My family and I recently went on a vacation and we decided to rent a car that had really good gas mileage. The money we saved on the gas, coupled with the wear and tear we didn’t put on our car more than paid for the cost of the car.

Your numbers might vary depending on the mpg of your current car, the cost of a rental in your area, plus the size of car you’re able to rent, but for us it was a no-brainer. We rented a car for 7 days that cost $145 after taxes and fees. Now this was definitely no luxury rental. We went economy all the way. In fact, I called the agent directly a few days before pick-up and specifically requested the car with the best gas mileage in their fleet. This happened to be a little Ford Focus that, for us, averaged about 40 mpg. Since my daily driver gets about 25 mpg, I was able to drive 15 miles more per gallon of gas, which as it stands right now, is about $4 per gallon. Over 2,000 miles that’s a savings of $120. Since I didn’t have to change the oil, or worry about nicks in the windshield or any other little headaches, I really came out ahead in this deal.

So, if you’re planning on taking a family trip soon, shop around a bit for a rental car and considering parking your daily driver. You’ll save the wear-and-tear on your car and you might just be able to save some money in the meantime.