Budgeting a Road Trip Gas Food and Lodging

A road trip looks cheap until the small costs start adding up, and the problem is that gas, food, and lodging each have a way of quietly exceeding what you planned. Budgeting the trip before you leave is the difference between arriving home with money left over and arriving home wondering where an entire paycheck went somewhere between the diners and the fuel pumps.Gas is the most predictable number, and you can estimate it by taking your total miles, dividing by your car’s real miles per gallon, and multiplying by the current fuel price, then adding a cushion for the detours and the mountain grades that eat more fuel. The number will be higher than you expect, because road trips are almost always longer than the plan, so pad it and you will not be surprised.Food and lodging are where the budget runs away. Eating every meal in restaurants