View Full Version : How Do You Save Money in Towns?
Old Spice
03-27-2006, 01:17
I will be thru-hiking on a rather limited budget this year and have been pondering various ways by which I can mitigate my expenses while in town. I realized that if I buy a couple of sodas each time I go into town I will have spent upwards of $60 by the end of my hike! That's $60 I could have spent on hostels or AYCE buffets just by drinking water. What do you all do to cut corners while in town?
Whistler
03-27-2006, 01:34
-Practice. Learn the 'typical' selection in gas stations, chain groceries, mom & pops. What will give you the most nutrition per dollar?
-Make a good shopping list the night before entering town, and stick to it.
-Leave town the same day you enter. Camp nearby the night before, enter & leave the next morning.
-Take your zero days on the trail itself as much as possible.
-Avoid alcohol, tobacco, drugs, caffeine, and other vices you have to pay for.
-Cut corners: do laundry every 3 stops instead of every 2, or whatever
-Add corners: haul a 6-day load of food instead of a 3-day load from two different towns [minimize town stops]
-Hike more, town less. A shorter hike will be less expensive, ceteris paribus.
-Buy generic.
-Learn to love the basics... pb, oatmeal, rice... [i.e. learn to cook]
-Learn to love the gear you have--avoid replacements & upgrades if possible. Lust is expensive.
-Don't get injured or sick. Be careful and let yourself rest when you need it.
-Mark
astrogirl
03-27-2006, 01:35
Hit the grocery store first, and buy a 6-pack of soda.
what is your budget for a thru hike that would help more on give advice,cheapest best place,s to hit mainly in the south are dollar general stores
http://www.dollargeneral.com/
cheap first aid supplies,batteries,lot of food items,and fuel if you use an alcohol stove,
http://www.save-a-lot.com/
save a lot stores are common in the south also
aviod hotels,i still would not thru hike on to limited budget,you do want to enjoy your hike:cool: neo
hammock engineer
03-27-2006, 01:54
It was well put in another thread. Make a weekly budget and stick to it. It is easier to keep track of smaller amounts of money then your overall budget. I am going to budget about $100 a week. This should be enough for food plus some extras.
Plus don't go shopping hungry, that one always gets me at home.
It was well put in another thread. Make a weekly budget and stick to it. It is easier to keep track of smaller amounts of money then your overall budget. I am going to budget about $100 a week. This should be enough for food plus some extras.
Plus don't go shopping hungry, that one always gets me at home.
$100.00 sounds great,thats about what i would budget myself for:cool: neo
The subject is covered well in Weathercarrot's article. I think you can get to it by clicking on the Information section up at the top of the page.
BlackCloud
03-27-2006, 08:13
Posting deleted as off topic, humor alone is not enough in the straight forward forum
How to save money in towns? As Whistler indicated, get in and get out. Don't stay over in towns. Don't eat in restaurants, and minimize alcohol and tobacco.
I will be thru-hiking on a rather limited budget this year and have been pondering various ways by which I can mitigate my expenses while in town. I realized that if I buy a couple of sodas each time I go into town I will have spent upwards of $60 by the end of my hike! That's $60 I could have spent on hostels or AYCE buffets just by drinking water. What do you all do to cut corners while in town?
Leave quickly
peter_pan
03-27-2006, 09:06
HYOH.....don't go to town with other who are not of similiar goals...or atleast don't stay and party/pig out when that is not your plan...Enjoy!
Pan
Posting deleted as off topic, humor alone is not enough in the straight forward forum
max patch
03-27-2006, 10:04
Don't feel the need to start in Feb or early March as you just may find yourself spending nights in hotels as you wait out bad weather in the Smokies.
Best way is to minimize town stops...you don't have to stop at every town just because its there.
jackiebolen
03-27-2006, 14:06
I would never stay 2 nights in town. Instead, I'd either do a really short (less than 5 miles) day into town and get there in the early morning. Or else, I'd hang around all day after sleeping in town and only leave later in the afternoon and just do a few miles before dark.
I'd also go to the grocery store and buy food to eat and cook it at the hostel instead of going out to eat all the time. What I really wanted was fruits and veggies and it was often easier to get these at the grocery store than a restaurant.
-Avoid alcohol, tobacco, drugs, caffeine, and other vices you have to pay for.
Posting deleted as off topic, humor alone is not enough in the straight forward forum
Footslogger
03-27-2006, 14:20
I eat one good meal at a restuarant (generally lunch or dinner) and the rest of the time I eat regular trail food. If you overnight in a town and eat dinner and breakfast (restuarant style) you will easily double the amount spent during your visit.
