Spin off on being poor/frugal

[scbelleatheart]

Wow! Thanks for the input! I guess I should look over our per diem.
Maybe DH and I got so used to eating in hotels we are unrealistic to costs.
Average day
Breakfast- Usually included at the hotel. If not, 2 breakfast items and coffee. $5 for two,
Lunch- eat out, usually Home Town Buffet/Hong Kong Buffet. The engineers prefer it so they don't have to put up with others dietary issues. $10 for 2 plus tip.
Dinner- Either pizza or someplace like Applebee's 2 for $20. Either way we have leftovers for lunch the next day. $20.
So $35 for 2.
Thanks for your thoughts. I just have became so used to being in a hotel, i learn to make the best of it. At least I do not cook in a coffee pot.

 

[scrapquitler]

Our employees receive $25 a day per diem. They also have a hotel room and company vehicles with gas paid. They feel it should be raised. They do not have to entertain clients. This is just the money allowed for their meals when out of town.
Could you eat on $25 a day or would you have to dip into your own cash?

I think it depends on where they are and how they use their per diem.

When my DH travels for work, he eats (free) breakfast in the hotel if they provide it. If not, he just stops for coffee somewhere. Lunch sometimes is provided by the client, otherwise he buys fast food. Dinner he is often taken out by the client, but if not, he goes somewhere like Applebees, and ends up spending about $15-$18. So on a day without client paid lunch or dinner he's fairly close to that $25 and he tries to eat cheaply. If he were somewhere that he had to get a taxi, pay to park, do laundry or eat a more expensive meal because of lack of inexpensive choices, then he'd be over $25 quickly.

One thing I want to add: my DH usually doesn't buy lunch out when he works (since he usually works at home), so him paying for lunch out of pocket when traveling is a required extra, and there's no option. But some people pay for lunch at a company cafeteria or restaurant every day, so maybe being reimbursed for that lunch while traveling isn't such a big deal for them: they are probably budgeted for that regular expense and would have it regardless of whether or not they were traveling. In that case, going over by $10 or whatever their lunch normally costs probably wouldn't phase them. My DH would have a heart attack about it.

I think the MOST important thing about the per diem and travel expenses for work is to reimburse the employee quickly. A few years ago my DH took a required business trip to London, the client insisted on a full fare (so that it would be refundable) airfare, a particular ($400 a night!) hotel, etc. The 4 day trip cost almost $4000, which we had to pay out of pocket and then be reimbursed for. And it took them almost NINE MONTHS to reimburse my DH. That wasn't cool at all. Please don't do that to your employees!

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Wow! Thanks for the input! I guess I should look over our per diem.
Maybe DH and I got so used to eating in hotels we are unrealistic to costs.
Average day
Breakfast- Usually included at the hotel. If not, 2 breakfast items and coffee. $5 for two,
Lunch- eat out, usually Home Town Buffet/Hong Kong Buffet. The engineers prefer it so they don't have to put up with others dietary issues. $10 for 2 plus tip.
Dinner- Either pizza or someplace like Applebee's 2 for $20. Either way we have leftovers for lunch the next day. $20.
So $35 for 2.
Thanks for your thoughts. I just have became so used to being in a hotel, i learn to make the best of it. At least I do not cook in a coffee pot.

I think even here, your numbers are low. I don't think I could get 2 muffins plus 2 coffees for breakfst for $5. Ditto on Hometown Buffet--2 people for $10? Including tax and tip? Our local Chinese buffet came to $21, not including tip, for me, DH, and DS5. Even dropping the child's meal, that's close to $20 for two adults. Even Applebee's "2 for $20" deal doesn't include tax and tip (and possibly not the drinks). I'm not trying to pick on you, just be realistic about the numbers.

Also, I think it's one thing to be super cheap when it's your own choice to eat out. When someone is travelling for business, they don't have much choice. Personally, i hated business travel, and I would prefer to cook my own meals if possible. But, I do think you should raise the per diem rates by $10 at least.

 

[scrapquitler]

I think its a fair amount!
For B-fast, if its not included, I could go to panera and pick up a bagel or two and have ice water (not a coffee fan) $3

Lunch - Could go to the grocery salad bar and eat for around $5. Healthy Meal. They also have other home cooked meals you can buy for around $5.

Dinner - Look for a deal, coupon etc! Lots of places have those two for 20's, so that is 10 per person, plus tip $12
Theres also a lot of local resturants that offer a good home cooked meal for under $10

12+5+3 = $20 which leaves room for snacking!

When my husband travels for work, going to the grocery salad bar and finding a local restaurant are usually not a viable option. He's usually working in a non-residential area and doesn't even KNOW where to find a grocery store or local restaurant, much less find them and get there. On his last trip, he was in a hotel in a pretty much industrial area of Houston. He said he didn't see ANY thing retail/local looking, mostly all just office buildings and small manufacturing type buildings. He was at meetings by 8am, ate lunch with the client on site (I guess they brought stuff in for lunch to be more convenient) and worked there with the clients until 7, then had to work more in the room that night. With that kind of schedule, the idea is to eat at the first place you can find, and quickly, not search for something. That's typical for his business trips, and probably most others as well.

