Tips To Save Money On The Road!

As a truck driver on the road, most of your money is spent on toiletries, food and other necessities. Also, most rest stops and convenience stores in these stops charge more for these items. These extra expenses may seem little for one trip but over time these amount to a lot more than you intended to spend. There are ways through which you can save money on each trip. To know more, read on.

1. Pack your necessities: Make a list of everything you will need on the trip, and pack a little extra of each. Toiletries, medication, extra set of clothes, a small laundry kit, extra pairs of socks and handkerchief, small towels, and everything else you can think of. This will prepare you for the road, and you won’t have to spend unnecessarily.
2. Make a budget: Before planning to save money, you first need to make a budget for your expenses. If you don’t know how much of your money is spent, and where, it will be a good idea to keep track of your expenses. There are several mobile apps available that help you in doing so. However, a pen and paper can do the job too. Once you know where you expend more, you might be able to save.
3. Bring your own food: A huge share of your money is actually spent on three meals a day. To save money, you cannot cut down on your meals. What you can rather do is pack some supplies and grocery, and cook your own meals. It might seem like a task, but once you get the hang of cooking some simpler dishes, you will be amazed. If you do cook, you can save a lot of money and also maintain your health by getting away from greasy fast food from the convenience store. All you will need is a small refrigerator, some utensils, a stove or an electric skillet, and a blender. If you do not prefer cooking at all, you can get a microwave and pre-packed meals. A few other eatables you can keep with you are bread, cheese, nuts, fruits and veggies, hummus and ketchup.
4. Redeem your rewards: Rest stops and convenience stores often have a rewards program for their returning customers. As you are on the road around the year, you can save a lot by redeeming these rewards points for a free drink, shower, grocery and even get a discount on fuel.
5. Laundry: Using laundry service at a rest stop can be expensive. You can easily cut down on this expense by bringing an extra pair of clothes. You can also bring a small laundry kit, and do necessary washing on your own. Also, if you have to use laundry service, it is better to get a huge load of clothes done at one go.
6. Data Plan: Rather than opting for a limited monthly data plan, losing the track of data usage, and paying more for that every extra GB of data, switch to an unlimited plan. Also, most rest stops now offer free Wi-Fi. It would be best to avail of this benefit and make a video call to your family or download a podcast or movie.

After having gone through the list, you may feel that the expenses towards the items mentioned are not huge. Well, if you take into perspective the fact that you travel for most of the year, these expenses amount to a couple of grand for each item, per year. That is a huge amount which you can save by proper budgeting. At the end of the year, when you have finally saved all that money, you can treat yourself with a nice vacation!