Souvenirs
Back from the road trip. In the interest of reducing clutter, I'm not a big souvenir person. The only thing I bought on the trip other than food, gas, and a couple of personal items was a new jumper cable. I did pick up a free road map from the rest stops in Maryland, Virginia, and Tennessee. And that got me thinking about other free souvenirs some one might be able to pick up to mark their trip.
There are brochures of course, usually complimentary when you attend a show or museum. Photographs aren't exactly free, but they tend to be less of a clutter issue than other items. If you're a nature lover, collecting a native leaf or flower from each place you visit might be a nice way to spark trip memories.
Of course there's nothing wrong with buying actual items on your trip, (right now I'm wearing a shirt bought from a N.Y. street vendor) just try to buy things that you'd actually use or find truly appealing. Fight the urge to buy something just because you think you ought to.
For the trip itself, I managed to stay within budget, though I did spend most of my allotted $180...and most of that in gas. Just in gas it cost us $60 going up to Cleveland $50 to get to D.C. and another $80 to get back to Nashville (of which I paid $90). Most of the rest went to food (about $60 I guess...we packed a cooler but also ate out once and had few little splurges like Starbucks hot chocolate and a pint of Ben and Jerry's) and about $30 on items. My friends spoiled us, so it was very nice trip.
There are brochures of course, usually complimentary when you attend a show or museum. Photographs aren't exactly free, but they tend to be less of a clutter issue than other items. If you're a nature lover, collecting a native leaf or flower from each place you visit might be a nice way to spark trip memories.
Of course there's nothing wrong with buying actual items on your trip, (right now I'm wearing a shirt bought from a N.Y. street vendor) just try to buy things that you'd actually use or find truly appealing. Fight the urge to buy something just because you think you ought to.
For the trip itself, I managed to stay within budget, though I did spend most of my allotted $180...and most of that in gas. Just in gas it cost us $60 going up to Cleveland $50 to get to D.C. and another $80 to get back to Nashville (of which I paid $90). Most of the rest went to food (about $60 I guess...we packed a cooler but also ate out once and had few little splurges like Starbucks hot chocolate and a pint of Ben and Jerry's) and about $30 on items. My friends spoiled us, so it was very nice trip.