A Traveler’s Guide to Driving Across the Country

Traveling to a new place can be extremely exciting but also stressful with a new experience. Quite often when people travel they aren’t prepared for all that can happen. When I drove cross country, I learned some of these tips the hard way. Other tips I have learned and noted from hearing about others’ experience when traveling. Please read these tips and enjoy.

Tip 1- Always have your passport on you.

This is generally a good rule to have when traveling by any transportation in general. You never know if you’ll accidentally end up in Canada or Mexico especially if you are driving on one or more bordering states. You can easily take the wrong turn or there is a detour because of construction. If you ever plan to travel, you should really buy yourself a Passport even if it seems like a worthless investment at the time. Your future self might even thank you later.

Tip 2- Have a bunch of songs on your phone/music device.

Driving in a car by yourself can be very boring after a couple of hours. Driving cross country is about 3000 miles from one coast to the other, which takes about 8 hours every day for 5 days, which is the equivalent to a full-time work week. I had so many songs on my phone that the songs were on the third repeat for all of them by the time I arrived in Seattle. Having the songs lists on shuffle made the days not feel so long because I didn’t know what song to expect.

Tip 3- Bring plenty of snacks and water.

When you’re driving, you’re using your brain a lot because you need to concentrate on your surroundings. It becomes harder to focus on an empty stomach. The best way to curb hunger is to eat snacks that are easy to handle while driving that isn’t messy. Some great snacks are Goldfish, fruit snacks, and grapes. Water is also essential because it keeps you from getting dehydrated especially when driving in the summer.

Tip 4- Stop in every state that you pass through.

Driving cross country can be very long, boring, and taxing on the mind and the body. Plan what you want to see the night before the next leg of your trip. Each state has different activities or landscape that makes them special. Plus, if you want to mark off visit every state on your bucket list, this is an excellent opportunity to get a lot of the states marked as visited. Wisconsin is famous for cheese while Pennsylvania is known for their past in coal mining and Amish culture. Don’t forget to take pictures!

To help keep track of the states you visited, click the link below to check out a World Map that scratches off like a lottery ticket.

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Tip 5- If two or more vehicles are involved in the trip, always make sure that all drivers have GPS even if one car leads the entire trip.

If you are the car following and not using a GPS, then you will be very stressed out by the time the first hour is over. So many things can cause you to lose the car you’re following. It could be anything from someone cutting you off to just missing the yellow light. Plus, it will really agitate the person leading. Also, make sure the GPS systems are using the same route.

Tip 6- Stay in hotels that have a free continental breakfast.

Eating out while traveling can get really expensive and it is extremely difficult to keep leftovers from spoiling when you’re driving 8 hours with a stop or two to see something new and exciting. Some hotels offer free continental breakfasts, such as Quality Inn and Travelodge, as early as 6:00AM, which makes traveling early in the morning work well with breakfast plans.

Tip 7- Try not to travel on holiday that gives people long weekends.

Any holiday weekend, such as Memorial Day or Labor Day, should be avoided at all costs when traveling because it is almost impossible to find a hotel that has a vacancy. Some websites that book hotels often overbook and you arrive at the hotel learning that they are completely booked, which leaves you aggravated, tired, and still no place to stay for the night. If you really want to travel during a holiday weekend, try to figure out where you want to end the day so that you can book a hotel early in the morning.

Tip 8- Always carry a small amount of cash but always have your debit or credit card with you.

If you travel on a turnpike in a state like Pennsylvania, you can only pay your toll in cash. But if you don’t have the cash for a $3 toll, it will cost you an extra $10 fee because you did not have cash and then another $2 fee to pay with a card online, which is a $15 turnpike toll. I remember feeling my heart drop seeing how much a $3 toll cost me in the end.

Tip 9- Fill your tank at least once a day every day even if there is still a quarter of a tank left.

Making sure you have gas throughout your entire trip is crucial. I suggest that you fill your tank when it gets to a quarter left because certain states, such as North Dakota and Montana, don’t have as many gas stations. The mountain states have a lot of scenery and land that is not disturbed by buildings. The lack of gas stations is a price many are willing to pay as they enjoy the views on their journey through the mountain states.

Traveling cross country is fun and exciting, but you definitely need to be prepared. Sometimes being prepared just means that you should carry a little cash while other tips may not be as obvious, such as carrying your passport even if you aren’t leaving the country. I hope you learned something about my tips and that you feel more prepared for traveling across the country.

A Survival Guide to the Christmas Season

Christmas time is one of the best times of the year but one of the busiest. Family and friends travel far and wide to get together and exchange gifts. It’s a time where lots of baking, money spent, and events are always happening. It can be super exhausting and overwhelming if you aren’t prepared for everything the holiday season has to offer. Use these tips to have more fun and less stress during this holiday season.

