Vacationing with Kids

You spoke recently on In The Marketplace With Janet Parchall, about ways to 
save money on food while traveling.  Here's what I do when we travel with our 
six little children. 

1. Prepackaged Snacks  I divide non-perishable, snacks into individual portions, in zip-top, snack bags. 
2. Drink Water  I also buy bottled water.  I used to bring  sippy cups or water bottles, and a water jug, but I was always pouring or  running out, and some places have really bad water.  I found that bottled water is clean and had a cover and each kid can have their own.  It just works better).
3. Snacks  By bringing snacks with us, I can simply hand my kids snacks and water, as we are driving, and we don't have to really stop for food.
4. Cool It   I also bring along a small cooler, with ice.  I pack foods like string 
   cheese, or even packaged meat sticks or pre-made sandwiches.  We can eat very inexpensively this way, and totally avoid restaurants. 
5. Bring Milk   If I have a younger child, I can even  bring milk in a small container, for their sippy cup.  We still eat healthily and the kids think that it is great fun! 
6. Save Your Cans & Bottles   Another tip, for people who live in states like Michigan, is to save all of your soda cans and bottles (we get 10 cents back for every can/bottle that we return) until just before your trip.  Then cash them in for money and use this money for things like gas and tolls.

Doing these things has made travel quite affordable for us.