6 Months of Travel done... Look at my spending statistics!

Hello everyone, today is exactly 6 months after I left my home town!

Want to know my fiscal breakdown? (ALL IN USD)

Well being in Finance I take precise calculations of foreign currency exchange rates and record each day's spending perfectly. So we can know exactly how much I've spent and where!!!

Facts: I travel alone and single, I mostly stay in hostels but sometimes have romantic escapades that last a week or two, and they cost me more because of dates, nice hotels, gifts etc.

Month 1 - $3500 Britain, Holland, Belgium, France, Monaco, Spain (first month out did crazy partying and spent cash like it was nothing)

Month 2 - $1910 Spain studying spanish living in an apartment. Very good deals and started routines of the best and cheapest places to shop and cooked my own meals.

Month 3 - $2410 Spain studying spanish living in an apartment, also took an ultra incredible side trip to ibiza which was insanely expensive.

Month 4 - $2010 Morroco, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary... Some cheap countries in there balanced out the more expensive ones!

Month 5 - $1985 Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria... Big month traveling but slept and got shown around for free in Austria and Serbia from people who I met and saved a ton of money on accomodation that way. Also this month included some cheap countries

Month 6 - $3250 Turkey, Greece, Italy, Vatican City, Britain... Big month of partying in Islands and had an amazing romantic escapade that lasted weeks and were we enjoyed the finer things in life.


1. $3500
2. $1910
3. $2410
4. $2010
5. $1985
6. $3250

22 Unique Countries

Grand Total $15,065 USD for 6 months of travel.

An Average of $2,510.83 spent per month.
An Average of $627.71 spent per week.
An Average of $83.69 spent per day.
An Average of $3.49 spent per hour.
An Average of $0.058 spent per minute.


Hope this helps you in your budget calculations.

I will keep you updated when it gets to 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, etc.

Have good travels!

You. Are. A. Freak.
I mean that in an endearing way. I'm usually on top of my finances as well. Traveling or not.

US$ 84 daily budget. I'm sure that is a bit on the steep side. Where are you heading next. Would be interesting to see a comparative analysis of continents.

Thanks elAdi!

I think Im heading to South America, its getting cold up here!

Wow, great post. I thought I was nearly ready with the budget until I read this....although, it sounds like you're living more expensively that I would...hopefully.

I think I actually did it really well and inexpensively... Im a natural bargain hunter.

I only have one weak spot and that is for romance.

I suppose it could be done cheaper, but you would essentially sit and do nothing every day, that works for a bit but the human mind needs a wide range of activity to keep alive.

Honestly $84 a day is pretty cheap. I planned on $100... Ive saved thousands

quote:

I think I actually did it really well and inexpensively... Im a natural bargain hunter.

But with a lot of partying and a focus on expensive, eurozone, countries. It's not terrible spending for where you've been, but it is definitely on the high side for an extended trip.

Yeah those countries can be a bit expensive. But I really like them and sometimes (not all times, of course) you get what you pay for.

So yeah I can see why most people cant make extended non working trips out of western europe like this, 30k a year adds up to big cash money for sure.

quote:

But I really like them and sometimes (not all times, of course) you get what you pay for.

Fair enough that you really like them, but I've definitely found that travel is one area where "you get what you pay for" doesn't hold true. Cost is definitely independent of quality when it comes to destinations.

quote:

Originally posted by 2wanderers:

quote:

But I really like them and sometimes (not all times, of course) you get what you pay for.

Fair enough that you really like them, but I've definitely found that travel is one area where "you get what you pay for" doesn't hold true. Cost is definitely independent of quality when it comes to destinations.

You actually have a good point there, can I withdraw that "get what you pay for" statement?

I've always found Europe more enjoyable if you do what the average middle class locals do and spend accordingly. Actually, I find that true of any place. In Europe this generally means a budget more than a backpacker (edit: daily) budget. In other places in the world, it sometimes means less.

Even with the "qualifications", this is a great post! The fact that you included the countries you were in and mentioned where some of your money went gives people a realistic starting point from which to adjust their own budgets, based on destinations and spending habits.

Thanks for sharing!

great post...probably the most fanatical budget keeper i've seen

Wow!! We are a family of four and we travel on our bikes for waaayyyyy less than you are traveling! I guess that really just goes to show how different we all are, and how we like different things. Good for you for enjoying your journey - that's what it's all about!

nancy - Can you estimate how much of a 'normal' budget you actually spend? I'm interested because we're heading out on a two year cycling trip next year and it'd be interesting what the backpacker/cyclist relation is. Are you guys camping a lot and cooking yourself?

We spend about US$50/day for the four of us. We camp out or stay with people we meet along the way almost always - we can't afford hotels. We buy all our food in grocery stores and cook when we can. A lot of time we don't have access to water, so we eat a lot of sandwiches and such. I would guess we pop into a restaurant maybe once/month or so.

A lot of this will change once we get down into Central America where hotels are cheaper. Right now, we do splurge on campground fees when one is available so we can get showers and do laundry. The campgrounds will most likely be replaced with hotels once we get to an area where hotels aren't so outrageously priced.

I find we tend to spend about $30/day on food and use the remaining $20 for campgrounds/bike parts/warm clothing/etc...

Hope this helps!