How do you keep track of your spending while on vacation?

[Magic2000]

I like to pay cash for my purchases when on vacation, because I find I'm a little more disciplined than when I just use the debit card. So before each trip, I see how much I have saved, then divide it amongst the number of days we'll be there. Each night, while the kids are taking baths, I count the amount of money I have left and try to remember, off the top of my head, how much I spent that day. I'm usually pretty good and can usually get it within a few dollars. I write down what I start with each day, what I remember spending, and what I ended up with. That way, I know if I'm still within my budget.

We're pretty good about staying well within the budget, because I usually save really good before the trip so I can pad my "allowance" each day. It works for me, and only takes a few minutes out of my evening.

 

[marie1203]

It depends on the vacation and how much we have on our vacation fund. Sometimes we have to budget and when we do that I usually budget before we get there and check it at the end of the day. I prefer a spread sheet vs bank account because we usually use credit cards and pay them off every Monday. Even if we had extra money I still budget before I get there to have an idea how much the trip is going to cost us but I won't do final number until we get home.

 

[shortbun]

I set a budget, divide it into equal parts and whatever I don't spend from one day's budget gets equally distributed to the leftover days. If I spend more than one day's budget, it comes equally off the leftover days. It's an easy method-kind of like keeping envelopes with cash in them but without the envelopes. I carry a tine notebook and keep track in it.

 

[Disneychix]

Oh boy-If I tired to tell DH that his 1 extra beer was not in the 'budget' he'd look at me like I had 3 heads! (and then he'd ignore me and buy his beer!)

We don't really keep track. I mean, I know what we buy and we don't excessively buy things. We really aren't souvenier people. I can usually talk myself out of every mickey t-shirt and tchosky (sp?) I see. We aren't pin collectors. We don't bring things home for our relatives. DH is the one who'll urge me to buy things if at all.

But don't get between us and our food!! We are on vacation and if I want a mickey head ice-cream, even though I had one an hour ago, I'm going to have it!

 

[StitchBuddy]

We primarily use cash for food and little things. It is much easier for me when I see how quickly the money is disappearing to pull back into my frugal mode. But, larger things (like tours or bike rentals) we use the cc and pay it off when we return.

 

[GAGirlInVA]

We use cash and giftcards.

 

[ssawka]

Oh boy-If I tired to tell DH that his 1 extra beer was not in the 'budget' he'd look at me like I had 3 heads! (and then he'd ignore me and buy his beer!)

I like your DH!

 

[EMHDad]

envelope system

We budget the different aspects of our vacation and then only use cash on vacation. At any given time, I can tell exactly how much I have spent and have left for a specific aspect.

 

[eyor44]

I have a spreadsheet that I prepare before we go that includes what is allotted for each activity and expenditure for each day. (tips, souvies, tours, etc including gas, food and hotel for the drive there and back). Each evening I gather all receipts and record them in a notebook and then fill in the spread sheet with the totals. Even if cash was used, I still keep all reciepts so I'll know what my total was for each day.

We do the DXDP and I like to have the receipts with the $$ amounts so I can keep track of how much it would have cost OOP. I like to keep track to make sure it is still beneficial for us to continue using the DXDP.

Doing the spreadsheet also helps plan for the next year. I can see where we might need adjustments.

 

[jilliemom]

We're usually on the DDP, so I try to plan ahead and figure out what we'll need for tips and anything not on the plan.

Before we leave I figure what we'll need per day and put that $ in individual envelopes with each day marked on the front. I'll just grab the envelope for that day and leave the others in the room safe. If I have any left over $, I'll add it to splurge the next day. I think nothing is worse than coming home from vacation with credit card bills!

 

[hopemax]

I travel with a small notebook. One of my evening rituals (along with refreshing my pins, icing my feet, and charging the camera batteries) is to write down that day's receipts in the book. My parents are local, so what happens a lot is that my Dad and I will go to the park. He will pay for lunch because he has a Tables in Wonderland card or just because it was quicker for us to do one transaction than each of us order separately. Then, I'll pay for dinner that we pick up and bring home. Going through the receipts daily, lets me know if at the end of the trip, who owes who money.

 

[SamSam]

I'm a little obsessive in keeping track of expenditure's; I don't necessarily budget but I like to track where our spending goes. We always have our laptops with us because we work half days, so I set up an excel file for our daily expenditures. Each evening (or the next morning) I enter all our expenses. We either charge to credit card or use Disney Rewards (visa), and I use separate colums to show which the expense was from.
I just like to see at the end of the trip where all the money went!

 

[shalom]

Spend with no regard to the dollar amount and then just deal with it later? (Because you're on vacation, darn it!)

I sort of do this, but OTOH I love to plan so usually have a pretty good idea of what we'll be eating and buying and all, and I rarely go much over that prediction. The kids have their own money and that's their problem.

I've overspent my predictions by about $50 a time or two, but that's livable. Especially since I sometimes underspend about that much as well. Although it does tend to be Disney (as opposed to other vacations) when I overspend, and I have yet to underspend at Disney. Disney pins do my budget in.