Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I always stay in hotels that offer a breakfast with the room (or a bed and breakfast- usually about the same price as a hotel). We typically have a nice lunch somewhere posh and then either picnic - at a park or in the room- for dinner. It's far less expensive to make your main meal a lunch. If we are going for a week long trip we only eat dinner in a really nice restaurant once or twice (so we can dress up- something you really can't do at lunchtime). Have a great trip!!

I'd haunt travel message boards to see what others say about restaurants in the area. The last thing you want to do is spend your restaurant dollars in a place that leaves you less than satisfied. Local haunts sometimes offer really great eats at bargain prices so this is worthwhile knowledge!

As Starwoodgal suggests, B&Bs are great and they offer not only "homey" accommodations but that very same local fare you're after. It's a win/win. The coupon idea is also a winner.

Have a great time! Travel safe.

I do a lot of research on which restaurants are praised and which ones people dislike - chowhound is good and serious eats is great. I generally plan my travels around the food - so I am more likely to stay someplace les expensive so I can eat more or eat at better places.

travel + good food is a joy, but can be expensive. We try to save up for trips so we have the cash to spend.

@Pumpkin, first and foremost, if you're already living on a super tight budget that leaves almost no extra money at month-end, you need to plan way in advance and start saving. You do NOT want to charge a vacation to credit cards if you can't pay the balance in full the following month. Please, please don't go there. No vacation is worth debt, especially of the credit card variety.

Second, you don't say why Birmingham. If it's not critical for it to be that particular destination, I'd pick a vacation spot based on affordability. Select off-season destinations. Not only is it cheaper, but you'll often enjoy fewer tourists and crowds, which is often a huge bonus, even with the less than ideal weather you're likely to encounter.

Look for special airfares and/or hotel deals. You'll usually find the best airfare deals on the airlines' own websites. You may have to travel at odd times of day, or put up with long layovers, but it can save you loads of cash. Choosing the airlines' hub cities will usually net you great fares, as the bulk of their flights must pass through these hubs (e.g., Dallas or Chicago on American, Denver on United, Atlanta on Delta, etc.), so you're more likely to get a non-stop flight. (Every connection costs you extra money in taxes and airport fees.)

Pick a large city with good walkability and public transit -- if you can find a good hotel rate, the money you save by not renting a car will pay for a dinner at a nice high-end restaurant. If you're going to have to rent a car no matter what, check fares into outlying airports. The relatively minor inconvenience of driving a couple hours to reach your destination will sometimes save hundreds on airfare, as well as lower car rental rates.

Travel with another couple and share a double-double room. Cuts your hotel cost in half. Even if there's a charge for the two extra adults, it's usually only a nominal charge, and you'll still come out way ahead.

Or take a roadtrip -- even with gas prices where they're at, it's still usually cheaper to travel locally by car. Renting a condo, cabin or beach house is usually way cheaper than a hotel, and you save more by eating many meals in. Again, do this with another couple (or two or three) and your accommodations will cost next to nothing.

Hotels that offer breakfast as a standard part of the room rate for all guests can be real cost savers. But watch out for breakfast packages -- they're usually not worth it, often raising the rate by $30 per person. If you can find a good rate at a hotel that has kitchenettes, or at least a microwave and fridge, you can definitely save a lot of money by stocking up on breakfast food, snacks and lunch stuff, leaving extra cash for dinners. Some of the long-stay hotels can be a great deal, too (Residence Inn, Homewood, etc.).

Once you're there, definitely look for the hole-in-the-wall places and best-kept-secrets for dining options at your destination. Use a concierge, especially for finding the locals' faves. Even if you're not staying at that kind of hotel, you can get advice from the concierge of a hotel where you're not a guest. Just be sure to tip accordingly. Also, many high-end restaurants offer great prix fixe lunches for a real bargain. Or they'll have early dinnertime seatings at reduced rates. Look for those deals if you want to sample the area's finer cuisine.

Thanks Richard... I've always loved to travel, and for many years could only do so on a shoestring. I learned a lot that way, along with all the lessons learned from friends in the travel industry.

Nowadays, I'm fortunate to not have to worry about the expense (fervently thanking my lucky stars), but I still look for cost savers. I'm just one of those people who hates to pay more than necessary. My favorite trick is still traveling off-peak, as I hate crowds, lines, and touristy tourists.

Two other things I should have mentioned:

1. Hotels are usually cheaper Mon-Thu in destinations that experience peak volume on weekends (e.g., Vegas, beach cities, etc.). They are usually cheaper Fri-Sun in big cities that cater to business travelers, especially in downtown areas and/or financial districts (e.g., Los Angeles, NYC, etc.). Sometimes it's worth it to change neighborhoods/hotels part way through a trip in order to take advantage of this fact.

2. The lowest airfares are usually offered on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, although there are often discounted last-minute fares on weekends.

make picnics! go to the local bakeries, farmers market, etc. do your research beforehand -- i like to use wikitravel and go to food places that the local university students like to frequent.

www.hotwire.com

Im not here fluffing them I just use their site to find discounted hotel rooms. That paired with websites like SE and chowhound and I can afford to stay in decent accomodation and eat good local food. Not fansy stuff. But good homecooked food.

Just did a search on hotwire checkining in on a thusday and leaving on a friday and a cost for the room in Colonnade - Inverness in 39.00 USD's per night sure youll have taxes etc. But less than 50 a night is a great deal for 2 people.

Check it out!

i use priceline, and have literally gotten hotel rooms for 1/2 the price of their posted rate. the only catch is you won't know which hotel you're booked in, until you've confirmed the reservation.

Post on here and egullet and around and find the off the main drag great places to eat. AB's Feasting on Asphalt was good for the cheaper better dining places. I always would rather go to a off the beaten path place to eat than a high dollar not as good place.
How we afford it is we worked hard and we planned for it. When I was young I bagged lunches for road trips. Not everyone gets to go epicurean wild in their young years. Plan for your future. Plan today is fun tomorrow.

I wondered the same thing.

Watching the Travel Channel makes me believe that only the rich and famous can afford to travel.

Roadfood is another great site for less expensive (and very local) dining around the country...check their boards!

It's been mentioned, but priorities are key when traveling on a budget. For me, food is part of experiencing a new place so I make sacrifices to be able to eat well. Like staying at a cheaper chain hotel instead of the fancier boutique places. And if you can, stay somewhere that offers a free breakfast and take advantage of it - grab one of their apples for a snack later in the day.

On a trip to Vienna, a friend and I managed to only buy one meal a day - dinner. Eating the hostel's free breakfast (and lots of it!) and then snacking throughout the day on Luna bars brought from home, we could splurge on dinner. For someone with more of an appetite, I'd second the suggestion for a picnic: get some cheap eats from a farmer's market or grocery store and enjoy it in a park or while site-seeing.

Lastly, plan where you want to eat to avoid wasting money on the closest thing available while you're starving. I'm an uber-planner so I'd probably have each restaurant picked before leaving home, but you can leave room to be spontaneous. Say you have three nights to eat out, come up with six restaurants that look good to you and decide from them. Again, never end up at some expensive hotel restaurant just because you're too hungry to go anywhere else!