Long road trips can be loads of fun. But they can also cost you more money and make you more stressed than they should. This post gives you three simple ways to save cash and stress before you head off for your next epic journey. Read them, absorb them, and then make sure you put them in place. If you do then your next road trip will be a lot more fun.
Make sure you’re spending your money wisely
How many times have you hit the road with nothing more than your final destination in mind? And how many of these trips have turned into a massive money pit? More than you’d like.
Reducing the costs of journeys starts with tallying your expenses before you set off
For personal trips, this begins by making sure you’re only spending what you can afford to. You can do this with a budget planner.
There are many budget planning tools you can use but you can make your own using Google Sheets. The program comes with its own planner, or you can do a bit of research and find a free template – you could even create your own.
For business long road trips, spending your money wisely is about ensuring you don’t use your own money for any company expenses. A simple way to do this is with fuel cards.
Fuel cards allow you to pay for your diesel and petrol using company finances. You can find them at price comparison sites like, iCompario.
A note about iCompario is that you can input your unique requirements, so you get the card that’s best for your business. Find out more about how to do this by visiting the website.
Final note, it’s a good idea to learn more about how fuel cars or budget planners can help to save money before you make your next long journey – not after, when you’ve already spent more than you should!
Bring plenty of entertainment for your kids
Driving on your own can be tedious, but travelling with other people can be unbearable. This is never more true than if your wonderful children aren’t given things to entertain themselves.
I’m sure you have your own stories of times when you’ve not given your children quite enough things to keep them occupied – it happens to us all!
I’m also certain that you’ll have your own sources of entertainment for them.
However, the point of this article is to go you some advice, so here are some suggestions:
- Give them an educational app to use on a tablet
- Make them feel involved in the journey by talking to them about it
- Create a travel pack of activities and games for them to use
Of course, you could always drive at night, so that they’re more likely to sleep through the journey!
Plan your route before you get into your vehicle
There’s a common denominator with stress and cost for journeys – time.
Time is often your enemy when you’re driving because the longer your journey takes the most stressful it becomes and the more money it costs you.
Your way to defeat this enemy is to plan your route before you even step foot in your vehicle.
Planning ahead means you can take the quickest routes. It also means you can take ones that have more service stations and rest points, perhaps even cheaper ones.
There’s no secret to how to plan your route, it simply takes a little bit of effort and this is the same for every type of long road trip that you take.
Google Maps is the obvious place to turn. However, it’s wise to consider route planning apps, such as Roadtrippers.
Key detail about Roadtrippers is that you can add places of interest to your journey, so you can have a more cost-effective or interesting journey. You can get more information about how to do this by heading over to the website.
Another detail, while the idea is to reduce costs, the thing to keep in mind with a long road trip is that it should be enjoyable. So, while it might take a little away from your bank balance to stop off at an interesting place, you may have a much richer experience if you do.
Recommended reading: How to start planning your travel packing this can help with your long road trips.
Spending your money wisely, keeping your kids entertained, and planning your route are just three great ways to make yourself less stressed on a long road trip.
But the reason they’re so great is they can cost you as little as nothing.
So, think about all these things before you stake your next journey and put them into practice – you’ll feel a lot better for it!
