Traveling Frugally

• A 2-week holiday is a vacation, and can allow for some splurging.
  
  
• A 5-month trip is a lifestyle choice.

• Title Line–Yes, we name our trips. It's part of the fun, gives each trip a “personality” and makes it easy to refer to them without using the dates as a reference. Who wants to be remembered by a number?
  
  
• Line 1 – Distance Traveled. We believe in shunpiking and don't go anywhere the direct route. We're spontaneous; sometimes going backwards or in circles if we hear of something we've missed along the way.
  
  We've also put on a lot of extra miles on our trips in search of the "perfect free camping area" so that you don't have to.
  
  $$$ Spend even less: You could do a similar trip, and cut back on the miles quite a bit if you followed my Frugal Shunpiker's Guides to free camping and the routes suggested in the guides.
  
  
• Line 2 – Gas Cost. Canadians should note that gas is significantly cheaper in the USA. Click here for an easy formula to calculate your exact gas cost savings when you travel in the States.
  
  If you drive a newer vehicle than we do, or any vehicle that gets better gas mileage, you could $$$ spend less on gas than we do.
  
  
• Line 3 - Average Gas Cost per kilometer or per mile - calculated over the course of the trip.
  
  
• Line 4- Camping Fees. No you aren't reading it wrong and the decimal is not out of place. We really spend almost nothing on camping fees. The Frugal Shunpiker's Guides will direct you to every campsite we found on the 4 trips given as examples here.
  
  If we had stayed at pay campgrounds every night, even at an average of $15.00 per night (low estimate) we would have had to budget an additional $450.00 per month, increasing each trip's whole expense by almost 50%.
  
  
• Line 5 - Food. What do you spend in groceries per month? Traveling frugally doesn't mean we don't eat well. Seeing as we usually end up gaining a few pounds, we probably eat more than at home. We like to barbecue and carry a portable propane grill. Our food bill includes steak, chicken and other meats or fish almost daily. We also try to eat healthy foods so fresh fruits and vegetables are a daily must.
  
  Allowing for personal preferences, I think anyone can eat well on the amount we spend by doing what we do, knowing and comparing prices, buying what's in season, and shopping the specials.
  
  
• Line 6 - Entertainment. Entertainment is always a big part of traveling. Even when traveling frugally the whole idea is to have fun, otherwise you might as well stay home.
  
  Line 6 includes all our entry fees to attractions, our few splurge nights out at a restaurant, a glass of wine with dinner or a beer after a hike. If you don't drink alcohol, chances are you'll end up $$$spending less.
  
  We keep our entertainment budget somewhat in check by considering carefully what we're really interested in. Traveling frugally means avoiding the “tourist traps” but when there's something that an area is famous for, that can't be seen anywhere else,—I mean, come on, we've come all this way! It would be crazy to miss out.
  
  For the most part, our favorite kind of entertainment fits right in with the concept of traveling frugally. A day spent hiking a new trail, followed by a quiet meal together or shared with new friends, and perhaps an evening campfire or a stroll under a starry sky.
  
  
• Line 7 - Vehicle Repairs. You may be able to improve your budget and $$$ spend less in this area if you're driving something that won't need as much maintenance as our older 1990 Roadtrek.
  
  To avoid too many “surprises” on the trips, we do have our RV checked out by our mechanic before we start on a big trip. We carry a good set of tools and the Hanes manual. We're lucky that Randy is mechanically minded and patient, but we also find that invariably people we meet along the way are very helpful when it comes to sharing tools and knowledge.
  
  
• Line 8 - Miscellaneous.- All the expenses not listed separately. You know - laundry, pay showers, toilet paper, toothpaste, dish detergent, propane and other assorted “stuff” that we seem to think we need to live as comfortably as we do at home.
  
  This line should also include RV Dump Fees, except that we almost always use free RV dumps. And yes, the locations are all listed in (you guessed it) the Frugal Shunpiker's Guides.
  
  
• Line 9 - Extended Health Insurance.-Since our health plan doesn't cover us when we're out of Canada, Canadians are advised to purchase extended health insurance when we leave the country. Traveling frugally is not an excuse to cut this expense. Not purchasing this insurance could cost you all your hard earned assets and savings.
  
  If you're an American traveling in the States, you can scale down your budget here and $$$ spend less (presuming your current plan covers your travels anywhere in the USA.)
  
  
• Lines 10, 11 and 12 -Total Expenses.-Since the figures in this report are in Canadian dollars, on line 11 I've calculated the US equivalent using the exchange rates at the time of each trip as shown on line 12.
  
  Canadians traveling to the States now (in 2008) will benefit from our strong dollar. (Or is it the American dollar that is weak?)
  
  This favorable exchange rate has pretty well compensated us for the increase in the prices of gas and other purchases on our recent (2008) trip, making traveling frugally in the USA still almost as affordable for us in 2008 as it was on our first trip 8 years ago.
  
  By taking advantage of our strong dollar, Canadians can travel to the States this year (2008) and $$$ spend much less than they would to travel in Canada.