After that it was down to where I would be going and how much I was willing to spend in each place. I find it important to consider not only how much you think something will cost, but how much you are really willing to spend on it. No matter how badly you want to do something it won’t feel good if you are spending outside of your comfort zone.
Here’s the budget I created:
Long haul flights tend to be the biggest bulk expense of any trip so I looked into those first. Since I spend so much time looking up flight prices anyway I had a general idea of what I could expect to pay for each flight. Being patient also paid off because I got some great seat sales. $910 gets me from Edmonton to Halifax, Halifax to London and finally Dublin to Edmonton.
I was looking into my secondary flights all along but I wasn’t sure when to book or what a great price really looked like. Having never taken European budget airlines before I wasn’t sure if it was best to book far in advance, a couple weeks out or very close to when I would be flying. I looked and looked and kept track of the price fluctuation before eventually deciding to book 5 weeks in advance. My original budget allowed for $870 but I got it down to $371 for 3 separate flights!
Initially I didn’t expect to take more than one train so I put $200 towards that. As I’ve been making plans this has changed and there are more trains and fewer planes. $525 is the price I ended up with for 4 trains. A bit more than expected but everything evens itself out. Trains and planes together should have been $1070 and I’m only paying $896!
For eating, sleeping, daily transport and entertainment/admission I used the same base prices that I did on my last European trip because they worked so well. I chose to budget these based on what I’m willing to spend and also knowing that things have a way of evening themselves out. If I eat in a nicer restaurant one night but get free breakfast included in my hostel for a few days I’ve found it easy to stick within my allotted budget despite “treating myself” now and then.
For accommodation I budgeted $50 per day even though I had no intention of actually spending that amount. All my hostels have now been booked and are between $20-30 per night. My $850 original price is actually going to be around $485. Saving $400 in one area feels really good but also gives me a great addition to other areas of my budget if need be.
For food I think $30/day is a good amount, but it will depend on the city, if breakfast is included at the hostel if I’m getting food from grocery stores vs. restaurant, etc. I’m (unfortunately) not the kind of person who will go eat alone in a restaurant and that does work to my advantage when it comes to money. Saving on meals also allows more to go towards pastry, and that is definitely a win in my books.
When it comes to entertainment, admission, shopping and general spending I’ve allotted $40 per day. In my everyday life that would be totally ridiculous but at home I’m not paying to get into museums, monuments, etc. on a daily basis. Again, I have no intention of spending even close to that much, but I do like to plan with a larger buffer. Doing research ahead of time can also have a big payoff in this category! For example, I will be in Paris on a Friday and the Louvre is free from 6-10pm on Fridays if you are under 26 years old, which saves me €15. Booking online or purchasing tickets in advance also usual gets you a cheaper price, plus no lines!
I will be making an effort to walk as much as possible but there will be places that it simply isn’t practical or possible. $20/day seems more than enough as it will only need to cover a bus or metro, occasional taxis and maybe a ferry or 2. I’m hoping to use less than half of this.
For emergencies I have travel and health insurance through my job and credit card so I don’t need to worry a whole lot, but having some money specifically allocated to an emergency fund is still the smart thing to do. I feel ok with $1000 as that should be more than enough to fly me home in a pinch.
If you were to look at my original budget plan it would tell you this trip is going to cost $4400. Let me be clear and say that I will be spending nowhere near that amount. Maybe $3000 all in, but I will be tracking everything I spend along the way and update you on that later!
I didn’t actually consider them in my true budget, but there were a few things I needed for the trip and I’ve been tracking those as well. I wanted a new backpack to use so I wouldn’t have to struggle with a suitcase, a wind/rain jacket that packs really small, a day bag that can double as a purse (and therefore save me the cost of checking my “second” bag) and a few other little bits. All of that was less than $300.
Throughout my trip I will be making every effort to track all the money being spent. I did this on my last trip to Europe and to a lesser extent on some other trips I’ve taken and I find it very satisfying. I’ll be tracking what I spend on food, accommodation, etc. but also what I spend in each city in general.
I know it can be stressful to think about spending $3000-4000 in such a short time, 17 days, but in the end it’s worth it for me. I have such a strong desire to see the world that as long as I can afford it without jeopardizing my daily life I have no issue spending the money.
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