Here in Canada, a restaurant supper will be at least $20, a small local motel is probably in the 70-100 range, and heck even a campground could cost 40 bucks at the high end if unlucky.
So stuff does add up easily.
generally when biker traveling, I use cash for small places and ask if its ok to use credit card and when so, do, saving the cash i have for the small places and small purchases.
thab, maybe I didn't read properly your reasoning, but would you use credit or debit cards at times? If you have a fee each time you use one then it's understandable to try to limit use.
I think things can be pretty variable depending on a whole lot of factors. First there is the US canadian exchange rate that would need to be converted to compare those prices.
Meals... I tend to eat breakfast or lunch and seldom dinner in a restaurant when I choose to not cook. They tend to be better values than the evening meal. I never buy a beverage with the meal. I like water and beverages like soft drinks tend to be expensive. Some places can be great values others terrible ones. So a lot can depend on your choices.
Motels can be similarly variable. I don't get a room often, but have found that they can range from around $30 to WAY over $100. I can pretty much always negotiate at least a 10% discount. Just ask the price before negotiating the discount or they will say it was already included in the quote. These days just asking for an AARP discount often gets me the same price as I'd get doing the whole "riding across the country" song and dance. That said, I once had them offer me a much nicer room at a cheaper room price and then discount even that price and that was in a really nice place with a great room and a super nice breakfast. I have also had a really expensive place offer me something like a 50% discount, but they were still more than I wanted to spend and I decided to press on and camp.
Not sure, but, I wonder if motels might look on you with suspicion if you were to pay cash. I bet many would want a card on file in case you damaged the room or something.