The True Cost of Travel

2017 USA Travel Expenses

First Uploaded: April 30, 2017 |  Latest Update: June 14, 2017

Earlier this month, in the post New York City On My Mind, I wrote that I had begun booking events in advance of my upcoming summer visit to that great city. On April 13, after booking return tickets from Adelaide, Australia to New York City, it occurred to me that it might be interesting to document every expense, no matter how small, that I will incur for this extended three month stay in America, most of which will be spent in the Big Apple.

I plan to account for my expenses across four major departments: Events & Activities; Food & Groceries; Transport & Accommodation; and Shopping & Sundries. Note: All figures in the tables are in Australian dollars. The running tally at the bottom of the screen grab below includes the total U.S. dollar amounts. Here's where things stand as of today ...

Total Expenses to Date: AUD$4916.10  -  (USD$3716.65)

NOTES

Figures are rounded up or down to the nearest five cents. Due to the constantly fluctuating exchange rates between the Australian and American dollar, anyone checking the above figures will almost certainly find their own calculations differ.

Money, Money, Money

~ I’ve had one of those days where all I did was pay out my hard earned cash, and got very little in ‘return’ to show for it. Well, that’s how it feels, anyway.

You see, today I bought travel insurance for my upcoming trip ($757.00), and paid for a couple of nights accommodation in a Super 8 Hotel near Los Angeles international airport (US$132.56). In return for my $889.56 I got a couple of electronic receipts, and documents spelling out the numerous terms and conditions governing my purchases.

Quite frankly, it didn’t seem like a fair return to me.

That’s one of the problems with travel. You seem to spend weeks, if not months, paying out large sums of money before you see any actual return on your investment. So far I have paid out $5,427.00 towards my trip and I haven’t even left the house yet!

I’m trying valiantly to stem a rising tide of panic which in my worst case scenario sees me flying out of Australia without any money left in my account to enjoy my travels. Of course, I will have enough, but when you are constantly forking out for tickets, insurance, accommodation, and pre-booked tours and such, departure time can seem like a long way off, and your wallet begins to look very thin.

Add to this the constant worry of watching the world’s financial markets rise and fall like a kite caught in a hurricane, and endless calculations on just how much more (or less) the Australian dollar will buy each day, and I know exactly why I don’t feel anywhere near excited enough about my approaching departure.

I console myself with the thought that with a month still to go before I fly out, I have pretty much made all my major travel expenditures except for any day to day living expenses I will have to deal with.

Roll on June 29!

Click here to see The (Real) Cost of Travel...