Now the kids are older and we’re not desperate for a caffeine hit (regardless of cost!) because of early morning starts and 6am wake ups, we are a bit more discerning about where we spend our money. Especially now we’re full time travelling and want to carry on doing this for many years to come.
We’ve realised over time what we are absolutely sure we want to spend money on. These key things for us are:
- Experiences as a family
- Fun things/ activities for the kids to try
- Education
- Health related things
- Nice homemade meals
It used to also include:
- Coffees
- Pub trips
- Occasional meals out
However, with costs increasing, we’ve reflected on where we want to spend and where we can make a few tweaks and save money for other things.
Here are the 7 small ways we have adapted our day to day spending now we’re not working and are travelling full time.
1. Coffees out
We don’t restrict ourselves if we really want something, but we have got more streamlined with what we want to spend our money on. With two coffees and two children’s drinks costing upwards of £15 in most coffee chains now, we either opt for pots of tea (which gives 2 or 3 cups worth, compared to the small flat white or cortado we would usually go for) or we have coffee at home first and just enjoy the trip out.
2. Lunches
We’ve saved a chunk by either making and taking lunches, or by eating lunch at our rental home/ flat/ caravan/ motorhome (wherever we are!). Not only does it save some big money for us as a family of 4 in the current economic climate, it also means we can eat what we want.
3. Ice creams (summer specific!)
Hardly essential as a food source, but anyone with kids during this UK summer heat has had to deal with the constant “Can we have an ice cream?” question. If we want one, we’ll get it. We did the other day when it was hot and we were by the sea. But my mindset has shifted on this a little – we’ve been feasting on our own desserts in the evening instead of always have a treat in the daytime. The other night we had ice cream with chocolate mousse, chocolate drops, caramel sauce and whipped cream and the kids were happy to forgo a scoop of ice cream during the day for the sundae in the evening with a good film.
4. Beers at the pub
When the children were growing up and we were working full time jobs and balancing life, we would love to go to the pub. For us, it was an opportunity to connect with the kids, talk, play card and board games, draw, talk about the kids’ friends, school and plans etc, and have that be the one thing we were focusing on for that hour and a half. But now the kids are a bit older and we have that quality time with each other as we’re not in full time work, we don’t feel the need to go to the pub as much. Which saves us some serious money across a week travelling! Let’s say we had visited the pub twice in a week with the kids whilst away – most likely we’d have two drinks each and the kids would have one. With pub prices the way they are (not their fault, costs have gone up crazy amounts!), that would be around £60-80 a week. We still enjoy having a drink together, but recently we’ve changed the location and taken a few beers to the beach or a beautiful location to watch the kids play whilst we sit and chill. It saves us a lot over the week and we’ve made some amazing memories!
5. Dinners
We pretty much exclusively eat at our rental home/ flat/ caravan now – we love eating out if we can guarantee a great experience. We don’t mind paying a little extra for great food and great service. And we love Wagamamas, independent restaurants (and Wetherspoons breakfasts!). But it can be hit and miss sometimes, and it doesn’t always feel worth it afterwards. So we spend a bit extra on the food shop and eat well at home generally. Plus we love fresh veggies and salads and it hurts sometimes to pay £16 for a salad in a restaurant when we could have made it at home for a quarter of that!
6. Snacks
We’re always packing some nuts, fruit, snack bars, crisps etc if we’re going to the beach or for a longer hike. It satiates hunger and stops us from panic buying food on the go!
7. Do we need it/ do we have space for it
Now we’re renting our home and don’t have hoards of storage space, we have little space for extras! In some ways, it’s a downside of travelling and you need to be selective with that you collect. But a huge positive is that it stops us from buying crap! We ask ourselves if we really need it, really want it and can we actually fit it in our van/ motorhome/ life in general.
Now I’m off to make an iced coffee at home and do a workout…
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