Money: Before and During Travels

Here we go. Money!

Money is a big concern when travelling and It drives all our decisions. A place to eat or stay, what kind of product to buy and how to travel from place A to B. Of course, like anyone, we do have moments when we blow our budget for a fun experience!

As we’ve said in previous posts, our expenses are quite high, especially related to plane tickets and accommodation, but comparing to expenses we had in our house before the trip, it is relatively cheaper.

I’ll try to explain a bit more about our numbers and how it played an important role in our decision to travel.

Our rule was and still is, simple. It has to fit in the same budget we had before departure. Even better, try to fit under it. And, to make things easy, I’ve divided our budget into six main categories:

House: Money that goes against mortgage or accommodation.
Bills: Goes to utility bills or service providers.
Supermarket: Money used to pay for groceries.
Transport: Expenses with our car or transportation.
Fun: We need to have it. So the money goes here too. It includes restaurants, cinemas and all kind of extra activity we do.
Others: A few things may come up suddenly or unplanned things to buy.

Money Balance. Find your and enjoy!

You will find a table below. The first column shows “Before Trip” percentage during a normal month as a homeowner. The second column shows the percentage based on a peak month, like Uruguay or Canada where our budget was very tidy due to the rental in those two countries.

As you can see, numbers are very similar. But we do have some important things to note.

House / Bills: During the trip, we don’t have bills to pay, as the places we stay have all included. Which explain why they are a bit high. Again, those numbers are based on Uruguay and Canada stays.

Market: Smaller numbers now. As we only buy the really necessary and in small portions. Also, it is related to the increase of fun expenses, as we go out more when we are travelling. We like to eat out a lot.

Transport: We don’t own a car anymore, but we travel by planes, trains, buses, uber/taxis or sometimes we rent a car for a weekend trip. Airfares are not a monthly expense, but I tried to spread across the year to get some numbers.

Fun: The best part. Eat, go out, discover new places and learn new things. Money spent here goes to many places. Food, cinema, tours and activities we do in each country we stop, like Chocolate workshops or a trip do Machu Picchu, example.

Others: Well, sometimes the others became a fun thing. Sometimes we have to buy some medicine or replace a broken plate. It does happen and we have to be ready for it. Also, it can be used to buy new clothes, gear or gadgets.

There is no mystery. Travel is normally cheap if you, like us, had a mortgage or rent to pay. You can save a lot, it all depend on how you would like travel.

For us, it was simple. If we can travel with the same budget, why should we stay at home? Why not try and get to know different places, cultures, people and languages?

I’m pretty sure that was one of the best decisions we’ve made. Also sure that we can travel with less and save more.

Food is Fun! “Remember to save space for the dessert”

I invite you to try. We are in 6. I’m sure smaller families can make it too, even easier than us.

Come on!
Let me know your thoughts and doubts. And if you have an advice for me, fire it through.

Thanks!