This guest post from Laura is part of the “reader stories” feature at Get Rich Slowly. Laura is a retired travel agent for AAA and the writer of the new blog, Have List, Will Travel Some reader stories contain general advice; others are examples of how a GRS reader achieved financial success or failure. These stories feature folks with all levels of financial maturity and income. Want submit your own reader story? Here’s how.
I like to travel, but I’m also frugal. Budgeting for a trip is important to me. I spend a lot of time before I go figuring out what the trip is going to cost me. I don’t believe in credit card debt. There’s some debt that’s acceptable, like for a house or car, but to me a vacation wouldn’t be enjoyable if it wasn’t paid for before I went. So I budget. And save. And plan.
Advance Planning
Before I go on any trip, I figure out how much that trip will cost me. I start with the airfare. Then, depending on the type of trip, I start looking at other expenses.
For instance, if it’s a cruise or a tour, I pretty much know what the cost will be for that package, but even then there will be expenses to plan for ahead of time. If I’m going to my destination independently, a lot of my expenses will be estimated.
On a cruise or tour, once you’ve budgeted for air and the price of the package, you have to look at optional excursions and how much those will cost. The cruise or tour company will have a list of those excursions and the cost, so those are pretty easy to budget.
On a cruise, your food will be provided, but on a tour usually only some of your meals are included. Usually all breakfasts are and most dinners are included, but you will definitely have lunches to pay for, and some dinners, as well as snacks and drinks. I also allow for shopping and miscellaneous expenses. It’s surprising how there are always those surprising things that pop up.
If going to my destination independently, then after the airfare cost I start looking at hotels. Those I often book from home before I go, so I know what the cost of those will be. I tend to budget $100 per day per person for food. That’s usually higher than what I actually spend, but I’d rather budget high than low. The food isn’t just meals, but drinks and snacks — those chocolates, gelatos, pastries, etc. When traveling, I don’t want to have to worry if I can afford that expensive meal at a great restaurant.
I also budget for entrance fees to museums, amusement parks, whatever might come up that will cost to get into. Transportation is another thing that goes on my list, whether it’s the train or a rental car.
Here’s a typical budget from a trip that I took recently with my husband:
- Airfare $1500 per person ($3000 total)
- Hotels (15days) $100 per night $1500 total)
- Food (15 days) $1500 per person ($3000 total)
- Car Rental $350
- Gas $200
- Entrance fees $200
- Misc. $200
- Shopping $300
- Total $8750
I also had to figure in the cost of a house/dog sitter, not something that everyone would have to consider when planning a trip; that was another $500.
Cash Considerations
When we travel, we carry only a small amount of cash, debit cards, and two credit cards. I carry a debit card and one credit card and my husband carries his debit card and the other credit card, just in case a wallet or purse is stolen.
I don’t always get currency from the country I’m going to in advance. Sometimes I do, but I don’t purchase very much here; the rate of exchange is better once you get to your destination. I usually go to an ATM when I arrive at the airport and get several hundred dollars cash, which I split between us. My debit card (which is with a credit union) will charge a small fee, but it’s still better than purchasing foreign money here, as there are fees for that too.
While traveling, I pay for hotels and restaurants using my debit card. They ring it up like a Visa transaction, but it comes directly out of my checking account, which is where I put the money I have budgeted. There’s no fee when using it as credit, and the rate of exchange is the best I can get using it that way. I enter it in my checkbook register in the foreign amount and then deduct what I think it will convert to — but I always figure it a little high, so that when I get home I will have more money in my account than the amount shows.
I only use my cash for small purchases. That way I don’t have to go to the ATM often, since the ATM does have some fees attached to it. Sometimes it does get complicated. Since the Euro, it’s been a little easier, because so many countries use the Euro.
Recently we took a trip that started in Austria (Euro) went through Slovenia (also on the Euro), then Croatia (they have their own currency), then we were in Hungary (also their own currency) and then Turkey (again their own currency). It got complicated.
I didn’t mind having some Euros left over; we can always use them on future trips. However, the Croatian, Hungarian and Turkish money would have no value after this trip, so I had to be careful not to get too much of it, but I wanted to make sure I had enough that I wouldn’t have to go draw out more (because of the fees). The last day in each country I was diligently using up the cash. I figured it was best to get rid of it. We may go back to those countries someday, but by then they will most likely be on the Euro too.
Words of Warning
A word on credit and debit cards in foreign countries. Before you go, check with your bank, credit union, or credit card company. Find out what their fees are. Let them know you are taking your card out of the country (so they won’t forbid transactions thinking it is fraud). And make sure you write down the information on those cards and keep that information in a separate location. In other words, write down the card number and a phone number, in case you have to report the card as stolen.
Always take several cards with you, with your travel partner carrying a different card than you carry. That way you will have a backup card in case one is stolen.
When we were in London a few years ago, I went to the ATM to get cash, and my debit card didn’t work. I tried at several different ATMs and no success. I then got on the internet and signed on to my account to check if there was a problem. Everything looked fine, as I had plenty of money. But still the ATM kept rejecting me. I needed the cash, so I got a cash advance using a Visa card.
