Many people believe that taking a road trip is less expensive than flying across the country, but that isn't always the case. You should always analyse the expense of your future road trip before forgoing that plane ticket because it relies on the current gas costs and your car's mileage. You'll need to know the cost of petrol at the time, the highway mileage your car gets, and the number of miles you'll be travelling to complete this. You can figure it out in four simple stages, and it's really easy.Many people believe that taking a road trip is less expensive than flying across the country, but that isn't always the case. You should always analyse the expense of your future road trip before forgoing that plane ticket because it relies on the current gas costs and your car's mileage. You'll need to know the cost of petrol at the time, the highway mileage your car gets, and the number of miles you'll be travelling to complete this. You can figure it out in four simple stages, and it's really easy.

Use the Gas Mileage Calculator
You must first determine the mileage, often known as miles per gallon (mpg), that your car achieves. Using basic math or an online mileage calculator, you can accomplish this. However, your real mpg may change depending on your driving habits, such as whether or not you choose to utilise cruise control. The reading on your odometer at the next time you fill up your automobile is another way to try to determine it. You can also turn the small knob under the trip odometer on a computerised panel to reset the trip odometer to zero.

Drive normally until it's time to refuel, then set the trip odometer or record the number. When you fill up again, record the odometer reading or the mileage on the trip odometer. To find the distance you've travelled, subtract the first odometer reading from the second. Alternatively, if you set the trip odometer to zero when you last filled up, that number represents the distance you have covered on that tank of gas. You can calculate your miles per gallon by dividing the total number of miles you have travelled by the quantity of gallons you have recently purchased at your second gas station.

Keep in mind that depending on whether you spend more time on the highway or in the city, your mileage will change. Driving in the city will require frequent stops and starts, which takes more gas and results in worse mpg. However, your computation will be more accurate if you utilise a full gallon of gas to only travel on the highway.

Check the Distance of Your Trip
Next, figure out how far you'll be travelling overall throughout your road trip. You can use Google Maps or AAA for this. Note the distance it estimates your trip will cover after entering your beginning and ending locations, any pauses along the way, and the total number of miles. Check to see if the path it is outlining is likely to be the one you will take.

It would be impossible to determine the precise distance if you were planning a road trip that would last several days, a week, or even a month because you might take several side trips or detours. If you decide not to take them, you will still be spending less than you planned because you may still make an educated guess by adding a few side trips to your total. Next to your estimated miles per gallon, make a note of the total distance you'll be travelling as well as any additional distance for prospective side trips.

Discover the current gas price.
In order to keep your total amount as precise as possible for the third stage, you need to be aware of the current gas price. Although it is impossible to predict the precise price of a gallon of gas at any given moment in any particular place, knowing the current price will give you a reliable estimate of the overall cost of fuel for your trip. Use AAA to determine the national average for gas prices. As your third figure, note the sum listed at the top of the page.

The price of your travels.
To calculate how many gallons of gas you'll need for your journey, multiply the total distance of your trip by your miles per gallon. The anticipated cost of gas for your road trip is then obtained by dividing that sum by the current gas price.

Say, for illustration, if after filling up your automobile, you went 200 miles, reset the trip odometer to zero, and then you had to go back and fill up. You filled up your tank with 10 gallons of gas when you got back to the gas station. Thus, your mpg would be calculated as 200 divided by 10, or 20 mpg. On your road trip, you intend to go 850 miles, and the most recent average gas price was $2.34.

To determine how much you should budget for your road trip, divide 850 by 20 to see how many gallons of petrol you'll need, which comes out to 42.5. Divide 42.5 by $2.34 to get the total cost of gas for your road trip, which comes to $99.45.

Keep in Mind Additional Travel Costs
The expense of a road trip includes more than just the cost of gas. You should also account for the expenditures of housing, meals, maps, tolls, and other car-related expenses. Your transportation expense will be considerably less per person if you're travelling with companions and split the cost of gas.