How to Plan a Trip (part3)

Oof. We actually got to 3 parts…. and would probably be more to come ;;;

Anw! I will link everything in this series at the way down below. Please do check out part 1&2 if you haven’t yet!

And so we’re back at budgeting.

I know I know. Ugh.

It’s hard to cut back on those Starbucks frappucinnos (or whatever your choice of poison is) but I swear it’s all gonna be worth it! You don’t want to see some unique items and have to pass out on them because you don’t save enough. Seriously.

OK, let’s backtrack a bit. By now you should’ve already bought your flight tickets and have already booked your accommodations for the duration of your trip. Those are actually where you would be spending the biggest chunk of your hard-earned money at!

Now we can completely move on from the flight ticket, what else are you supposed to save for? When it comes down to it, it’s:
– accommodations
– transportation while there
– meals
– attractions
– misc

Ok, so let’s break it down now.

Accommodations
If the accommodation of your choice to pay on site (which a lot of the properties in booking.com do) then you would definitely already have the total of how much you needed.

Transportation
Unless you’re going to a developing countries that doesn’t have a good public transport system, I suggest on buying the transport card (metro card/oyster card/MRT card). This will be much cheaper than just buying single tickets for every train/bus ride there. The cost for this would be easily googleable. And the same goes for any inter-city transport (if you’re going to multiple cities for your trip). Google everything and always always save more than what was mentioned.

Meals
Here’s the fun part. I don’t know if you’re like me, but I love browsing for good restaurants/cafes to go to. And nowadays you can find out how much things costs on their website. Yay technology! So for my meal budget I always have a safe number where I can still eat good food.

For example, when I went to Seoul I budgeted KRW10,000 per meal. So that’s KRW30,000 per day for meals for the duration of my stay there. For your information, KRW10,000 will give me a portion of samgyeopsal (pork belly) of K-BBQ but actually even with KRW3,000 I can already have a decent meal. So why do I budget KRW10,000 instead of KRW3,000 per meal? Does that mean I was planning on K-BBQing for every meal? Of course not!

When it comes to food, you’ll want to budget more than the bare minimum. You’ll want to enjoy all the yummy food where ever you traveled to! And while you definitely should not splurge for every meal, but with a more lax budget, you can splurge for that delicious meal you saw someone posted in instagram.

So if we return to my Seoul trip budget now… If I can save and eat modestly for a day (KRW3,000 a meal) then I would’ve saved up KRW20,000 that I can use to go to a cafe for coffee the next day, or stop by one of those street food vendors and nom on those instead. This way we can fully enjoy my trip from start to end!

Everything else aka Misc
So yeah, other than those 3, everything else is really up to you! If you like museums? Budget for the entrance fees (easily google-able). If you like shopping? budget for those too! This is where you can go as much or as little as you want/can afford.

Here’s my tip though.

Separate your money.

Like seriously. When you go, have your accommodation money in one envelop, your meals money in another envelop, and your shopping money in your wallet.

This will be especially helpful if you’re like me and you shop like your life depended on it.

Why? Simply so that you won’t overspend or accidentally used up your meal/accommodation money while you shop til you drop.

I personally will bring a few of those red packets I got on Chinese New Year to keep my money separate. The most important being my accommodation money (if you’re moving around). I also kept money for that last trip to the airport (airport bus/train can cost quite a sum depending where you are). I’m more forgiving with my meal money but of course I kept a little away for the wait at the airport too. That’s usually where I spent the last of my money cos I like to come early and browse the airport.

With the money needed for everything you actually need saved away, you can freely shop and buy things without worrying if you’ll have enough later on.

Disclaimer: I’m NOT asking you to spend all your money when you travel. Please do save welp.

How to Plan for your trip links:
#1 destination & duration
#2 budget – part1 flight & accommodation
#4 itinerary – building a rough itinerary
#5 itinerary – it’s all in the details!