Here's are totals over 6 months of being on the road (with percentages):
- food $1,700, 17%
- housing $1,752, 18%
- transportation $3,810, 39%
- fun/touristy stuff $1,426, 14%
- internet $126, 1%
- Medical $178, 2%
- Misc $877, 9%
- TOTAL $9,869
Honestly, I can't believe we've stayed under our budget, but here are 5 main reasons why, and they might help your next trip or just everyday $ savings:
- we mooch - ok, it's not mooching exactly, we just like arrangements. For example, our volunteer gigs have especially helped because we've arranged food & housing in exchange for volunteer work, but this could also be eating for free in exchange for bartending a night, watching someone's kids, or translating. We CouchSurf staying with people that love international visitors, and you're immersed in a local's life. And staying with family & friends is great on so many levels. It all frees up money for something else.
- we pinch corners - so my $7 haircuts haven't been stellar, but they're friendly on the pocket book. We also find adventures in the free walks around town and talking with locals over expensive tours and seek out used books exchanges. It's much harder to rationalize the expensive restaurant (or cute shoes!) when we'd much rather snorkel the next day. We've also been known to eat lots of pb&j to save money & desserts a rarity, too.
- we write it all down - the numbers don't lie. we can't fool ourselves that we've been thrifty when it's all there in black and white. It's also a green light to hit that pricey touristy site when we see we were under-budget the day before.
- we rarely buy souveneuirs - and in general, we don't spend money frivolously. We only buy something that we need or can't live without, and otherwise we just take pictures and write about it. Knowing whatever we buy we have to carry helps too.
- we know the less we spend the longer we travel - this is the number one motivator. We want to keep traveling as long as we can, and our cash flow is the number 1 restrictor. It's easy to pass up something unneccessary when we think what other place we could visit with that money.
We're silly and adventurous, computer geeks and yoga peeps.
July 28, 2008
Dan & Susan
July 28, 2008
Bessie
Thanks for the compliments, and you've inspired us to travel well when we're older (and maybe sooner). I could really go for avoiding midwest winters with trips south, for, well, maybe forever...
July 28, 2008
Kyle
July 28, 2008
DADDIO
July 28, 2008
Bessie
Yes, yes, you've caught my accounting snaffoo - call me Enron-ita. So overall the way we look at any money we make or save as opportunity to save & do something else. I did teach some private english classes and earned about $140, otherwise, "income" was our apartment and food stipend in exchange for our time at "work". These past few months the money we saved while volunteering we spent renting a car, something we'd normally not do, so it's sort of all comes out in the wash - we worked, which gave us living income, which we spent on things while living here.
July 29, 2008
Linda
July 30, 2008
Alex
July 30, 2008
Ben
Too much fun to be had !
Could I request a shot of u 2 screaming in a volcanic hot pool that your skin can hardly stand except for the iceberg frosted IMPERIAL Pura Vida beer in it ?
August 09, 2008
Mario Josue Barrientos
Anyway I wish you luck guys.
August 11, 2008
Kyle
Also, if we end up low on money, we might stay somewhere for a little while and work to get some cash to keep on moving. I hope that day is later rather than sooner...