How I Escape Clashes Over Money While Traveling

Yes, there have been a few incidences when I had indulged in stupid fights with friends over money. However, those were the times when we barely had money since we were in college and everyone was quite clingy about the meager cash they had. We could not help but accept the fact that we all were short of cash at all times, so we had to demarcate the lines about how we would split the expenses anyone made in the group. Splitting the costs were the early lessons in life that I was lucky to have in life.

Traveling with friends

There was one road trip to Coorg when I traveled with three other friends. We often had clashes about who would spend for what, the members of the group would look here and there whenever it came to paying the bills, and the fuel for the car was often a bone of contention among us. When we returned, we all had bitter memories to share. The next time, I decided that I would travel with friends who were of one mind about spending money at least; we could deal with other things easily.

We planned for a road trip to Mahableshwar, for which we had to book Self Driven Car in Mumbai, and I had made it clear that I would pay only if everyone will not behave miserly later. When my friends laughed about it, I got the signals that I would not face any problem with budgeting with these guys. I paid for the car rental, someone else paid for the hotel booking, etc. and we all divided the costs later.

Petty cash  

I like to convey it to my friends every time on a road trip that we should contribute a couple of thousands, which one person will handle. And this cashier deals with all the expenses that we have to make. He pays the food bills, toll taxes, and all other small expenses. We all just chill and have fun on the road trips, without thinking about who will pay this bill and that one.

Using mobile apps

Since the day I have been using Splitwise, the finances with my friends have been sorted like never before. This simple mobile application lets me divide the expenses with my roommates, friends, and even family. Whenever I have to go for a weekend getaway, we mention our expenses in the common mobile app, which is Splitwise in our case. When we return from the trip, it shows the net balance that each member has to pay to each other. Sorted!

Just by being clear and careful about money matters, I have organized the finances well with everyone who is in my closed circles. It certainly adds more value to any relationship when you don’t have to worry about something as significant as money, which of course gains more importance when you don’t pay heed to it. After having some of the most amazing road trips, I look forward to many more of them.

The Only Disadvantage of Traveling By Car

Much has been written about the pros of traveling by car and extended road trips, but hardly anyone talks about the cons of it. Every coin has two sides, and the road trips also have their benefits and detriments. Since I am talking about the negative sides of road trips, it does not mean that I do not like them. I am an ardent lover of traveling by car, but I felt like writing about the flip side of it. At least a decade ago, road trips used to be cheaper and much more fun than today. Let me take my heart out as I talk about the disadvantages of traveling by car.

Traffic jam

Earlier when I had started going for road trips during my college time, there used to be hardly any cars on the road. However, nowadays the immense traffic on the road irritates me every time I go out on the road, especially during office hours. Passing through the small cities is one hell of a task because the vehicles are not regulated at all, and I am sorry to say, but people do not have any civic sense to be on the road. The animals, children, pedestrians, and bikes are all on the same street where the high-speed vehicles should be. All this chaos causes traffic jam even in metropolitans, forget the Tier-II cities of India, which are in massive bedlam.

Time consumption

 I have to be honest here; road trips do take a lot of time and effort. If the distance is more than 100 kilometers, I have to do a lot of mental preparation to be there in the car for hours at a stretch. With the growing age after forty, being in the car for more than three hours definitely seems painful. If I leave for Goa from Mumbai, it takes me more than 11-12 hours to be there, which is a long time of course. Although extended hours of journey do not seem much painful when I have someone to talk to in the car. Being alone for such a long journey is undeniably awful.

Hidden costs

Being on a road trip does involve a few hidden costs, which may sometimes shoot up the budget by a great deal. If the car breaks down, the prices of the motels are great than I expected, the food is expensive, and the toll taxes there at every hundred kilometers; I have to bear the costs of every such expense. All these expenses are really agonizing, mainly because I am habitual of going for a road trip when these expenses used to be much lower than the current times.

Bad weather

Although the bad weather can impact traveling in all modes of transport, sometimes it becomes especially challenging to deal with it when it is raining or snowing heavily. Driving on the wet roads is highly risky since the visibility is too low and the roads become slippery. Secondly, if the snowfall occurs on the hilly areas, it becomes equally disturbing to drive the car in a zero-visibility environment because of snow.

I do love going on the road trips despite all these disadvantages because of the peace of mind that I get on the roads. Someone has rightly said that the roads are an answer to all problems. Whenever I feel lost or confused, I rent Self Drive Cars in Mumbai and hit the road with my friends or even alone. Just after a few hours, I feel my nerves calming down, and I can find answers to all my problems.