How to budget for travel?

Travel has become an important way for people to enjoy their holidays. In addition to choosing the right travel time and destination, it is best to make a budget before traveling and plan your itinerary and expenses in detail so that you don’t have to worry about expenses during the trip and can enjoy the journey to the fullest.

How to develop a travel budget

The travel budget needs to cover clothing, food, housing, transportation, entertainment, shopping and unforeseen expenses during the trip. Refer to the following steps to help you create a travel budget more easily.

Develop a total annual travel budget each year. When you make your budget every year, set aside a portion of the money for travel expenses based on your or your family’s travel needs, such as the number of people, number of trips, date of travel, destination, etc. If you only have preliminary travel plans, you can set aside a portion of the amount based on previous years’ travel expenses as future travel expenses.

Generally, people will choose between domestic travel and outbound travel. Different destinations have different costs, including transportation fees, accommodation fees, visa fees, travel insurance, etc.

Choose different means of transportation: Generally, the farther the destination is from the departure point, the more expensive the transportation fee will be. The current long-distance means of transportation in China include airplanes, trains (including high-speed rail, high-speed trains, and ordinary trains), long-distance buses, etc. Air ticket prices can vary greatly due to discounts. Whether you are traveling domestically or outbound, booking air tickets in advance is always cheaper than booking just before travel. Abroad, usually domestic air tickets in European countries are cheaper, sometimes even lower than the price of train tickets.

Visa fees: If you choose to travel abroad, you need to reserve time and fees in advance to apply for passports, visas, Hong Kong and Macao passes, and Taiwan travel passes for mainland residents. The visa fees for each country are different. Please consult the relevant departments before applying.

Travel insurance: To ensure the safety of your journey, you can purchase travel insurance before departure. The cost varies depending on the products of each insurance company. Domestic travel insurance usually does not cover the overseas part. If necessary, you can purchase overseas travel insurance separately.

If you are traveling with a tour group, the overall cost is relatively easy to plan. You only need to calculate the additional possible expenses, such as some self-paid items, shopping budget, service tips, etc.

If it is a self-guided tour, you need to be careful about the details. You can refer to the travel experiences of "travel friends" on the Internet to formulate your own travel itinerary. Make a list of expenses based on the country, city, and attractions you want to visit, including transportation, accommodation, tickets, car rental, shopping, etc., and calculate the approximate travel cost.

In addition, you should also prepare emergency funds for travel. There are always some unexpected expenses when you go out. You can set aside 5%-10% of the overall travel cost as a backup fund. Add these costs together to get your total travel budget.

Use bank cards wisely to save money

Whether you are traveling abroad or domestically, it is best to carry credit cards and debit cards, which can help you save a lot of money. For example, if you choose to travel abroad, you can apply for a popular all-currency credit card. With this kind of credit card, you can automatically purchase foreign exchange to repay in RMB when conducting foreign currency transactions anywhere in the world, and you can also make purchases with the card for free. There is a 1.5% currency exchange fee, which is the best choice to save money and convenience.

It is best to use credit cards only for shopping. If you need to withdraw cash, you can also bring a debit card and pre-deposit some cash in it. You only need to pay a handling fee when withdrawing cash. At present, most debit cards charge fees for withdrawing cash abroad, and some banks have some preferential activities for specific users.

Credit card issuers will cooperate with airlines, travel websites, etc. to issue co-branded cards, and release travel promotions from time to time. Participating in these activities saves money than purchasing travel products directly on your own. Cardholders can also use credit card points or enjoy travel products at discounted prices.

When traveling abroad, if you use a debit card with the "Visa" logo, you can directly withdraw foreign currency from any ATM machine abroad. At the same time, it is recommended that everyone prepare a small amount of cash before traveling and use credit and debit cards flexibly.

Tips to save travel costs

There are many cost-saving techniques when traveling. If you make good use of the following techniques, you can save a lot of money on your travel trip.

Choose the appropriate means of transportation: Transportation costs are one of the largest expenses in travel. Travelers can choose the appropriate means of transportation according to their vacation arrangements. For short-distance travel, you can choose high-speed rail or high-speed trains. These types of transportation are fast and are less restricted by natural conditions. If you are traveling long-distance, it is recommended to fly. There are usually low discounts on air tickets between cities with more flights. In addition, you can also reduce transportation expenses by transferring.

Make good use of online resources: To purchase domestic and international air tickets and book hotels, you can go to Ctrip.com, Qunar.com, Elong.com, Tongcheng.com, TripAdvisor, hotels.com, and booking.com , agoda and other websites to compare and find the best products; you can also go to Lvyou.com, Mafengwo.com, Qyer.com, Tuniu.com and other websites to find destination guides and collect useful information.

Arrange accommodation reasonably: Accommodation costs are also one of the largest expenses in travel. In addition to using online resources to compare hotel cost-effectiveness, you can also choose cheap hotels, B&Bs or youth hostels at home and abroad. Cost-effective way. Choosing a train that departs in the evening and arrives in the morning and staying on the train at night is also one of the ways to save accommodation costs.

Purchase discounted tickets with relevant documents: If you have a student ID card, a journalist ID card, a senior citizen ID card, or a military officer ID card, remember to carry them with you. You can usually get discounts when purchasing tickets at some attractions with these ID cards.

Many people will make a detailed travel budget before traveling, but after arriving at the travel destination, they often change their travel plans, or lose control of their shopping, and end up spending far more than their budget. Therefore, after making a budget, everyone needs to follow the budget and avoid large expenditures outside the budget, so as to achieve the purpose of budgeting.

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