College students usually keep money on their mind through their years at UW-Madison, and summer proves to be no exception. Road trips are a great way to get away but can come at a steep price. Following budget tips on a road trip can keep students from breaking the bank.
UW-Madison sophomore Kyle Brown took a road trip to Canada last year with three friends. He said the biggest costs they incurred were hotel bills and food.
Everyone needs a place to stay at night, and cheaply cramming people into a car to sleep is not the most comfortable thing to do. Students can avoid the cost of hotels by staying with friends or family along the road or at a destination.
Florida Gulf Coast University senior and former Wisconsin resident Noel Wingers has played host to her UW-Madison friends when they have visited the Sunshine State. She offers her friends couches to sleep on.
I know most people are on a tight budget,\ Wingers said. ""Plus in-season hotel rates in Florida are outrageous.""
Wingers said she likes it when guests treat her to dinner or drinks to pay her back for the sofa space. Treating a friend to dinner is a small price to pay compared to the average $69.58 per night that Travelocity's website shows for an average rated Tampa, Fla., area hotel.
Jennifer Hansen, employee at the Campus Inn, 601 Langdon St., said hope is not lost for those who seek a hotel at last minute during a trip.
""If anything, [hotels] might offer discounts for people who are walk-ins,"" Hansen said. She also said that hotels she has had experience with do not vary their price when it comes to booking ahead of time. Hansen said travelers are advised to be aware of the area they are traveling to so they do not book a pricier hotel catering to a special event in the vicinity.
Food proves to be another necessity—luckily, there are places that allow students to buy food in bulk to cut back on expensive dinners. Sam's Club, 7050 Watts Rd., stocks bulk quantities of Gatorade, water, trail mix and multigrain bars. Manager Dave Heaton said these items are useful on road trips and cheap at his store.
""Our average price for these food items is 10 to 25 percent below our competitors,"" Heaton said.
To reap these prices students should find family members that have a Sam's Club card, since membership costs $40 per year.
Wingers also suggests that students buy things before getting to a popular tourist destination, or buying food farther away from places like beaches in Florida, where gas stations charge more for food and drinks.
Gas prices rise every day, and this summer things could only get worse. Looking at stations in Wisconsin, the price is close to $3 per gallon. Brown and his friends battled the costs by pooling their funds together.
Luckily, Pam Moen of public affairs at AAA Wisconsin said gas prices should decrease around the second week of May.
""Things have actually stabilized over the last couple of weeks,"" Moen said. She said some of the price increase as of late has been due to refineries switching from winter to summer-blend gas at this time of year, but production should get back to normal soon.
Moen also offered tips to students on how to save gas. She suggested maximizing miles per gallon by slowing down a bit and avoiding quick starts and sudden stops.
Even with the costs of road trips, Brown still sees them as worth it.
""I like to get out and do stuff,"" he said. ""If I can save money, I'm going to try to, but I won't let it keep me from seeing the sights.""
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