If you want to go on a trip or vacation and not break the bank, saving where you can is crucial. One big area that adds up fast is eating out at restaurants and fast food. These frugal road trip food ideas will help keep people happy in the car and save money as well.

Frugal Road Trip Food Ideas

The cheapest option is to never eat fast food, right? That may not be feasible depending on the logistics of your trip, but just choosing any of the following ways to save money will still help your budget!

Drinks

Drinks seem like the most overpriced option when you’re on the road. At a gas station, you can pay $2 or $3 for a 20 oz bottle, whereas a 6-pack from the store is only about $5 even when it’s not on sale! It’s definitely worth it to chill cans or bottles of soda ahead of time if that is something your family likes to drink on the road.

For water, we love to freeze disposable water bottles so they can keep other things cold. They melt along the way and the water stays cold. It’s also smart to bring some empty reusable water bottles to fill at rest stops.

Refrigerated juice boxes are another option. These can be a fun travel treat for younger kids.

Snacks

If you’re not going to be traveling during a mealtime, invest in a small cooler and bring some hearty snacks. Some of our favorites are hard boiled eggs, string cheese, grapes, and protein balls. We also like to bring beef jerky or snack sticks and trail mix.

If you want to bring chips/crackers, reduce mess and save money by buying the larger bags or boxes but bringing small snack sized ziploc bags to portion them out. Whenever we pass large bags around our car, something always spills.

Read More→