Though dining out is part of the travel experience and something to embrace, we never fail to make a quick grocery store run on day 1 of the trip, especially for breakfast items so we can wake up and casually eat at "home": cereal, milk, bagels, fruit, coffee, etc. This is less expensive (and less time consuming) than eating out every single morning.

Join the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) reciprocal network. Register with a flat yearly fee at your local children's museum (it pays itself off very fast!) and you'll receive 50% off at sooo many children's museums nationwide. (You'll earn free membership at your local museum, too.) Where are you headed? Find a children's museum in the ACM network here: findachildrensmuseum.org

Our family's credit card of choice offers us 2% cash back in travel rewards. This really adds up! We often use the earned points to book a free car rental.

It's so hard to avoid sitting idle inside an airport and not giving into the temptation of the terminal's food court, newsstand or souvenir emporium. But prices inside airports are always SO inflated! Be prepared. Buy your celebrity gossip mags beforehand, eat breakfast at home, bring your own dry snacks, etc. And, remember, they serve [free] coffee on the plane too! Reserve that venti latte for outside terminal B ;)

Some souvenirs and goodies are overpriced and inflated in cost. Disney World is a prime example. In advance of a family trip there, I purchased $1 glow sticks (for fireworks time) and Mickey headbands online to save money from buying them down there.