If you remember, our vacation budget was $50 per day. We had set aside €1000, and the exchange rate hovered at around €1/$1.57 the entire time we were there. You also might remember that I had a little trouble sticking to my vacation budget… I’d like to blame it all on the groceries, or on my husband, but that would be passing the buck. Literally.
So, how much did we spend? Drumroll please…
€1733.72
Oops. As you can see, we went just a little over. Well, ok, a little more than a little over. It was all my husband’s fault! Actually, we did what we always do: stick fairly well to the budget the first few weeks, congratulate ourselves on how well we’re doing, then realize how little time we have left and kick the spending into higher gear, rationalizing it with ‘It’s only once every two years so…’
In March we spent €402.51 in eleven days, or €36.59 per day. That was just slightly over our goal of €33.33 per day. In April, however, we spent €66.56 per day, or almost double our target. That averages out to €57.79 per day.
There are lots of ways that I would like to rationalize these numbers, but that would really only be making excuses. I can say that we spent a lot less on groceries and gas during both March and April. These savings will offset what we spend so that we look to be on track with our goal of finishing April in the black. We’ll probably even have a bunch of money to kick into the emergency fund.
All in all though, I’m still happy. We had a great time, and what we spent the money on was worth it . How about you? What breaks the budget when you go on vacation?
Subscribe by 
Get updates by
Follow us on 
Friend us on 
{ 2 comments }
I can totally relate! We live in a northern Canada community, which, while not small, doesn’t offer many of the stores we like to shop at, or the amenities we like to experience. I always find I overspend with the same thought in the back of my mind, “It’s only once a year (or two)”. :0)
I used to spend more on touristy items, though, and in this area I’ve gotten a lot better, so that’s progress!
The last time I went on vacation was actually not too expensive. I dragged my boyfriend to the local grocery store as soon as we got there (we had a kitchen where we were staying). He grumbled the whole way but later admitted that eating at least one meal and snack "chez nous" per day really cut costs. Plus the whole cultural experience of going to a grocery store. I mean, fun!BTW Kelly love the blog so far. Now I'm a subscriber!