My Car Is My Second Home

As a working mom of two girls, I spend lots of time in the car trucking kids around and running errands. One of the EASIEST ways to save money is to leave a little survival kit in the back of your car.

Well, I am generally running late, which means I haven't had time to pack snacks and drinks for the girls or myself. By keeping a pack of juice boxes, lollipops, and prepackaged snacks IN the car at all times, you end up saving money in odd places, such as

• going through drive-through and not ordering drinks (saves me $4/trip)
• eating in a restaurant (note that not all kid's meals come with drinks)
• shopping at the grocery

I also keep 2 boxes of crayons and 2 coloring books from the Dollar Tree for entertainment both inside the car and out.

Someone might point out to me that if you are actively trying to save money, you wouldn't be eating in a restaurant or buzzing through the drive-through. Well, to you I say you'll still save money on those impulse-buys if you shopped while you or your kids are hungry. You ALWAYS buy more if you are hungry. So drink up and fill up before you get there!

And I might point out that you CAN order fast food or eat in a restaurant occasionally, just use the drinks in the car to $ave money and ALWAYS use coupons! ValPack is my friend! But if you don't use coupons, try to go where kids eat free (Buffalo Wild Wings on Thursday night has 99 cents kids meals).

My car might not be too neat, but my survival tote has served me & my girls well - and this tip has worked for several other of my friends. Hope it works for you, too!