Tips for saving money on food and drinks whilst traveling

Budgeting whilst on the road is key to making sure your travels continue, and you don’t end up coming home early, simply because you’ve spent too much money, and you’re totally penniless. One of the main drains on money is the cost of keeping yourself adequately fed and watered.

Some on-the-road costs you can eradicate altogether, but unfortunately this isn’t one, because let’s face it, otherwise you’d die!

We can’t be having that, so cutting costs wherever possible is the way forward.

I’ve found that during the first month or so of my travel adventure, I overspent on drink more than anything. I found it hard to adjust at first to the fact that I was living somewhere different, and I wasn’t simply on holiday. Once I looked at my finances I realised that this couldn’t go on, so I had to find ways to cut costs, whilst still enjoying myself. It’s worked so far, so I thought I’d share.

1)     Whilst where I live, here in Turkey, going out and drinking alcohol isn’t that expensive, because I live in a tourist resort, prices have gone up over the last 12 months. Unfortunately my incoming money has not, so I’ve found that nipping to the local supermarket and buying a cheap bottle of wine, mixing it with lemonade, and having a glass or two before I go out, does the job and stops me spending so much whilst I’m out. This is also a good cheap night in with friends.

2)     I’m living here alone, but I have a friend who lives in the next door but one apartment. She is in the same situation as me, so if we’re planning on eating in, we do it together and split the cost of cooking ingredients. If you have someone in the same situation as you, why not do the same thing and take it in turns to cook? Combine it with the cheap wine idea and you’ve got a low cost dinner party!

3)     If you have a freezer compartment in your fridge, throw a couple of bottles of water in there and take it out later in the day. This way you will always have chilled water to drink, and you’re not going out to buy extra. Water might not cost much at the time, but it really does mount up over the space of a few months.

4)     Avoid expensive airport meals like the plague! My local airport, Dalaman, is known for being hideously expensive. Take a KFC meal for example, you’re looking at around 30TL, which is around £9, and that’s the basic meal! To avoid this, because whilst you’re waiting around in the airport you’re bound to get peckish, I hit the local supermarket before I leave and stock up on crisps, chocolate, snacks etc. Just remember to avoid liquids, because you obviously can’t take them through security.

5)     The same can be said for day excursions, where eating snacks in museum or attraction cafes can be high, due to tourist prices. I always take a few snacks in my bag from the cheap shops before I leave.

6)     This won’t work if you’re travelling and constantly moving, but because I’m living somewhere overseas, I do have friends come out to visit me. I’m a little cheeky and ask them to bring me a few home comforts when they do visit, for the luxury of staying in my apartment for free of course. If you play your cards right here, you can stock up on goodies without having to spend a fortune!

Guest post by our friend Nicky who is currently living in Turkey.
Photo Credit: G.Ozcan under Creative Commons license.