Rather than setting aside family money for vacation extras, a number of readers have come up with creative ways to get kids to save their own spending money.

The Carpenters of Sevierville, Tennessee, collect loose change and birthday money in individual Mad Money Jars. When it's time to go away, they dump out their jars and add up how much each person has to spend. The best part? "You can use your mad money to buy yourself whatever your little heart desires," says mom Vanessa.

The Mohans of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, took this concept a step further by creating a Good Deeds Bank before an upcoming trip. Mom Marci first had her kids decorate a coffee can to serve as the bank. Then, every time the kids did something helpful around the house, she or her husband would deposit a coin. The kids' good deeds earned them a hefty chunk of change to spend on vacation. And, says Marci, "We had a more considerate household."

FamilyFun readers swear by giving their kids a set amount of money for souvenirs and putting them in charge of how they spend it. This strategy not only eliminates those grating requests to Mom and Dad, but also puts kids in touch with how much things cost. As one reader noted, "Kids are more inclined to pinch pennies when it's their pennies."

Another strategy, from travel writer Kim Wright Wiley of Charlotte, North Carolina: hold off on souvenir shopping until the end of the day. It cuts down on impulse buys and helps ensure that kids get what they really want.

Make the miles fly by with these clever boredom busters:

Sticker Detective A road-weary 4-year-old inspired Hannah Diller to create her own prehistoric version of "Where's Waldo?" Having exhausted her supply of tapes and books, the Austin, Texas, mom stuck a dinosaur sticker inside a magazine and asked her son to play sticker detective. "It took him a while, but he found it, and triumphantly returned the magazine -- this time with the sticker hidden for me to find," says Hannah. "We passed the magazine back and forth for a while, with me giving hints and him forgetting to ask how much longer the drive would be!"

Car-Counting Game Tammy Young of St. Peters, Missouri, invented this easy observation game five years ago, and her family has been playing it ever since. Before trips, she prints up scorecards with pictures of different vehicles and their assigned values. Points range from 1 to 5, depending on uniqueness. Minivans and motorcycles are worth 1 point, for example, while Hummers and convertible Volkswagen Beetles are worth more. Each member of the family keeps track of the cars he sees, and the person with the highest score at the end of the trip wins. According to Tammy, the game is so popular, her husband, Steve, often drives past their destination just so they can keep playing.