'Slogger
galaleemc
03-27-2006, 18:33
If you need a place to stay in Hiawassee - you can work trade here, we allow it on a limited basis. But I am warning you it will be something like yard work, raking, pulling/digging weeds, weed eating, moving rocks, cutting and moving wood, maybe we will have some painting soon. So can you handle some manual labor on top of hiking? SOMENIGHTS, not ever night, we give a trout dinner.
We have two at it right now doing carpentry, moving railroad ties and reinstalling them with my husband and another one digging up weeds.
Laura, Cloud9
Hiawassee GA
saimyoji
03-27-2006, 22:32
I've not encountered the question I'm about to ask in the year or so I've been a member here:
What about using farmer's markets along the way? There must be info. out there on what markets happen where and when. I find these a great source of cheap veggies/meats/cheeses.
Perhaps the best way to save money is to suck it up and carry more.
How about this: The more you sleep in the woods and avoid creature comforts of towns, the more you get used to it, the less you need those comforts. If you perservere and don't sleep in towns, could you eventually get to the point where you just don't need to anymore.
I'm sure the logical response is: depends on your mental/physical strength.
my .02
Old Spice
03-27-2006, 22:55
This is a good point. I don't plan on staying in any hotels and only a few hostels. Not a tough guy purist thing, just a piss broke thing.
Whistler
03-28-2006, 00:42
"Avoid alcohol, tobacco, drugs, caffeine, and other vices you have to pay for."
Vices? I never considered them vices! :rolleyes:
My bad... I had no intent to offend with that comment, just my own spartan perspective. How about "luxuries," "comforts," or "rewards"? :)
-Mark
DaSchwartz
03-28-2006, 03:09
Old Spice,
I might be starting in May if everything works out right. We'll see. I really like to start at Springer but I'll have to see.
Tips I can think of.
1) Buy a two litre of the cheapest soda you can find. Then get some ice. Beats the $1.25 they charge for one cold 20 oz soda now. A cheap two litre bottle is like 70 cents. You might get lucky and find some an angel dropped off but don't count on it.
2) Stuff yourself full of food before entering town. But if you are hungry, go to that AYCE then buy your food for the week. You'll buy less. Just don't underbuy.
3) Fig bars, they were $1.50 for a 2 pound box of them at Family Dollar. A great bargain. I used them when I rode my bike long distances.
4) Avoid paying for beer. You'll get people to offer you some for free. Just try not to take it from your other thru-hikers or they will in time expect you to do the same for them. If locals offer to you, take it.
4a) If you must BUY beer, get it at the store, getting it in the bar is a major money sucker to hikers. I know a lot of places are dry along the southern AT.
5) If you use batteries, Duracells and Engerizers are better money wise than Dollar Store brand ones.
6) Some hostels will allow work for stays. But it will not allow you to save money but merely give you a comfy place to sleep.
7) From what I have heard, once you get used to trail towns and spending money and time there, you're hooked... and the wallet drains and drains and drains.
Mine will be a budget hike, $400 bucks a month total.... gear already bought plus an extra $400 for emergency things. I have health insurance.
But I love sleeping in the woods and hate sleeping in crowded shelters.
When are you leaving?
I've not encountered the question I'm about to ask in the year or so I've been a member here:
What about using farmer's markets along the way? There must be info. out there on what markets happen where and when. I find these a great source of cheap veggies/meats/cheeses.
Maybe you and I don't shop in similar areas, but it's been my experience that Farmers Market are anything BUT cheaper.
Don't get me wrong, I shop 'em anyway, because often the quality and freshness are much better than at the stores, but I was always pretty sure I was paying dearly for the priviledge.
rambunny
03-28-2006, 15:37
Sharing rooms with people-if youre going to stay in town do it in the south-Wash clothes in the shower occasionally-LNT.Don't forget to check the hiker box before you shop and keep your ears open for trail magic-don't be afraid to work for stay. Stay at hostles that are all inclusive-laundry shuttle shower bunk so you aren't nicle and dimed.
rambunny
03-28-2006, 15:38
By the way i agree Sly-that's part of being a safe hiker ha ha
Share the cost of laundry with a few other hikers. Assuming you're NOBO, this gets easier as you move north as people begin to run low on funds and become less afraid of their clothes getting dirty and smelly. ;)
Don't go to the store until after your buddies get their maildrops. Hikers are usually generous to their buddy hikers with overpacked drops.
Grab a few things from the hiker boxes, but don't get greedy. This gets tougher as you move north as people tend to know better what they'll need.
-Avoid alcohol, tobacco, drugs, caffeine, and other vices you have to pay for.
And, whatever you do, stay far away from Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream pints. :eek:
At Supermarkets, you can apply for their shoppers cards which take all of two minutes to obtain. Sometimes you'll be suprised how much you can save. Then share it with all your friends. I agree, sharing rooms and laundry can save money. Also, sending stuff home and bouncing it around gets pricey. Hold onto things, give them to other hikers or trash them.
