Traveling has been a trend nowadays. Traveling could be fantastic as long as you stick to your planned itineraries and most importantly… your travel budget.

Getting broke on your travel is the last thing you wanted to happen to you, right? So to prevent this from happening, here are ways to track your travel expenses. 



Set Your Travel Budget

Before going to your travel destination, the first thing you should do is to plan your travel budget carefully. 

This might require some research. Such as your possible accommodation expenses, your itineraries, your meal budget, and many more. 

Make sure that you have extra in case untoward expenses occur. And always remind yourself to stick with your planned travel budget. 

Here are traditional and techy ways to track your budget easily. 

Traditional Ways to Track Your Travel Expenses

If you are not much of a techy person, you can use these traditional ways to track your expenses. 

Notebooks

Keeping notes of all your spending is one of the handy ways to track your expenses. You can draw lines or grids on it, or you can buy those that already have grids. You can also keep all your receipts in your notebook. 

Cash Envelope

According to cashmart.com.sg, another way to keep your budget on track is to use cash on your travel expenses. You can make your cash envelopes and there are already made envelopes in the market. 

Put your estimated budget in the envelope for each of your travel destinations. This includes meal budget, accommodations, and other expected expenses like souvenirs. 

If you are on a strict budget, doing a cash envelope is good for you. Since you can bring only the exact amount of money that you need for the day. 

Techy Ways to Track Your Travel Expenses

If you are not into bringing notebooks or envelopes, you can use these technological ways to keep track of your expenses. All you need to have is your smartphone, laptop, or other digital devices.

Spreadsheets

This is the most preferred techy way to monitor your travel expenses. You can work on it either on your phone or laptop, so it is accessible. 

You can use Excel or Google spreadsheets to encode your expenses. You can create different columns for each of the categories. 

One good thing about using Excel and Google Spreadsheets is that you can calculate your expenses using certain functions. 

Smartphone Applications

Using your smartphone is handy when it comes to tracking your expenses. There are several applications that you can use to monitor your budget. 

Just search “travel budget apps” on google and you’ll see various apps that you can use. These travel budget apps can work offline. Some work on any kind of phone. 

But you should still check the compatibility of the application to your smartphone. Another thing you should consider is its restriction on your privacy. Especially if it is connected to your bank account. 

Here are some commonly used travel budget applications.

Notes

Every smartphone has a Notes Function. You can use this to encode your travel expenses. And you can use the calculator app on your phone to calculate all your expenses. 

Trail Wallet

It is one of the most recommended applications. You can either use the free version or the upgraded version, which is paid with a certain amount. 

Using the Trail Wallet, you can organize your budget and expenses per travel, month, or per day. 

One Receipt

It is a free phone app. If you are having trouble keeping all your receipts, this application is best for you. You can scan your receipt with this app and discard your paper receipts after. 

You can organize your scanned receipts into one place. Categorize them according to specifications like business travel expenses or personal travel expenses. 

Mint

Mint is another free phone application. You can use it to set your budget. It can also help you monitor your cash flow, credit score, and your recent transactions. 

Another good thing about his app is that it is not only used for monitoring your travel expenses but other personal expenses. 

But keep in mind that this application is only available in the US and Canada. 

Toshl Finance 

It is a free personal finance application that allows you to set your budget. It sums up your expenses using other currencies, which is why it is recommended to travelers. 

Aside from all that, you can also use this app to take photos of your receipts. You can also sync this app to other devices, making it more accessible.  

You can also connect multiple bank accounts, credit cards, and other financing services. Paypal and crypto currencies could also be connected.  

TripRider 

This is a paid phone application. This can help you with all your travel needs like maps and travel budget plans. You can also use this app to get connected with other travelers.