Now and then, it’s essential that you take some time off and relax. If you love cars or just traveling, taking a road trip is one of the best ways you can spend your time off. Just like all other forms of vacation, road trips cost money. So, to fully enjoy your road trip, you should create an appropriate road trip budget. We have rounded up some of the essentials you should budget for when planning your next road trip.
Gas
If you plan on taking a road trip, one of the main costs you should figure out and budget for is how much gas you’ll consume. When calculating this cost, you should keep in mind that heavily loaded cars tend to consume more fuel than lightly loaded cars. You should also keep in mind that gas prices tend to fluctuate between states and even within cities. To get an approximate figure of how much you’ll need to pay for gas, you should figure out the total distance you plan on covering and divide it by the number of gallons your vehicle consumes per mile. This mileage calculation will give you the approximate number of gallons you’ll use on your trip. Once you’ve got the number of gallons you’ll likely use, you should then multiply it by the price at which a gallon sells along your route.
Food
If you intend to go on a road trip, figuring out the cost of food for your journey is also essential. Long-distance driving tends to make people hungry, so you should give yourself a generous budget for meals and snacks. To calculate the total amount of money you’ll need for food, you can simply multiply the amount you spend on food on a day-to-day basis by the number of days you’ll be on the road. You can then multiply this amount by the number of travelers you’ll be with. The point of a road trip is to have a good time. Having a good time might include sampling relatively expensive dishes in different parts of the country. Take a look at our guide to road trip food ideas for what you can pack and what you can cook on your road-trip.
Lodging
Depending on what kind of road trip you are planning, you should consider the cost of renting motel rooms along the way. Motels tend to offer their rooms at cheaper prices than most hotels and resorts, and are in convenient locations near interstates and highways. There are several online booking platforms where you can find cheap motels with fantastic amenities. On many of these platforms, all you have to do is insert the landmark or name of a city where you’d like to stop over at and the amount you’d like to spend on a room, and the platforms’ search engines will come up with a list of potential options. Using this information, you’ll be able to budget for your road trip lodging with ease.
One money-saving tip for you: If you have the cargo room and favorable weather, bring along a tent and some sleeping bags and camp overnight at campgrounds along the way. Just be sure to plan ahead and see if you need to pre-book a campsite.
Entertainment
The whole point of going on a road trip is to have fun and relax. It’s only logical that when budgeting for your road trip, you might set aside some money for entertainment. The amount you budget should be determined by how long you intend to be behind the wheel, and where your road trip will take you. If you plan on being behind the wheel most of the days of your road trip, your cost of entertainment will be relatively low, while if you plan on spending most of your days making brief stops, your entertainment costs will be high. Also keep in mind that if you plan on attending concerts or comedy shows, or going to amusement parks, for instance, the costs of entertainment will add up.
Insurance
Before embarking on your road trip, it’s in your best interest to look into road trip insurance, especially if you intend to journey on a rental car. You never know what may occur while on the road. With road trip travel insurance, you can avoid getting yourself into a deep financial mess, as it is designed to protect against risks that may occur when traveling. There are plenty of affordable car insurance providers. When looking for one to cover you, you should read online reviews and ask around to friends and family for trusted companies to use. It’s safe to say that by following these simple steps, you can easily identify a cheap and reliable insurance provider.
