Road Trip Savings Tips

Are you planning on taking a road trip this year?  Whether it’s a short one or long, you will want to be prepared with these savings tips to help make your trip a fun, more easily affordable one (so that the next one is more likely!).

Plan Ahead

Scheduling when and where you are going to go will help you save big on your road trip.  This can be viewed similar to a trip through the grocery store.  Think about it like this, if you don’t have a list, you are far more likely to grab whatever food you think looks good at the time and  you are far more likely to be sucked into those impulse purchases. If you don’t have a game plan on your trip, chances are you will be more willing to stop at places that will force you to spend out of your budget.  Places like Booking.com offer last minute hotel and motel deals that are super cheap, an can often be cancelled at the last minute if your plans change! 

Designate a Savings for the Trip

Like many other things, road trips are something that you really shouldn’t borrow for.  A fun, relaxing road trip becomes a lot less relaxing when you have to worry about how you are going to pay the bills that come along with charging everything.  Uses your credit cards wisely to take advantage of the perks, then pay that bill off immediately with the money you already saved for your trip.

Maintain your Vehicle

This is the most important thing you can do in preparation of your road trip.  Maintaining your vehicle can not only save you money, but it can, quite literally save your life.  Make sure that your oil, water and other fluid levels are all where they need to be.  Check your tires to be sure that they are in good condition and aired up to the proper levels.  Clean air filters can also help improve your fuel mileage = gas cost savings.  All of these things will keep you safe on the road, plus they also make it less likely that you will run into mechanical failures while on your trip, which can easily blow your budget and ruin your fun.

Score Cheap Gift Cards

Saving right off the top is excellent!  I LOVE to visit a site like Raise [NEW Raise customers get $10 off $25 CLICK HERE] to see if they have any discounted gift cards that I can utilize along the way.  There are tons from fast food places to gas stations.

Pack Necessities (Along with Your Clothes)

Yep, you need to bring clean clothes and food, you know that, but don’t forget the other necessities that you will need to bring with you on a road trip:

• First Aid Kit – You really should always have a first aid kit in your car anyway, but it is a must have on a road trip.  Bandages, gauze and light medications can be handy in case of any small emergency, but it can also help prevent unnecessary stops along the way. (First aid supplies are not cheap at truck stops and convenience stores.)
• Entertainment – This is especially true if you have children with you.  Make sure you pack TV/DVD players or tablets, road trip games and small toys.  You will save your own sanity by doing this because there will be less “Are we there yet” questions and boredom stops.
• Food.  You need to be sure and have food on hand for emergencies (stick some granola bars in your First Aid Kit), but you also need to keep food on hand for snacks, so that you are not stopping a rest areas or driving through restaurants regularly, which can add up quickly if you are not careful!