Saving Money on Food While Traveling

Saving money on food while traveling can help you travel even more! The less funds you put towards food, the more funds you can put towards fuel!

RV travel is great because it gives those of us with the travel bug the ability to wander the country without spending a fortune. That said, it is still necessary to spend money on some things, and one of these things is, of course, food.

Sure, the RV kitchen makes it possible to cook for yourself, which does save some money, but cooking in your home-on-wheels is not always easy. On top of that, finding affordable groceries while on the road can prove to be difficult at times.

Related Read: How to Save on Healthy Eating on the Road

For these reasons, my family has come up with a number of tricks for lowering our food costs. Try these tips to lower your travel costs a bit more.

When Eating In

Let’s start by discussing ways to lower food costs when eating in. Obviously, the simple act of eating in is already saving you money alone.

However, if you find you’re having trouble getting your hands on low-cost groceries, or if you’ve discovered that finding the time to cook in between adventures just isn’t working out, you might be able to use some of the ideas below.

Find Coupons and Discounts

Many people give up on finding coupons when they’re no longer receiving them in the mail each week. However, there are ways to find coupons without finding them in your mailbox.

Related Read: Where to Find RV Coupons and Deals

If you’re looking to save some money on groceries, try looking for manufacturer coupons (not local coupons since you’ll likely be moving soon) in the Sunday paper. It’s also possible to look at local grocery store ads online before arriving in a new location.

Lastly, we highly recommend using the iBotta app to save even more.

Seek Out ALDI Stores

Don’t want to go through the trouble of finding coupons and discounts? My family loves shopping at ALDI. These stores are becoming more and more popular, meaning they are becoming easier and easier to find.

ALDI stores sell high-quality products at impressively low prices, which has saved us hundreds of dollars. The catch? Everything sold here is made by the ALDI company, meaning you need to be okay with skipping name-brand products.

That said, everything we’ve ever bought here has been great, so we don’t have any issue with this at all.

Sign Up for Loyalty Programs

It might seem silly to sign up for a grocery store loyalty program when you don’t know if you’ll ever return to that particular chain. However, what we’ve found is that we almost always end up back at each chain we visit at least a couple more times.

Loyalty cards can save you quite a bit at certain stores, so it’s usually a good idea to go ahead and sign up. If you’re worried about carrying so many cards around, consider having a small wallet or keychain set aside just for grocery loyalty cards.

Pack Lunches

As a frequent traveler, you probably find yourself out and about exploring new areas at lunchtime on a regular basis. It might be fun to grab a meal at a restaurant when this happens, but when it happens multiple times a week, this can add up really fast. Therefore, we find it extremely helpful to pack lunches when we know we’re going to be out during mealtime.

Put the Slow Cooker to Use

Another trick for those days when we know we’re going to be busy is to put the slow cooker to use. Putting some soup or a roast in the slow cooker is the perfect way to help us resist the temptation to grab dinner out.

Related Read: 4 Reasons Every RVer Should Own an Instant Pot

When Eating Out

Of course, eating in isn’t always ideal. Sometimes you need something to eat while out and about, and other times you just aren’t in the mood for cooking. Whatever your reason for eating out may be, you will want to use some of these tips to save a few bucks when you do.

Watch Groupon and Similar Sites

Groupon, LivingSocial, and other such sites often offer amazing deals. Pair these deals with a discount code for an extra low-cost meal. This is a great way to discover new local places, and makes choosing an eatery a much easier process, as it narrows down your options quite a bit.

Know Chain Specials

Most chain restaurants run specials throughout the week. For instance, one restaurant might have a happy hour during which appetizers are half-off, while another might have a day that they offer BOGO burgers.

Learn about the deals at your favorite chains and keep up with them so you know when they change. When you get the urge to eat out, think about which restaurants are offering a deal that day. Alternatively, you can schedule your days out around these specials.

Look Ahead and Split Meals

Many restaurants serve up ridiculously large portions. Look at photos of the food before visiting any food stop and decide how much you actually need to order.

In many cases, my family of three can easily split 2 meals, saving us the cost of a third one. Looking at the menu ahead of time is also helpful, as we have plenty of time to choose the cheapest options possible that are appetizing to us rather than being rushed.

Skip the Sweet Drinks

I’m always surprised by how much restaurants can get away with charging for drinks. For this reason, we rarely order beverages when eating out, choosing instead to drink water. If we really want a soda or tea, we will indulge at home where these things are both much, much cheaper.

Fill in the Gaps

We also find it helpful to fill in gaps with snacks. For instance, we might get a meal out, but only share entrees with the knowledge that we have snacks packed in the car to help fill us up later and tide us over until dinner.

This allows us to try the highly recommended local spots without investing a huge amount of money or going hungry until the next meal.