When I got home a few days later, I asked at my credit union why I couldn’t get a withdrawal. They told me that they had a computer problem and that for 24 hours the ATMs in foreign locations could not connect to check balances; therefore, they would not work. In all the years we have been traveling with that debit card, it only happened once, and that was over five years ago. But always plan for the unexpected, and have a backup, because things happen.
Also, be aware that Visa and Mastercard are the most widely accepted cards, and probably American Express the least accepted. I love my American Express because I get a cash rebate on it every year, but I do find that there are many places that don’t accept it, so I use it when I can, and carry my Visa for when I can’t (on neither of these cards do I carry a balance and I pay them off as soon as I return &mdsah from the money I budgeted before I left on the trip).
Since I don’t like debt, I save for my trips all year. This way they are paid for before I leave and I can enjoy my trips without feeling guilty about them.
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There are also travel blogs and websites where you can see what the expected budget is per country for budget, mid range and luxury travelers. Your food budget is huge! But better safe than sorry, and three full restaurant meals with drinks in Europe run for about that much. If you are as frugal as you say, you can picnic on the cheap, have a croissant on the go for breakfast, get the lunch deal at the restaurant, and snack on baguette, cheese and fruits back at the hotel.
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Could you give some links? I was looking for something like this last week and was coming up with nothing!
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Boots’nall is one frugal travel website, and the Lonely Planet Forums is another way to go. I (almost) always buy a guidebook for my destinations, and I have found the LP to be the best for my version of frugal travel.
I agree that the food budget is enormous. But I also don’t see a large line item for adventuring. My budget would have that with a much smaller food line. I just got back from two weeks in Hawai’i with my husband. We spend something like $2,500 on everything (except lodging — we were gifted a timeshare). Food was pretty small, since we grocery-stored our breakfasts and lunchs. But adventure? Huge and worth it. We snorkeled with mantas, kayaked, summitted Mauna Kea, and basically did any awesome thing we wanted. Budgeting helped us know how to make that all work.
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The food budget is not enormous if they went to Europe. We are just back today from a few days in Paris, and pretty much every restaurant meal there was in the 25-30 EUR per person. Add this twice a day, plus some coffees and beers, and it easily adds up to the $100 equivalent she budgeted. Yes, we could have survived on sandwiches and water, but for us the purpose of this trip was experiencing the unusual food and enjoying the local ambiance. We have been on frugal-meals-while-hitting-the-main-sights trips before, but this was not one of those. The budget in the article was just an example and you budget for the type of trip you plan to do.
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If you stay in a hotel with breakfast, you can get by on 10 dollars a day for food, even in Paris, but more easily in Italy. London is more expensive, but even then you can pay much less and spend your money on other things, or on prolonging your stay. The fancy restaurants and wine may be worth the price to some travelers, but I’m worried people will read your post and think travel to Europe is beyond their means. Your budget is extremely high.
Tom
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When I went to Europe I had a nasty surprise about using my credit card. There was a foreign transaction fee tacked on to all transaction that I learned about when I got my statement. At home, I use my cc for all of my purchases so I can get the points and rarely spend cash. Next trip to Europe, I will plan on carrying more cash though I’m not always comfortable doing that. It makes sense to check with your cc company before you go to find out if they have hidden fees.
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There are a number of cards that don’t have a foreign transaction fee, but you have to research to find out which ones qualify. (i.e. Marriott Black Chase card) It can be a pretty nasty surprise if you aren’t expecting it. My bank charges me a pretty hefty fee for taking $$ from the ATM so I tend to take out a larger amount and then use the CC which gets paid off as soon as I get back to avoid fees.
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I too love to travel and will never again carry credit card debt, but I love rewards cards, especially ones with no foreign transaction fees (like Chase Sapphire Preferred). I don’t remember the last time I went on vacation and didn’t use either airline miles or hotel points. It’s wonderful to be able to travel on a budget.
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Yea Deb. I have had the same thing happen but if you use Chase cards I think you should be ok, but it’s easy to call and check. Also check with the restaurant. I know in Central America they charge you the extra tax that they have to pay when you use a card, or if you offer to pay cash they often give you a small discount.
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For the sake of not sounding like advertisement I am not taking the names but, there are cards which don’t have foreign transaction fees. Laura, it seems you take yearly (or more frequent) overseas trips. Some of these cards have have yearly fees, but when you consider the perks, it far outweighs the fee if you travel at least one each year.
Try to analyze the cost/gain scenario. I am sure even using debit cards, you are getting charged at minimum $3 per ATM use, may be more. You gave some great tips. You may look for pet swap with some one you know. When they go out you take care of the pet and you go out they can take care of your pet.
There are sites where you can register and apply for stay at another member’s place for a smaller charge compared to hotels. You get to meet local people and save money at the same time.
Budgeting for everything is an ideal way for travelers to control cost. Good post.
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We do some additional things to protect our money because we travel several months at a time.
1) We have a specific travel checking account & ATM card so that if it is compromised that doesn’t impact our other accoutns
2) We pre-arrange cash transfers into that account so we don’t have to access our main accounts over unsecured internet connections while on the road. That also limits the amount in the account to our travel budget.
3) We have a specific no-fx transaction fee travel credit card
4) We set up all the bills we can on auto pay.
