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It’s a tradition for many families to plan a vacation at least once a year. Although flying to some exotic location can come with its own set of perks, the memories that tend to last the longest are when people pack up their car (or SUV, minivan or RV) and set out on a road trip. Of course, in order to make the vacation as stress free as possible, it’s a good idea to have a budget set in place. That way, you can enjoy your trip without worrying about returning home to a lot of (credit card) debt.
If you’re going to take a road trip this year, we have five failsafe tips that will help you to save money. That way you can focus on the true purpose behind a vacation: rest and relaxation with the ones you love.
Have a plan. We’ve all seen movies where people have jumped into cars with no real destination in mind. That might seem like a lot of fun, but it’s not necessarily the most realistic thing (especially financially) to do. It is far smarter to look at an online map or atlas and mark a few places you’d like to see. From there, you can use your GPS system to help you create a route that will get you to those destinations the quickest. That way, you can conserve gas and keep the mileage that you’re about to put on your vehicle down to a minimum.
Consider renting. On the other hand, if you’d like to give your car a bit of its on vacation (at home), you can always rent an electric vehicle. You may pay a bit more to get it, but gas stops (or worrying about getting stuck on the side of the road due to have too little fuel in your tank) are something that you won’t have to concern yourself with the entire time.
Take the “extras” that you need. OK, by this we don’t recommend that everyone has three suitcases a piece because the more weight you put in a car, the slower it tends to move. By this we mean that sometimes we’ll take our clothes and then purchase certain toiletries along the way and that can really start to add up. You don’t need to purchase “travel size items” of what you already have. So long as you bring your deodorant, lotion, shaving equipment and toothpaste along, you should be just fine.
Pack up a cooler. When you’re out on the highways and byways, you’re probably going to see a fast food symbol on every exit. While it can be tempting to pull over, you can save a lot more money (and time) by grocery shopping and putting things like sandwiches, fruit and snacks in a cooler. Another plus to going with this option: It’s healthier.
Go “light” on the souvenirs. Whether you’re headed to Dallas, Chicago or Outdoor Grove (near Yellowstone National Park), there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll run into a few souvenir shops. Honestly, the pictures that you take while on your trip will probably last longer than some random trinket in a tourist shop, so keep souvenir purchases to a minimum. Your wallet and that unmarked box of junk in your garage will be glad that you did.
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