After planning for over a year, my husband and I have begun what he call our “Grand Adventure”. We have taken the plunge and both quit our day jobs. We sold our home and gave away the majority of our things. The rest are being stored with friends and family. We are free to do what we love, at least for a little while, and when we do go back to the norm again, we trust we will be refreshed and ready to take on new challenges.
Browsing Tag
road trip
Recently my husband and I went on another road trip. We drove about 5000 kilometers over the course of 8 days, spending time with friends and camping. We are usually really good about sticking within a tight vacation budget,, however, on this trip we were more careless with how we spent our money. And, as a result, our vacation ended up costing more than we anticipated.
In response to the Summer Road Trip Challenge I posted earlier this month, I wanted to fill you in on how it turned out.
We had a fantastic time visiting several national parks throughout the southwestern U.S. As planned, we camped along the way, and because we spent most of our time in the desert, we didn’t have to deal with a lot of rain. Instead of rain, we experienced extreme heat with temperatures up to 43 degrees Celsius.
We brought along $2200 and we ended up spending $1030 for our trip. We also did a bit of shopping and spent $263 on shoes and a few other items. We were happy to discover that gasoline is quite a bit cheaper in the U.S. than in Canada, and when you are driving more than 8000 kilometers, it makes a huge difference.
My husband and I enjoy taking a road trip every summer. We have traveled across Canada as well as part of the United States. This summer is no exception, but as we do every year, we set a vacation budget and we are determined to stick to it.
This year we are bringing $2200.00 with us, but hope to spend less than that. We usually only budget for $2000, but we’re bringing along some extra cash this time in case we want to do some shopping.
Last year my husband and I went on a 10,000 km road trip and had a blast. 
We went for two weeks and our budget was $2000. We were able to stay within our budget despite the outrageous gas prices, and we had a great time.
Here are some things we did to save money while traveling:
1.We ate our own food. For the most part we ate food purchased from grocery stores along the way. We brought along a cooler and a Coleman cooking stove
2. We camped instead of staying in hotels. We brought along our tent and camped along the way. For a few nights we stayed with friends at their homes. We also slept in our car for two nights. I wouldn’t recommend sleeping in your vehicle every night, but if you just do it once or twice it is okay.
3. We maintained our car. Before we left, my husband gave our car a tune up. He changed the oil, made sure the air filter was clean, and checked the tire pressure. Throughout our trip he checked the oil and tire pressure. Thankfully we had no car trouble and our car was extremely fuel- efficient! Taking care of your car really does pay off.
4. We used a GPS
5. Our entertainment was enjoying nature. Along the way, we often stopped at curious sightseeing spots such as canyons, small waterfalls, etc. We didn’t have to spend a lot of money on entertainment as we were so enthralled by just being able to see such beauty all around us. We visited friends along the way and had a great time catching up. Except for a few tourist attractions, most of our entertainment was free!