Plan ahead

I have found this to be true - kids are always hungry when they are away from home.  Planning ahead for this can save a lot of money.  We take food and water any time we are leaving home for more than a very brief time.  Keeping a stash in the family van can help, too. 

We recently drove to Florida for Thanksgiving.  I planned ahead for the long trip by packing sandwiches, snacks, and bottles of water (non-disposable of course).  This not only saved us time by not having to stop so often, but it also saved us from spending money at convenience stores and fast food restaurants.  On the way back home however, I did not plan ahead.  We ended up spending almost $60 on food that day.  Now, you may say that's not bad for six people, but honestly I was just as happy with my sandwich from home.

Many people don't know that you can take your own food and drinks into a lot of places.  We have always brought food and reusable water bottles to Disney World.  This year we took our own food and water to the State Fair.  I know some may think that takes some of the fun out of it.  So, we usually plan for one meal or special snack to be bought there but the real hunger gets satisfied by reasonably priced food from home.  A little planning can be a budget saver.

Eat In, Not Out - Breakfast

I woke up to the smell of bacon.  My amazing husband made breakfast this morning.  French toast, bacon, fresh fruit, and coffee... delicious!  We are always looking for ways to save money and this morning was no exception.  We decided to figure out how much breakfast cost.  Here was the breakdown:

Loaf of bread - $0.65
6 Eggs - $0.50
12oz Bacon - $3.50
Fruit - $2.00
TOTAL - $6.65

It's a little more difficult to figure the exact cost of the syrup we used and the coffee we drank.  However, we figured that it cost at most $1.25 per person for our family of six.  And we had leftovers!

Consider the option of eating out.  Last week this same amazing husband took me out for breakfast for my birthday.  Being the frugal people we are, we took a coupon.  Buy one meal and two drinks, get a meal free.  Even with this coupon we ended up spending $20 including the tip.  That's $10 a person compared to $1.25.  Maybe it's occasionally acceptable for my birthday or other special occasion, but eating out often will certainly bust your budget.  To be honest, our homemade breakfast tasted just as good and for the price you just can't beat it.