I spent $34,563.38 to travel for 18 months: My budget breakdown

In 2022, I give up my job to satisfy my longtime dream of touring the world full-time for a 12 months and a half. My journey by way of 12 nations in Asia and 6 in South America price precisely $34,563.38.

I stayed meticulous about one factor from starting to finish: I tracked each penny I spent, from a $600 flight to a 50-cent journey to the toilet.

I spent a mean of about $1,920 monthly, which is about my typical month-to-month price range residing very frugally in LA and beforehand, in NYC. To make ends meet and save for my journey, I rented in uncool components of city and lived with roommates in small areas for 5 years. I ate out a pair occasions every week and solely made espresso at house, until I used to be working from a café.

Here is the whole lot I spent throughout my 18 months in South America and Asia, damaged down by class.

This class consists of the survival necessities I stocked up on earlier than the journey, akin to a suitcase, packing cubes, cargo pants, mountain climbing footwear, and water footwear. 

On reflection, I ought to’ve centered on packing gadgets that may’t simply be discovered elsewhere, like my favourite model of mosquito repellent, as a substitute of things I may simply purchase overseas. I regretted, for instance, being burdened by the useless weight of too many garments I needed to lug on automobiles and planes all around the world. 

I may have spent as little as $5 to $15 for a mattress in a hostel, however I craved the consolation of my very own area on the finish of a protracted day exploring. On common, I spent $20 to $25 per evening for my very own room in a cushty mid-range lodge, often with breakfast. 

Stays I thought-about nice worth at that value level included Chandi Lodge in Bali, Indonesia; Hoianian Central Villa in Hoi An, Vietnam; and S2 Residence in Krabi, Thailand. 

There have been outliers too. For instance, I paid simply $9 per evening for a lodge of comparable high quality a block from the seaside, in Da Nang, Vietnam.

Comparable high quality inns price nearer to $50 to $100 per evening within the main hubs of Brazil, China, Korea, Japan, and Singapore. Fortunately, my mother or husband joined me in all these locations besides Brazil, and we break up the invoice.   

Flights: $4,885.14

Floor transport: $3,189.53

I took 40 flights throughout my journey, in financial system class with checked baggage. There have been many alternatives to take an in a single day bus for one-quarter to half the worth. However I hated the concept of sleeping on a bus, utilizing bus restrooms, or driving slender winding roads at the hours of darkness. 

Flights inside nations sometimes price between $50 to $100, and twice that to fly throughout very massive nations like China or Brazil. Flights between neighboring nations price me $100 to $200. Flights between non-neighboring nations price me from $100 to $300. The farthest distance I traveled was from Osaka, Japan, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and it set me again $140.28. 

I additionally used about 200,000 bank card miles to cowl a few of my flights.

Once I did not fly, I took buses, vans or bullet trains. Three-to-seven-hour bus and van journeys price me $10 to $20. The bullet practice throughout about 860 miles from Xian to Shanghai in China price me $94. A two-week limitless bullet practice go in Japan price me $224. 

I used a variety of rideshare companies, which regularly price simply $1 or $2 for a two or three-mile trip by bike.

Espresso: $411.05

Alcohol: $557.95

Every thing else: $6,109.36

Apart from a pair salads I made in Japan, I by no means ready my very own meals. Half the time, breakfast was included at my lodge. In any other case, I often ate at charming or fashionable mid-range eating places in addition to vibrant evening markets. 

My favourite go-to spots included Temple Espresso in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Milu by Nook in Bali. I often paid $7 to $10 for an entrée and non-alcoholic drink. Meals at no-frills spots or evening markets the place many locals eat sometimes price me $2.50 to $6. Evening market treats price about $1 per serving. 

I attempted high quality eating a pair occasions, paying simply $12 for lunch and $22 for dinner for beautiful multi-course meals in Bolivia.  

I usually ordered fancy lattes at fashionable cafés for about $2. I used to be stunned to study that my iced latte behavior solely added as much as $411 in 18 months. 

