Budgeting for travel the easy way. No tips, no tricks, just easy to use tools and clear advice
The most dangerous risk of all – the risk of spending your life not doing what you want, on the bet that you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.
Randy Komisar
Why don’t Americans travel?
Americans don’t travel. Well some do, but a majority don’t. However, Americans do dream of traveling. So what is stopping us? Money, of course. My opinion is that travel is often thought of as a luxury, which makes budgeting for travel a daunting task. But I’m here to tell you that anyone on any budget can travel. All it takes is prioritizing travel, and of course a good budget!
My Story – From Stupid to Budget Conscious
There I was, a 21-year-old knocked up waitress, with dreams of seeing the world and absolutely NO CLUE how to make those dreams a reality. I had no idea how to budget or manage money, and my only focus was to how to make ends meet. Which included making stupid decisions like pawning my car title at 101% interest, due to lack of credit.
Then, when my daughter was born, came the daunting question. The one that would change my life. How in the hell was I going to afford childcare so that I could go back to college?
So, I started asking people how to think about money. And it was my grandfather, who had been budgeting for travel for years, who sat me down, and showed me how to balance a checkbook, you know old school style.
He walked me through an entire day’s worth of expenses, explaining his decisions along the way and showing me his running total. Explaining all the while how important it was to know what your means were, so you could live within them.
My “Ah-Ha” Moment
I started simply, writing out all the money for bills on a sheet of paper. Then I headed to the bank statement and started writing down all the day to day spending expenses. That was when it hit me like a “ton of bricks.” I was doing it all wrong! Eating out almost every meal, poor utility maintenance, and unanticipated expenses. You name it, we were overpaying for it or blindsided by it. In other words, I was living way beyond my means. Budgeting for travel seemed like a pipe dream, something I would never achieve.
Thus, my budget was born, and drastic changes in my life were made. Grocery shopping and cooking from home instead of eating out (breakfast for dinner is my specialty!). I practiced utility care and started turning off the lights, and using the fire place in winter. I utilized public transportation and stopped going to the movies. Any way I could think of to help my budget, I did it. And at the end of the day, I was able to go back to college and complete my accounting degree.
Not Just Another “Tip, Trick, or Hack”
Over the years I was able to develop and modernize my budget template. But the heart of my grandfather’s lesson and method remains. As a result, I am starting to see the world, but most importantly, I am finally living within my means, and I am finally out of the spiral.
Now, I know you have seen the blog posts that I call the “tips and tricks” blog posts. The “How I saved money to travel by skipping coffee for a year.” Or, “How I saved for 2 years and was able to travel for 5 years.” Blogs that promise that if you just give up everything for now, you can have everything later. In fact, there have even been articles lately that criticize lifestyles that include paying for coffee.
Needless To Say – These “Tips and Tricks” didn’t work for me
Logically, these blogs were the first place I turned when I was trying to get my travel budget together. I would read them and think, how can any person possibly bring any of this to fruition? What about the people that already don’t drink $5 coffee everyday? Where do they find an extra $5 in their budget?
I think of this advice as being on a budget diet, and I find it just as joy-sucking as a food diet. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to eat Ramen Noodles for lunch every day for a year. And may the Lord help us all if I have to skip my coffee (which I brew at home)! So what was I going to do now?
My Easy to Use Budget Template
People have different life goals and lifestyles. Different travel goals and travel styles. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. So I started toying with Microsoft Excel, as a way to digitally covert my primitive written-out budget. We accountants, we live for Microsoft Excel, therefore I naturally gravitated to it when building this tool. I’ve been tinkering with this tool for years (as my excel skills grew), but the best thing about it now is that able to be tailored to your lifestyle and your travel style. Best of all, all you need is a Google account to access it!
How To Use This Budget Template
People ask me all the time how I can afford to travel, especially with children. I set my budget at the beginning of the year. Then I track my cash flows EVERY SINGLE DAY. That’s right. Budgeting for travel takes willpower and dedication. Making sure that if I set the goal to save, that I don’t make choices that cut into my savings.
The most important thing a budget can teach you is where you are spending money that could be used for travel. After all, you can’t plan for where your money is going, until you know where it has been. This will help you make critical decisions. For example, should you buy a new pair of shoes, or save money for an excursion in Cuba? Should you buy the latest iphone, or buy a flight from Singapore to Bali? Everyone has room in their budget to travel, all it takes is finding it.
My travel budget download includes step by step instructions that show you how to use the template. I hope you find it helpful and use it to make all your travel dreams come true!
Did you use the budget tool to save for travel? Let me know in the comments! Need help understanding how the tool works? Reach out to me. Always happy to help fellow travelers!