When he came home from that trip, my MIL asked him what kind of sightseeing he did He said "I saw the airport and the office" Same thing when he traveled to London: he saw the airport and the office.

 

[VAfamily1998]

I think even here, your numbers are low. I don't think I could get 2 muffins plus 2 coffees for breakfst for $5. Ditto on Hometown Buffet--2 people for $10? Including tax and tip? Our local Chinese buffet came to $21, not including tip, for me, DH, and DS5. Even dropping the child's meal, that's close to $20 for two adults. Even Applebee's "2 for $20" deal doesn't include tax and tip (and possibly not the drinks). I'm not trying to pick on you, just be realistic about the numbers.

Also, I think it's one thing to be super cheap when it's your own choice to eat out. When someone is travelling for business, they don't have much choice. Personally, i hated business travel, and I would prefer to cook my own meals if possible. But, I do think you should raise the per diem rates by $10 at least.

 

[Swimalie]

My husband travels a lot for work and I think the lowest per diem he gets is $36. It's more for higher cost cities. He can easily get by on $36 because he stays in hotels with free breakfast and usually only eats lunch. $25 would be hard unless breakfast is included in the hotel.

 

[nunzia]

$25 would be fine with me. Breakfast would be a granola bar from home or whatever the hotel offered. Lunch Subway type or salad somewhere so that leaves plenty for dinner at a place like Chilis, IHOP, etc. What I'd probably do is eat cheaper and then pocket the rest

 

[ssawka]

This might help. GSA has a website where Federal employees can look up the government's per diem rates. It is at http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21287.

Type in the locations that your employees normally travel too and take a look at the last column, which covers meals.

 

[Dacky619]

I'm surprised at some of the numbers I'm seeing. I do a lot of traveling for work, about 10 nights a month from September through May, summer is a little less, and if I only got $25 per day, I wouldn't be happy. I know I'm lucky, in my job all of my travel expenses are fully reimbursed, and yes, there are some days where my meals for the day are only 15 dollars, but when I'm on the road for more than 2 days in a row, I can't keep going back to fast food places or eat those grocery store meals everyday.

 

[bettymae1121]

My company doesn't pay a per diem but they do have guidlines for meal cost, $10 for breakfast, $25 for lunch and $35 for dinner, so $60 per day. You can go over that amount if needed for some reason, but accounting will look hard at your receipts if you do. While not expresly banned, ordering alcohol on the company's dime is frowned upon.

$25 per day is low, even with an honest attempt at eating cheaply that's a stretch when on the road where options may be limited.

 

[kimberlym322]

This might help. GSA has a website where Federal employees can look up the government's per diem rates. It is at http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/21287.

Type in the locations that your employees normally travel too and take a look at the last column, which covers meals.

Thanks for that web site. Boy, the company my dad works for is way off for their meals each where they go. I can also say that the rates they have for lodgeing for the area I am in is so out in left field that it is not even in the ball park....They wish that a room in my area was only 195.00 in June, July and Aug, They need to add 100.00 to 200.00 to that price!!! As a matter of fact the whole lot for rates in the are I live in is wrong! Gov. needs to do better research on that one.

With that site...I wounder...if the meal alotment is based on the room rate???

 

[canadianjovigirl]

My hubby works on the road and is gone all week and their hotels are paid for, they travel in company trucks and get $40 per diem which they are currently thinking of raising. He eats breakfast at the hotel, packs a bag lunch with stuff taken from home and then eats supper out. When he is gone for more than a week i send him 3 homecooked suppers which he loves as he gets tired of fast food. They dont really have alot of time to sit in restaurants and alot of times are stuck in small towns with no options so it is expensive (3.99 for 1litre of milk, $23 for ONE pizza at a mom and pop joint).

The company i work for pays $50 per diem and that is considered a tad on the low side for our industry. We also cover hotels and they drive company trucks.

We like to try to make money off the per diem as if he has to be away from the family we try to save as much of it as we can and add it to our vacation fund.

 

[tlbwriter]

But I also explained to my staff that a per diem is meant to OFFSET the cost of eating out, not feed them 100% of their food... everyone would need to eat no matter where they were.

I disagree. If I weren't traveling, I'd be able to go home and make a sandwich. I'd be able to cook dinner using the spices and condiments in my own kitchen. If I'm traveling, you've taken away my access to everything and I have to start with nothing (no, sorry, I'm not going to haul a loaf of bread and a package of bologna on a plane ).

 

[ilovemk76]

Our employees receive $25 a day per diem. They also have a hotel room and company vehicles with gas paid. They feel it should be raised. They do not have to entertain clients. This is just the money allowed for their meals when out of town.
Could you eat on $25 a day or would you have to dip into your own cash?

