Budget for Travel - Step by Step Guide to Set Your Full-Time Travel Budget

It’s one thing to save the money but where you keep it is also important. For example $100,000 invested in a S&P 500 index fund at the beginning of the year would be with $130,000 now. Assuming you don’t want the risk associated with that return, a cash account at Schwab or Fidelity would yield a 4-5% return with no risk if the balance is invested in a government money market fund. In fact Fidelity will let you use this fund as a sweep account. Schwab even reimburses foreign ATM fees on this account.

Great vid as usual.

I have only just started thinking about quitting/retiring and doing full time travel and planning and budgeting was feeling so overwhelming. I really appreciate how "simple" you made this for me.

I have a couple questions. First, the different funds you have for different budgets: do you keep that money in bank accounts or are those in your investment accounts and you just pull from there into your bank to pay the bills?

And second, Carrie, you mentioned your phone plan. What are you using? Having something reliable that receives two-factor authentication seems like it can be a trouble spot. I see some people using Google Voice but some others have trouble receiving those texts. What's working for you these days?

Thanks for sharing all this great info and being so detailed.

Out of curiosity, which laptop did Brian buy for video editing? I’m also looking to upgrade mine for video editing

How much savings did you guys feel enough to early retire and travel world?

Planning, organizing, staffing, and leading a sustainable global travel project may lead to disappointment without strong control (financial control). Brian makes a good point, which is that not being good with numbers, detail and excel should not be used as an excuse; use paper and pencil. But do it! Do what works for you. Strict budgeting may not be essential for those with ample financial resources. But for those whose entire travel lifestyle could be abruptly derailed by their own financial mismanagement, force yourself to adopt some of what Carrie is sharing. Stay in front of the budget, not behind it. The best way to deal with financial problems is to avoid them. I'm a wealth manager with an MS degree in finance. This is one of the best, most practical and accessible videos I've seen.

Interesting: You guys beat me by 5 years retiring early. I did it at 55 years.

When you say you put away 2 years worth of money aside in a very safe investments:

Do you mean the $2200 (budgeted) x 24 months?
Do you use this money for all your expenses?
Does this money ($2200/month) include your flights.
When you come over to USA, where do you live? Do you rent a place stay with Family, or you have a home here in the US?

Well thought out and explained. Thanks for what your doing.

Hi Brian and Carrie
Can I ask what camera(s) you use or recommend for your video blogs? The quality and resolution is excellent. Regards Ed

Thanks for the tip on the app

Does Avant work in mainland China?

Emergency funds: Another slow travel influencer couple had a $5K deductible on healthcare insurance. While they haven't ever used it because even several days in the hospital at Kuala Lumpur didn't reach that, they have a separate account with $5k that they can use in a moment's notice if need be. They hope to never tap that account for any reason, but if they need funds in a crunch, they absolutely could. If they ever did that though, the priority is putting it back asap.

As a single person I would like to stay at a $2K a month budget. If I could spend less I would so this way
Some countries could cost more

I know you're going back to Vietnam soon, and I've seen a few videos on Da Lat which is called the eternal spring because of the lower temperatures due to elevation. Hopefully it will be a place you would enjoy and then I would enjoy seeing your video since you always have the best tips. I'm like you when it comes to weather since I live in BC Canada.

Can I ask how you actually plot and plan your flights and accommodation so that they work all together? Do you just use a digital calendar while you are working it all out?

I have found that so many destinations have become contactless versus cash payment since COVID. I would love to see you add on a brief statement on what your experience with this is in each place you visit/live. It makes traveling a lot easier. Gosh I am enjoying your channel! Thank you

It sounds like you spend a lot of time tracking expenses. My husband and I moved to Monarch Money when Mint shut down their app. Monarch is $100 a year but so worth it! I spend a lot less time tracking finances but I know every aspect of our cash flow, transactions, budget and net worth.

So, it sounds like you either don’t have a home base or you at least don’t have a mortgage.

Thanks again for a great video!, we are looking forward to retiring next year and travelling full time and your videos are really helpful and inspiring. Do you have a budget spreadsheet/ template available?

What is your yearly budget combined for the two of you? I was confused a little when Brian said your accomodation budget for each of you is now $1100/month so $2200. Does this mean that your previous videos when you break down the cost of your stay somewhere for the month is actually twice that total amount, due to this being the total for each of you?

What a great video. I track every single dollar I spend, every night when I’m at the hotel. I recently bought a budget planner note book from Amazon, and believe me when I say it’s the best $20 I have ever spent. I am taking my grandson to South East Asia for summer vacation. He’s never been on a trip like this before, never even been on a plane. He understands that we won’t be doing excursions everyday and there will be days where we just walk the streets and do things like cheap museums and free temples and eat street food. I’m not a spread sheet girl, but I need to know where every dollar is going. I want to show him the process of the cost of travel so he knows why we kinda have to rein it in. Where are you right now?

