Budget

Day 18 of 30 - Every traveler has a budget; for some it just might be higher of lower than for others What’s your style? What do you spend very little on and what are you always willing to pay more for?  30 days of Indie Travel Project 

Budget is important – no matter how many people say to me – “Oh I don’ t have a budget”, they are not telling the truth or they are very lucky, I wish I could travel with no budget! But when it comes down to it everyone has a budget in mind that they are working with some are more strict than others are some are very tight.

I remember years ago travelling through Vietnam with another couple who were on a very tight budget. We were pretty flexible, we stayed in budget hotels nothing too fancy but never missed out on doing something that we wanted to do. I remember sitting down and treating ourselves to pizza – sometimes you need a noodle break, to watch these guys spend 5 minutes deciding if they should forgo tomorrows breakfast and just have fruit so that they could share another beer now….. They stayed 15 minutes more out of town to get a cheaper hotel and would walk in and out, mind you it was only $1 cheaper per night… they wrote everything down in a little accounting book and calculated what they had and what they could spend down to the cent.

They were such great guys and we loved travelling with them but is that really a way to travel? Down to the cent? They did miss out on a lot of extra things that just sort of popped up, because they could not squeeze it into their budget – so they stayed at the hotel and read books that they swapped with other travellers.

I guess I have always been in the mindset that do it while you are there, because who knows when you will be back – and I hate to miss out on anything! There are some things that I can cut back on to save a few extra dollars – but only so that I can spend it on something else and I have quite often come home with a dent in the credit card,  but enjoyed every minute of it.

Things I am happy to miss out on….

• Western food, sometimes yes you need bacon and eggs or muesli for breakfast, but what ever the locals are eating is going to be the freshest, cheapest and normally the best option
• Accommodation – I would rather stay in a basic hotel and stay for an extra 2 days then spend half my budget on accommodation and only see the room as I am going to bed or waking up. As long as the room is clean and has a decent bed, it is fine because I have always stayed in worse…
• Taxi’s – Local buses may take a bit to work out but they are generally the cheapest option and you get to hang out with all the locals going about their everyday who love to share their cities secrets with you
• Booze – I know I am one of the few and rare travelers who puts experience over nights out…. Don’t get me wrong I love a good drinking session, but if I am there for a limited time rather than wake up hung over and unmotivated, I will not drink so that I can make sure to make the most of my next day