If you’re planning to travel across the country and have a tight budget, you need a few tricks to keep the costs down. Check out these tips and ideas to help you travel on a budget no matter how far cross country you might be headed.
How to Travel on a Budget Cross Country
Set Your Budget
Decide upon your travel budget. Once you know how much money you have available to finance the trip, you will have a better idea how to stay within your allotted budget. Your set budget will determine most of the things about your trip — from your mode of travel, to accommodations along the way.
Compare Travel Prices
If you haven’t decided upon your method of travel, take some time to compare prices. If you drive your own vehicle, you will need to include gas and maintenance costs. If you rent a vehicle to drive, you will have the costs of the rental fees and gas. If you choose to travel by train, you won’t have those costs, but you will need to determine if the cost of rail tickets offers any actual savings.
Plan Your Route
Once you’ve determined your method of travel, plan your route to get from your starting point to your ending point. Use your route to check for deals that will be available to you along the way. You will need to look for bargains on hotel rooms, coupons for restaurants and fast food spots that are along the way, and even discounts on gas.
Pack Your Own Food
Food can be one of the biggest expenses on any trip. Plan to cut down on your food expenses by packing your own food for the trip. Shop at a local grocery store before you leave and stock up on non-perishable snacks, bottled drinks, ice, and other food items. Fill a cooler with the ice and load it with the bottled drinks. If your destination accommodation has a kitchen, take some ready-to-cook food items with you to make a few of your own meals once you get there.
Use Cash
Use cash instead of credit or debit cards as much as possible. Paying with cash will make you think more carefully before you spend it because once the cash is gone, it’s gone. Debit or credit can incur fees and because you’re not actually seeing the money leave your hand, you often have a tendency to spend more than necessary.
Stay at Campgrounds
A night at a national park campground can be much cheaper than a hotel room along the way. Pack a tent, a sleeping bag, and a few blankets and plan to sleep at campgrounds along the way.
Make Use of Apps for Gas Savings
Use your smartphone’s wifi to check online for the lowest gas prices along your travel route. GasBuddy.com is one option, or you can use Google to track down prices along the way. {Check out this post on how to save on fuel.}
Saving a few bucks as you travel across the country will allow you to not break the bank and have more money to enjoy your destination once you arrive.
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