Building a travel budget involves detail, research, and flexibility. A simple miscalculation can affect the overall cost of my trip. Therefore, I break my budget down into categories and then work my way through item by item.
Categories and Details
My method in creating a budget is starting with categories, and then assigning detail expenses: Lodging (hotel, B&B, Airbnb …), Transportation (flight, train, car, bus, subway …), Food (including snacks …), Entertainment (museum tickets, concerts, excursions …), Incidentals (tips, souvenirs, exchange rate, credit card fees …), and Travel Insurance.
I want a realistic budget, but I don’t want to be strapped either. Which means I look for ways to save.
Savings
There are opportunities to save money using various resources and booking methods: Kayak, Google Flights, booking.com, Expedia, direct hotel reservations, airline reward programs, and advance ticket purchases. Three of the biggest cost savers, that I have found, is booking lodging directly, taking one-stop flights, and buying museum tickets in advance.
I consider tradeoffs. I may stay at four-star hotels and eat at bargain restaurants or stay at hostels and dine in style. Also, I eat large breakfasts with light lunches from a local market. Bottled water can be expensive, so I bring a water bottle and fill it from the hotel or buy a pack of bottled water. And I pay attention to the small daily expenses that can add up.
There are creative ways I save money. It requires diligent searching and thinking outside the box. I aim for a realistic working budget, which means leaving room for unexpected expenses.
On a trip with my brother, he splurged on t-shirts, although it wasn’t in his budget. It didn’t matter to him, he was overjoyed with his purchases.
