Facts & Figures: January Travel Budget Breakdown

What Kind of Traveler Are You?

It’s beneficial to know what kind of traveler you are because it literally affects how you travel. You want groovy experiences, not to be stretched in a non-character building (if that’s a thing) way out of your comfort zone. I’m willing to do certain things to stay on the road and do the work I’m passionate about. For me that means traveling slowly, using accommodation options where I have my own kitchen since I cook often, and getting the most value out of my money and points. Also, making travel easy on myself for my sanity. For example, I’d often book a hotel using points the night before a flight that offered an airport shuttle to reduce travel day hassle. I’m also not the best tourist, so don’t spend much money on attractions. I pretty much just talk to people when I feel like it. I’m satisfied being somewhere else and having random conversations. I see what I want to see when I want to see it. I’m pretty self-contained. It’s the company of like-minded people I relish in. But you have to know what’s right for you. Maybe long-term travel sounds sexy, but your personality doesn’t lend itself to the lifestyle. Or you’re into long-term travel as long as you’re able to pay for all the modern comforts. Don’t bullshit yourself here. If you’re into selfies in front of the tourist attractions and going back to your mid-range priced hotel, that’s beautiful. Do that. If you’re trying to make it work in a 20 bed hostel and find yourself miserable because you’re afraid to spend money on the things you really love, that’s not a good look. Investing a bit of time to understand how you can enjoy more of what you love is a great look for you. The whole point of this life and travel thing is that you dig it. So, do what you dig.

Here’s how I kept my travel budget at less than $14/day in England.

Expenses: I keep track of EVERYTHING in real time so I know if I’m on budget or not. My travel budget is my key to the freedom I seek. I can’t tell you how much I love a good spreadsheet. Lucky for you. Get an idea of what I spend and how you could possibly spend like moi. I’d originally forecasted $30/day, or around $900/month just to have an arbitrary ballpark figure to work with. I had no idea what the cost of living would be for all of the different places I would end up going. There are plenty of websites that list costs and of course there’s xe.com that shows what your money’s worth in another currency, but it’s still very abstract since every day life and expenses are a very personal thing. **Spoiler alert** I often spent less than half of that ($450) per month and saw that this travel train doesn’t have to stop any time soon. Having a finite amount of funds to travel can be scary, but I find that the more I look at the actual numbers instead of carpe diem’ing it, the clearer I am about my spending habits and how to manage them for the long term. For me, the more I know, the more liberated I am to live. Knowing I have room to splurge or living simply to enjoy more of what I like.

Groceries/Eating Out: I’m a vegetarian and in some food cultures, prefer my own cuisine to what’s poppin locally. I cook often and use farmer’s markets and budget grocers where available. London had a chain store called Lidl that I’d shop at. Sainsbury’s also has a great selection for my needs. I loved how reasonably priced the groceries were. I had some delicious food in London.

Money: I racked up as many credit card points as possible six months before leaving the states. I would have started earlier, but that’s what my situation allowed. I even completed a fun promotion run by IHG where I filled out index cards as manual entries to win points. Points earned from the credit cards were redeemed for transportation and accommodation. Cash was used for what couldn’t be bought with a card. Some buses outside of London you have to pay with cash, or later I figured out how to download an app (the home country app store struggle) that allowed me to use my card to pay.

Accommodation: I used partial points at both hotels I stayed at.  At the hostel I put my Trusted Housesitters membership to use and started applying for housesits. The site is dope. They continually upgrade their technology and it’s easy to put your parameters in for the type of sit you’re looking for. Don’t love animals, those sits exist, though there may be fewer. Only want metro areas, that’s available too, though city folk usually don’t usually vacation for very long. More on housesitting later!

In case you’re “not an animal person”, for me it was about an exchange. You spend something one way or the way. Some choices cost less than others, but most everything bears a responsibility and commitment. I chose to take care of people’s homes and/or pets in exchange for accommodation, over using money (sometimes tied up in a deposit in a foreign currency) in exchange for accommodation. I’m also fairly health conscious and like moving my body. Having a dog to walk once or twice a day keeps you active and is a great way to get to know your new neighborhood. Entire apartments are more expensive on Airbnb, and range in price depending on the popularity of the city. I don’t much like sharing with strangers, so hostels, or rooms on Airbnb were more uncomfortable to me than house/pet sitting.

Extra Credit

Travel tip: Plan lightly. I had made plans for Japan, including buying a flight from Osaka to Ho Chi Minh. The transportation for this month is that flight. I had to eat it since it was a nonrefundable fare and my credit card wasn’t hearin’ that noise.

There’s a day trip to Oxford that the homeowner’s in-laws treated me to. There I happened upon a Stag Do and had some celebratory drinks with some drunk Englishmen. There were a couple of puppy mishaps-stolen food, lost dogs here and there, and a sick pup taken to the vet on a bus.

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