Travel Budgets

[livingalmostlarge]

How do you guys create your travel budget? I've always just tracked what I spent. But I read on another board some people do the delta of what it costs over what they normally spend.

If you do this how do you do it? What do you track and how do you justify it? What numbers do you look at?

It'd make my trips much cheaper so it'd be cool to understand.

 

[audreyh1]

I have a Quicken category with several subcategories such as lodging, airfare, dining, etc. any travel transaction is assigned the appropriate category. Then I can see what I have spent on travel for the year.

I don’t bother to look at a delta traveling to if I weren’t traveling. Traveling is a very high priority. We happily spend a good chunk on it.

 

[rodi]

I have a Quicken category with several subcategories such as lodging, airfare, dining, etc. any travel transaction is assigned the appropriate category. Then I can see what I have spent on travel for the year.

I don’t bother to look at a delta traveling to if I weren’t traveling. Traveling is a very high priority. We happily spend a good chunk on it.

This.

Although on camping trips I tend to categorize food expenses in my normal grocery category. (Versus a travel sub category) But on non camping trips the food goes under travel dining

Travel was our highest spend category this past year and will probably continue to be for the next several years. Trying to front load travel while we still are physically capable of enjoying it. .

 

[cathy63]

I do the same as rodi and audreyh1. Most travel stuff gets categorized in Quicken as "travel:lodging" or "travel:sightseeing" or something like that. Usually gas gets categorized as "auto:fuel" even if we're in a rental car, and groceries bought at Vons are still just "groceries", even if I bought them to prepare dinner for 20 at the family reunion we traveled to.

I do find that nowadays I never look at the details though. As long as our total spend for the year is in a range we're comfortable with, it doesn't really matter whether the money went on trips or home repairs or a new car.

 

[Sunset]

I track what I spend on stuff, but for travel I just call it "travel".

I did debate with myself over this, as on a car trip I buy gas and eat a restaurants, so I could put those amounts in my normal gas and restaurant categories. However, I wouldn't be doing that except for the fact I'm traveling, therefore it all is just travel.

So my airline tickets, baggage fees, taxi , restaurant , hotel and cruise costs are just an entry for that month during the year.

I justify travel as something I want to do and pick things I can afford. No Space flights for me

 

[tulak]

I do the same as others have posted. I’ve thought about trying to figure out the delta, but don’t see much benefit. I know how much I spend on average for groceries, etc, when not traveling. I’m more curious to know how much I spend when I do travel, since the costs there vary quite a bit, depending on how often I eat out, etc.

In the end, money is fungible. I’m also comfortable with a high spend for travel.

 

[brett]

We do not have a travel budget. What we spend is what we spend. And it can be very lumpy from year to year.

The only way I keep track of it is that it is part of our monthly/annual after tax spend.

The latter is the only number I care about.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Tracking category for Vacation. Stuff bought on/for trips go there. Discretionary living costs staying home are negligible and I don't do any netting out.

 

[Dtail]

For me any expenses while we travel is considered to be classified in the Travel category.

 

[grasshopper]

In Quicken I go the extra mile and tag different trips. Ms G will sometimes ask what a past trip costs to compare experiences.
I tag each trip with the year, and description, like 2024 BELIZE. Which is coming up soon.

 

[HarveyS]

We do not have a travel budget. What we spend is what we spend. And it can be very lumpy from year to year.

The only way I keep track of it is that it is part of our monthly/annual after tax spend.

The latter is the only number I care about.

Same here. I keep track quarterly.

 

[donheff]

I don't track categories anymore because I know my annual spend is well below what our long-term retirement budget allows. But I am aware of a ballpark figure for travel because it is a big item.

 

[Midpack]

I budget $3600/year for travel. Low because we’ve lost interest in flying since Covid. We’ve never stayed within budget, but usually within 2X. I don’t really care, as our WR is lower than it needs to be, but we do follow our budget in all other categories. Not very helpful…

 

[athena53]

I don't have a figure in mind- I just plan on a couple of major trips a year and have been using the same tour company so the costs are pretty consistent. Same with a couple of trips with my grandchildren to Chicago and an overnight hotel stay with them in their city when I visit.

The number can still vary depending on where I go (airfare to S. America is cheaper than Europe) and whether or not I can use miles for my flights. I had enough to book a round trip in Business to London for my September, 2024 Baltic cruise- out-of-pocket was only $337 in government charges and junk fees they passed on.

 

[njhowie]

We don't budget or keep a tight grip on it. We decide where we want to go, and what kind of experience we want. We are cost conscientious and frugal by nature so we never really go overboard.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I don't do advance budgeting for travel either. But I do track my travel expenses as they occur quite meticulously, just to see where I stand so it doesn't get out of control. I use Quicken expense categories to track it. For 2023, my travel expenses were about 43% of my overall expenses.

