Budget & Funding

We had a bad day here at the house... only because it seems like when one thing happens, another is sure to follow... first our car broke down a few days ago and that put us in a monetary bind. But it still doesn't dampen our spirits. The same day the car broke down (and I was told we had to shell over 800 USD to get it fixed), I also got the email saying I reinstated my website for travel. I believe Global Travel International is a subsidiary of Travelocity, so if you book through our site, you get those guarantees, and you would be helping fund our trip. Prices are just as competitive, just like if you were to use Travelocity anyway. BUT you would be helping us by using it instead of those other sites. =) Just click here if you want to check it out. Or over there on the right, I have the link too. Thanks in advance!

Jar Update...

Dunno why I didn't think of this.  Every week (Tuesday, because Mondays are too busy.)  I will post how much we saved and put in the jar.  But it's Wednesday today... so, let's pretend it's Tuesday.  =)

The week of 20-26 April,  14.27 USD.  

Post Under Frugal Traveler Website...

I don't know how many people get to check out links, so I thought I would post my comment on the Frugal Traveler's page in the New York Times Blog.  The post was in response to a bunch of his readers being annoyed that the Frugal Traveler's budget of 100 USD a day in his article wasn't very "frugal."  I didn't think there was anything wrong with it.  

I appreciate this post and I have linked your blog with mine after recommendations from some friends who are regular readers. My family and I are embarking on an around the world trip in 2011. The catch? We are traveling with our two kids who are going to be two and three. Our budget for a family of four is going to be about 250 USD a day. This is an exorbetant amount, but I have aimed high for inflation and other costs. My kids already have a few stamps on their passports (acquired when they were weeks old) with Emily being 3 months old and Myla being 20 months old. We have traveled on a cross country road trip, a three week jaunt to the UK, and most recently a trip to Taipei and the Philippines. We do not make more than the lower average middle class family, but we live a simple life so we can save for this trip. We have a 1998 Honda Civic (complete with two carseats in the back), sack lunches for two years, I don't have a babysitter, And literally keep a water jug full of change in our living room. I can see what the frugal traveler is doing. Frugal traveling doesn't necessarily mean not spending any money at all. And to a general audience, not everyone is a backpacker. There is a fine line between a backpacker and an independent budget traveler. Which is where I like to categorize good 'ole Frugal. I am a travel concierge, and people are always surprised that stuff that claims to be cheap isn't cheap. The public is always looking for more, more more and are surprised at what they get when they pay nothing for something. (ie. "a flight to London, at a fraction of the cost, but has 4 stops? WHY??") I think the biggest misunderstanding for people who travel is that there is a lot of give and take for travel budgets. If someone really wants to travel, everyone has the means to do it, it's just a question of how badly you want to do it. how much you can sacrifice (if you don't want to pay a lot) and how much time is worth to you more than money is.  

-Melissa Keith, www.120daylater.blogspot.com

Where We Are...

Logistically  

We have a few things sort of hammered out.  We are at the planning stages right now where everything is reconnaissance.  We are asking around, reading, emailing, talking to various families who have done RTW trips.  There are quite a few out there.  I have my sponsor list almost done and pretty soon will be executing the emails, inquiries, and phone calls.  I am at the hunting and gathering stage and I only have some simple ingredients.  

The trip itself has a few kinks in it we have to figure out and we should have the itinerary finished in a few months.  There are a lot of things to factor- transportation, availability of routes, roads etc.  And this will be a very rough, rough itinerary because we won't really know what it will be like in 2011.  A week before each change we will have to confirm everything.  For instance, there is only one ferry from Tunisia to Sicily, and it only leaves weekly, which I didn't know.

Financially, I am not too worried about this.  Luckily, our every day expenses are simple.  (there will be an entire post on budget coming up).  We are going to be very dependent on saving literally nickels and dimes, fundraising, and sponsors.  Also, I start my quest for the publishing aspect of it soon.  We have a very simple life, with one small car, and home made lunches.  I think also, we are at the point in our life where we don't possibly need anything else. This is through the generosity of our parents.  We make enough money to sustain ourselves with very little savings, but I always think something as common as money should never get in the way of your life.    

