone saves a boatload, especially since the ones that include breakfast are also usually on the lower end of the rate scale to begin with.

This isn’t a perfect way to travel, but it shows you can at least minimize costs by making some minor adjustments. We’re already saving a ton of money just by driving rather than flying.

I like the picnic idea though, especially when the kids are young. They need room and time to run more than they need food even. When they’re teenagers, it’s a bit harder to cut costs because they have real appetites!

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:57:46 +0000

My wife and I came to live frugally after deciding to get out of debt, we were so amazed at the change in our children’s behavior and family life. That after we were debt free, we just kept going. My favorite memories are from around a camp fire.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:41:49 +0000

I love this post!

Packing a picnic before going out of town from leftovers also has the benefit of reducing food waste and spoilage; as anyone who’s worked in a restaurant knows, this is an area in which a LOT of money vanishes!

By: alison

alison — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:42:51 +0000

I absolutely love camping with my family for a vacation. It’s relatively cheap. Perhaps because of that, it’s more relaxed, more open and honest. I know that when I was a child, we went camping because we lacked money or resources to do something “better.” Most of my fondest childhood memories were camping in the summer. I want my children to have those same memories.

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:35:39 +0000

When I was a kid in the late 60s, my parents used to pack a picnic cooler every time we went on a road trip, even though it wasn’t all that often.

At that age, I didn’t consider the frugality aspect at all; I just enjoyed having good food along for the ride and within reach. :)

Then again, my parents were Depression-era kids and they were used to doing this and other frugal things as a matter of course because that was they way they had always lived.

So nice to hear that this kind of thing hasn’t gone out of style.

By: Borealis

Borealis — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:12:02 +0000

I have driven cross country by myself several times. About 80% those roadside restaurant meals were very disappointing.

By: Pizpo

Pizpo — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:07:57 +0000

So true. Thinking back to my childhood, we were very poor (at least cash poor). But that is probably why my parents were so great. Cash poor teaches a lot of good lessons and nothing is more valuable than time together. I have to remember this and apply it with my daughter. Thanks for the post.