I don't really understand what "delta" the OP is referring to, but I'm pretty sure I don't try to calculate it.

 

[2017ish]

In Quicken I go the extra mile and tag different trips. Ms G will sometimes ask what a past trip costs to compare experiences.
I tag each trip with the year, and description, like 2024 BELIZE. Which is coming up soon.

Us as well. Each trip has year, month, and sometimes days (if trips are very close together), followed by descriptor. The one exception is our week or so driving trips to visit relatives, which are just lumped into driving trips to that state.

Don't factor out the delta, as our spending on trips is quite different than at home. (Restaurants at home are maybe once a week, while they are essentially every dinner when traveling.)

We do travel a lot though, 6 months or more a year (only 5 in 2020), and it has accounted for more than 50% of our post-tax spending every year since we retired.

________________

E.T.A. We don't really budget too hard. Just look in early Jan what our allowable spending is for the year, compare it to previous years, and then keep an eye on spending. If the spending amount is being exhausted, DW has to gear down on her trip booking toward the end of the year--which mainly impacts travel for the next year or two...

 

[braumeister]

Like many here, I don't budget for travel because it's extremely lumpy, but I do keep track of it.
My records for the last 17 years show it as averaging 23% of total spending. It has been much lower and much higher.

 

[pacergal]

I track our Travel spending every year and have a target budget in mind for yearly travel.
Generally some years we are way below, some years a bit above. Anything spent during travel is labeled "travel", food, lodging, gas, etc.
Next year, taking the whole family to Hawaii, first class and nice resort, will be way above/BTD. But it has been planned for the past two years.

 

[jollystomper]

We track our spending just to know where we are spending, but do not budget or target for travel. Most of that is part of our vacation category. We spend a much smaller amount for non-vacation travel.

We tend to plan our trips based on our desire for the trip and not the cost. I doubt we would spend more than $50K or so in a year for vacation travel, based on our current desires, but that is always subject to change.

 

[OldShooter]

We track our spending just to know where we are spending, but do not budget or target for travel. Most of that is part of our vacation category. We spend a much smaller amount for non-vacation travel.

I have a "Travel" category in Quicken but don't recall ever looking at it. Plus, the Quicken file does not included DW's spending. We don't do crazy expensive trips and have been very lucky financially in life, so we don't worry about costs too much.

We tend to plan our trips based on our desire for the trip and not the cost. I doubt we would spend more than $50K or so in a year for vacation travel, based on our current desires, but that is always subject to change.

Yup. That's us, too. I think our high was $40K one year pre COVID, but the average is under $25K. Post-COVID, well under. This is all international stuff; we rarely travel in the US.

 

[W2R]

How do you guys create your travel budget? I've always just tracked what I spent. But I read on another board some people do the delta of what it costs over what they normally spend.

If you do this how do you do it? What do you track and how do you justify it? What numbers do you look at?

It'd make my trips much cheaper so it'd be cool to understand.

We have been retired for 14 years, and (not being big fans of recreational travel) we only travel when we have to evacuate for hurricanes. Weather emergencies like that can't be predicted easily so we just go when we have to.

Then while gone, we try to keep expenses down and we keep track of what we spent.

So, we don't have a travel budget but I do try to add up the total spent for each evacuation. I do use the "delta" that you mention - - in that I include the cost of meals, minus what they would have cost back here at home.

 

[cyber888]

It all depends on the trip and what we want to accomplish on the trip.

We did a 15 day trip to Italy last Sept/Oct 2023 around the Amalfi coast, Matera and the Adriatic cost. Cost was around $8,200 for 15 days for me and DW. This included renting a car, renting a driver for 1 day, and we did a VIP Boat rental for Capri. We did a Comfort+ Seat for a bigger leg room, but decided we want more for the next trip.

For spring 2024, we already booked a flight for another 15 day vacation in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. We'll also rent a car. This time I paid for Business-class tickets, and we're looking to spend $12,400. We're paying more for business class seats, and budgeting higher hotel cost for Switzerland, and car rental is higher for permits to drive not only in Germany, but Switzerland and Austria as well.

My rough sample budget
Business class ticket - $5100 (already paid)
Hotel 4200 ($280 x 15 days - includes breakfast)
Car rent 1230 (Car + Gas)
Daily Exp 1500 (food $100 x 15 days)
Parking 170
Misc 200
TOTAL 12400

 

[Chuckanut]

Time>Money.

I plan trips and take them. I do not need to travel 1st class and stay in 5* hotels. Nor do I need to buy two or three meals a day from restaurants recommended in Splurgalot Travel magazine. Public transportation is fine as long as it is reliable. Busses and trains are great for trips between cities. Renting a car is an option for a day or two here or there. Picnics and quick food from a local mom and pop store are great options. IOW, no need for a real travel budget.

 

[WhenIsItTime]

I have grade school kids at home. They are restrictor plates to my required travel budget.