I drank alcohol about as soon as every week, paying round $5 at mid-range eating places and bars, and $10 to $12 on the most high-end venues. 

I spent $1,263.72 for traveler’s medical insurance, which might cowl as much as $100,000 in bills in case of an accident or sickness. That insurance coverage got here in useful after I had one case of meals poisoning and one very unhealthy case of Covid. 

I paid $563 for journey vaccines, together with for yellow fever, typhoid, hepatitis A, and Japanese Encephalitis. The latter would have price $400 to $500 within the U.S., in keeping with my analysis, however I paid simply $58 in Bangkok. 

After I misplaced my retainers in Vietnam, I had them remade in Korea for about $150.

Garments: $1,048.24

Souvenirs: $216.86

Items: $661.91

I principally shopped at hole-in-the-wall boutiques or distributors arrange on the road, the place there are not any value tags and it is all about bargaining. To keep away from overpaying, I held off on shopping for instantly and saved in thoughts that competitors was usually on my facet. 

I inquired about pricing with a number of distributors. That course of helped me determine the bottom acceptable charge, or the final value I used to be supplied earlier than distributors let me stroll away. 

That is how I knew I used to be getting a superb deal on custom-made Vietnamese silk clothes in Hoi An. After inquiring round, I ended up paying $34 per gown and left Vietnam with 14. 

Typically I purchased issues on the spot after I felt the worth appeared very affordable. I did not thoughts if the seller earned a number of additional {dollars}, as a result of I nonetheless felt it was an important deal and the cash would imply extra to them than it did to me. 

For essentially the most half, as an American citizen, I did not want a visa or paid for visas on arrival. These sometimes price about $30 to $40. 

There have been outliers, although. The visa for China price me $205 in software and printing charges and the visa for Bolivia price $160. I used to be stunned to study of that requirement two hours earlier than we reached the border from Peru and scrambled to assemble the required paperwork earlier than arrival. 

I often indulged in luxuries I nearly by no means spend cash on within the U.S., the place I usually really feel I am unable to justify the fee. I obtained gel manicures for about $15 and massages for $5 to $10. I took yoga and meditation lessons in stunning amenities in Bali, which price $10 every. Haircuts price about $8. I additionally frequently stocked up on toiletries, sunscreen, and mosquito repellent.

This encompasses enjoyable actions for the sake of escapism that do not depend as sightseeing or cultural experiences. That features entry charges to the few nightclubs I visited, arcade video games, a Spotify music subscription, and hookah with buddies.

I am stunned at how little I really spent on escapism. You’ll be able to social gathering arduous very affordably with different vacationers in Southeast Asia and South America, particularly when staying at hostels. In my early to mid-20s, I’d have jumped on the alternative, however in my early 30s, I did not really feel drawn to it. 

Overseas, I lived extraordinarily comfortably on about $1,920 a month — extra so than the typical backpacker I met. I by no means cooked for myself, ordered fancy iced lattes frequently, and splurged on 14 {custom} made silk clothes in a single week.

I had turn into very jaded residing in costly coastal American cities, feeling like I may by no means afford a home or children and continually evaluating myself to individuals who have greater than me. I felt poor, like I by no means had sufficient and was by no means doing sufficient. 

Monitoring my spending confirmed me that I’ve huge buying energy in a lot of the world. I am not a helpless sufferer of inflation and the hovering price of residing within the U.S. Really, I am extraordinarily privileged and fortunate. 

The expertise helped me to shift from a mentality of shortage and helplessness to one in all abundance and gratitude. It jogged my memory of how wealthy I’m and the way a lot I’ve to be glad about. It helped me understand I’ve — and am — greater than sufficient. 

Helen Zhao is a former video producer and author at CNBC. Earlier than becoming a member of CNBC as a information affiliate, she coated residential actual property for the LA Enterprise Journal. She’s a California native and a proud USC Trojan and UCLA Bruin. 

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