5) We pre-arrange credit card payments, or make pre-payments, so we don’t carry balances while we’re away or have to expose our passwords over unsecured internet connects.
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That separate travel account is a really great idea!
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Just want to say that yes, having the CC phone number is a must — and when you call to warn them, also ask if they have a special number to call from abroad.
When we last went, one card was put on hold DESPITE our having called and told them. Calling the regular number took longer than if we’d had the number to call that we were given after being transferred around a few times. :-p
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$100 a day per person for food? Doesn’t sound frugal to me! My budget is $100 per day for 3 people, and that covers us well. Your frugal and my frugal seem to have a different definition.
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I think you lost me somewhere between “frugal” and “nine grand for a two week trip.”
It’s awesome that you plan your trips so well and save up for them in advance, but anyone who has $9000 to spend on vacation can take a great vacation. That’s no frugal feat.
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Agreed. We’re on a family vacation right now and cutting every possible corner to keep it under $1500 (for three of us). I admire the commitment to budgeting everything out beforehand, but some of us just can’t comprehend that kind of vacation. I’m a schoolteacher; your vacation is almost 1/4 of my annual salary!
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I’ll be taking a cruise so your insights there were helpful. I totally agree that you and your travel partners should both carry different cards. Great tip! Some cards don’t charge as high fees or any fees at all for foreign transactions so make sure you know what your cards charge!
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I would be nervous using my debit card overseas. We try to pay in local currency for the everyday items and then use credit card for the big ticket items. we did learn the hardway that our bank account limited the amount and number of times we could use a cash withdrawal via ATM machine overseas. So you will defintely want to check with your bank before traveling overseas.
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Is a $9000 vacation particularly frugal? I guess not really, but I don’t mind reading about it anyway. I’ve heard enough stories about sleeping in hostels already. Not all of us are 21-year-old singles anymore. In 2010, my wife and I chartered a sailboat from a village outside Athens and sailed the Greek islands for a week, then flew to Santorini and rented a house on the cliff overlooking the caldera for another week.
Frugal? No. But the point of getting *rich* (slowly or otherwise) is not to do the same hosteling/backpacking trip over and over again. I paid cash for my Greek trip and came home with no debt. Life is not always about just spending less money.
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Great point, Tyler. I’ve read plenty of articles on here about low-budget vacations already. It’s nice to see an article focused on enjoying some of the rewards of scrimping/saving!
For those of us wanting to take a ‘once in a lifetime’ vacation, there are ways to do it and still spend much less than most vacationers. This article touched on some of those points.
You can also negotiate huge savings on beach houses (or any rental for that matter), bring your own food if the country has a high cost of living, utilize frequent traveler points to fly for free and/or stay in beautiful hotels for free, etc. Some of these items don’t apply to everyone (not everyone has frequent traveler points), but there are plenty of websites out there that can help you save money on your vacation and/or obtain free (or almost free) frequent traveler points!
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I totally agree!
This is exactly why I live this lifestyle…so I can afford to go on the vacations that I want to and pay for them with cash.
Laura’s “sample vacation” may not be frugal in some people’s eyes but it seems like she thoughtfully and deliberately allocated money for all of the things that she wanted to do.
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+1, Tyler.
For our honeymoon, my husband and I went to Sweden. We spent $400+/night at an amazing hotel in Visby. I was (am) a teacher and my husband was a grad student at the time and I was fretting about whether or not we should splurge on the hotel.
One of my closest friends asked me if I had the money for it. I told her I did.
She said that she and her husband were so afraid of spending money that they ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on their honeymoon. “I still regret it,” she said, “If you have the money, spend it and *enjoy it.*”
I am so glad I/we took her advice. The experience of the honeymoon and that hotel was completely worth it. And I would stay there again.
We sure weren’t rich then, and we aren’t now, but there is a balance to be had.
(Having said that, we also stayed at a hostel in Stockholm during our honeymoon. Everything in moderation?)
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I agree with you Tyler, but the author claimed to be frugal so there’s the rub. Is almost $9k for a trip for 2 particularly frugal? Probably not. But life isn’t all about frugal and I still enjoyed the article. The author maybe should have come at it from a slightly different angle than throwing frugal in there. As this group has shown, everything doesn’t have to be so strictly frugal.
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Yes, but quantifying “frugal” is relative. What is frugal for you may not be frugal for another. There is no set $ or % that quantifies frugal. The definition is “economical with money,” so $9,000 for their vacation may be frugal for their annual budget or by comparison to someone else taking the same vacation with less care for budget and planning.
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I understand your point, but the purpose of this website is to keep the 21 year old perspective, and not fall prey to lifestyle inflation.
My friends and I chartered a 40′ sailboat in Croatia for 1 week, and it came out to $700 per person. Switching Greece for Croatia is avoiding the Euro, while experiencing the same scenery, minus all of the tourists who clog all of the famous Greek sites. And the Roman ruins are much more in tact and not fenced off.
I think the purpose of GRS is to expand one’s thinking about money and what the true value of money is, not to give you an example of how one can “save” $9000 for a vacation once a year? I assume it’s once a year because the author does not state the amount of time. But really, that’s not very realistic for the 99%.
