Free Travel Budget Spreadsheet
So you have decided what corner of the world you want to take on next but you’re not sure how to start?
After I have chosen which country (or countries 😉) I want to travel to, I always sit down and figure out a budget.
A budget helps me determine how long I am going for, what kind of activities I will be doing, what type of accommodation I should look for, etc. So, I start off by taking the time to research what price ranges I should be budgeting for.
The Flight
The first thing I look at is the price of flights. I sometimes, get a little creative by planning my own layovers. I like to make my money extend as far as possible so I am willing to take flights at ridiculous times or have a layover or two if it means I can save a couple hundred dollars (Hello?? $200 is like a week in a hostel!).
I do not book any flights at this time (unless I find an amazing deal) but I do like to check what the average price is, when the flight times are, what days are best, what airports are common, etc. I also check to make sure that there is transportation available at the time the flight lands. It’s not much of a deal if you have to take a $200 taxi ride because there is no public transportation at 4 o’clock in the morning.
I like to use SkyScanner. Make sure that you constantly delete your cache and history because flight prices have been known to increase if the site notices that you have looked at that flight before.
Accommodation
I then like to look at the average cost of accommodation. I tend to use a combination of booking.com (that is an affiliate link) and airbnb. Again, I don’t book anything yet because I have not planned out my route, but I like to know what the average price of a stay is during that time.
Food
Third, I do some research to see what I should budget for food. I try to make sure my accommodation includes breakfast. I then buy from local grocery stores or markets for my lunch and snacks. If my accommodation has kitchen facilities and the cost of eating out is high (I’m looking at you Iceland), then I try to buy groceries for dinner otherwise I eat out at a restaurant.
This information is usually a bit harder to find then flights and accommodation. Usually I search google for blogs or travel calculators to help me decide how much to set aside. So far, I have found that I can budget about $20 - $40 a day for food depending on where I am going. To start with I estimate about $30 when budgeting and then after I see the overall budget for my trip, I decide whether I can be flexible with that amount or if I will need to get a little creative.
Activities
This is my favourite part of planning! I love looking through blogs and travel reviews to find the things I want to see and do well exploring. At this point, I am not booking activities or even starting to narrow down my options. I am simply looking to see what the average cost will be for the things I want to do.
Transportation
At this point, I start to decide on a path or route to take to get to the different locations I want to include in my trip. Again, I am not booking anything but I am looking to see what the best route is and what transportation will get me there. This helps me get an idea of how much I should budget for transportation.
Don’t forget to include transportation to and from airport/train/bus terminals and to and from activities/entertainment.
Souvenirs/Emergency/Other
Finally, I decide how much money I want to have as a buffer for all the things I forgot to plan for such as souvenirs, unexpected travel costs, must-do activities, etc.
The Travel Budget Spreadsheet
Once I have all of that information, I plug it into my Travel Budget Spreadsheet! I then play around with the numbers until I have realistic budget amounts and my total budget matches (or is more than) my total expenses.
Now I can start booking and putting my wish list into action! As I go, I track my expenses and make sure to stick as close to my budget as possible!
