Now that the time to travel is nearly upon us I was wondering what others do to watch daily expenses.
In the past I have always written each expenditure down in notebook as we spend and then tally up at the end of day to make sure we are on budget. With the euro/dollar exchange I need to do this somehow so I don't go wild.
What do others do? ~o)

I'm afraid I don't track it at all. After all the budget planning beforehand, once I'm there, I just do what I like. I'm not into shopping when I'm away anyway, so there's a limit to what I might spend - all my money goes on food, drink, entrance fees and taxis, and I figure that I'm going to spend that money whatever, so I'd rather than count it til I get home.

That's not to say I don't have SOME idea of what I've spent - I generally withdraw, say, 200 euros at a time, so I know what's disappeared from my wallet.

I get a certain number of Euros or pounds or krone and watch them dwindle, recounting the total left whenever I feel like it (obviously not in public). I know others have had no problem with credit cards, but after a few experiences where I was going to be charged a surcharge or was told that the credit card machine didn't work, I just started using cash all the time.

I plan such a detailed budget (down to bus fare and the price of audioguides at museums!) ahead of time that we don't really track on a daily basis. We have always come within $100 of my budgets, and always on the low side

Then again, we are both tax accountants so we might subconsciously be keeping some sort of track as we go through our trip. "Numbers person" doesn't really do justice to DH ;-)

While I do have a budget planned out before I go on a trip, I do write down my daily expenditures. I can be a very big impulse buyer and sometimes I figure small amounts here and there won't make a difference. For me, it helps each day to see where my money went. It also helps with impulse buying and realizing those small amounts do add up quickly!

We plan a budget beforehand and keep small notebook or the receipts for day. That evening, tally up our expenses and see how we're doing on our budget. Some days, we do go a bit over, but others, we are definitely under as well, and usually end up within $100-$200 of our target. If we spluge on night on dinner, we may picnic the next day to make up for it.

Jazzyred,

I plan an overall budget and do not keep daily expenditures. I keep receipts for most items but usually throw them away at home.

I do keep a travel journal that has some continuing value for future trips and friends' use.

I also do not go out of my way to track my expenses. As in past years, this year I have made out a fairly detailed budget, so I have a good idea what I will be spending. Only if something turned out to be dramatically more expensive than I was expecting would I start bean counting. I usually do a mid-trip status check just to make sure nothing is askew.

Hi J,

Being a carefree soul, I just keep spending until the ATM machines and the credit cards refuse to give me any more money. Then I go home.

No, I don't keep track of daily expenses. I use an ATM every couple days and am not an extravagant spender.

After a trip I usually do a VERY general tally of what the trip cost total (airfare, hotels, pocket money), just for my own future reference in planning.

Ira's method sounds like the most fun.

However, TexasAggie's method sounds almost exactly like mine. I prepare this hyper-detailed budget before I even leave on the trip, researching entrance fee costs (or estimating to the best of my ability if I can't find information), estimating how much I'll spend per day on food, souvenirs, etc.

Then once I go, I don't really worry about it. While I don't write down all my expenditures, I hang on to my ATM slips and charge slips just to verify when all my bank statements come in later.

Some days I know I'm above budget, and some days I fall below and it all evens out on its own. At the end I've found that I've always spent less than I budgeted for the entire trip.

I agree with Ira! Once I have my r/t air tickets and hotel in place ... I worry about little else. I am not rich but I like to go on vacation without keeping a record ... I do keep checks from restaurants but mainly to see where I have eaten when I return ... sometimes I even put notes on the check since I don't keep a log of my daily movements around wherever I happen to be ... just enjoy and worry later!!!

I also do a detailed budget ahead of time, separated by category...so much for meals per day, so much for transportation, etc. I keep track of every expense. Things like entrances and train rides can be figured exactly ahead of time, so I am mainly watching my meal costs. Then I know that if I have splurged on a very expensive meal, I need to spend less the next day...and if I have spent less than budgeted on meals, I have more for shopping!

Well, I need to be more careful reading that smiley legend chart...meant to do one that I now realize doesn't completely show on the list.

We try to take care of as many expenses as we can before the trip (hotels, cottage, rental car, airfare, tickets, etc...) With most of the big things already taken care of, I don't worry too much about what I'm spending while I'm there. I'm not an extravagant spender and look for deals when I can, but I like to enjoy my vacation without thinking too much about the cost.

I just make sure I know how much I have available in my checking account for ATM withdrawls and use a credit card for larger purchases.

Once I'm home, if I have the stomach for it, I'll take a look at my Visa and bank statements and see what things cost. But I've never actually added everything up and figured out exactly what a trip cost. I think that's just one of those things it's better not to know.

I'm a planner, so I create a detailed budget in advance and then try to write down every expense at the end of each day, once I'm on my trip. It's amazing how those postcards, snacks, and trinkets add up when you aren't keeping track. I don't curb my spending to try to stay within budget (I'm pretty conservative in my spending), but I just like to know what I spent so I can make a more accurate budget next time. I also post travel reviews and include my expenses which has been helpful for others who are planning trips.

Oh keep these ideas coming . I love hearing them.

Ira, you always make me laugh, I love your retorts but I am such am impulse buyer, I could be home before you know it! ~o)
Thanks

I have logged travel expenses in the past, and I probably will again in London in May. If I don't, I will fritter away money on this and that without realizing it. It's one thing to do that at home, but it's another to do it in a country where everything costs twice as much!

From experience. we have a pretty good idea of how much our trips will cost but have no budget. I can't imagine keeping a daily tally of expenditures.

All of our major expenses (airfare, hotel, car rental, train tickets, museum admission, meals and other things I can charge) go on a CC which I faithfully enter into Quicken on returning home.

On our last two trips of two weeks each to the UK and France we used the ATMs for about $500 each trip. That's only about 10% of the trip cost and I couldn't be bothered keeping track of such a minor amount. I do know it went for Tube and Metro, taxis, water, postcards, etc.

Over the years we have made some acquisitions that weren't planned: furniture in Copenhagen, lithographs in Paris, antique prints and books in London. These were never budgeted for but seemed the right thing to do and still do.

If I'd have to stay strictly within limits I'd calculate how much per day I can spend and put exactly that much IN CASH in my wallet in the morning.

I had to do it to my children when they were small. It was easier for them - mommy's wallet seemed bottomless anyway