A travel column's savings look real on paper, then a family of four walks into the airport and half of them are gone. US numbers are the example; the mechanism travels.
What holds up:
- A kitchen. Dining out runs about $96 per person a day, close to $390 for four; a rental with a stove knocks $100 to $200 off.
- An annual pass. The $80 America the Beautiful pass admits the whole car to the national parks, not each head.
- A midweek flight, about $42 a ticket cheaper, if the school calendar lets you book it.
Where it vanishes is baggage. Frontier's carry-on runs $29 to $69 at booking, $99 to $115 at the gate, so four bags each way erases the fare. Count them before you book.
Give each child a fixed souvenir budget: the begging stops, and handling their own money teaches them.