Tip 1- Fly Light

If you’re traveling by plane for Christmas, don’t bring too many presents that are going to take up the space you need in your luggage. Instead, give gift cards because they are small, can fit in your wallet, and are pretty much cash. The only time I bring presents while flying are things that you can’t get anywhere else. Another option is to send packages with your name on it to a family member and let them know. On online websites, you can have multiple shipping addresses saved. Either of these two ways people should be happy with the gift you give them.

Tip 2- Strategize Gift Buying and Gift Wrapping

The best time to buy Christmas wrapping paper, wrapping accessories, and fake Christmas trees is in January. Stock up on all the wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, and tags early. When the holiday season comes, bring out all the wrapping present material and wrap and label presents as soon as you buy them. Make sure to label all your presents with stickers or use a Sharpie marker. If you don’t have labels but multiple kinds of wrapping paper, set each person with a certain designed wrapping paper.

Tip 3- Keep Small Gifts on Hand

Have you ever felt guilty about someone giving you a gift unexpectedly and you didn’t have something to give in return? The easiest solution to this is to keep small gifts on hand that is universal, such as homemade or locally made preserves or cookies. It’s also okay if you don’t have a present right away. Most people won’t get offended if you don’t have something for them right away. Even if you make homemade cookies and see them at another time to give them, that is perfectly acceptable.

Tip 4- Save for Christmas Year Round

Did you know that the average person has $1,000 or more in credit card debt just for buying presents? Sure, it’s a time to show your loved ones how much you care by buying the newest coolest toys and electronics. If you can, put aside 10% of your check or $100 a month for Christmas presents. If you put $100 aside every month, you’ll have $1,200 for Christmas spending. There are even banks and credit unions that offer accounts specifically called Christmas savings. Plus, most online banking allows you to rename accounts so you can open a savings account and rename it “Christmas Savings.”

Tip 5- Draw Up a Budget and Make a List

If you plan ahead and give yourself a budget, you will buy less impulsively, make sure everyone gets their present, but not break your bank account. The first step is to give yourself a budget. If you follow Tip 4, then your budget is automatically set to what you saved over the year. The budget for each present is dependent on the friend or family member. You probably would spend more on a significant other or your own child than your best friend. Also, set a certain number of presents for each person. Make your list based on this criterion.

Tip 6- Buy Presents Early

If you see a really good deal on something you would buy for someone, consider buying it at that point rather than the couple weeks before Christmas when it’ll be regular price. Quite often you’ll find that stuff gets marked down immediately following Christmas. This is intentional of stores. They want you to impulse buy after you spent a ton of money on Christmas presents. Get the jump on them and save more by starting to use those items you bought for marked down prices as presents for next Christmas. There is nothing wrong with buying someone something for a discounted price.

Tip 7- Create Amazon Lists and Check Frequently

Amazon is great for keeping ideas for not only yourself but for others. If an idea sparks in your mind and you find it on Amazon, you can create a list or add an item into an existing list. The item will stay on the list until you buy it or remove it yourself. There is an Idea section and a separate section called Friends. You can invite people on any list so that they can have an idea at what you want.

The best part on Amazon’s list feature is that you can look back at the lists and the list will show the newest price. If the price is lower than when you put the item in the list, there will be a notice of how much the price dropped by a % they give you. You can also use the Google Chrome extension Honey to track price drops in the best while you’re searching for items on Amazon.

Tip 8- Reuse Some of the Boxes and Bags from Presents You’ve Received

Have you ever received a gift bag or box that contained a Christmas present and just threw it out immediately? I know a ton of people who do. If the bags and boxes are in good condition and don’t have any markings indicating it was for someone, you can reuse it for someone else’s gift. It saves time and money. The only thing you need to make sure is that you probably don’t want to give that same designed Christmas bag to the person you received it from or where they can see it being given to someone else. 

Tip 9- Clean and Make Space in Advance
Since the Christmas holiday brings family and friends to visit for either a few hours or a few days, it is important to have clean and spacious areas where the guests will stay. This includes any closets and bedrooms the guests will occupy during their visit. The best time to clean out everything in between the week after Thanksgiving to two weeks before Christmas. Christmas doesn't get crazy until the last week or two before Christmas. Just make sure not to clutter up the space that you just cleaned because you never know when you'll be able to clean that space again before Christmas.

Tip 10- Create a Calendar of All the Festivities
There can be so many events and parties that you want to attend, but it can be difficult to keep track of everything. The easiest solution to this problem is creating a calendar of events. There's nothing worse than forgetting a party until the last minute and you don't have enough time to bake or buy something. There's no need to buy a new planner or calendar. You can easily create a calendar on Word since they have a template made that allows you to print. If you don't like using a paper calendar, your phone has a calendar that you can send automatic reminders.