As I mentioned before, my personal budget will be less than what I outlined.
Lodging: I will aim to spend around $60 a night for lodging, which is possible with Air BnB. That will be split with my traveling partner. My Lodging Expense will change from $800 to $300 (I gave myself $60 of wiggle room), saving $500.
Variable Travel Expense: My traveling partner and I will split what parking and transportation costs we can, so I will only budget $100, saving myself $100.
Food & Experience Expenses: Because I know that I eat less and tend to search out free experiences, I will budget the recommended $300 for food but cut my Experience Expense from $550 to $250, saving myself $300. If need be, I can use funds from one budgeted expense for the other. Hopefully, though, I will stay on budget by not over-spending at meals and making sure my experiences are planned beforehand.
Total Personal Budget: $1,750
For your sake, though, I will show you how I would save for the budget I outlined in Pt. 1, using my own salary, being completely transparent.
My Salary/Month:
Job 1 (Day Job): $2,444/month
Job 2 (Server/Bartender): $1,000/month
Total: $3,444/month
My Bills/Month:
Total: $2,200/Month
Balance to Save/Spend: $1,244/Month
Budget (from Pt. 1): $2,650.00
I always buy my plane ticket first because that solidifies the trip and makes it feel more real. This makes me more motivated to save for a trip vs. spend excessive amounts of money at Starbucks, Chipotle, and TJ Maxx. I buy my ticket about three months out from my trip and use the remaining time to save for my other expenses. BUT I also plan on travelling much more cheaply than the budget I outlined. So for this template I will give myself two months to save for the plane ticket and four months after that to save for the remaining expenses: six months of saving and planning total.
Ticket Expense (2 Months): I plan to put away $400 for two months, leaving myself with $800 to buy a plane ticket. Planning to save $400/month will leave a little room so if I can’t quite reach that goal one month, I will still be on/over budget. The remaining money I will put towards the trip.
Your timeline for saving per week will depend on how your paychecks and bills fall. For me, the majority of my saving money comes from my first paycheck. The easiest way to do it, in my opinion, is to put away one or two lump sums as soon as you get your paycheck(s). Don’t plan to take it out at the end of the month; if you do that, I promise it won’t be there. If you work a serving/bartending job or a job where tips make up the majority of your pay, plan to put away $100 a week.
Remaining Expenses (4 Months): I plan to put away $500 a month. This is a HUGE amount and this is where your PERSONAL desires come in to play. Do you want to cut expenses to save yourself money? Spend more months saving? Work extra hours at your job (what I ALWAYS do leading up to a trip – I go from 2 days a week at my second job to 4 days a week)? Or can you swing being able to put this much away per month?
Saving for the rest of your expenses will be the same as saving for your flight, just slightly more for a slightly longer period of time. At the END of your second month, you will have enough to book your lodging. This will also take pressure off for the remaining months if you come in under budget or give you time to make up if you go over budget.
This is a 6 month timeline which can sometimes be discouraging if you’re an “instant gratification,” type of person. If that is the case for you, stay on top of planning and researching a little every week. As your trip savings grow, so will your excitement. Booking experiences ahead of time, researching and booking lodging, and investigating good places to eat and shop will keep you motivated.
-XOXO Maiaelizabeth