Roadtrip on a Shoe-String Budget : 6 Tips

On Monday I returned from Colorado for my second time this year, with plans to go at least once more before December. Every time I get back, some people seem really shocked that I actually went. As if it is a crazy thing to do. Now I will admit that it is crazy-fun, crazy-good, and crazy-memorable, but the idea itself is quite doable!

(My two little brothers and I on our trip to Colorado.)

Few things first. I am twenty-one, and the amount of road trips I have gone on makes me so far from an expert, that it is not even quantifiable. Which is why I write a itsy-bitsy blog for my friends, and not books. If you hate advice, or consider yourself an expert road tripper, then no need to read. I just  talk to a lot of people who do not know how to go about making a memorable road trip without spending bank. Also, I do not want to be that pretentious jerk that goes about wearing home-spun sandals, telling you that "To journey is to find oneself," or something like that. I am just a college senior, who enjoys taking trips! Now let's get down to business.... (depending on when you were born, I know what you just sang in your head. mwhahaha)

1.) Prioritize 

If you want to take a road trip, then you need to prove it. Save up your money, or sacrifice something for it. I have a percentage that I remove from every paycheck for traveling. You could also designate money you get from gifts, tips, or bonuses for traveling. If you are not the budgeting sort of person, then cancel some subscriptions or a habit for a month and hit the road! You most likely have the money, you are just spending it elsewhere.

2.) Figure out what you want to accomplish.

A lot of people think, "I want to go see this band, or "I really want to hike in this place!" Then they go about spending tons of money getting there and back. Honestly, most of us just want a break from our day-to-day. We want to see something unfamiliar, and feel adventurous again. Some really just want to connect with whoever their roadtrip buddy is. This can be accomplished on almost any budget. My last trip, was all about hanging out with my brothers. That is what I wanted to accomplish, so I built from there.

However, sometimes you really just want to do that "one thing". The trip that I took to Colorado in this Spring, was all about an event. I really, really wanted to see a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and so that trip looked a lot different.

 

First figure out what it is you actually want to do with this trip, and that will affect everything else. If you have a tight budget, just focus on making some memories and getting away for a bit. I promise, every city has something amazing. You do not have to go to Chicago to have a stellar trip.

 

 (An unforgettable performance by Ellie Goulding at Red Rocks.)

3.) Network

I seriously cannot stress this enough! There are a few, what I like to call, "chunkers" on road trips. The main ones are food, gas, and lodging. What connections can you use to diminish the effect of these chunkers? We all have connections. Maybe you have a relative you have not seen in a while, or a friend from high school who moved away a while back. I know it is weird to call them up and ask them if you can stay at their house after not speaking for maybe years, but it is worth it! Honestly, I usually just straight up ask. Sharing always benefits the receiver and the giver, and most people will tell you straight up that they cannot host you.

 If you are a bit nervous I suggest beginning the conversation by saying, "Hey we were thinking about visiting your city. Do you have any suggestions on things to do?" This should naturally flow and either they will ask, "Where do you plan on staying," or you can say, "We have not decided where we are staying yet." If they do not offer, then you can move on. My suggestion? Ask. Asking has brought me to some wonderful places in life.

One time my best friend and I really wanted to go to a conference in Tennessee. We were not old enough to get a hotel room, so I found the youth pastors of the church on Facebook, and sent them a message telling them how much we wanted to attend the conference. I had never met them before. We ended up getting to stay at their house with the ministry team! For Christians, that's the ultimate VIP treatment. We also got fed free meals at their house.

 (My best friend helping with dinner, at our host's house in Colorado.)

 

You can also ask around to see if anyone has points or discounts at a hotel chain. Unfortunately, a lot of people do not collect on these rewards, so you might as well! Our friends took a trip to Chattanooga over spring break. That is a weird trip for Spring Break, but our friend Trinity has points at a hotel there. This hotel fed us breakfast and dinner. Believe me, we found fun in Chattanooga for a lot cheaper than our college-peers who were spending bank at the beach.