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My husband (then boyfriend and I) are not part of the 1% but we took a 10 day all inclusive trip that cost us $7000 it was our honeymoon so we splurged but that doesn’t mean we aren’t frugal. It just means that we chose not to be frugal on our vacation. We are frugal with our everyday choices so that we could pay cash, which we saved up over 8 months. At the same time saving for and paying cash for our wedding and not touching our emergency fund or downpayment savings and still contributing 10% to our 401ks. We did this by living on 50% of our take home pay and banking the rest. We made the choice to live in a small apartment in an older three family, but it was in a safe neighborhood, close to both our jobs so we could both have a short commute saving gas and maintenance on our used cars. We didn’t have to go to an all inclusive resort, but we decided we were willing to pay for the extravagance. At home we go out to eat maybe a couple times a month, but we cook our own meals from scratch the rest of the time, we eat lots of beans and make our own bread! I don’t think having an expensive vacation that you save up and pay cash for is mutually exclusive from being frugal, its just consciously spending some of all that money you saved! I read this website because it keeps me motivated to save for my goals, people shouldn’t be ashamed to spend some of their hard earned money.
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I absolutely agree about conscious spending. I am the same way as the author, I live frugal for 51 weeks a year and like to go all out on my vacations. I make a plan, put together the budget for what it will cost (well padded for good food and odds and ends that may come up) and make that my goal. I use frugality to save up that amount then get to go on the trip without having to worry at all about money because I have saved up more than what I will need.
The price she used is just an example and doesn’t mean the author isn’t frugal just chooses to spend on vacations. I’ve done a 10 day trip for 2 for around $1k including food but I’ve also done $3K for 2 for a 4 day weekend (which would be around $11k for the length the author was talking about) but it included all the works. Both times I came back, had it paid off right away with extra left in the savings account to start saving for the next trip. It all depends on where you want to go and what you want to do, then you make that your goal.
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I saved far less at 21 years old than I do at 31. And where does it say the point of this website is to live like a 21 year old? Every 21 year old I know is in debt due to student loans.
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I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for countries like Croatia, Hungary, and especially Turkey to adopt the euro. The euro zone has more than enough weak economies to deal with as it is.
Actually, by the next time you go to Europe there may not even be a euro.
However, keeping track of exchange rates and only changing the amount you really need isn’t really all that hard–unless you are overly conditioned by the modern mantra that convenience is the ultimate value. God forbid we should have to think and do a little math!
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Just so you know, Turkey no longer needs the euro. Their economy is much stronger than the Euro countries that are causing so much angst. Turkey’s success is karma for the EU rejecting Turkey’s multiple bids over the past decade due to its being too “Islamic” and not “Christian” enough for the euro zone. The EU deserves everything that is coming to them and more from such bigotry and prejudice.
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When I travel overseas, I prefer to put everything on my credit card because it is one of the best exchange rates. When I need cash, I made sure I was aware of my bank’s correspondent bank. I was able to get cash and paid no fees.
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Don’t ignore the benefits of using rewards to travel. For a couple of years I’ve been using credit cards that offer travel rewards and paying off the card immediately. There is often an award bonus for opening the card and using it just once. (Keep an eye on annual fees though). In three weeks we are going to Colorado/Utah/Wyoming, there will be three of us. The three round trip tickets cost $30, and that was just the 911 fee for each ticket, the rest was free. The rental car will be paid for with rewards. 7 of 9 hotel nights will be paid for with award points. So we are flying from New England to Colorado, getting a rental car, staying in a hotel for 9 nights, and we are paying only for 2 nights hotel, our food and our entertainment. We plan to eat less expensively and enjoy outdoor experiences. (Although we did pay some money for a rafting trip on the Colorado River in Utah, and plan to go to a rodeo in Wyoming)
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Oh though, I have an expense of traveling many do not. I am self employed, and I earn much less money while on vacation, so I have to budget in lost income. No paid vacation for me!
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i am also a freelancer-
funny, we have the same problem, but i’m always like WOO unlimited vacation days!!
i haven’t had a salaried job since i was a teenager though, so maybe it’s just a matter of perspective- i’ve never been paid for vacation days (what a concept!). if you work, you get paid. if you don’t work, you don’t. makes sense to me.
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So you’re against paid maternity/paternity leave, disability benefits, and pensions?
Sorry, I know that’s not what you meant, but I couldn’t resist pointing out the absurdity of such a gross oversimplification.
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How is that considered travel on a budget?
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budg·et/ˈbəjit/ Noun: An estimate of income and expenditure for a set period of time.
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I have to agree with some of the other reviewers – if you can spend $9000 on a 2 week trip, you don’t need to
a) budget your expenses
b) publish on a website that is called “Get Rich Slowly’, since you obviously have already achieved that goal:)
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As the blog author mentioned, this was a guest post by someone else. It was not written by the author of “Get Rich Slowly.”
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Point ‘a’ – FALSE
I would venture to say that it’s precisely BECAUSE this person budgets that they are able to spend $9000 on a vacation. And, just because this person has more to spend on travel than others do or deem prudent, doesn’t make the travel tips any less relevant or useful.
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Why is it that travel discussions seem to bring out so much judgement – regardless of whether the piece is exploring superfrugal backpacking or more luxurious travel.
