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If you’re driving, download the app GasBuddy, which will show prices for gas stations, allowing motorists to comparison shop. Google Maps also allows you to search an area for gas stations
and lists their prices, while the app Upside has cash-back offers on gas purchases. Memberships at discount retailers like Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club can also save on gas. If
you’ll be traveling on toll roads, get a payment transponder, which is both more convenient and offers better rates. E-ZPass works in most states from Maine to Florida and several states in
the Midwest. FLEXIBILITY RULES Timing, as usual, is everything. Avoid holiday weekends, when rates tend to peak. According to the bus-and-train-travel-booking platform Wanderu, vacation
rentals in New Orleans climb by as much as 172 percent over the July 4 holiday, and they more than double over Labor Day in Saratoga Springs, New York. “Be creative with timing,” says Ted
Rossman, a senior industry analyst with the personal finance site Bankrate. “Fly midweek instead of a weekend. Stay Monday to Friday in a hotel rather than Wednesday to Sunday. You’ll get
the same number of nights but cheaper.” For best results, be flexible on timing and on your destination. House-sitting, for example, can be a rock-bottom means of travel — you stay for free
in exchange for light housekeeping and possible pet-sitting — but it can be hard to align a dream destination and ideal dates. If you’re flexible this summer, you might find a home in
Kauai, Hawaii, for a week, or a two-bedroom house in Sausalito, California, on the listing service TrustedHousesitter. Let the deal suggest the destination by browsing travel sales sites
like Travelzoo, Priceline or Expedia. A recent listing on Travelzoo featured 10 nights in the Galápagos Islands for $1,599, including flights. Many last-minute deals require you to find your
own hasty airfare, which can eat up any savings. To get around this, check out the bundled listings of airline-owned vacation operators such as American Airlines Vacations and United
Vacations. For example, Southwest Vacations from Southwest Airlines recently listed five nights at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Florida, for $737 a person, including
flights.