FROM MY HOUSE TO YOURS

Old Mother Frugal has been a busy traveler of late. Taking advantage of lower gas prices has afforded a few road trips.

Food prices, however, are not on the decline. It’s not your imagination, food prices have escalated over the past year with reports that now egg prices are going to increase significantly this coming year.

One consequence of rising food prices is that restaurant food prices escalate as well. Understandably, their costs trickle down to the consumer. In order to rein in costs when traveling, the frugal traveler within me now packs a cooler and a box of groceries for the road trip.

It’s an easy exercise. Empty the refrigerator contents from my house and transfer it to a refrigerator at the end of the road trip.

Previously, my traveling or vacationing budgets allowed for dining out nightly with breakfast and lunch items eaten at the hotel or as a picnic. With “suite” type hotels that have fully equipped mini-kitchens, this has changed my “dining out while traveling” philosophy.

On a recent trip, we stayed at a suite hotel with kitchen facilities. The cooler contained all the food necessities for three square meals as well as milk and orange juice. The box contained the dry goods such as breads, fruits, breakfast and snacks along with some canned items. A few items were purchased at the local ALDI store upon arrival to our destination.

At the end of the journey and heading back home, we did pull off along the highway and grabbed a meal at one of our favorite restaurants. Being a frugal traveler, having that meal as lunch instead of dinner is an additional savings!

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: Dining out for breakfast has become as expensive as lunch or in some cases, dinner. A recent outing for breakfast had menu prices listed upwards of $10.99. If the hotel does not offer a complimentary breakfast, pre-package your own breakfast when traveling and a bowl of oatmeal that costs $4.99 in the restaurant will be easier to digest when eaten in your hotel room. Take advantage of "perks" that you have paid for and pocket your savings for the rides and attractions at your vacation destination!

                 OATMEAL WITH WALNUTS, RAISINS and BROWN SUGAR