Frugal Shortcuts for Our Trip

Our trip to Michigan is coming up in just a few short days and of course, like always, money isn’t overabundant. Fortunately, I have enough to get us to Michigan with a little bit leftover. With the in-state traveling we’ll be doing and the fact that we’ll most likely want to have a little bit of spending cash, I’m racking my brain to find ways to save money.

Food: I’m borrowing a cooler from a co-worker and I still have about $10 in credit on my Dillons card to buy things. Sandwich stuff will be key, followed by some fruit, some easy snacks, and some diet soda for the much needed on the road caffeine rush. We’re also packing water, but I’m going to try something different. Instead of buying ice and bottled water, I’m taking a couple plastic bottles, filling them part way then freezing them. That way we have “ice packs” to keep food cool and when it melts, we’ll have water to drink.

Hotel: I’m a little unsure of this right now. Cheap will be the key word since I don’t have any hotel points or anything like that. My mom had offered us a discount through her work, but we decided not to reserve. For me, it’s easier to stop wherever than to have a certain destination to stop that may hold us back from getting a little further. I’ve actually batted around the idea of sleeping at a rest stop (not something I’d ever do by myself) but I think we’ll opt for the cheap hotel option instead. There’s bound to be somewhere for less than $50 on a Thursday night.

Gas: Even though I don’t have a hybrid car, I do get fairly good gas mileage at about 30 miles per gallon on the highway. Mapquest’s gas cost estimator puts me at under $70 for gas just one way. Before we head out, I’ll make sure to check the air in our tires for better gas mileage. Unfortunately, we have some stuff in the trunk that we’re not removing until the actual move, so that will lower it a bit. However, I’m hoping to find a few cheaper fill up stations along the way.

We’re lucky to be able to stay with family and as far as spending cash goes, while it will be nice to have, it won’t be necessary. In fact, the only thing we’re really planning on spending money on is garage sales. My mom is an avid garage sale fan and it will make her day to be able to spend one morning hitting sales in the area. Since we’re looking to furnish our new place, we’ll be on the lookout for good deals too. That’s half the reason I’m driving…car space to take stuff back in.

It’ll be interesting to see just how much we spend all together over the week. Nothing like an added challenge to make a vacation exciting.