I hate to admit it, but there are some things in life that I would love to do or own but just can’t.
Like own a llama farm.
Or take one of those 6-month cruises that visits every continent, even Antarctica.
Or order the filet mignon every time I go to a restaurant.
Not feasible. But that’s ok…I’m a grown-up, and I know our financial and logistical limitations.
BUT – good news!! – experiencing and exploring the awesomeness of our country via road trip doesn’t have to be a financially unattainable pipe dream! In fact, with a few strategies and commitments in place, you can make your way across the country, have A BLAST with your family, and easily stay within a reasonable budget!
Memory Bank Road Trips would LOVE to share with you a few of our tried-and-true methods of saving money so that your very own dream road trip is doable.
- For overnight stays along the way, consider bunking at a KOA. They are simple, usually pretty cute, and at $100/night they are very affordable! They do require that you bring your own bedding, and the showers and bathrooms are a separate building, but heck, it beats a $200/night hotel.
- If you are traveling with a big group, then you would do better by splitting the cost of an Airbnb. You can find nice homes for rent around $300/night and if you split that between 2 families, it’s not too high of a price tag.
- Airbnb’s also come with the added benefit of having a kitchen, which means you can cook at the house rather than eat out every meal. You can make meals at the house really fun! Have a barbeque and eat outside, or cook something that you normally wouldn’t make at home, or make an extra unhealthy delicious dessert! No matter what, eating a home-cooked meal is ALWAYS cheaper than eating out.
- Give yourself one or two “splurge” activities and restaurants for the trip, and keep everything else either free or as low cost as possible. By “splurge” activities we mean a guided tour, an extra nice hotel one night, a waterpark, a fancy schmancy restaurant, etc. Your other activities can be awesome, just not expensive! You can spend your time at state parks, hiking, at swimming holes, or scenic vistas. And your restaurants can be yummy and nice, but not the kind with tiny portions that cost an arm and a leg.
- When you do go out for dinner, choose pizza for a couple of your outings! Pizza is a VERY economical way to eat out. A family of six or seven can fill up on 2 large pizzas and come away with satisfied stomachs and a fairly small bill.
- Try to commit as many of your lunches to picnics as possible. First of all, picnic lunches are SO FUN and make great memories. Also, they are the ultimate money- saver! You can have everything packed away in a cooler that you need to make a yummy and healthy lunch: sandwiches, a piece of fruit, a salty snack, and a treat! You can make your picnic even more special by keeping a wipeable tablecloth stored with the cooler…it’s always nice to spread out a pretty tablecloth to eat over.
- Stock up on car snacks BEFORE the road trip! If you buy snacks along the way at gas stations, you will pay more than twice as much. Instead, have a fun night out at Walmart with the kids the night before you leave and let them pick out a stash of treats!
- Instead of not really paying attention to how many souvenirs you’re buying throughout the trip, give everyone a certain amount of ACTUAL CASH for their own souvenir spending money. (We recommend giving everyone $30-$50.) It’s fun, the kids love it, and it keeps you from realizing when you get home that you have 35 bags of souvenirs that you don’t remember buying and you spent $2000 that you shouldn’t have spent.
- Travel in the off-season! If you can manage to get away when most families are in school, the cost of EVERYTHING will be lower. Hotels, rental houses, admission and cost of activities…it’s all greatly discounted in the off-season. Another added benefit is how not crowded it all is!
- Our final tip isn’t so much about saving money as it is about raising money. If you are dreaming of taking a family road trip but the money just isn’t there, consider a big, slightly-drastic, fundraiser! A yard sale, if it’s done well and you have TONS of stuff to sell, can easily bring in over $1000! And it’s so fun to tell your customers that you are raising money for an epic road trip with the fam!
Memory Bank Road Trips would love to help you get going on your own dream road trip! We offer state-of-the-art, handcrafted road trip plans AND super cute, hilariously-relatable road trip merch!
Check out our website to get more info or to get in touch!
www.MemoryBankRoadTrips.com