Roadtripping on the Cheap

It’s easy for travel expenses to quickly add up, between gas, meals, snacks, drinks, and more. For someone like me, who is always on the road, it’s necessary to find ways to meet life’s basic needs without spending in excess. I’m far from an expert on this topic, but here are some of the habits and practices I’ve developed in the past couple of years on the road.

Leave the Highway

Rest-stop gas stations may be convenient, but unless you’re in a rush, try straying off of the highway a bit further for pitstops to refuel. Typically prices for gas and other commodities decrease as you leave the main route. You may also have better luck finding cheaper gas in areas with more stations in competition with one another than stopping at an exit with a single provider available. An increasingly common trend is for prices to be cheaper if you pay in cash instead of using your credit card.

More Strategies for Refueling

Many apps can help you save money on gas. I use Upside, which partners with select retailers to offer cash-back incentives to consumers. I primarily use it for gas, but they also work with restaurants, grocers, and convenience stores.

Mapping apps, like Waze and Google Maps, also have price information available about gas in your proximity, so you can research before choosing where to stop. Sometimes even with the discounts and rewards offered by Upside, there’s a cheaper price somewhere else nearby, so it’s always worth checking.

Although I haven’t used them personally, you may also want to check out GasBuddy and Fuel Me Up.

BYO Snacks and Beverages

Gas prices aren’t the only things marked up on the highway, other commodities like snacks and drinks also may cost more. This is another area in which planning ahead can cut costs drastically. Some of my standard things to keep on hand in the car along with plastic silverware include:

• Apple sauce
• Dried fruit and fruit cups
• Nuts
• Trail mix
• Pretzels
• Rick cakes
• Peanut butter
• Cereal, granola, and energy bars

Packing non-perishable drinks will also help limit purchases made on the go. Being a constant traveler and someone who typically only drinks water, I keep a Brita pitcher and several large reusable bottles with me at all times. Shelf-stable bottled drinks are another option and if you prefer them cold, you can typically snag ice for free (or at least cheap) at gas stations and food courts.

One consideration with both food and drinks kept in the car is temperature. Some drinks may explode in very cold temperatures, so be especially careful with things like soda, seltzers, and energy drinks. If you’re traveling with babies, it’s also important to know that formula separates once frozen and becomes inedible.

At higher temps, many drinks with sweeteners may break down in extended periods of heat or sun exposure. Also be wary about storing anything in plastic bottles, which leach chemicals if left sitting in a hot car. Even without ice, storing drinks in a cooler can help prolong the life of any beverages that may need to survive a prolonged period in the car.

Limit Eating Out

When traveling, it’s great to try the cuisine available in new areas and support local businesses. However, if you just need to get food in your belly and aren’t looking for the experience per se, skip dining out. When possible, prep food ahead of the trip to eat while you’re en route. Or you can pack items that will permit making a quick and easy meal on the road, like PB&J and other sandwich-making supplies.

For folks on longer treks like I typically am, it’s impossible to keep ice packs frozen forever, so eventually I always have to stop somewhere for ready-made options. When the time comes, though, instead of hitting up restaurants, I typically opt to find a grocery store. The deli and prepared food aisles can provide plenty of offerings served cold, such as a variety of salads, sandwiches, and even sushi. Sometimes you may even find a seating area with a microwave to permit heated options.

When Dining Out

If you do decide to go for a restaurant, once again try getting further off of the highway and using apps to find more affordable options. Similarly to using Waze or Google Maps to check gas pricing in the area, for meals you can look at Yelp or even just Google restaurants to preview menus before deciding where to go. Many apps also offer deals, such as Foursquare, Groupon, and Upside.

You may also consider placing pick-up orders rather than dining in the establishment you choose. In some states, this will decrease the percentage of sales tax that is charged and it will also lower the percentage of the bill that you should leave as a tip. (To be clear, I’m not saying be a crappy tipper, though – always take excellent care of servers! Just that it’s appropriate to tip less for carry-out than dine-in meals.)

Get Rewarded

Atop these strategies to reduce expenses, I also scan receipts for anything I do purchase on the road (and in life in general) into another app called Fetch, which gives you points for every receipt you log. It takes a while to accumulate much and it’s easy to forget to do it or get lazy about keeping up with it. But if you’re going to be spending the money anyways, you might as well get whatever you can in return.

Many credit cards also offer rewards. I’m not a fan of Amazon, but I often use it to order things for my parents and the credits I get from making purchases on a Chase card offered through Amazon add up over time. If you fly often, then a card that offers frequent flyer miles may be a better option.

Whatever you choose, just be wary of selecting a credit card based solely on the rewards if you are someone who ever carries a balance. Some of these options may have nice incentives but terrible interest rates, which is why I’m diligent about paying the bill on my Amazon-associated Chase account in total every month. If I ever need to carry a balance, I elect to do so on a different line of credit with a lower, more reasonable interest rate.

Referrals

Although I am not sponsored by either of these companies, they do offer their users perks for referrals, so if you decide to sign up for one after reading this, do me a solid and use my links below for:

• Upside
• Fetch (good through May 3, 2023)