I travel for work and I always spend more than $25/day on food. That will only pay for fast food. My dinners cost that much or more.

 

[ilovemk76]

When I was a manager of a traveling project team, our Per Diem was $25/day... that was about 10 years ago. So, I think it's little low.

But I also explained to my staff that a per diem is meant to OFFSET the cost of eating out, not feed them 100% of their food... everyone would need to eat no matter where they were. One of the ways I was able to manage the situation was to put us up in an extended stay hotel that had an in-room kitchen, evening "reception" (drinks/apps), and included breakfast. The cost of the hotel was comparable to a regular hotel, and I at least enjoyed preparing my own dinners most of the time.

Per disk is an amount that will cover all your costs. At home I would be in my house eating a nice meal.

 

[mpls_mm]

I think it really depends on the industry and employees, like I said previously. I pay $25 a day but provide sodas, water and snacks all day and the hotel has breakfast. Our guys are all laborers and most are under 23. The crew we have now has no drivers licenses so they have to be driven everywhere and they drink their dinner if they aren't working. A couple of them only bathe once or twice a week and are filthy so they won't be eating in a sit down steak place too often. They can take the $25 per diem or eat with my husband and he picks up the tab. It costs us more if he picks up the tab, but it's different than per diem for tax purposes.
I don't think you can compare a laborer crew to an executive or government employee. If we had salespeople traveling the country, our per diem might be different, but now, 4 guys splitting $100 a day with breakfast provided, they are happy to eat gas station hot dogs for lunch and split a pizza some nights. if my husband buys, its a buffet of some type for lunch and delivery for dinner like Jimmy Johns, Pizza Hut etc.

 

[Pigeon]

That's ridiculously low. If I'm traveling on business, I never have time to run around strange places hunting for bargain meals. And as a single woman, I usually don't have much interest in scouting out unfamiliar locations at night. I generally eat as close to the hotel as I can.

Two breakfast items and two coffees for $5? A single coffee is almost $5 in many places.

 

[NotUrsula]

Wow! Thanks for the input! I guess I should look over our per diem.
Maybe DH and I got so used to eating in hotels we are unrealistic to costs.
Average day
Breakfast- Usually included at the hotel. If not, 2 breakfast items and coffee. $5 for two,
Lunch- eat out, usually Home Town Buffet/Hong Kong Buffet. The engineers prefer it so they don't have to put up with others dietary issues. $10 for 2 plus tip.
Dinner- Either pizza or someplace like Applebee's 2 for $20. Either way we have leftovers for lunch the next day. $20.
So $35 for 2.
Thanks for your thoughts. I just have became so used to being in a hotel, i learn to make the best of it. At least I do not cook in a coffee pot.

I live in the midwest, in a city that is known for its low cost of living. Chinese buffets here tend to run $7 for lunch and $12 for dinner, not including drinks. "Special lunch plates" tend to run cheaper, at about $5 without a drink. Tell you what, though -- I've given up Chinese buffets when traveling for business. Not because I don't enjoy the food, because I do, but I restrict myself to eating at them locally these days, because on three different occasions when out of town I've ended up with ptomaine after eating at a Chinese buffet. Being sick as a dog in a hotel room is no fun, but having to run to the restroom every 3 minutes while I'm on the clock at a client site is much worse.

My current employer doesn't have a per-diem limit, but we have to submit itemized receipts for any meal over $10, and they don't pay for alcohol unless you are entertaining clients. If you start getting extravagant you will be called on the carpet for it. I'm a fairly cheap eater when I travel, but on average I spend about $6 for breakfast, $10 for lunch and $20 for dinner. (But more in high-cost cities, of course.)

One thing that you definitely should do, however, is make your per-diem double-tiered. The IRS has a list of "high-cost" cities on their website; you should at very least allow for a bump in the per-diem rate if they are travelling to one of them.

 

[NotUrsula]

Thanks for that web site. Boy, the company my dad works for is way off for their meals each where they go. I can also say that the rates they have for lodgeing for the area I am in is so out in left field that it is not even in the ball park....They wish that a room in my area was only 195.00 in June, July and Aug, They need to add 100.00 to 200.00 to that price!!! As a matter of fact the whole lot for rates in the are I live in is wrong! Gov. needs to do better research on that one.

With that site...I wounder...if the meal alotment is based on the room rate???

Remember, the GSA website's rates are for Federal employees. The Feds negotiate special rates with hotel chains, so the rate that they pay is NOT the regular room rate about 95% of the time.

 

[okeydokey]

It is too low. I work for state govt and we get 36 if we are gone all day for all three meals and that can be hard. You have to consider the time it takes to find a place to eat cheaply. At a conference hotel, the coffee is not even free and it costs $4 a cup. There goes my $6 breakfast. Restaurants in hotels are very expensive and other alternatives are not always readily available. Big cities are the worst because everything is expensive.

We are doing a Vegas conference next month and the hotel breakfast alone is 17 plus tax and tip. I think I have to bring a box of granola bars in my bag.