Travel Budget

[Dawg52]

Many exciting and interesting trips have been discussed here.  I have noticed that some are fortunate enough to travel several times a year and some go overseas for several weeks at a time. Just wondered what early retirees are budgeting annually on their travels? Thanks.

 

[MJ]

Since I just ER'd, I plan to travel for about 6 months a year, averaging about $50 a day similar to Billy and Akaisha Kaderli. My first trip will be to Thailand (1st time) for 1 month at the end of October. The average daily budget would have been a lot lower if I had stayed several months since the airfare is a killer expense.

MJ

 

[Billy]

MJ...
Staying longer is the way to go..this way your expenses get spread out over time. What's the rush? Your no longer on vacation...right? It's much nicer knowing that you do not have to leave tomorrow, next week or next month.

Billy

 

[justin]

Not ER'd, but in my estimate of ER expenses, I've put approximately $13,000 in the budget for travel expenses. I thought about what I'd like to do (w/ DW) and budgeted around that. In down market years, this amount may get cut some. I'm sure it will get lower over time, since you can only travel but so much. This expense is the major portion of our budgeted discretionary spending.

 

[MJ]

MJ...
Staying longer is the way to go..this way your expenses get spread out over time. What's the rush? Your no longer on vacation...right? It's much nicer knowing that you do not have to leave tomorrow, next week or next month.

Billy

I agree and that's how I'll do it in the future. Right now, I am strapped with a 2 fam house and winter is coming. Since it will be my 1st time to Thailand, I figured 1 month would be be nice this time around. When I do sell my house by the the middle of next year if not sooner, I will be freer to stay in various places much longer. As you said, it is no longer a vacation.

Billy, I will hopefully get to see you and Akaisha in the beginning of November. I'll PM you when I get to BKK.

MJ

 

[tozz]

I responded, but I'm not sure that dollars are the correct metric to quantify the "travel experience."  $5000 could easily last many months and $20,000 could last only a few weeks, with neither being an "extreme" vacation.   $5000 would go quite a long way with me.  It helps that I have been avoiding Western Europe for the last few years.

 

[pbrane]

I, perhaps like MJ, plan to USE travel (or at least foreign living) as a TOOL to reduce my expenses and better my financial situation (i.e. sock more money away by living even further below my means than I do in the states). So it would be hard in my case to separate travel from other expenses...

I'm also still looking hard at Thailand for an exploratory trip (1 month?) this fall to check it out as a possible long-term "home base."

-m

 

[dougdo]

hmmm, I spend 4-6 months traveling each year...but I still picked the lowest category!

of course, it helps that I rarely pay for airline tickets...

and I don't really count meals since generally the way I travel I spend the same or less than I would at home.

 

[SteveR]

I will have to work on DW and her need to buy all her kids and grandkids trinkets from every where we go. That adds up pretty fast.

I guess I need to explain that to her too........" you want to see Paris? " Great...............now choose......France......or Texas?

Now we can talk about spending.

 

[TromboneAl]

of course, it helps that I rarely pay for airline tickets...

Frequent flyer miles??

 

[justin]

I will have to work on DW and her need to buy all her kids and grandkids trinkets from every where we go. That adds up pretty fast.

Make her haul all the "crap" she buys with her everywhere on the trip . I made the mistake of agreeing to carry this super heavy stone hand-carved chess set my wife bought while we were backpacking around Mexico. That sucker weighs at least 20 pounds. And I had to haul it everywhere on my back. It is a nice chess set though.

 

[MJ]

I don't really count meals since generally the way I travel I spend the same or less than I would at home.

That's a good point, for example, I have a monthly budget of $250 for food that would not be used while I travel. There other expenses that would be either lowered or suspended while I travel extensively.
MJ

 

[SteveR]

That's a good point, for example, I have a monthly budget of $250 for food that would not be used while I travel. There other expenses that would be either lowered or suspended while I travel extensively.
MJ

So are you saying that you can eat out while traveling for less than you eat at home? I would think that eating out while traveling would be MORE expensive than eating at home. Unless you cook most of your meals while traveling you will surely spend more eating out than at home. I would like to know how others save on this expense item while on the road.

 

[Gone4Good]

Since I just ER'd, I plan to travel for about 6 months a year, averaging about $50 a day similar to Billy and Akaisha Kaderli. My first trip will be to Thailand (1st time) for 1 month at the end of October. The average daily budget would have been a lot lower if I had stayed several months since the airfare is a killer expense.

MJ

Okay. Clearly I need travel saving tips. $50 / day seems really lean for traveling in any 1st world country. I'm a bit too old and too comfortable for the backpacking / hostel thing.

 

[Sheryl]

I would like to know how others save on this expense item while on the road. 

