Tuesday Tips: Travelling on a budget

My husband is the king of spreadsheets. I often joke that he doesn’t make a single decision without consulting a spreadsheet first. I think he may have even created one before he asked to marry me.  : )

While this is obviously an exaggeration, he does use spreadsheets whenever significant finances are involved; such as buying a new car, renovating a flat, budgeting a big holiday. While I like to joke, it’s comforting to know that we’re making smart decisions based on his careful planning. It allows me to be the more emotionally driven, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of person. We make a good team.

It goes without saying that our year of travel has been carefully budgeted. Michael has worked out a weekly budget for each destination so that we can make decisions accordingly. It’s not always easy to achieve it, especially when first arriving in a new and unfamiliar place, but so far we’re doing okay. I thought it might be helpful to share some of the small things we do to help keep us on track.

• The first step is to decide what you want to spend. We had a figure we thought the year should cost, but once Michael started plugging in realistic numbers for accommodation, food, transport and entertainment, he found we were 30% over our target. So the next step was looking for ways to whittle this down. Michael uses Excel but there are many apps (including free ones) you can use to help you budget.
• Decide on a weekly budget for your accommodation and stick to it. Renting apartments or hotel/motel rooms with kitchens can help make big savings on food costs. Location matters too. Find a place within walking distance of the shops, museums, parks, etc. and you’ll save on transport costs. (I also like Emilie’s tips for making use of the many stylish hostels now available!)
• Eat at home or picnic. Whenever we get somewhere one of the first things we do is find the local grocery store. It’s always fun browsing and deciphering a foreign a market. We stock up on simple breakfast foods (yoghurts, cereals, fruits), lunch supplies and snacks. Even when we were in Yosemite, far removed from any towns, we were able to find little general stores that sold sliced bread, cheeses and deli meats. Instead of buying bottled water or other drinks when we’re out, we bring our reusable water bottles and re-fill them throughout the day if necessary.
• Eat locally and seasonally. This past weekend in Brazil, we visited the farmer’s market and paid less than one dollar for six mangos! We also stocked up on passion fruit, bananas and papayas which are abundant and cheap here. We’re chopping up these tropical fruits and putting them over our breakfast instead of the raspberries and blueberries we found in California. We’re also going for the local beer instead of our favourite imports and drinking Brazilian wine.
• Don’t wait until you get to the beach to buy your sun creams, water toys or floaties — these things are much cheaper at the local grocery stores in town.
• Talk to the locals and get insider tips! In the village we’re currently in, there are three pizza restaurants, including one that is nearer the centre and looks the most appealing from the outside. A local resident told us that we should try the other two restaurants first because the pizza is half the price and just as good.
• Transportation can be a significant cost. In each stop on our year away we are looking for the least expensive ways to get to and from the airports and around town. A big decision is whether or not we need to rent a car. In LA, the cheapest option was to rent a car. So far in Brazil we are able to walk everywhere and take the occasional taxi. Sometimes the cost of frequent taxis is still less than renting and fueling a car.
• Do a bit of research before planning your activities each day. For example, when we were in LA we discovered that some museums have a ‘free-entry’ day. We made sure to visit on those days.
• Get the right credit cards. There are only a couple options out there with no foreign transaction fees and favourable exchange rates. The Halifax Clarity card was the clear winner in the UK. In the US, a Platinum American Express card seemed the best option, despite the high annual fee. The best cards change from time to time but you can get lots of good advice on sites like Money Savings Expert.
• Use good foreign exchange services like Azimo to pay in the local currency. For example, when paying by bank transfer for our accommodation in Brazil we converted pounds to Brazilian Reais. For cash we use bank machines or exchange at a local bureau rather than at the airport.

Obviously not all of these steps are worth the effort for short breaks, but if you’re going for longer the savings can really add up. Dare I say it’s even a bit fun to find creative ways to stay on budget. As always, if you have other tips or questions, please share them below.

Courtney x

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