Interesting to hear how you it was for you at the beginning. We're about to embark on this journey when I retire at the end of the year and, though our budget will be somewhat larger, it's still a budget that has to be kept. I've already downloaded the TravelSpend app to help - great recommendation. Enjoy your content a lot.

seems you 2 have a very small emergency fund, that's stressful I would think. We have found that everything is much more expensive than ever, almost everywhere except SE Asia, especially Thailand, it is much less for accomodation and food, airfares are insane, no deals out there unless you want 40 hour flights with layovers and multiple tickets from different airlines (way to stressful for us), we tend to Fly really good airlines, like Japan airlines, it is worth it for us, but it costs a lot more, but you get to where you are going faster and much better service (back and forth to North America)

Much difference between Alicante and Malaga, Spain?

Are laptops cheaper, the same, or more than here in the US? And if buying overseas, is language a problem or are they the same as here?

Team spreadsheet ✋

Great video as always. With regards your entertainment budget, I think it would be helpful to know how many times you ate/drank out per month. Keep up the great work😊

I always love how intelligent and level headed you both are. It's really refreshing and delivered in a very personable and warm way that makes watching you both so easy and enjoyable. As well as useful! I've travelled for a year or two as well but it's always great to learn more and more - thank you both ❤️✨🙏🏻

You two are a delight! I love your banter and great insights on budget travel 😀 I’m looking at doing more slow travel in the future. Currently I have a 16 year old who has been my travel buddy for the last 4 years including Europe and Southeast Asia always during her school holidays. Can’t wait for longer slow stays once she graduates high school. Wishing you lots of fun adventures 🍻

I freakin can’t wait to get going!
This video was so useful and I’ve been a good student and taken notes.
B-U-D-G-E-T…I can definitely spell it, now to put it into practice 😂
Thanks as always for keeping me focused ❤

BUDGET is king no matter where u live & what u do! 👍

Hi Brian and/or Carrie:
You had mentioned NORD VPN. Which one do you use? Basic is $3.39 a month, Plus is $4.39 and Premium is $6.39.
Thanks,
Bipin

Do you all have a date/year when you expect to stop traveling? Even if it's just for a year or so to recharge or until you get the "itch" again? Similarly, do you foresee you YouTubing as long as you traveling? I know you talked about burnout earlier, but do you fear burning out?

Another great video, thank you. Really appreciate how open you are about discussing budget. I would love to see you give us a visual breakdown, or even an example spreadsheet, to make your approach more salient

It's 97 in Reno today so some cold beer would be great.

Brian what’s your beer budget? How you been to countries with really bad beers.

Love your budget tracking tips! So important to track spending while on the road as things can add up quickly. Thanks for the great videos! 💕

We always get a rental car when we’re back in the States, so we maintain our car insurance, at a lower rate. I found my car insurance and credit card cover what we need for rental cars but not quite sure. Can you talk about what you do with transportation when you are back in the US?

Good point with the miscellaneous account, to cover clothing.

I used to walk around 7-10 miles a day at work on cement. It would just destroy my shoes in 3-4 months.

So I can imagine having a rotation of just a few items they get beat up faster than normal.

With that said how's the Pineapple shirt holding up? 🍍

For your accounts are you using the higher apr accounts? Ally, Vanguard, Charles Swabs etc

Alway enjoy your videos very helpful and motivating 👍💪

One tip is to do with reducing hairdressing costs- I grew my hair long during covid and I no longer get hairdressing costs every 6 weeks due to the simpler style I’ve now got. Also I use 3 in 1 oil after washing it and this smooths my long fine hair enough to let it dry naturally. I use L’Oréal home hair dye now - it’s looks better than before! For travelling all I now need is a hair brush x2 hair grabs and 3 in 1 oil plus local shampoo etc

This video is a must-see in the context of people who might watch your journey with stars in their eyes without drilling down to the reality of proper contingency planning. Yes, what you are doing is feasible, but not if your travel budget is all the resources you have. I planned to go for a year in 2022 but delayed until 2023. In that time accommodation and food had increased phenomenally from the time of my research in 2020/21. The solution was as you suggested here, house/pet sits (in Portugal, Italy, the UK and Austria). It wasn't just a financial benefit but allowed us to experience living like a local in many ordinary places. A great respite from the heavily touristed areas and the sometimes intense historical/aesthetic overload of sublime archeological and architectural experiences. Met some great hosts too and their lovely pets. Lastly, yes to craft beer and yes to spreadsheets.

Thank you so much!

Can we hear some air travel stories? What is your turbulence tolerance? What’s the worst or best flight you’ve had?

Not going to travel full time but definitely extensive slow travel. Your insights are invaluable in my planning.

Lol, I'm pen and paper and my husband's a spreadsheet guy. Same demo, 50s. He documented every penny we spent when we first got married....that only lasted a couple month too, I protested when he made me count my coins, again, for a missing $.05. 😆

Wow you guys do well with $3000 USD per year/person for flights