Last week, we took a trip to the Gulf coast. Our whole vacation was 10 days long (including two *long* travel days), so we knew that our food expenses would add up quickly. In order to cut down on the cost of 8 people eating for 10 days, we organized a basic meal plan ahead of time. A little bit of planning and organization saved us BIG money in the long run.

Here are some ways to organize your vacation meals to save money:

• Purchase bottles of juice/soda (with a screw cap for kids!) and snacks for the car ahead of time, so you do not pay expensive gas station prices along the way. You could pack reusable water bottles to save even more money. {This also combats the "gimmes" while you are taking restroom breaks!}
• Rent a house, cabin or condo that has a full kitchen. You can eat breakfast at home each day and cook other meals to save money. We eat out once per day while vacationing, so mom gets a break and we still save money. {It's supposed to be a *vacation*!}
• Assemble or cook meals at home and freeze to take on the trip. We made sloppy joes, meatloaf and frozen fruit salad to take with us. {This saves money, but also saves the time of assembling or cooking a meal.}
• Purchase restaurant gift certificates from Restaurant.com ahead of time. Search by zip code, state or popular city name. This spring, I purchased certificates for three different restaurants at our vacation destination during an 80% off sale. Because each $25 certificate had only cost us a few dollars, it was no big deal if we decided not to eat there. Thankfully, we used all three certificates and saved over $75! {Be careful to read the fine print, as minimum purchase rules apply!}

Remember to be flexible, especially while traveling with a large group of people. Don't let your planning and organization ruin the fun!

Do you have other ideas about how to save money on meals during vacation? Please share in the comments below!

{I have received nothing from Restaurant.com for posting this info. I'm happy to pass along good, money-saving resources that I have personally been satisfied with!}