This type of trip is essentially right in line with what my partner and I spend on our vacations. And yes, we do have to budget it for it because we’re not already rich. We are however practicing conscious spending and choosing to spend our money in ways that matter to us.
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Agree. It’s not “whoever spends the least on travel wins!” It’s about spending on what makes you happy, and spending with as much forethought as possible. Know what you are spending on, how much, and why.
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*sigh* I commented below. Really, $9K on 2 weeks for 2 people is not cheap, but neither is it expensive. The point is they saved for and planned to spend $9000, and (hopefully) stuck to the budget. That is the point. Planning for and saving for $6000, and spending $9000 is a fail. I really really like this approach to planning your spending and living within your means, even if the author’s means are more than yours.
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At the risk of sounding like a shill, I’d recommend getting the baseline CapitalOne rewards card for travel if you don’t already have one and can afford to open another line of credit. It has no annual fees, no transaction fees, and they’ll actually eat transaction fees which are levied on the other end of foreign-fund payments, so it really is a pretty good card to use when outside the country.
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I’ve only been overseas once, but that is the card I used. It’s also the card that “paid for” the airfare, car rental and hotels because I had enough rewards to cover those expenses.
The only time I ever had a problem with a credit card was in Hawaii when I forgot to tell the company I was vacationing. It was a bit embarassing to have a credit card denied at the grocery store. But easy enough to call the number on the back and let them know that it really was me charging stuff in Hawaii.
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I already responded to a comment but having just read through the rest of the comments I feel inclined to do it again. There is frugal and frugal. If you are still deeply in debt of course it doesn’t make sense to take a $9000 vacation. 10 years ago we were there, neck-deep in student debt and maxed on most credit cards. We took a frugal vacation travelling across the Southwest and California, took a tent and camped where possible, slept in the cheapest motels we could find, got a disposable cooler from a gas station and some bread and veggies from a food store for making our own sandwiches along the way. It was a month long memorable vacation for about 2 or 3 thousand including airfare from the East Coast. Now, 10 years later, we are out of debt and can afford to go on more expensive vacations. We still want to do it frugally, by focusing on what matters for us – and on some vacations it happens to be the food and adventures experience, and save where we can, be it airfare, hotels, local transportation. But now we don’t need to count every penny.
From other comments I have seen, we are not minority among the Get Rich Slowly readers. We don’t need to read only about how to travel on the minimum possible, I would much more appreciate ideas on how to budget for it and how to select good deals.
This said, the article was good, but it could have included more practical links and suggestions. I’ll add just a couple:
On a few trips I have found wikitravel very helpful – when we went to Spain a couple years ago it had very practical advice on how to use local buses to our location, and in general it has good points on the main sights.
And a just learned lesson – read up on the local transportation rules in advance, don’t assume they are the same everywhere. We always use subways, buses, trains when possible – much better experience and way cheaper than taxies. But I just got fined in the Paris metro – after a trip changing several trains, when I finally reached my final stop I stupidly decided that the trip is officially over and I threw out my ticket in a garbage bin a few steps before the outside door – and then ran into a ticket check at that same outside door. 45 euro and a lesson to remember.
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I agree. The act of budgeting and its power is the point of this article. Laura provided a framework for planning travel ahead of time so she doesn’t go into debt and can enjoy herself guilt free. You can easily insert your own numbers that make sense to you and your situation. I think it’s also important to note that these numbers are purposefully larger than what she actually hopes to spend: “That’s usually higher than what I actually spend, but I’d rather budget high than low.” I read this budget as her saving enough funds to be able to do what she wants on vacation without stressing much about the cost, but that usually she doesn’t actually spend her entire allotment everyday. I could imagine that whatever you’ve overbudgeted gets rolled into the next trip.
Also, her bio shows that she has worked in the travel industry and I would take that to mean that, in her life and situation, travel is a priority. Saving money upfront over time, while perhaps sacrificing on other things, allows her to put her money toward what may make her happiest, travel. You could easily pull apart every reader story by saying, this person makes more/less than me, this person spends more/less than me on x. They live in a different part of the country, they have more/less kids than me. They have different goals than me. Is anyone really reading these thinking she should model her life exactly to that of the authors? The actual numbers are far out of my league, but the underlying lesson is useful.
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$9000 for a two-week vacation? Wow! The two of you could live in Europe and travel around comfortably for at least six months with that amount.
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In some rural area with someone giving you a free room, just maybe…but nowhere you want to really spend 6 months. And I know what I am talking about – I live in France. SO next time, inject some fact into your opinion.
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Perhaps you can’t do that in France, but in Eastern/Central Europe you could definitely do that. I live in Slovenia and my rent for a nice one-bedroom apartment is only 280 EUR/month. I’m sure you could hop from country to country renting apartments, making use of public transit, and getting groceries at supermarkets rather than eating out every day, and keep well within budget.
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I just wanna give a plug for NICARAGUA!
We did 28 days (February) in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, two people we spent about maybe $2,000 while we were there, I forget how much the airfare was. We did it on the super cheap, dorm beds, hammocks, split meals (80 degree weather), cooking when possible.