Theoretically:

We are at the part where we are still dreaming up this trip, and it isn't quite real to me.  The thought of it is real to me.  The thought of being with my kids and my husband for 4 months sounds like a dream.  To be able to share these sole, precious moments of their life, together as a family makes me want to work harder than ever to get to this goal.  I am already a busy person, but having this as a goal has really changed my step in terms of work and the everyday grind.  Trips always do this to me.  I feel like when stuff gets hard, I have this to look forward to.  Not to say, I don't enjoy my family when there isn't a trip planned, I just feel in my total element when I have a trip planned somewhere.   Overall I think travel is good for you.  So other people should do it too.  

I spent my college years starting things, finishing some, and then starting other things and not finishing those.  I traveled in between those, and the only regret I have is that I wasted my time spending it in the classroom.  Don't get me wrong, I understand the value of education, and that alone is a journey in itself.  But I also understand the value of life, and precious, precious time.  I can always go back to school.  I can always go work somewhere and make money, but I will never have Myla be 3 and Emily be 2 ever again.  

Anyway, enough of this sap.  I thought I would close today's post with my favorite travel quote...

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. 

- St. Augustine

Our budget...just numbers.

In case you are wondering...

Here is a breakdown of what a trip like this might cost...and of course, I estimated an overage of EVERYTHING by about 50 USD, and I also made everybody the cost of an adult.  Some of the things, like rail passes and airfare and such the kids might still be free.  As things get weeded out we will deduct or add from this list.  I kept in mind inflation in two years also.  This is based on a 120 Day Trip... 

1. Daily Allowance accomodations 100 USD = 12,000

2. Airfare (round trip for 5 passengers) 4000 USD = 20,000

3. Rail Passes/Ferry Tickets 900 per passenger = 4500 USD

4. Emergency Money 10,000 USD (in the form of a credit card)

5. Travel Insurance 400 USD per person = 2000 USD

6. souvenirs 25 USD a day = 3000 USD

7. Museum/Attractions/Events Admission 50 USD = 6000 USD

8. Baby/Kid Supplies 20 USD a day = 2400 USD

9. Food 50 USD = 6000 USD

10. Local Transport 20 USD = 2400 USD

11. phone/internet 10 usd a day = 1200 USD

12. laptop 1100 USD

13. cameras 1100 USD

14. Travel Gear = 600 USD

15.  entry/exit fees = ???? varies by country

16. Visas = ???

17. Passports/Pictures 100 per person = 500 USD

18. Toiletries 50 USD per per person = 250 USD

19. Change Money Fees/ ATM Fees 5 USD a Day = 600 USD

20. Misc. 20 USD a day = 2400 USD.

A Grand Total of 76,050 USD.

WAAAAAIIIIIIIIT!!!  Don't leave!  There are adjustments to be made... remember I estimated the MAXIMUM of what something could cost.  Automatically, 10,000 on the credit card is just there, not an expense.  It's a bill I would have to pay later.   Let's say, I never use it.  

66,050 USD

Travel Insurance only costs 340 per person, so we save 300 USD there...

65,750 USD

souvenirs at 25 dollars a day?  Too high!  If we spent an average of that much... it would be too much... so let's bring it down to 20 USD a day, subtract 600 USD.

65,150 USD

Let's face it, there isn't going to be admission tickets to something EVERY day.  So let's bring that down 20 USD a day... subtract 2400

62,750 USD

laptop and cameras... sponsored or use the ones we have...

60,550 USD

Travel Gear, sponsored or use what we have...

59,950 USD

Accomodations, subtract the days we will be on the road, in a couchette or traveling (estimate about 20 of these...2000 USD saved.

57,950 USD

I didn't even go through what things could have been sponsored only because I don't want to jinx anything.  I will update this and the cost will predominantly adjust as time goes on and sponsors get wind of this.  So we brought this down predominantly, and haven't even skimped while we are there.  I think the key is just your daily budget and also planning a little bit ahead as you go, so that you aren't driving yourself crazy.  For instance, if we are in Southeast Asia and a week later we find out our family has only spent 800 for 9 days, we are totally under our weekly budget for when we go to the more expensive cities, like Paris.  

If it was just Andy and I traveling, we would do more camping and more outdoorsy, sleep in the train station stuff to save money.  But since we are taking the little ones, accomodations will have to be a little more than the typical low budget traveler's ideas of saving money.   Also throughout the year there are little things you could do to budget.  I have a jar method.  Which I will talk to you more about in length later.