How Much Did I Spend on a 6 Month USA Road Trip?

After doing a 6 month roadtrip around the USA, I have finally tallied up my costs, and here is what I found.

While I didn’t plan exact numbers for my trip, I knew as long as I kept accommodation costs down, I wouldn’t run out of cash. Luckily, I had a job for most of the trip to cover expenses, but this is a good template if you are traveling without an income.

I highly recommend doing petsitting if you are hoping to stay within budget, that’s how I kept my costs low.

Let’s Talk Budget Tactics

First things first, Trusted Housesitters is great to use in the states since it’s readily available. Sign up with my link to get 15% off! I did 13 housesits on my trip, which totaled to a little over 80 days of covered accommodation.

It’s also worth mentioning the 20 days that I spent at home for the holidays (flights home not included in the budget). I tried to stay with family and friends when I could, but that only covered about 3 weeks of my trip.

The length of my trip made it easier to save money on the day to day. I stayed in most places for at least a week so that I wasn’t driving that much and spending excessively on gas. I was also lucky to have a gas efficient car, which allotted me about 40 mpg on my trip. Don’t forget about oil changes, those certainly vary, but allocate $80 for every 5-7,000 miles.

When I wasn’t housesitting, I prioritized staying at hostels when they were available. Otherwise, I scoured google for the cheapest hotels (with decent reviews) in the general vicinity of where I was going.

I tried to avoid hotels in big cities, whereas hostels are almost always only available in big cities. Keep in mind that hostels are not yet a standard practice in the states, so there are limited options across the country.

Let Me Break it Down for You

October:

I drove from Massachusetts down the coast stopping in the Outer Banks, North Carolina; then visited my sister in Atlanta, Georgia; then housesat in Charlotte, North Carolina; then visited my uncle in Chattanooga, Tennessee; then ended with a trip to Nashville, Tennessee (4 days paid at $55).

• Gas=$229.60
• Groceries=$184.49
• Restaurant= $936.75
• Accommodation= $200

November:

I drove from Nashville to Clarksdale, Mississippi (1 night paid at $37); then stayed at hostels in New Orleans, Louisiana (5 nights paid at $40); then housesat in Austin, Texas; then stayed at a hostel in Austin (4 nights at $44); then flew home for a week; then stayed at a hostel in Cloudcroft, New Mexico (2 nights at $30); then started a housesit in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

• Gas= $132.03
• Groceries=$70.06
• Restaurants= $788.97
• Accommodation= $331.83

December:

I stayed housesitting in Albuquerque for a bit longer; then stayed at a hostel airbnb in Phoenix, Arizona (2 nights at $35); then a housesit in Escondido, California; then a flight home for the following 2 weeks.

• Gas= $208.74
• Groceries= $119.03
• Restaurants= $774.14
• Accommodation= $130

January:

I flew back to Los Angeles and stayed in a hostel (4 nights at $44 & $20-50 for parking nightly); then stayed at a hotel in Monterey, CA (2 nights at $33, got a hotel discount); then housesat in Rosemont, California, & lost $117 forgetting about a hostel I booked for 3 nights in that time; then stayed at a hostel in South Lake Tahoe, California (10 nights at $42).

• Gas= $211.58
• Groceries= $200.61
• Restaurants= $988.71
• Accommodation= $636.11

February:

I drove to Salt Lake City, Utah and stayed in a hostel (2 nights at $30); then housesat outside of Park City, Utah; then housesat in Salida, Colorado; then stayed at a hostel in Silverthorne, Colorado (12 nights at $60).

• Gas= $167.71
• Groceries= $228.37
• Restaurants= $536.93
• Accommodation= $682.40

March:

I finished up my nights in Silverthorne, Colorado; then stayed with family in Lincoln, Nebraska; then stayed a hotel in Des Moines, Iowa (1 night at $60); then housesat in Waconia, Minnesota; then housesat in Chicago, Illinois; then stayed with a friend in Arlington, Virginia; then housesat in Fells Point, Maryland; then stayed at my grandma’s house in Albany; then stayed with a friend in Burlington, Vermont; then I headed home.

• Gas= $357.54
• Groceries= $154.23
• Restaurants= $925.99
• Accommodation= $100.10

That’s a Wrap

So in total, I spent $926.60 on gas, $956.79 on groceries, $4,921.49 on restaurants (YIKES), and $2,080.44 on accommodation. Clearly, I needed to cook for myself a bit more. Everyone has their hamartia, and I’m sure you can evaluate whether this is going to be yours.

If I hadn’t spent it on restaurants, I would’ve tripled or at least doubled my grocery spending. Ultimately, I spent $8,885.32 on my 6 month road trip in the US (not including the two flights roundtrip home).

It’s worth mentioning that the restaurant costs were in no way from balling out. I always went for cheap items and frequented happy hours if I was going to go out, usually spending less than $20 a meal. Those costs clearly add up though, so be wary, especially if you are traveling with savings rather than an income.

I very easily could’ve budgeted my trip down to $1,000 a month if I had been a bit more frugal. I also chose accommodation near ski mountains so I could take advantage of the winter season, if I had been more flexible with accommodation I could’ve stayed much lower on that front. I didn’t include the $650 I spent on my yearly ski pass or the cost of any souvenirs or other items I bought during my travels since that will vary person to person.