How much would this Cost?: Food

[hatssold]

Hey,

So the cargo is 3, nineteen year old males.

We'll be doing a 6 week road trip around the country that will cover a total distance of approximately 7500 miles.

We plan on cutting food expenses by consuming food mostly from retail grocery stores. Maybe we'll eat out once a week.

With the information aforementioned, is it possible to get an estimate from you guys on the total cost of FOOD?


Thank you very much.

P.S: we'll probably cut down on the miles a bit so the trip won't be such a rush.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

This thread has some great tips on packing a cooler and other budget methods, but you are the best one's to judge your diet needs [appetites] and then visit the local store or ask your parents for an idea of costs, they won't vary a lot across the country.

[mattfromflorida]

my friend and I did a 17 day, 6,500 mile roadtrip to the west coast in May. Our biggest expense outside of gas was primarily lodging. I'm not sure you're lodging plans but you could probably save a lot of money if you camped...we took it to the extreme and slept in the car five nights in a row. It saved quite a bit of money. As Dave said, groceries don't really differ that much in price, the price of bread and bagels etc, believe it or not isn't very different in California than it was in Kansas...

[Midwest Michael]

The price of groceries won't change much, but if you aren't used to shopping yourself, it will cost you more than you think. Its easy to think, I can get a package of hot dogs for $2 that will be a meal for the group, and forget that you'll also need to get buns, and then you might also pick up some ketchup and mustard, and then a bag of chips, and a 12 pack of soda, and maybe even some paper plates and some paper towels too. And while you're at the store, you remember you're out of toothpaste, etc. Basically, It doesn't take much for your $2 meal to suddenly become a $40 grocery bill.

I'd say if you are frugal, really do cook nearly all of your own cooking and the one restaurant meal you do have is at a relatively low cost place, you'd be looking at $10-15 a day, per person. If you start eating out more frequently, however, that cost can quickly start to jump up.

[Dominic Longo]

Generally what I did was look for places with continental breakfasts if you are staying at hotels.

You'll probably look at 8 for lunch and 15 for dinner depending on what you get. If you go to TGI Fridays 15 should do it for dinner sub for lunch could be 5 or 6. So more or less 25 per day on the high end. So 175 a week. Times 6 weeks is 1050 each by doing it the way I plan my food for a trip

[travelingman]

Here are some suggestions:

Pack a cooler with pop (soda) and buy only from the dollar menus at the fast food places. Have chips instead of fries. You'll save several dollars.

Buy a Coleman one burner propane stove (they're cheap). Pack along some microwave Dinte-Moore or other meals. They have delicious beef stew, turkey and mashed potatoes, and other selections. Although intended for the microwave, you can place the plastic trays in boiling water according to directions. It comes out wonderful! These meals aren't cheap, but they are cheaper than a meal out. Best of all, they need NO refrigeration and make a great alternative when you're out in the middle of nowhere. Pick up a six-pack of Hawaiian sweetrolls and you're all set.

Another quickie meal are the Star-Kist tuna lunches. They come with tuna, relish, crackers. The CHUNK WHITE is much tastier than the chunk light (and more expensive). You might also find some chicken meals available.

For breakfast, you can boil oatmeal. I normally hate oatmeal; but it tastes great when you mix in a single-size serving of fruit-flavored apple sauce. Almost tastes like a dessert, and is great on a cool morning.

Even more important than saving money is the time you'll save running around trying to find a place to eat.

[Dominic Longo]

One thing that I would avoid from traveling man's suggestion is the soda. There are a lot of empty calories and a bad sugar crash after you are done. Bring bottles of water, you can refill those at any rest area. If you are really looking to be cheap bring one giant big gulp cup or coffee mug and fill that with water and avoid buying the bottled water.

[travelingman]

Another thing about soda; caffeine will dehydrate you.

Another alternative is to buy some of those "crystal-light" or other flavorings for bottled water. It is cheapest to buy bottled water in gallons, then pour it into water bottles.