By: Robyn
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Robyn and here are a few of my favorite things: alliteration, kittens, Froyo and road trips.
Dictionary.com defines a road trip as: A journey via automobile, sometimes unplanned or impromptu.
I define road trips as: Awesome.
If you couldn’t tell by that last comment, I’ll fill you in on a secret. I love road trips. And when I say love, I mean like more than some 10-year-old girls love Justin Bieber.
Getting ready to hit the road!
I love road trips so much that I’ve taken three in the past two months and I’m planning for another trip in the upcoming weeks.
That’s the key. Planning. Road trips can be expensive. From the gas to chips and Gatorade
to a hotel with a pool, road trip expenses can add up fast. Here’s how I get ready for hittin’ the road:
Gas to go: What’s your car’s mpg (miles per gallon)? If you know that figure, then you can do a little math to figure out how much money you will need to budget for gas on your road trip. For example, my car can drive 20 miles on one gallon of gas and there are 350 miles between Spokane and Portland.
350 miles ÷ 20 mpg = 17.50 gallons of gas.
If the average price of a gallon of gas is $3.50, then I’d end up spending around $60, one way, just on gas.
Pack the pretzels: While McDonald’s and Burger King are delicious, stopping at a fast food restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner can add an unnecessary expense to your budget. Hit up your local grocery store (or your mom’s pantry) and stock up on things you can snack on along the way. My favorites to pack are bags of pretzels, juice boxes and PB&Js from home.
Take a tent: If the weather permits, finding a campsite along your road trip route is an easy way to save. Trade in a swimming pool and spa for a lake and some bug spray and you might have enough of your budget left over to splurge on a fun activity like going to the zoo or a museum like this one in Montana that houses one of the largest dinosaur fossil collections in the world.
Once you have a good plan, you should have an idea on what you will end up spending on your trip. Why not open a new STCU savings account just for travel expenses? That way you can set aside exactly what you’ll need and you can hit the road worry-free.
One of my favorite things that I forgot to mention is saving money. The easiest way I know how to do that is by planning ahead and being prepared with a budget.
