Today we welcome my newest blogging friend Kimmy who is travel goals. She shares with us some of her budgeting tips that allow her to travel spontaneously and freely! If you want to see my post on her blog about the cancellation of my after-grad trip, follow this link!
Kimmy is a videographer/travel addict that saw the lack of platforms out there for adventurettes to share their empowering stories and decided to change that! Head on over to her blog, StoryTale to read some amazing travel stories.
Budgeting is a tough thing for a spontaneous bird like myself. Most of the time, I purchase flights and everything 2 days before the flight or even 3 hours before. There were even times where I walked into random hostels at my destination to find myself a stay. Being spontaneous, to a certain extent, means sacrificing your budget stability. You are bound to spend more, yet, for many travellers like me, it’s not always an option to be well-planned due to our digital nomad nature. That being said, budgeting is never impossible. Here would be a few tricks I have used over the years.
Sacrifice small trips for big ones
I used to move around Europe a lot and got overwhelmed at times as I was also going to places like the UAE, Egypt and Singapore. Time was a luxury I didn’t have. Often, I had to make hard decisions about where to go.
Travel costs within the EU more or less stays within range. This is to facilitate labour mobility within the EU. The same can’t be said for long-haul flights out of the EU, flights to and from other countries can be twice as expensive, depending on the season and how early you book it. Plan your long-haul flights carefully.
Research the price of travel between each country
Some countries have flights to other countries everyday and the cost of a last-minute flight is not more than a regular flight. From Hong Kong to Singapore is a good example, there are a ton of flights daily so rarely would you see a surge in prices. Usually, flights among countries with strong economic ties remain relatively stable while countries without a strong economic background could be volatile.
Use Hostels to Save Some Coin
Besides picking the right flight, choosing an accommodation can alter your experience tremendously. Hostels are the go-to places for those on a budget. Always opt for the ones with good reviews rather than the dirt cheap ones. Why? Because if a place has no good reviews, chances are, you will have to spend the night searching for another accommodation as the place might not be livable.
Hostel chains bring up promotions throughout the year. Look up those promotions on the Internet and you can save some money on breakfast or get an extra discount. Another useful tip is to join a few forums or FB groups to ask about the discount at your local destination. FB is one of the most handy platforms to look for useful information.
Follow this Budgeting Rule: Cost of living +30%
Sticking to your budget is hard. Most people I meet tend to overspend their budget by 10-30%. You want to save money but lack the motivation to, that’s why setting up a realistic goal is important. I would say bump up the average cost of living in the country by 30% per day to get your daily budget. It’s a good range for an occasional fancy meal and other activities like tours and souvenirs.
Budgeting is a lesson I still haven’t graduated from, and perhaps never will. There’s a learning curve and its a never-ending class. That’s the most fun thing about budgeting. The dynamics and the society change so frequently that what was valid five years ago may no longer be relevant. Keep up with the modern world to best safeguard your personal finance!
Stick to Your Daily Budget
Once you’ve set up a daily budget, only carry the leftover to the future and do not borrow your quota from tomorrow. This is a mistake many tend to make. If you’ve set a budget of $30 per day let’s say. You see a cute souvenir in a shop that’s worth $50 on your first day and you think to yourself, “I’m going to borrow my quota from tomorrow to get this!” It never works out well with this mentality. We are never as strong in refraining ourselves as we think.
What is a realistic budget depends a lot on where you are going. Get a general knowledge on the cost of living of the country you’re going to, set a daily budget accordingly and never overspend your limit within your first days.