Thinking of embarking on a summer trip? Here are 8 ways to save money on your summer road trips. Check it out. Just relax as this article would show you how.
I know it’s the pandemic that’s keeping you from that road trip now right
Else you would have hit the road since. Well if you’re planning a road trip, be it solo or with friends and family then stop what you’re doing, let’s gather here cause this one’s for you 😉
Whatever your reasons for a trip might be, the sun, the fresh air, and the green grasses everywhere that come with the summer seasons is a good enough reason to want an escape to somewhere nice, just for the fun of it and relax. Once the lockdown is completely over and everywhere is safe, you can do just that but you don’t have to rob a bank to do so or go broke in the process 😂. That’s why in this article, we’ll be giving out eight major steps on how to prepare for summer road trips and how to maintain a healthy budget while on it.
How To Save Money On Your Summer Road Trips
1. Online Savings
Honey you would be doing yourself a lot of good if you start saving now for that summer trip. A lot of decisions concerning it will be based on the money available. So instead of planning for a trip that might leave a huge hole on your finances, why not save up for that target alone. That way you get to enjoy your trip without worrying too much about funds. It is now general knowledge that the interest rates and investment opportunities are more on online banks than those of the normal walk-in banks. And you can take advantage of this by making deposits for a while. By the time you’re done, you’ll realize more money from your savings that’ll cover your travel expenses.
2. Do Your Shopping Yourself
It is better if you do your grocery shopping before and during your trip by yourself. This way you get to stuck-up on food supplies, avoid buying overpriced stuff and save your money more. Although the pandemic would likely be over while you’re on this trip, it would be wise to shop for hand sanitizers, clean towels, etc. And you might also have to stop at the pharmacy for a refill on your vitamins and antibiotics.
3. Be Certain Of Your Date And Plan Ahead
Businesses are beginning to reopen, borders too and so are life. Everything is going back to normal, so you can book your flights and make hotel reservations ahead of time. Sign up for cheap flight newsletters with discount flight deals. Most of these newsletters are free an example is Scott’s Cheap Flights. This same method can be used in booking hotel rooms and negotiate rooms directly from the hotel.
Due to the pandemic, hotels and airports have made adjustments to accommodate slight changes in booking reservations, so if you missed your flight or travelled days after your hotel reservation started counting, you may be charged little or nothing for it. Still, you have to be certain of your travelling date to avoid spending extra cash. This will also affect your plans too so it’s very important.
Take a close look at your map, familiarize yourself with the routes you’ll be using and mark out points you might likely stop to spend rest. All of these will come into your plans including how much you’ll decide to spend on feeding too.
To get cheap hotel rates, you might have to use comparison sites like TripAdvisor and Kayak or booking sites like booking.com and Expedia. Just like we mentioned earlier, you can also message the hotels directly and make reservations with them, this gives you a direct link to their current discounts.
4. Check Your Car
Prevention they say is better than a cure. When you’re travelling, you might want to avoid any breakdowns that may occur, instead you would love to enjoy a safe ride free of any form of glitch on the road. So to be on the safer side, take your car to be checked and fixed for, and please make sure you have enough fuel for your trip and a spare tire with you at least. This would help you avoid costly repairs and extra expenses from tickets you might get for something that may be faulty.
And your hotel might not have a free parking lot or might be very expensive, you have to put this into consideration when booking your room. Sites like Parkopedia and park me parking would help resolve any barking issues you might have in that.
5. Take Walks
Now that you’re at your destination, take walks to Cafe, restaurants just for the fun of it and you can enjoy the view around you and take memorable pictures in the process/while doing that. If possible you can save from your taxi and bus fares if you plan your sightseeing well.
6. Camp Instead Of Hotels?
What do you think?
This is based on personal preference. Camping is free or cheaper than renting a house or paying huge hotel bills. Some camping sites like overlander, ReserveAmerica, and BookYourSite.com have nice facilities like hot showers, toilets, and a kitchen which you can cook with. They might charge a little fee for all this.
This also means no restrictions, you can think of it as a picnic and have fun. You can take advantage of the Sunny weather too, that comes with summer and get a campsite with a great view or ones that’ll allow you the luxury of watching the sunset.
But if you’re not the camping type then you can try Air B n B accommodations available for travellers. Here house owners open their doors to accommodate others for a period for a little fee. You might be lucky to get nice houses on the beach or luxurious penthouses. Air B n B always make sure that all their houses are very comfortable and neat. Other sites include; Couchsurfing, Tripping.com, and HomeAway.
7. Use Cashback Websites
Be it for shopping or your bookings, use cashback sites. These are sites that work as booking agents. Their target is to get as many flight tickets sold as possible, so to do this, they give out a Certain discount on flights or pay incentives to those interested. Examples are Mr. Rebates, Ebates, and Top Cashback. They are good cashback websites for both flights, hotel bookings, car rentals, and shopping.
8. Communication.com
Once you travel, this trip doesn’t mean that you’ll no longer have family n friends who want to know about your welfare and all the gist on how you’re having fun. So instead of using an international phone plan which is very expensive, all you need is a good VPN and mobile data. You can make use of the free or cheap Wi-Fi provided by your hotel to keep in touch with friends through Skype or WhatsApp.
