Hello lovely people! The number one question that I get asked as a travel blogger is how to travel on a budget. I love getting asked this question for two reasons. Number one, I love helping others travel the world, and number two, budget travel is not only possible, but it is a lot easier than people think it is and I love talking about it. If you haven’t already read my blog, Affordable Travel: Tips For Budget Travel, definitely read it now and enjoy a list of 15 tips that will help you travel and stay on budget.
In today’s blog, I wanted to talk to y’all about one specific tip from that list, plan as much as possible. In that blog, I wrote…
“Plan as much as possible. If you want to stick to a budget, I recommend planning out as much of your trip as possible. Plan out your budget total, how much you will spend on food, flights, accommodations etc. Plan what activities you want to do, what meals you will eat etc.”
Anytime during your fabulous life, you want to stick to a budget, making a plan is going to be the key to helping you stick to your budget. My dad always said, “plan your work, then work your plan.” I may not use this advice in every area of my life, but when it comes to finances, I think my dad’s advice is perfect and everyone should follow it. I don’t just mean to have a plan in your head. Grab a notebook and a pen or create a new document on your computer, and make a budget plan. Pro tip: make an Excel spreadsheet.
Start by doing some research on the destination you are traveling to, hotels/hostels, flights and some activities that you may want to do. Pro tip: MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE EXCHANGE RATE OF YOUR CURRENCY TO THE CURRENCY OF THE COUNTRY YOU ARE GOING TO! If you are traveling with in your home country, you can obviously ignore that last tip.
Take your findings and come open with a realistic total number that you want to spend on your trip. Then take that total number and write it on your budget, then break down how much you are going to spend on every aspect of your trip. Write down how much of that totally you are going to spend on accommodations, fights, food, activities, souvenirs, etc.
Then all you have to do is stick to the budget! As you are on your trip, keep a record of how much you are spending, again write everything down, so then you know for sure that you are staying within your budget.
Writing everything down gives you a visual of your finances and is proven to help you stay within budget. If you need help to plan your trip and budget you can grab a copy of my travel planner! In the planner, there is a budget planning page!
Good luck with your budgets,
Love,
