Travel Budget
The subject of travel budgets is far from the most pleasant aspect of travel. Many people fail to budget their finances effectively and end up having to cut their trip short or make poor decisions like maxing out their credit cards. Unless you have unlimited funds at your disposal, you will need to budget your money.
Before embarking on a trip, it isn’t really necessary to foresee every single expense that might arise for one to budget effectively. The idea behind budgeting is to make sure that you have a general idea of how much money you have in relation to how long you plan to be traveling and where you will be traveling.
Consulting the Lonely Planet World Guide is an excellent place to start. There you can find general prices for everyday items as well as ranges for room and meal costs.
Guidebooks are also a good place to find price information. However, keep in mind that prices most definitely have changed in the time between when the guidebook writer visited the country and when you are reading the book—sometimes quite dramatically. Economic, political, and social events cause currencies to rise and fall. Make sure you’re aware of what the exchange rate was at the time the book was written (often written inside the book). If the guidebook gives prices in the local currency, you can use an online currency converter to translate the numbers back into your home currency.
Try to be as thorough as you can in your budget and include as many expenses as you can foresee. If you know how long you will be in a certain place, then it’s possible to estimate what you will spend there. After a few days of being in a country, you’ll have a good idea of what your average daily expenses are and you can budget accordingly for your whole trip.