Skipped the hostel kitchen for a guesthouse, and it saved me cash.

Turns out that extra twenty bucks a night for a room with a mini-fridge meant I could cook simple meals and stopped blowing my food budget on overpriced tourist cafes.

4 comments

4 Comments

kim_mason551mo ago

Wait, so we're all just pretending our hotel rooms are makeshift kitchens now? (not that I'm complaining, my spaghetti boiled in a kettle was a masterpiece.) I mean, who needs room service when you can have instant noodles and a bag of salad from the market? It's like a weird game of how cheap you can eat while still calling it a vacation. But hey, that extra cash for another museum ticket totally makes up for the lack of a real stove.

robert_owens691mo ago

Yeah, that move with the mini-fridge is smart. I always grab a room with a fridge now, it lets you buy cheap stuff from a market instead of relying on cafes. Pack some zip lock bags for leftovers or sandwich stuff. A cheap electric kettle can boil water for coffee or noodles, saves even more. Honestly, learning to cook a few simple things in your room stretches your cash so far. It's the difference between staying an extra week or cutting your trip short.

victoradams1mo ago

Pick up some quick oats from a market for breakfast. Just add hot water from the kettle and you've got a meal for pennies, avoiding the crazy hotel markup. That alone funds a couple extra nights out exploring.

abbyr541mo ago

Exactly. That whole move of setting up a tiny, cheap kitchen anywhere is the same mindset as avoiding the convenience store by your house. It's about seeing past the easy, marked-up option and doing the tiny bit of work that saves a ton. You see it with people bringing coffee from home, or even packing a lunch. The small daily stuff adds up way more than we notice.