Therefore on the super cheap end we averaged $35/per day for: Food, Lodging, Services & Fun. Neither of us spoke Spanish, we just stayed on the “gringo trail” and the running joke when meeting other tourists was: “so you’re totally fluent in Spanish now right? hahahahaha”.
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I would never spend this kind of money on a vacation. It would just take all the fun out of it. A vacation where you get more out of for way less money would be appropriate for me.
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For the most part, what horrible advice. The only good bit of advice was to use your Debit Card at ATMs. The rest you should ignore. While Debit Cards can be treated LIKE Visa or MasterCard they are still not Visa or MasterCard credit cards which means you get some but not all the protection a Visa or MasterCard provides despite having the transaction go through as a credit card and not a debit card. Ignoring that, places like hotels, gas stations, and car rentals all add a little extra to the authorization charge. Example: When you swipe your card to get gas, they do not know how much you will need but they want to ensure your card is good and you have the money to cover it, so they get approval for an amount they feel will cover the amount of gas their avg. customers need. Right now, that approval amount is between $75-$100 in the lower 48. So, for our example, you swipe your card, they get approval for a $75 charge, they let you pump gas. At the end of the day, they submit their sales and your $30 purchase of gas goes through with an approval number which is good up to $75. They send their sales on to whoever process it for them. That gets passed on to who handles/processes the charges for your ATM/debit card and you only get charged $30. The GOTCHA is, until that $30 sale hits the account linked to your ATM/debit card, your bank is expecting and has said funds are available for $75 charge. Now imagine a car rental. The Hertz website says ” Debit cards must have available funds for the estimated amount of the rental charges plus up to $200 to cover any incidental charges in order to secure the rental.” Hotels, not knowing if you will cause some damage to their room, do the same thing.
So, if you want to pay with your debit card, you will be missing out on some of the protection a credit card provides and you will find a hold placed on some of the funds in your bank account while your bank waits for the completed sale information to be processed or for those authorizations to expire.
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Amen. That was all I kept thinking while reading this article.
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OK. I think this reader story is one of the best I have read on travel. From my own experience thinking of one of the most expensive vacations i have had: Corsica for 2 weeks, I live in France, there are a few things I would add: 10% for contingency ( the coral ring my husband decided to buy me, the large amount of local cheese and sausage and wine to take home, the missing headlight someone STOLE from our rental car midway through the trip,….) and a CLEAR understanding of what you BOTH agree you should splurge on. My pet peeve that trip was my husband’s obsession with decimating the lobster and langoustine population – a couple of meals fighting with the beasts is enou for me, but he wanted more more more, and these are dishes that are only served for two….
Next, about the hotel budget – if you can plan your trip and make reservations in advance, you will be able to get a better handle on actual hotel costs. But don’t forget the taxes, not always quoted in the hotel price, and be absolutely certain about what is included (don’t count on breakfast). That same trip to Corsica we also had to get a last minute hotel, the one we had booked, which seemed acceptable from reviews and ratings, and was in a gorgeous location, was absolutely dire when you saw the rooms. We had to book rooms at the more expensive hotel across the road.
Another point to mention is that if you are travelling for any distance is to budget for tolls. An internal trip of 500 km in France can cost 50€ in tolls.
So I hope this helps other travel planners in addition to the excellent advice from the author. And this is about planning, budgeting and saving for travel, not about how to cut the cost to the bone.
It doesn’t matter if your budget is $8750, or $15000, so long as it is realistic for your desired travel experience and that you can stick to it.
Happy trails!
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The last time I traveled in Europe….about 6 years ago….my whole budget for the day was 60 Euro. Yes I am one of those hosteling backpakers but I would rather travel and explore for two months than have luxory for two weeks. I spent 6 weeks in Italy, 3 in Greece and 1 week in Malta.
A good article for those who can aford those trips but this is a reminder that even the poor retired can travel.
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“Yes I am one of those hosteling backpakers but I would rather travel and explore for two months than have luxory for two weeks.”
I would love to be able to travel for two months, but since my husband is no longer a student, and we don’t live and work in Europe, we don’t have the ability to travel for two months at a time and still stay employed.
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Exactly. I remember someone telling me, when I was 22 and working in retail, “Now is the time to go backpacking through Europe!” But at the time I had two weeks’ paid vacation, and obviously could not afford to go without working for months at a time. Not to mention the plane fare!
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I agree with all the commenters who said that, while $9000 is not a small budget, the whole point of this article is that you can spend whatever you want on travel if you save for it accordingly.
I also want to add that there are blogs out there dedicated to the airline miles and credit card points game, which you can play to earn free flights and hotel stays. This game is not for everyone, especially those who cannot pay off their balance in full every single month, currently have credit card debt, plan on applying for any type of loan within the next 2 years, or have low/no credit. I discovered the world of miles and points via GRS earlier this year when Craig from helpmetravelcheap.com did a guest post. Since then I’ve really gotten into it, and next month my husband and I are leaving for a week in Hawaii. Our flights cost us $22 per person and we got 6 out of 7 hotel nights free, so our only costs are car rentals, food, and activities.
For credit cards with no foreign transaction fees, see this list: http://thepointsguy.com/2012/06/the-top-credit-cards-without-foreign-transaction-fees/
Another note on Europe: you may need a card with SmartChip technology for some merchants in Europe. Our credit cards didn’t work at a gas station in Crete last month for this reason, so my husband had to run to the nearest ATM for cash.