Whistler
03-30-2006, 01:56
Hmm. Maybe a hostel could get a shoppers card for hikers to borrow. Keep it on a lanyard hanging in a common space. I'm not too sure how many hostels that would be feasible at, but it's an idea...
-Mark
There's a few things that you should have someone mail you because of the cost. A disposable camera is probably twice as expensive on the trail as off. If you do need batteries, have someone mail you the energizer lithiums. They're almost impossible to find on the trail and they last much longer. Don't use mountain house products, IMHO they're way overpriced and you don't really need them. Talk to the locals, see if you can yogi a free ride back to the trail head instead of using the services available in some towns.
Hmm. Maybe a hostel could get a shoppers card for hikers to borrow. Keep it on a lanyard hanging in a common space. I'm not too sure how many hostels that would be feasible at, but it's an idea...
-Mark
Terrapin Station keeps a card for hikers to use just for that reason. Also, the points build up pretty quickly and helps keep the hostel going by giving something back. Every hostel should consider doing this, if for no other reason than the rewards offered by some chains.
Wolf - 23000
04-05-2006, 04:25
Most hikers spend a lot of cash at restaurants. Instead of paying spending the money on someone else cooking do it yourself. By non-trail food at the grocery stores and just cook it out the first night on the trail. You can hike out with anything such as baccon and eggs, hot dogs, meat for hamburgers, etc. It helps control your food cravings and give your body the food it needs. The stares on some hikers faces can also be priceless.
Wolf
Don't (as much as possible) stay in town. Get in & get out. I find that if you stay in town, it's so easy to go get a resturant meal, some times several. If you get in, resupply, get out, you will have less time to spend money. I never do this cause I forget to, but a shopping list can save you money if you stick to it.
All the food in my pack (5 days worth) right now came from either Big Lots or a Family Dollar. If memory serves, 5 days of trail food (B, L, and D) ran me about $3.00 a day. My dinners are 5 different flavors of "Noodles & sauce" type dinners. Breakfast & lunch for me is eaten on the trail so I have about 5 different flavors of granola candy & breakfast bars and 2 packs of grits.
I totally resupplied for 5 days at the Erwin Family Dollar, for under $8.00. That included 12" peperoni & a thing of gouda. Shopping was done after AYCE pizza from next door.
Doctari.
orangebug
04-05-2006, 18:59
Farmer's Markets in major towns can be great - especially buying in bulk. On the trail, the most I've seen is road side produce stands, boiled peanuts and the like. It will be at least as expensive as grocery stores. Fresh produce gives great texture, but also great weight.
I'd grab only enough for a day or two, maybe an apple and similar solid fruit. I'd count on dried stuff from a reasonable grocery store, but would anticipate many towns to only have access to convenience stores.
saimyoji
04-05-2006, 19:42
Fresh produce gives great texture, but also great weight.
I'd count on dried stuff from a reasonable grocery store, but would anticipate many towns to only have access to convenience stores.
Does dehydrating fruits/veggies denature the vitamins/minerals and stuff in them?
Turbo Joe
04-05-2006, 20:33
my favorite tip of all for budget hiking is canned foods in town. im not talking about carrying them but in town you should eat and utilize items that are difficult to bring in your pack. canned foods make an excellent lunch or dinner in town because they are heavy. just imagine some one saying " i had a great turkey sandwich in town" well thats someting light that they could have packed then you should say" I had 5 cans of chef boyardee' and watch their faces sulk.
orangebug
04-06-2006, 10:33
Does dehydrating fruits/veggies denature the vitamins/minerals and stuff in them?Don't know, but I have never gotten scurvy from eating my home dried fruit. A lot of benefit of fruit is in the peel, which has to go as part of dehydration.
It is all a tradeoff of cost, weight, variety, safety and nutrition. If you set a limit in one area - expense in this thread, you will have to figure out means to deal with the consequences.
Chef2000
04-06-2006, 17:20
Just remeber, your gonna meet people on the way, every time a freind goes to town and you do not, your gonna be ahead of them.
My bad... I had no intent to offend with that comment, just my own spartan perspective. How about "luxuries," "comforts," or "rewards"? :)
-Mark
Watch the smiley's or you may get one of these...
"Posting deleted as off topic, humor alone is not enough in the straight forward forum"
Another way of saving money if you buy as you go, especially in towns with larger chain supermarkets is to sign-up for the advantage or bonus cards. Many times they'll have buy one/get one free or offer other savings. Keep and collect the key ring size cards for use in other towns.
Oops... repeat of A-Train's advice in post #26