The beauty of homeschool is having the time and freedom to travel and go adventuring whenever we want. Unfortunately, travel isn’t free. It can be low cost, but there’s no way around the cost of gas at the very least. And so it helps free up the adventure budget by finding different ways to save money in the day-to-day.
There are plenty of ways to save money, and budgeting will look different for every family. Our priorities, wants and needs vary and so what I might be willing to scrimp on perhaps won’t work for you. As for our family, here are three of the ways we save money so our crew of 7 can travel more often.
Minimalist Wardrobe
Keeping a minimalist wardrobe means we aren’t spending lots of money on clothing. We do sometimes spend a little extra for clothing/gear that will hold up longer, but the majority of our clothing is nothing fancy. As for our kids, they each have a total of approximately 10-15 outfits (this includes both warm and cool weather clothing). Each child gets one sweatshirt, two pairs of shoes (not including snow boots/snow gear), and two swimsuits. The adults? Well I definitely have more clothing than the rest of my crew. Let’s just blame it on being female and liking a little variety. My clothing, however, all fits into three small drawers and on about 15 hangers. This includes all undergarments, swimwear and workout clothes, and sweaters. I also own only 4 pairs of shoes. My husband proudly fits all his clothing into one small drawer and owns two pairs of shoes. But we keep it basic – not keeping up with each passing trend means our clothing can last for as long as it takes to wear out.
Eat At Home
This is a huge money saver, especially for a family of 7. Eating out is just too expensive. We eat nearly every meal at home, except perhaps one take-out order per month. We also avoid pre-made meals and prefer to cook from scratch. Buying steak isn’t inexpensive, but choosing a plain slab of meat over a pre-seasoned one generally helps keep the bills lower. People pay a premium to have ready-made meals that simply require heating, but these greatly drive up the cost of food throughout the course of the month. It takes a little extra thought and effort, but with some simple meal planning it’s an easy way to save a few bucks.
Cut Entertainment
This might sound boring to you, but we cut out all entertainment. We no longer pay for any tv subscriptions, we have no local memberships, we don’t use a gym, we don’t go out to the movies, or amusement parks, or any other activities that come with a cost. Not to say that we don’t occasionally splurge on a fun day out (it is an adventure, afterall!) but it’s not our norm. There are a lot of great deals out there for families to get multiple visits to some of their favorite places (like trampoline parks, amusement parks, arcades and such) but each one of these adds to the monthly bill. Cutting these out and opting for free fun helps us save for what we really want to do, which is travel and adventure away from home. Free fun might be day trips to local parks, playing in a creek or river, fishing, day at the beach or bay, hiking, etc.
How do you save money for travel and adventure?
