10 Ways to Save on Your Summer Road Trip

The family road trip is a time honored American tradition. It's one of the best ways to spend time together as a family and it's a great way to see the country. With some of the economic down turns and job loss that many Americans are suffering, the summer vacation is the first thing to get cut from the budget. But there are ways to save that summer road trip. It's more important than ever to spend time with your family, have something to look forward to, and to be able to de-stress. Here's how you can keep your summer road trip.

1.) Start saving now. It's early spring, plan your trip for August right before the kids go back to school. That gives you some extra time to plan ahead and build a budget.

2.) Shorten your trip. Instead of a two week trip, just plan a one week trip. This cuts the cost right in half from the start.

3.) Put a family member on your route. It will save you a night in a hotel and you'll get the chance to have a visit and a home-cooked meal.

4.) Pack your food in a cooler. Instead of spending an extraneous amount of money on fast food two to three times a day while you're on the road, stock up on non-perishable snacks like crackers and fill a cooler with sandwich fixings. You can also pack milk and bring travel-sized cereal boxes for breakfasts and fruit for healthy snacks. Not only will you save money, you'll save calories.

5.) Consider museums instead of theme parks. Taking a tour of museums or national parks gives you plenty of destinations to choose from and you can also stay closer to home doing this. Because every state has museums and national parks! You'll save large amounts of cash on theme park tickets and still have just as much fun spending time together. The truth is, kids don't care where they go, even if they complain. They honestly just want that quality time together.

6.) Plan to camp along the way. If you end up at the Grand Canyon or another natural wonder, consider camping. Camping is a real adventure, gets you away from all the noise of media, and of course...it's cheaper than a hotel! (Just make sure to book a spot ahead of time and stay on your schedule, because lots of other people are having the same idea.)

7.) Create strict souvenir rules, one per person. Once you get your souvenir, that's it. It may sound strict, but it's worth it to be able to afford the trip.

8.) Get your car tuned up and your tires inflated before you go, a little fuel injector wouldn't hurt either. The better shape your car is in, the better gas mileage you'll get! You might be surprised at what a difference a little maintenance can make.

9.) When you do stop at a hotel, share a room. My family used to hit the road with all 6 of us staying in one room and it was a blast! Often times, parents overspend saying it's for their kids. But kids honestly don't know the difference, they just want to have fun and be together!

10.) Stick to the highways. Going at more consistent speeds saves you a lot of gas instead of getting stuck on back country roads with a lot of stops. The last road trip I took, we tried to take a short cut because it looked more efficient. If we would've stayed on the highway, we would've gotten out of the state much faster instead of getting bogged down by congested small towns and low speed limits.