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I like to travel but try to travel light. Quite often when I am traveling by car I have a destination in mind and there is not a lot of time to stop and set up camp along the way. These tips are good for day trips and long distance travel.
If I am not able to stay with friends or family along the way an inexpensive motel is usually the best option. Motel 6 usually beats the price of even the cheapest motels. They are clean and consistent.
Stock up on healthy snacks, fresh fruit, dried fruit and nuts. I usually travel with a jar of peanut butter and jelly and some bread, rice cakes, ground coffee, a coffee pot (to make some while at a motel or campground,) a thermos for the coffee, a bottle of juice (you can stop and buy some fresh along the way.) Depending on how serious I am about my coffee I sometimes carry the campstove, a pan to heat water or soup, and a coffee cone and filters. That way I can stop at a rest area and make another pot.
It's usually good to stop and eat at least one good meal every day. Denny's is a good value and they are all across the country. You can just get soup and salad which is light and good for traveling and usually very reasonable. It is also a good idea to ask locals about the best places to eat.
If possible travel with a cooler, even a small one will help you save money. You can then bring mayo, butter or margarine, cheese, and keep your drinks cool. If staying at a motel, they often have refrigerators so you can refreeze your blue ice or refill containers with ice at their ice machine.
Buy several gallons of drinking water to bring with you and refill smaller water bottles. At $1 plus a 16 oz bottle of water it gets expensive fast and you need a lot of liquids when traveling.
For thrifty car air conditioning, keep a spray bottle with plain water in it. You can mist each other while driving. It really helps cool you off when you don't have AC or don't want to use it to get better mileage. If you do have AC and use it, use the half setting if you have one or turn it off when you are just cool enough leaving the fan on to blow around the cool air. Turn it back on when you get too hot.
White cotton long sleeved shirts are great for keeping your arms from getting too much sun while driving the car. I keep several with me anytime the weather is warm because I sunburn easily. There is nothing more miserable than driving along without being able to keep your arm out of the sun.
Traveling by car can be very thrifty (if gas doesn't cost too much.) Now is the season. A little preparation can help to have a thrifty trip.
About The Author: Susan Sanders-Kinzel is the editor of The Coupon Clipper, Reader's Request and Thrifty Gift Digest at ThriftyFun!
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