Spin off on being poor/frugal

[scbelleatheart]

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?

 

[happygirl]

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 could eat on 25 if I all I wanted was fast food for all three meal

 

[Willow1213]

As a grown adult, if I am away from home for more than a day or two, I want to have a decent meal at least once a day. By decent I mean something besides fast food. You could spend $25 easily on dinner alone at a chain sit-down restaurant (Applebee's, Outback, etc.)

At our company we get $38 and the rule is if your hotel provides free breakfast, you cannot expense a breakfast meal unless you are entertaining clients. I feel this is fair and easy to eat a light breakfast (usually Starbucks for me), a fast food type lunch, and a casual dining dinner.

 

[MommaSnowwhite]

That amount seems low to me. I don't know that you can eat 3 healthy meals on that amount.

 

[RachaelA]

DH doesn't get anything for food so I'd be fine with him getting $25! Its not bad now that he barely travels, but when he was gone 15 days a month, it really added up!

ETA: Hotel room, internet and gas are paid for along with either a company truck or mileage (which is way under the government standard!)

 

[Julie*]

I think that is low unless they are staying at a hotel that has breakfast included in the room rate.

I work for a major university and the per diem for travel is 60.00 per day max.

 

[PrincessDadx2]

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?

Food - maybe depending on place
Drinks - definitely not
Incidentals - no

My per diems have never been less than $50 per day, higher in high cost cities.

 

[crisi]

That's low. Ours is a minimum of $40 - and that will cover you in Oklahoma City. If you are in San Francisco or Boston, its $80.

I agree that you want to have one decent non-fast food meal a day.

 

[drcmk]

To eat dinner in a restaurant with table service and a tip, I think I'd have to spend $20. A counter service lunch would probably be $12. I could get a continental breakfast or a diner breakfast for about $7.

I couldn't do three meals for $25. Maybe if I were drinking free water instead of a beverage with a cost, ate only at fast food/take out restaurants and had a very skimpy breakfast.

 

[4under4]

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.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

We get $50, $25 would just cover dinner for the most part.

 

[Mkebound]

I travel for work often, but am allowed to expense all meals regardless if I'm with a customer or not.

I consider myself quite frugal with the company's money, but there is no way I spend that little. I would guess when it's just me I spend $50-60 a day.

In fact I'm traveling today and I just pulled my receipts. I spent $13 on a hotel breakfast, $27.21 at Applebees for lunch, and $9.85 at McDonald's for dinner.

 

[tar heel]

That's really small. I would be able to eat on that, but I'd get really tired of the limitations quickly.

I hope your employees stay at hotels that have breakfast and evening receptions. That would make it much more doable.

 

[Mkebound]

I travel for work often, but am allowed to expense all meals regardless if I'm with a customer or not.

I consider myself quite frugal with the company's money, but there is no way I spend that little. I would guess when it's just me I spend $50-60 a day.

In fact I'm traveling today and I just pulled my receipts. I spent $13 on a hotel breakfast, $27.21 at Applebees for lunch, and $9.85 at McDonald's for dinner.

 

[disykat]

I'd be able to do it pretty easily, but don't most places give more?

When dh used to travel, he often went out the first night and bought groceries. He ate all his breakfasts in the room ($2), packed himself a lunch to eat at the office most days ($4), and ate out for dinner at basic diner type places ($15). He usually received $38 a day, but spent about $25. If he was there over the weekend, he lived it up a bit and spent more. We always made money off the deal.

We always felt like his per diem was more than generous to eat similarly to what he might eat at home. $25 seems low end, but definitely doable if there's a fridge and a microwave in the room and a grocery store near by. It wouldn't be enough though to totally cover three restaurant meals/tips/etc.

 

[C.Ann]

I could do it - but only because I eat like a bird..

I think that's too little for average adults..

 

[bumbershoot]

Way too low.

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.

Offset makes no sense. That requires time to go shopping, things to cook in, etc. When people travel they deserve to have a proper amount to feed them the whole time.

 

[mpls_mm]

We do pay $25 a day too! Now I feel cheap! I put the guys up someplace with breakfast and they always travel with DH, he provides sodas, water and high protein snacks like trail mix, beef jerky etc.throughout the day. He eats out every meal and they can eat with him and we pick up the meals or they can take their per diem. We started this because some guys would rather have the money and eat bologna sandwiches and we figure they would have to buy food at home anyway so it is to help make up the difference. They take turns picking out where they eat.

 

[gfolchick]

Just asked DH, he gets $50 for dinner and "reasonable amount" for breakfast/lunch but he's not sure what that number is. He's not a big breakfast eater and lunch is usually at a conference or office. He can pick up employee's bill if they are traveling with him and it would have same restrictions but would be expensed together.

 

[Belle5]

That is just really low! DH doesn't have a limit, but when he has in the past it's been in the realm of $50. If your employees are traveling a couple times a year...not a big deal. But, if you have employees on the road often...no way. DH travels so often, he would be a walking heart attack if he was eating the fast food a $25 Per Diem covers for three meals a day. With the higher limit, he can have grilled salmon or chicken, spinach or broccoli, fruit, etc. (closer to what we'd be having for dinner if he was home). I know DH's company expects their people to be in shape, be healthy and look professional.