Prepare for increased costs when planning your road trip to U.S.

Super! You can almost cross the border by car now, if all goes well between Canada and the U.S.

If a good old-fashioned road trip to shop, see the sites or attend games is what you’re looking for, be prepared because the costs are high.

Here’s what’s going on and how to prepare financially.

The exchange and inflation are working against your wallet

What’s happening to your hard-earned Canadian dollars is that they are worth less in the U.S. It’s not the worst rate over the past five years, but it will still cost you around $1.25 to buy $1 USD. So, when you budget, which I highly recommend you do, tally up your expected total costs, plug them into your favourite currency calculator (I use Google), and then you’ll see the real cost of your adventure.

It used to be that the price tags on U.S. goods seemed lower relative to comparable products in Canada. But inflation might be the worst factor at play here. It’s at a 13-year high, which means everything you buy costs more. A good deal isn’t that easy to find.

Here’s how to cut costs where you can.

Plan your driving route

Get out a map and plan your route to save time, motel and fuel costs. You may even want to pre-book your accommodations, trying to take advantage of sales and avoiding in-demand times like Friday and Saturday nights. Ensure your car is properly maintained and in good working order so you don’t have mechanical problems on the way.

Points are meant for this moment

If you’ve been hoarding travel points, cash them in for this trip. Almost all of us are sitting on a mound of them because we couldn’t travel for the past 18 months. Use them up for gas, hotels, amusement parks and ticketed events.

Incorporate free entertainment into the mix

Maybe your original plan was to shop your heart out along your journey and see shows. Shift gears and incorporate free or low-cost sightseeing, hiking, biking and more. The great thing about driving is you can pack extra gear for outdoor adventures. Even pre-pandemic, one of my favourite things to do was to run my way through every place I visited. It cost nothing and allowed me to experience the sites while working off the calories from whatever treats I’d consumed the previous day. Search the internet for sites to see that may be free.

Book some stuff in advance but be flexible

Sometimes tickets are a better deal when you buy them directly rather than through a travel website. Pre-book only what’s most important to you (eg. tickets to a Seahawks game), and leave the rest open. When you reach your destination, you can firm up the rest of your plans and source tickets directly. When I got to Boston a few years ago, I took advantage of same-day symphony tickets that went on sale at 50 per cent off when purchased on-site.

If restaurants are where you want to spend your money, you probably will want to book some reservations early. But check if there are deal days like “wine Wednesdays” that may make it more economical.

Who says you have to shop, anyway?

Gone are the days when Canadians used to flock to shop at Nordstrom Rack, load up their trunks and speed away back across the border. Today, we have many of the same retailers as the U.S. If there isn’t a brick-and-mortar store nearby, most things can be ordered online. Perhaps shopping excursions don’t even need to happen while you’re on your trip, unless there is a novelty store or item you can’t get here in Canada. Note the taxes and duty you have to pay on your way back.

If shopping is what you have your heart set on, chop your budget in half and buy what’s on sale.

Next time, buffer yourself from the ups and downs of the exchange rate

By buying U.S. dollars regularly, you can build up a stash of cash to use for your next trip to the U.S., while lessening the impact of a potentially poor exchange rate. It’s easy to do. Set up a U.S. account at the bank, then start transferring money from your Canadian chequing account into your U.S. savings account. If you do this consistently on payday you’ll end up averaging out your purchase price.

The point of this trip is to have fun and de-stress, right? So, as you cruise down to the Florida Keys, keep tabs on your budget so you don’t go over and feel stressed.

Spend your money on this road trip on what matters most to you. If it won’t make you happy, skip it and bank the savings for something else.

This article was originally published in The Star. Lesley-Anne Scorgie is a Toronto-based personal finance columnist and a freelance contributing columnist for the Star.