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I think this is a great article about planning and budgeting for travel, no matter what your total travel budget is. My husband and I took our belated honeymoon recently and spent two weeks in France, and our budget was similar in total although the distribution was different. As my husband put it, it was our honeymoon and we weren’t going to stay in a dorm in a hostel, although we certainly could have spent less money on lodging.
We got a CapitalOne card just before our trip since it does not charge foreign transaction fees (and our existing accounts did), and it was a great card to travel with. I usually travel with US cash hidden on me and in my bags for an emergency, but pay by credit cards as much as possible so we have less local currency to deal with.
The only thing I would have done differently is drag my husband into the budgeting and planning earlier, even though he had no interest at the time. While we had travel savings to cover our trip and stayed within our budget (and didn’t touch the extra 10% buffer), he started getting sticker shock towards the end of our vacation and began comparing our trip to the equivalent in MacBook Pros.
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Who takes a $9000 vacation? That’s 4x the value of my car. Not sure this belongs on a budgeting website?
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I love how polarizing this article is! I think the underlying point (pick your price point, save for it, and enjoy it) is a great one but perhaps could have been played up a bit more to cut down on some of the repetitive comments.
It’s so important to save and have cash in the bank for trips! I used to travel with the idea I’d charge everything and pay it off later, but the last few years I’ve saved and been glad to have money in the bank set aside for the trip.
I traveled in Greece last year and was surprised to find how extremely cash-centric they are. For example after a 20-minute car ride away from the airport to a car rental shop in the middle of nowhere, the very lovely employees told us they would only accept cash.. because it was Sunday. Fortunately I’d just taken out some euros, and because I’d shopped around in advance I found a car rental that was half the price quoted from the American brand car agencies, but it was an interesting lesson! I’d paid the deposit on my credit card and assume/hope that any damages would have been covered by its insurance. Fortunately nothing happened so I didn’t have to find out.
Germany was similarly cash-centric when I was there earlier this year – even the hotels preferred cash payment. Since I’d saved the money for the trip in advance, that wasn’t a problem, but younger me would have been a bit uncomfortable/unable to cough up the cash every night.
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The best thing about saving up for a trip before you go is when you get home. You do not need to think about how to pay the bill. Instead you are thinking….where to go to next and making plans for the next adventure.
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Hi everyone, I am the author of the article. I did not realize until today that the article had been published, been busy and had not checked. We actually just got home from that vacation that I had budgeted for. I know a lot of you were amazed that I budgeted so high on food, and I have to say that we did not spend quite that much, but I would rather budget high than low, better to come home with money left over that I can use for my next trip. But we did come close to that. We were traveling in Scotland and Ireland with another couple, and I knew we would be eating at nice restaurants most of the time. We like to experience the food and culture of the country we are in, and not necessariluy be frugal when traveling. We have wine or beer with dinner. We stopped for afternoon tea almost everyday. The couple we were traveling with live in Scotland and they like their afternoon tea. I became quite hooked on Shandies, which is half ale and half lemonade, so had at least one everyday. My food budget also covers food items I purchase to bring home – like candy, shortbread, marmelade and chutney.
I have to say that I never said that I was frugal when traveling. I’m frugal the rest of the year, saving for my trips, because travel is important to me. I would rather spend my money that way than on other things.
#17 Leah said that she would have spent less on food and more on adventure. This trip was to Europe, which is more culture, plus we were with friends. We too went to Hawaii – 2010 – and for that trip I did budget for adventure. If you go to my website and read about trips we have taken (in the side column) you can read about some of the adventure things that we did, and I did have an adventure budget for that trip. We went mountain tubing, and snorkeling (I am an avid snorkeler – and have been for many years).
I admit that my budget may be higher than some of you are comfortable with. We are in our 60′s and retired, and we have managed to put money aside for what is important to us.
As for #2 – Indio said that she was surprised by fees to the credit card, and yes those can be high. I use my credit card sparingly because of the fees overseas. As I said in the article, I tend to use my debit card more, because it doesn’t charge fees. I hand it to them the same as a credit card, and it has the Visa logo, so they ring it up as a credit card, but it comes directly out of my checking account. I don’t have to put in a password. #11 – Misty said she would be nervouse using the debit card, but it is basically the same as using the credit card, only it comes out of the checking. I have been traveling with my debit card for years, without having a problem. Yes, they charge me a small fee for withdrawals from the ATM, but the rate of exchange is better at the ATM than if I exchanged money at home. And the money exchange places charge a fee also. My debit card is from a credit union, so maybe bank debit cards charge more fees, not sure on that – I am a firm credit union customer, wouldn’t go to the big banks for my accounts.
I thought that #39-Amanda- made a good point when she said that she decided to splurge on a hotel, she had the money and wanted to stay there, so she did. That’s the point of saving up for a big trip, you should do the things you want to do while you are there, you may never go back to that place again, and you will regret not doing the things you wanted to do. You can be too frugal, and then you don’t have fun, and fun in important.
