By Taylor J. Kovar, CEO/Founder – Kovar Wealth Management

 

–Hey Taylor: We’ve got a bunch of little family vacations planned for the summer but I’m worried gas prices will spoil our fun. Any tips for cutting costs and keeping our plans? – Fred

 

–Hey Fred: If only there was a discount gas store, but alas, there is not. Every drive hits your wallet pretty hard these days, so you have to be really intentional with your driving if you don’t want to waste money. Your road trips will be more expensive than last summer, no doubt about it, but there are still ways to save a buck or two.

 

  1. Save now so you can spend later. We waste a lot of time panicking about an expensive trip, all the while making no effort to save money during our normal day-to-day. If you’re worried you’ll spend an extra $200 on gas in August, how about trying to save $200 on gas and groceries in July? This is where the intentionality really matters—don’t run three errands when you could consolidate and go once. Run the AC for the first half of your drive, then go old school and put the windows down. A lot of small changes can turn into notable savings if you’re willing to put in the effort.
  2. Apps and rewards. Unless your vacation is dictated by EV charging stations, you have to buy gas like everyone else. Instead of throwing your hands up in the air in defeat, take 20 minutes to download a cheap gas app and look into credit card rewards. The right app can have you saving $.10 a gallon, which will be significant over the course of your summer travels. Meanwhile, credit card companies don’t care what the price of gas is, they just want you to swipe. Some cards will get you two, three, or even five percent cash back on fueling up. Factor that into the overall cost of your vacation and things will look a little more affordable.
  3. Rent a car. Why pay a rental fee when you already own a car you’re happy to drive? In most cases, it won’t seem worth it, but if you’re going to travel 1,000+ miles, driving a hybrid instead of your SUV might actually merit the daily rental expense. On top of that, you don’t have to deal with the wear and tear of putting all those miles on your own car. It might sound crazy at first, but take some time to crunch the numbers. If the expenses break even but you don’t have to put 1,500 miles on your own vehicle, a rental car might be the way to go.

 

You can’t really find a cheat code when it comes to traveling while gas is expensive. Instead, you need to set an overall budget for your summer excursions and then find a way to hit that number. Hopefully, these tips help you make it happen!