My 11-year-old son lost his mother in 2025, leaving me as a single dad with no family support. He and I have almost made it through a very challenging school year, and he wants a father-son trip in June. However, because of the way his life insurance funds are held, we cannot use them and I have to be 100% responsible for finances.

Because of this, we have no budget for travel. He wants to take a road trip to see New York City, Boston, the Titanic history in Halifax, and attend the furry convention Anthrocon in Pittsburgh.

We will be traveling by car, and finding ways to save money by camping when possible and visiting some friends. However, the recent jump in fuel costs have sent costs even higher than anticipated.