I haven’t been successful with the 9 no-spend days before my vacation. I ended up spending $82.74. I don’t plan on going anywhere else before my trip so that should be the end of the money leakage. Here’s how things went down:

• $2.85 – UPS – merchandise return
• $40.22 – Food  – work function and I also treated myself on numerous occasions.
• $6.67 – Target Item Subscription – I forgot to cancel this, but I would need it eventually.
• $33.00 – Credit Repayment – I’ve been paying back a small purchase at 0% interest. I have been tracking the payments as if they were small purchases due to the small cost. This was the last payment.

Even though I didn’t reach my goal, I’m pleased with my performance. It was hard!! I really wanted to buy some things, but I was able to hold back. Had my spending trajectory continued, I’d spend ~$180 on food and everything else by months end. This is $270 below my usual budget.

My Vacation Budget

So I guess I should share where in the world I’m heading! I’m going to South America for 10 days. I will be spending time in 2 countries. I have three numbers in mind when I think about how much I want to spend on this vacation:

1. $380 – stretch goal My “stretch” goal would keep my spending within my usual $2,200/monthly spend budget.
2. $617 – realistic goal My more realistic goal is to limit my spending to what I spend and save in one month excluding the Emergency Fund savings!
3. $750 – absolute threshold This is my absolute upper bound and it’s what I’d usually spend and save each month including emergency fund savings.

I wish I had kept track of how much I spent on my 2 week vacation last year. But I remember wanting to spend $500. I also remember it being difficult to spend $500 even after spending $200 for a last minute excursion that required a plane ticket and lodging. We’ll see if this trip is similar. So far I know I’ll be spending $110 on lodging.