I am such a nerd.....but y'all already knew that.
I did my Louisiana road trip Financial Post Mortem the other day.
I discovered that we spent a total of $2873.78 on that 12 day extravaganza. 8-0
* Gas came to $265.72 Once we got down South into more gas tax friendly states gas prices were excellent. No complaints here. 8-)
* Lodging came to $911.74 That was 11 nights at various hotels. The stay in LA was 6 nights in the same hotel, the one we stayed in on last year's trip. I got a deal through Expedia and paid $68.20 a night(including all taxes)for a King Bed room in a nice hotel with indoor pool/hot tub, exwercise room and free hot breakfast. 3 of the other nights on the road were booked in advance and we got good rates at those as well($62, $84.59, $97.56). The 2 hotels we didn't book ahead were outrageously expensive to me for what they were. I hate not booking ahead but Hubs doesn't always want to be tied down to stopping at a particular place so I suffer. lolz
* Food came to $402.35(And that included treating Daughter to a meal 6 times as well.) Eating didn't include much traditional fast food, so we ate well, and still didn't break the bank. It helped the bottom line that we were treated to dinner three times along the way. It wasn't planned but totally awesome and we appreciated it truly.
Last year's trip saw us spend $143.52 MORE on eating.
* Liquor(when bought to drink later or at home, and not at a restaurant)came to $303.66
This was almost totally Hubs purchases. I spent a mere $32.93 on alcohol this trip. 8 bottle of beer, 2 bottles of vodka and 6 "Adult Slurpee" bags. Hubs bought lots of beer and some pricey whiskey/whisky and bourbon. It sure adds up. 8-(
* Entrance Fees for Sightseeing came to $74.95
This includes 3 sites/museums/gator park. Other things we did/saw were without fees.
* "Souvenirs" came to $891.10
Before your eyes bug out of your head, know that we usually don't buy typical souvenirs. A t-shirt, hat or bumper sticker now and again. But I have also been known to buy food stuffs we can't get in PA, and unusual consumable items as well as souvenirs. Most of the typical type souvenirs are bought to give as gifts too.
A usual souvenir that Hubs is known to buy are books......and books ain't cheap. ;-)
I also hit two fabric stores on this trip.....one was going out of business(so most was pretty cheap)and one was rayon batik fabric heaven(and that AIN'T cheap!).
* That leaves $24.26 I can't account for that was frittered away on this or that in cash that I don't have a receipt for. A cup of coffee for Hub, a tea for me, or some other doodad on the road.
I can't seem to find a Total Spent for last year's road trip to Louisiana. Maybe I didn't do one? I can't recall. I'll dig around when I find the time and look for that blog post so I can compare the two and either feel proud about this recent trip's spending or just go drink heavily if we spent way more this year. ;-)
Do you keep track of your spending while on vacation?
How do you keep your costs down on trips?
Sluggy
I do not track what I spend on vacation ... we spend a lot and I'm probably in denial.
ReplyDeleteWe spend our vacation time in either Portland or NYC. Neither of those are inexpensive places, but we all know which one is more costly. I don't think there is a way to do a bargain NYC trip (plus we have a lot of free entertainment there and it still costs a fortune)
ReplyDeleteI stayed with my daughter the two times I went to NYC.
DeleteI save the receipts but don't do much with them. I have noticed when you visit your kids, you get a motel- I've never done that. We always make do. I'm sure on the road trip to Iowa we'll be sleeping on the floor but that's fine with me as long as it isn't HOT! When I stayed in SF (3 visits so far) my bedroom was the pantry with an air mattress and I sleep on one when I visit Sis in Myrtle Beach. I guess I'm lucky I don't have back problems!
ReplyDeleteI like the budgeting process for trips, the planning the preparedness, and then reconciling after. I get a kick out of checking of my list of things we did, and then coming in under budget. My biggest tip is planning around meals.We tend to do a lot of snacking and grazing, and really only eat either a big late lunch, or an early supper. If breakfast is with the hotel, we'll grab a bit, other wise I keep use of the coffee machine, and will keep granola bars, fruit and easy things to have a leisure and relaxed breakfast before heading out.
ReplyDeleteWe just returned from two weeks in Italy, I don't know what I spent, I don't want to know, I know I can afford it. I am careful in booking, looking for good values in hotels and leveraging frequent traveler perks. Beyond that, I go and do, now while I can.
ReplyDeleteI write down every penny I spend in a small notebook so I can see where my money went.
ReplyDeleteI like nerds!!! Maybe cuz I am one.
ReplyDeletepricey whiskey/whisky and bourbon -
ReplyDeletea) what kind?
b) it is worth it!
I just added up an estimate on two weeks in Italy, about $3,000. I used airline frequent flyer miles for my ticket, and J's was paid for by the University, the conference provided an apartment in Rome for 5-nights, not included in the cost estimate.
ReplyDeleteMost of my travel is prepaid and then I take a certain amount of cash. The rest is covered by credit card and I keep all receipts - it's a compulsion! When I get home I pay off the c/c and that's pretty much it. I don't buy much as I'm travelling by plane, train and foot so whatever I buy has to be SMALL. Except for duty free :) of course.
ReplyDelete