Bean and cheese balleadas fresh and hot from street vendor:  6 Limpera each - I'm full on about 3:  18 Limpera = 99 cents

The reverse is true too:  three days in San Juan Islands with friends who love fancy restaurant food and good wine cost me as much as a month eating at home....

It's all about what your travel style is.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

I didn't vote in the poll because I think the definition of
"traveling" is too broad. However, if I am traveling alone
my meals are frequently much less than we would spend if
I was eating at home. I'm talking Slimfast, bananas, apples,
with an egg McMuffin or McDonalds dollar special once in a while.
When I get where I'm going, I'll pick up a pile of frozen TV dinners
at under a buck each. Yeah, it's a far cry from all those 3 figure
dinner tabs I picked up over the years

JG

 

[Mr._johngalt]

So are you saying that you can eat out while traveling for less than you eat at home?  I would think that eating out while traveling would be MORE expensive than eating at home.  Unless you cook most of your meals while traveling you will surely spend more eating out than at home.  I would like to know how others save on this expense item while on the road. 

It's easy. See my post today.

JG

 

[Nords]

So are you saying that you can eat out while traveling for less than you eat at home?

Thailand street vendors. The meal rarely goes higher than 30 baht (75 cents), sometimes including bottled water.

Of course a mango sticky rice dessert could make that about a buck-fifty...

 

[Billy]

There's a difference between traveling as a tourist or traveling as a "traveler".  Tourist tend to be on vacation dining in expensive restaurants, travelers eat where the restaurant workers eat. "Getting local" definitely reduces costs and you make some wonderful connections. Here in Thailand if we ate only in local places we could eat on less than $7.00 per day. To a Thai, that would seem high. I am sure they do it on half of that.

MJ keep us informed of your plans, via email.

Billy

 

[MJ]

Okay. Clearly I need travel saving tips. $50 / day seems really lean for traveling in any 1st world country. I'm a bit too old and too comfortable for the backpacking / hostel thing.

That would be an average.
The travels I am envisioning would be to European countries as well as South American and Southeast Asian countries. I don't know if you could maintain a $50 average if you stayed only the big cities of Western Europe. The lower cost is based on living in an area for several months. Possibly renting an apartment.
Although I'm 57, I don't mind a bit of rough still. I still remember 30+ years ago having some fresh french bread with goat cheese, tomatoes and cucumber and I would continue to enjoy having this simple, frugal and healthy meal.

MJ

 

[MJ]

So are you saying that you can eat out while traveling for less than you eat at home? I would think that eating out while traveling would be MORE expensive than eating at home. Unless you cook most of your meals while traveling you will surely spend more eating out than at home. I would like to know how others save on this expense item while on the road.

No, that was not my point. I was just saying that by travelling, other home base expenses are not used. I was using food as an example. But to reply, I suspect I could "average" $8 a day for meals based on a perpetual traveler's lifestyle versus a time limited vacation. Where ever you go, you can buy delicious breads, cheeses, cold cuts, tuna, olives, veggies and fruits. I might also do some basic cooking where ever I was staying.

 

[kramer]

Regarding budgeting, when you are travelling you won't be putting gas in your car at home, spending any money on food or entertainment at home, spending less on gas and electric, etc. So you can take your monthly budgets for these items and implicitly add them to the amount you have specifically budgeted for travel.

Kramer

 

[pbrane]

..I'm also calculating how much I could save just by not having to heat my house (turn thermostat way down or maybe even off) while I'm gone. Eventually (if not already) for some of us living in the arctic tundra (WI), this will become a big factor. Or if I sold out completely, I could save $200 a month just on property taxes, which would just about pay the rent for a beach bungalow in Thailand or a home share situation in Buenos Aires..

But there are quality of life issues to be considered, which may or may not be made up for by the thrill of living/traveling in a foreign culture etc. I mean, for whatever reason, I'm still sitting here, bored but comfortable.

 

[MJ]

I will start out my PT (perpetual traveller) adventure alone. Although, I am comfortable being alone, I do have my familiar surroundings, casual interactions with neighbors and of course getting together with friends. I don't know how I will feel when I am in a foreign (overseas) place for several month. I will, of course attempt to connect with the locals.

Regardless, it will be an exciting and interesting new episode in my life.

MJ

 

[SteveR]

MJ,
I wish you the best in your travels. Being alone can be a bummer but it also has its own rewards of not having to consider the wishes and desires of someone else so you can eat bread and cheese every meal if you wish and stretch out your travel dollars. Having someone else on the trip does increase expenses but also increases the pleasure of the trip. I traveled a lot in a previous job and much of it was my myself. I was far more efficient and frugal being alone but I felt weird discussing what I had seen with myself.