What are some good tips on how to save money on long road trips?
I am going from NY to NC and later from NY to California and I need some tips on how to save as much money as possible. Thanks! Also I am a college student who will be making minimum wage for two months and a week
Public Comments
- I bring my own food, and another ice chest for cold drinks. I fill my ice in gas stations, the bigger ones, and usually they dont charge, so you save on ice. I look up gas prices for where I am traveling to see the trends in states. You can shower at the larger truck stops(gas stations not truck rests) so anytime you can nap and not get a motel, showers at truck stops are very cheap like 11.00 or so. You dont have to be a trucker to use them. For meals, do dollar menus only at fast foods. Bring PBJ and bread, plastic utensils, napkins etc. Bring fun cheap snacks, from the dollar stores, fresh fruit you keep on ice.
- You have to start thinking S-M-A-R-T. What kind of cutbacks can you make? For example: I drink bottled water. Paying $1 a bottle on something that covers over 65% of our planet is not smart. So I bought one of those water filters that screw into your faucet. I have bottles that I refil over and over again. This doesn't take much time and you will reduce your carbon footprint as a bonus. Do you have a lot of small appliances around the house that are always on? Televisions, subwoofers, sterio equipment and microwaves use the most energy when they are left plugged into the outlet, even when they are turned off. Plug all your plugs from entertainment system into those 6 prong outlet plugs with the switch on them. When you are not using these items shut the switch off. I noticed a huge difference on my electric bill just by doing this. I also bought some of those florescent bulbs that look a lot like a regular bulb. These things use 80% less electricity than regular bulbs. Ave 60Watt incalescent bulb (old school) runs you 2 cents per hour. Ave 60Watt energy bulb averages 0.5 cents per hour. Wanna be creative? Find yourself leaving lights on? Buy a motion sensor switch, the lights will turn on when you enter the room and will turn off (by a set amount of time) when you leave the room. I have one, they cost $15 at HomeDepot. You would be surprised, but these small things add up. If you really need the money right away start cutting back on your food costs. Romain noodles cost a dime and they taste just as good as campbells chicken noodle that costs over $1 a can. Ok no chicken in romain noodles, but you are probably just missing about 4 tiny pieces of chicken. Adjust your toilet to use lesser water. If you don't know how to do this then put a brick inside your toilet 'chamber'. You will use a less water each time you flush, this adds up over time people. Before you know it you will be ahead. Need new windshield wipers for your car? Who says you have to buy 2? You only need the new one on the drivers side, leave the old wiper on the passenger side. Are you an impulsive buyer?? Listen here's what you do......always save the receipt. Find a place to save all the boxes, packaging, etc. Try to get obsessed with folding all the packing materials, making them neat and tape the receipt onto the box/package. Make a game out of it. And get yourself into a new habit called "impulse returning" I once bought a shampoo rug cleaner to scrub my carpets. After I was done I didnt need it anymore so I returned it to the store. I like to think of it as free rental. So remember you have to start thinking S-M-A-R-T! Yours truly seahorsehawrey.
- 1. Idling gets you 0 miles per gallon. The best way to warm up a vehicle is to drive it. No more than 30 seconds of idling on winter days is needed. Anything more simply wastes fuel and increases emissions. 2. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration, and hard braking) wastes gas. It can lower your highway gas mileage 33% and city mileage 5%. 3. Avoid high speeds. Above 60 mph, gas mileage drops rapidly. 4. Clear out your car; extra weight decreases gas mileage by 1% to 2% for every 100 pounds. 5. Reduce drag by placing items inside the car or trunk rather than on roof racks. A roof rack or carrier provides additional cargo space and may allow you to buy a smaller car. However, a loaded roof rack can decrease your fuel economy by 5% or more.