I did a trip when I was much younger and had less money. We were traveling all over England, and even went to Paris for a few days. For that trip we went frugal for half of our days, and splurged on the other half. When we changed locations we would look for a B&B or even the Y one night, but then the next change of location we would stay in a nice hotel. That way we were saving but not denying ourselves some luxury. It was actually fun trying to find the economical places, and then also deciding on our luxury places.
I really appreciate all the comments from everyone. I have enjoyed reading them. I hope that for those interested in travel that you will visit my website and read about some of the other trips we have taken. I read in the comments that one of your readers had gone to Croatia because of the value of the moeny, and that is where we went last year, we were able to budget less for food and other things on that trip. I do take at least one big trip every year, and several smaller trips. Travel is important to me. If you go to my website, you will also see what we do in the summertime, it is an article that is in the archives, and we will be heading off for that soon. Thanks again everyone, and if you have any other comments or questions, I will check back in and will be glad to answer them. Laura
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Sort of like this author, I’m frugal year-round so I don’t really worry about spending while I travel. I want to stay at decent hotels and nice enough restaurants. (Nothing too fancy, mind you, but adequate.)
That said, $1500 each for airfare to Europe is a lot!! Did you shop that one around? I live in a small one-horse town in Canada and was able to get from here to Venice (via Toronto and Frankfurt) for $1024 (taxes included).
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Edward, as you probably know airfares to Europe go up and down. I budget high, would rather have money left over. But I did actually get the airfare for less than my budget. However, I had air miles and decided to add on an upgrade to first class, which had a $500 per person fee. I felt it was worth it to us, because the flight had flat bed seats which were great on the long flight. We arrived much more rested because of them. Nice meal on board also. We still stayed within our budget – mostly because I didn’t spend all the food money. For those who mentioned that the trip was only 2 weeks – it was actually 22 days. I only budgeted 15 days on the food and hotels, we spent the other 7 days at our friends house – they live in Carnoustie, Scotland.
My next posting on my blog is actually about how to find good airfares to whereever you are going. It posts tomorrow. Laura
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I use the website VRBO.com (Vacation Rental by Owner). My last trip to San Francisco, I was able to secure a very nice apartment, in a charming non-touristy area, for $700 for the entire week! Hotels in SF are expensive and it would have required a huge compromise… either staying in a motel, or cutting the length of the trip to make it work financially.
The added benefit: You feel like a local… like you are living in the place you are visiting. Made our trip so amazing. We plan to do it every year, even if it’s just a long weekend.
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Nice Article Laura, I have even now been to your website and added it to my RSS Feed.
My Husband and I also fully budget trips and live frugally for the rest of the year to afford amazing trips and experiences.
I put aside money every week into a “Holiday Account”, even if we aren’t planning something. We like to still do some frugal things on holidays like making our own breakfast or taking public transport but will splurge too when the occasion is right.
To the people saying the trips are extravagant it’s all about priorities. For the last decade I drove a car worth $1500 and was old and ugly, and had lots of second hand furniture and rarely bought clothes etc. But we spent over $100,000 visiting 25 countries on some great trips and It was worth every cent! Does spending 5 times what your car is worth for a three week holiday feel weird, yeah sure, but I saved hard for it!
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Jo, I’m glad you liked the article and that you have checked out my website. I hope you will keep coming back to it.
I too have special savings account that I pay into. Of course I have my travel account, but I also have one set up to pay my property taxes and one for my insurance (car, home, and medical). I pay into those accounts as if they are bills. Like bills, I pay them first, then what is left over goes for food next, then the rest is my monthly spending money. I also have an account for my dogs which I call my “Schnauzer Expense Account”. I have 2 dogs, and I put a little money in that account every month. I could get pet medical insurance, but I find it is high, and it only covers part of the expense. I decided to open them an account when they were babies, and I put what I can into each month. I don’t use this money for their annual checkups or shots, only for large items, like last year they each had to have surgeries for cysts and teeth cleaning, so I used the money from that accoumt. I still have close to $3000 in their account, but they are both seniors now, so these next few years will be when most of their medical needs will be. If I need it I’ll have it, if not then I will have the money.
My daughter says I am a little excessive-compulsive with some of my savings, but it works for me. And both travel and my dogs are important to me. If you were on my website then you probably saw a picture of the dogs.
It sounds like you have done some great traveling and I say – keep on and enjoy!!!
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Yikes! What an expensive trip this woman took! Excluding airfare, she spent $483 a day!
My fiance and I have taken many trips to Europe, spending less than $98 a day, and we travel luxuriously. One of our most recent lodgings this past May was a gorgeous four-bedroom, two-bath historic building for €37.50 per night per person. This was NOT a hostel. We had the entire home to ourselves.
There are just a few tips this writer could adopt that would result in huge savings. I’ve outlined most of those frugal trip ideas at my blog, Tightwad Travel, and provided details in my book, Europe on a Dime: Five-Star Travel on a One-Star Budget. I do not believe travel should be limited to the wealthy when it can be well within reach of everyone.
Dru
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This is really informative. Let me quote a statement in your article: “On a cruise or tour, once you’ve budgeted for air and the price of the package, you have to look at optional excursions and how much those will cost.” When vacationing, people should really be aware of their expenses, and budget scheme as well.
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Most informative blog, I agree with you. If you are looking to travel, then budget always play an important role…!!
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