How I budgeted for a $10k vacation (and managed to come in under)
A real-life vacation budget breakdown, my day-by-day Google Sheet template (yours to copy), and the money habits that help me travel more often
This is the Window Seat Travel Hacking series, your guide to turning everyday spending into five-star hotel stays and lie-flat flights. The goal? Help you make the most of the money you’re already spending so you can book the luxury travel experiences you used to only dream about.
If you haven’t yet read my Travel Hacking 101 guide, start there.
It’s no secret that when I travel, I like to do it well. A design-forward hotel. A seat in business if I can swing it. But when you’re talking about 7 to 10 days spent on international trips, those costs can stack up fast, especially when traveling abroad is something you want to do more than once a year.
It might sound impossible to do this—travel often, comfortably—but with a careful, consistent budgeting system, I’ve been able to make it possible. It’s helped me figure out what actually matters most to me on a trip: do I need the oceanview suite each night? Or would I rather pocket that money to, say, spend on a lavish meal at a bucket list restaurant?
Below, I’m walking you through my personal system for planning travel finances, including a peek at my actual spending from a recent trip and the spreadsheet I use to map it all out. Because if you want travel to be a meaningful (and frequent) part of your life, budgeting might not be sexy, but it is essential.
Read on for…
My exact trip budget tool (yours to duplicate and use!)
A real-life cost breakdown from our $10K Menorca vacation
The strategy I use to earn points while spending on trips
How I decide what’s worth a splurge vs. where to save
The simple method I use to track and reconcile travel expenses
How budgeting lets me actually travel more, not less
The first step of every trip: saving for it
The short answer is: always.
Saving money is important to my husband and me, and as part of that, we have a dedicated “vacation” fund in our high-yield savings account. A percentage of what we save each month automatically goes toward that fund, so there’s always money set aside.
If you haven’t opened a HYSA yet, I love using Ally.
You can get $100 deposited into your account when you sign up using my referral link!
Travel is a priority, and I like having something on the calendar to look forward to. Even when I don’t have anything booked, that fund gives me peace of mind. I know I could book something tomorrow if I wanted to, and that’s the kind of luxury I prioritize in my life—and budget—over things like clothes & bags.