(We rented bikes in Chatt and ramped this wall for a good 30 minutes. Stupid fun)

If you cannot find a place to stay, then try to get people to host you for meals. Also, network all you can to find a car with great gas mileage. If you do not have one, find one. Holding back, and not asking for help does not make you superior, it just leaves you missing out on good times!

4.) Only spend on the important things.

On a road trip, food is fuel. That is it. Pack a cooler with sandwich ingredients for lunch and dinner. Bring some granola bars for breakfast. Stuff the cooler with beverages. Always pack snacks. Snacks attacks will kill your budget when you stop at gas stations. My brothers probably spent $35 in snacks and soda at gas stations. Tsk Tsk. If you do not have room in your car to pack enough food for the whole trip, just pack enough for the drive, and get the rest when you get to your destination. This is why establishing the purpose of your trip is so important. If you are heading to Colorado to white water raft, then you realize that eating sandwiches and cliff bars for three days is totally worth it! I usually like to eat out once on a trip, because I really enjoy exploring new restaurants. If you are also a teensy bit of a foodie, then budget for it! Just keep it to one or two stops.

You are broke. You do not need to shell out for a fabulous place to rest your head, unless of course that is the reason you are going. If you were too pansy to find a place to stay, I suggest camping or staying at a super gritty motel. Not only do these make for hilarious stories, but they also give you more room in your budget for the things that actually matter.

 

(The cool thing about traveling with guys, is that they set up the camp site.)

 

Try driving the speed limit or a little bit under. This past trip was the first time I had done that (do not throw stones), and it really paid off. Sure we got there one hour later than we would have if we sped, but I will trade that for savings. Again, depends on your purpose.

(My little, baby Kia. The best road trip car!) 

5.) Research

So now you are staying at Aunt Glenda's house in Omaha, Nebraska. You have never been to Omaha, and you are pretty sure it is just a corn field. Well, do some research! Omaha is actually a fantastic city! Most cities have tourist websites. You can straight up type into Google, "Omaha tourism," and it will pop up. I also love the app Yelp. I use this probably more than I should. You can get discounts for checking in on Yelp. You really should download this, even if you are not traveling ever. I use it almost everyday. You can also use sites like Groupon and Living Social, to find deals for that city. I also strongly suggest looking Craigslist for that city to find discounted gift cards, concert tickets, or coupons.

6.) Add people

I live by the phrase, "The more the merrier." That has definitely gotten me into some weird situations, because I have a propensity to invite too many people. However, for road trips it really is a good thing to add as many people as you can. $200 in gas divided by four people is a lot cheaper then by just two. So find a few buddies that you think would be down, and journey on! I will warn you though: if you are do not have a naturally cheery disposition be careful! You never truly know someone until you road trip with them. They could be terribly crabby in the morning, or like one of my brothers (who will remain unnamed) fart endlessly for two hours of the road trip.

I just recently went on a trip with two guys from high school. I wanted to see Ellie, and could not go alone. Honestly, it was a pretty random group; but boy was it fun! The could not have been better road trip buddies. Now they are two of my best guy friends, and I foresee some more trips in the future.

(Our weird and wonderful high-school reunion.)

7.) Be flexible and adventurous

This is what makes the trip. The best and worst parts of road trips are what you do not plan for. When we were in Chattanooga this Spring break, we went into a coffee shop on a whim (I looked it up using Yelp by the way). We went in for lattes, and one of our friends came out with a date. This guy took her walking around the city, and the rest of were super giddy about it. We certainly did not plan for that, and it did not cost us anything! We were just having a good time and being completely flexible with that time. What resulted was a wonderful memory.

(While she was on her date, we spent some time on the board walk.)

When I went to Colorado with my brothers last weekend, we saw the Rockies stadium packed at night, while we were riding our bikes. My brothers are baseball fanatics so we checked the prices. They were only $8! Being from Cardinals Nation, we were kind of freaked out by the cheap price. We are not Rockies fans, but we gave it a whirl. We had a good time, and I'm really glad we were down just to try it.

So that is all I have folks. As I was writing, I was like shoot there is more to this. Perhaps I will post some more about road tips in the future!

Much Love,
Sarah Jean