This is the final installment of my four part series on things to consider when planning your travel budget. Previously I discussed start-up costs, transportation and daily living. In this post I will be talking about a few extra costs to consider and some thoughts on pulling it all together.
Two more factors for your budget:
- Costs at Home-Life at home doesn’t stop just because you’ve gone off adventuring. If you have obligations like car payments, or student loans, you will need to budget enough money to make sure these bills keep getting paid while you are away. If you default on your loans, the bank probably isn’t going to accept “I was lying on the beach in Thailand,” as an excuse. This category would also include things like home maintenance, pet care and cell phone plans.
- Safety Money– After you’ve figured out the costs of your trip it’s a wise idea to sock away a little extra money on top of that figure. This will be your rainy day fund in case of robbery, emergency, or simply spending too much on souvenirs. You might not have to use this money but you will feel a lot better knowing it’s there. I would suggest having at least $1000 extra on hand but it’s really up to you and your comfort level.
- On the plus side if you don’t use this money you’ll have something extra to come home to!
So to recap, the 8 major things you need to budget for are:
- Start Up Costs
- Administrative Costs
- Airfare
- Other transport
- Daily Living
- Extras
- Home Costs
- Safety Money
Add all of these together and you have a pretty good idea of your trip budget.
The daunting thing about planning a budget for a long trip is the amount of guesswork involved. You will never get it exactly on the nose but with some research you should be able to get a decent picture of how much money you will need. Always round up rather than down. You may have some opportunities to cut costs by staying with friends, working abroad or traveling in the off season, but in the end it’s better to have too much money than too little.
Some more resources on budgeting:
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Don’t forget your ‘society assimilation fund.’ Many times you don’t walk right back into making money or you chose not to walk back into your old life. Traveling changes you. (in a good way) Be prepared for that.
stay adventurous,
Craig
Craig, this is a hard one for me because I always want to just spend all my money while I’m traveling. However moving back home with mom afterward is kind of a brutal come down. Better to have some savings so you have more flexibility in what you do next.
Good point about the cost of living at home while you’re away. Rent is definitely another thing to worry about while you’re traveling, and it’s actually easy to forget. One time I was on a multi-week vacation and realized I was getting home just after my monthly rent was due — there was no way to get home and pay it on time. My landlord was nice about it, but now I know that if my travel overlaps with the first of any month, I need to give my landlord my check ahead of time or ask a friend or neighbor to deliver it for me.
Emily, you are so right. I think people tend to forget about all these expenses that still keep accruing while you are off gallavanting. Also things like housesitters or petsitters that need to be paid and even electric bills.