My family is blessed with two cars: A Honda Odyssey van and a 1999 Honda Civic. In fact- the Civic was my “first” car. It was the one I purchased (with a loan) when I got out of high school. So it’s old and has a lot of miles but it rides GREAT. We just put new tires on it and in fact it gets over 30 miles a gallon! My van on the other hand- while it runs great and gives us a TON of room- gets less than 20 miles a gallon!
This weekend I promised my kids a weekend trip to the beach. I snagged a GREAT deal on a suite with a kitchen and a living room for the weekend. So, instead of spending $60+ to eat out dinner and $25+ for lunch we are taking stockpiled food from home. We’ll be cooking in the crock pot while we play in the sand and come home to a delish pot roast. For lunch- all that frozen lunchmeat and cheese and stockpiled chips are going to good use. Since the beach is free, our only expenses will be the hotel and gas and any souvenirs/trinkets. We’re even bringing our own drinks.
So my husband and I talked alot about this- to take my van will require two tanks of gas (more or less) at $65 a fill up. To take his car will take aboua tank and a half at $35 a fillup. To take my van will cost us $130.00 to take his car- $52.00. is $75 worth having 5 of us in his smaller car? We talked to the kids and told them- we had a choice to make- spend the $75 on gas or use it for fun things like putt-putt and ice cream. We only have so much money to make this trip happen so sacrifices have to be made.
They chose to take the smaller car. Am I crazy? What would you do?
For me it would depend on how long of a trip
We did the same type thing going home to MI from ENC and its 17 hours in the car but my SUV gets 27mpg on the highway where his Pruis gets 60+. We took his car with 2 little kids and a dog and survived, it made the trip more enjoyable when we got there because we had more money for fun in the long run. Good luck and have fun!
Go with the smaller car. After the trip is done you won’t be thinking about those few cramped hours. You will be remembering the fun you had with the savings! If you take the bigger vehicle, and then cannot do the fun things mentioned, it is a given the kids will grumble a little. If you give in..budget blown. If you don’t give in.. the kids, while I’m sure will enjoy themselves, will have at least a moment of sadness… which is not the intent of a mini vacation!
I think if kids are gonna get crazy in the car they will do the same thing in the van. I would save the money in gas and use it for fun. Just make sure you take things to keep them busy in the car so that they dont completely drive you insane lol
I presume that by asking your kids what they’d choose that you’re trying to teach them A) to be frugal, B) to think through finances before acting/spending, and C) that sometimes you gotta sacrifice to get what you want and since you did give them a choice, I recommend validating their decision by taking the smaller car. Then follow it up with a discussion of whether or not it was worth the sacrifice and whether or not it was a wise decision.
Penny, Very true. I have worked VERY hard to teach my children the value of a dollar (or even a penny!) and that money doesn’t grow on trees so we allow them to help us make financial decisions such as that.
I feel for you. We have a Civic Hybrid and an Acura MDX… we’ve driven to FL from NC in the civic, just for cost savings! 😛 It is quite ridiculous when you add it all up. Many years ago, I used to run errands *gasp* whenver I ran out of things! I have since learned the value of planning trips around “requirements.” Before I homeschooled, I’d go to the grocery store on the way to/from my kid’s school and not the one nearest my house. I only go to the library when I bring my daughter to swim practice (because it’s near the library), I also only do my drugstore shopping on the way home from church, etc. It might seem annoying to some people but I know all those little trips add up… especially with the cost of gas these days!!
for me, it would also depend on the length of the trip. I am assuming since you are going to an NC or SC beach, which is only few hours drive. Being cramped for a few hours isn’t a big deal, where as a long trip would be miserable and in my opinion worth the difference. I drive a Kia Sorento SUV that gets 20 miles to the gallon (or less) and the other car we have is a Nissan Altima. This summer, my fiance and I, my parents and my 2 nieces and 2 dogs (small dogs) went to Hilton Head (about a 6 hour drive from where we live) and we struggled with which cars to take (my parents have a Toyota Camry, my dad’s vehicle wasn’t an option since he has a 2 seater truck). We had planned on taking the 2 cars to save gas money (we had to take 2 vehicles because the cars only seat 5 and we had 6 plus dogs), however, all of our luggage would simply not fit into both cars. We had suitcases for each person, beach chairs, toys for the kids, and like you we took food (for breakfast, lunch, snacks and our own drinks.. we did eat dinner out). It came down to either we leave the food behind and have to pay for it upon arrival or take the SUV and after crunching the numbers, we figured we would spend about the same buying the food there as the gas difference and by bringing the SUV we would be more comfortable.
As long as you take breaks every couple of hours for the bathroom and to stretch legs, it’s not bad. I remember 8+ hour car trips when I was a kid, with half the (almost nonexistent) back seat of a Rally Nova. These are the sorts of things that create memories and ‘character’. LOL
I like the way you included them in the decision making, very well done. We have done it before, sacrificed space to save gas, and in the end, it was very well worth it. Leg cramps go away, but memories last forever 🙂
A family that plans together has more fun together!!!