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Home > Anyone ever managed to keep spending log while on vacation?

Anyone ever managed to keep spending log while on vacation?

September 18th, 2008 at 03:12 pm

I have attempted this several times, yet on day 2 I usually forget. Than I try to remember and estimate.

I hope to do better this time. Leaving TODAY!!!!

5 hours of sleep daily for the last 4 days, trying to take care of business before leaving.

11 Responses to “Anyone ever managed to keep spending log while on vacation?”

  1. ceejay74 Says:
    1221751892

    Yes, I managed on my last vacation. Well, I wrote down every ATM withdrawal or debit card purchase; sometimes they would encompass a lot, like "food and gifts." But I did stay well within my spending limit, so I considered it a success!

  2. disneysteve Says:
    1221752785

    I always keep a spending log on vacations. I just save all of the receipts and make a note of any cash purchases. It isn't difficult at all.

    Have a great trip wherever you are going.

  3. Aleta Says:
    1221752811

    It is a difficult task. In the beginning, I use a sheet of paper (disadvantage #1 - could get lost), and I write down everything including tolls. It's not really a problem for me but it does aggravate my husband and especially if I ask him how much he just spent. I think that it's probably easier to have a small PDA and just keep your receipts.

    My husband likes to just look at what he's taking for vacation and spend from there. I would just suggest a small memo book and put cash, prepaid tolls, or credit card beside it.

    I hope that you have a wonderful time.

  4. scfr Says:
    1221753122

    Yes, I do. I also either get a receipt or write things down when there is no receipt (such as for a bottle of water in the airport).

    Keeping a record is now a habit for me, but when I first started tracking my spending I would forget too. It's easy to forget. So I started carrying a coin purse with my "pocket money" cash, kept seperate from the rest of my money.

    This is how that approach might work for you on your vacation: Keep all receipts. For the little bits of money that you spend here and there and do not get receipts for (public transportation fares, snacks, tips, etc), put some money in a separate place such as a coin purse. How much depends on where you are going, but something between $20 and $100 would would probably cover things. When vacation is over, note how much of the "coin purse" money you spent and add that up with your receipts. For the cash spent, you won't know exactly where it went, but you will know the exact amount.

  5. sharmanl Says:
    1221765265

    I always have a budget amount for each category for our vacation. Food, hotel, gas, attractions, etc. I even know which restaurants we will eat at, best time to go, price, location, and get reviews and health inspection score before I go.

    I have a vacation folder with hotel, restaurant, and attraction information. I research cheapest tickets and best time to go. I hate surprises!

  6. jennlem Says:
    1221775621

    I do too. I get a small notebook and use the back half as a spending log and the front half as a travel journal. That way if I forget about the spending long I am usually reminded when I write what happened during the day and vice versa. It also takes a bit of the dridgery out of the task. Plus everything is together when I look back at them in the coming years!

  7. fern Says:
    1221781969

    yes, in my usual obssessive-compulsive way.
    Then when i get home, i usually like to categorize how the $ was spent, using categories like: Transportation, hotel, food, souvenirs and miscellaneous.

  8. baselle Says:
    1221782458

    Sometimes. The index card (for writing things down) inside the envelope (for collecting receipts) works the best for me. It helps to get into the mindset of the accountant approving your expense report.

  9. skydivingchic Says:
    1221790190

    Yes, I do keep track of expenses on vacations. DBF and I split things 50/50 and generally we decide at the beginning of a trip that one will pay for hotels and one will pay for gas and food (for example). We take what we call the "sacred envelope" in which all receipts go. Also, cash expenses get written down along with who paid them. It doesn't take much effort since most everything can go on a credit card and we therefore get receipts. After the trip I put together a spreadsheet with all the expenses and we settle up any difference in the 50/50 split.

  10. Analise Says:
    1221841448

    Yes, I now use the notepad feature of my iPhone and log everything we spend $$ on. I will make a note if we paid in cash (C) or credit card (CC). Before my iPhone, I carried a tiny notebook in my handbag to do this. Later, I will create a spreadsheet. For me, writing it down definitely helps me stay within the travel budget. Also, if you can see that you are under budget one day, you feel better about spending a little more the next day on a fancier dinner or lunch.

  11. MileHighGirl Says:
    1225487978

    At the end of each travel day I'd sit down and note where we were, and what we did, what we spent and who paid. I keep a small notepad to jot things down on, but I hope to do with with some kind of pda in the future.

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