Budgeting for that BIG trip

It's finally here, THE trip. The one you've been planning, or dreaming, or hoping for since forever. However the planets aligned to this point is less important, but it is now time for you to prepare! Budgets have two phases - before (planning) and during (active). I'll break down the way I like to do it, so that I know exactly how much I'm spending.

Before the trip

• Savings

  • Hopefully you have a dedicated savings account, or at least earmarked account for travel. If you don't have one, consider adding into your monthly budgeting, even $10-20 a month can help a lot as you consider the costs of a big trip

• Cash Flow

  • If you see this trip coming from a few months away, you can start prepping some of your monthly or weekly income towards that final cost

• Interest Free Credit Card

  • If utilized carefully, an interest free credit card can extend your spending capacity--and if you amortize the amount you put on the card over the length of the introductory 0% period, you'll be able to manage it without paying anything extra.

• Prepaid Expenses

  • If you have several months notice, you can prepay some of your larger expenses (flight, hotel deposit, even some activities)

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  Swimming with dolphins at Atlantis was not in the budget--but it was totally worth it!

  
  

During the Trip

• Log your expenses daily

  • You don't need to be fancy, do it digitally or do it by paper (I prefer paper personally).

  • At the end of the day, reconcile your actual spent with your pro forma budget

  • Are you off? Are you on? Are you ok with the either outcome?

  • This is process is not to punish or be weird about--it's informational. Sometimes you are going to want to swim with the dolphins!

• If your trip is longer, check in comprehensively half-way through

  • Are you where you forecasted? If so how can you make adjustments?

In Short

Do your prepwork and research, watch how you spend, and SPEND. You've worked for and planned this trip out, take your money and use it--but know how and why you're using it. That's all! Enjoy your trips :)