Our trip! We’ve been home for two months and while away I had a lot of questions: how are you doing this? Kids’ school? Finances? What is happening?!? I promised to answer them and I finally am. Or, better yet, Steve is. He actually wrote this while we were abroad but I never got around to looking at it, publishing it, etc. (More answers to your questions forthcoming!)
100 Days in Europe:
“How Did You Budget and Save For This Adventure?”
We started saving for this trip almost the very day Bridget and I got home from Italy in the summer of 2010. While on that trip, we found ourselves saying again and again, “We need to bring the kids here!” Knowing that my Sabbatical would come around again in the fall of 2015, we started to make our plans then.
Buying the round-trip Airline ticket to Europe. Now that’s a commitment. It’s going to set you back. Even back in 2010, we were thinking it’s going to be about $1000/RT ticket. And that turned out to be just about right. (Anders wasn’t around then, but he’s free anyway—score!) We booked using Google Flights (I really like that site, as well as Kayak). Driving from Boston to JFK in NYC (to save money), we flew Emirates—the best flight ever—direct to Milan. We fly home on a budget carrier (Norwegian Airlines, probably strapped outside to the wing) direct from Gatwick, England to JFK. If all goes as planned, our car will be there waiting for us to drive back to Boston. (It was. Thank you, Dad!)
Expense #1: Four tickets (everyone but mine and Anders) to Europe and back, roughly $1000/ticket = $4,000. Cha-ching.
We thought about a 6 month trip, but in the end we figured that would be too much (in terms of time away for the kids and in terms of cash). So we cut the trip in half and ended up with, technically, 97 days in Europe. It was actually pretty arbitrary.
We knew we’d be staying in an apartment in Orvieto and in AirBnb’s that we rented (more on this below). With kitchens either way, we’d be buying our groceries and eating IN a lot. (While not very interesting, I’m eating a tuna-fish sandwich in our apartment as I write.) But, like most of you, we do that at home too. Given that you’re going to eat anyway, it’s kind of a wash. [POST-TRIP interjection: in the end, we actually saved money on food in Italy.] But we still had to think about it. Because we thought about it, we actually brought 5 jars of Trader Joe’s Peanut Butter in our suitcases to help out. But here’s what we came up with in terms of a budget:
Expense #2: Eating “In” (i.e., Groceries), we figured $30/day x 100 days = $3,000.
We’re in Italy for nearly three months. Are we going to eat “out”? YES, YES WE ARE! Cappuccinos and croissants for breakfast; Insalata Caprese and Margherita Pizzas for Lunch; and then, occasionally, a nice dinner out too. Wine is cheap. For this we also budgeted $30/day, knowing that most days we wouldn’t use it and then other days we could splurge. So far we’ve been really good about spending in this area–most meals out have been under 100 euro.
Expense #3: Eating “Out”, we figured $30/day x 100 days = $3,000.
Obviously, we’re not just going to sit in our Rentals. We’re here to see as much of Italy, Switzerland and England as we can, within reason. So we came up with a budget for FUN (i.e., entry fees to sights, museums, bus tours, etc.). This one was tough. Not knowing exactly what we want to see, much less the cost to see it, makes it really hard to budget. In the end, we said, let’s just see if we can stay at around $30/day. Some days we’re going to just walk—and that’s free just about everywhere still. On others, we’re going into the Vatican. In any case, at this point in the trip, I’m pleased to report that we’re way under budget. Orvieto is pretty easy on the wallet. 10 Euro for us to go to the bottom of St. Patrick’s Well. Twenty to tour the Orvieto Underground. Another ten to visit the Cathdedral, etc. Of course, once we get to Florence, Positano, Rome, and then London, we think we’ll end up blowing up that part of the budget for sure. Well, that’s what credit cards are for. [POST-TRIP interjection: yes, Positano, Zurich, London, etc., were much more expensive, but while in those places we focused more on what we could do for free, even if we did some big stuff too like renting a small private boat for the day to cruise the Amalfi coast.] So here’s what we’re saying for fun:
Expense #4: Fun, we figured $30/day x 100 days = $3,000.
While all roads lead to Rome, we ain’t walking there. So we had to figure transportation from place to place. Once we figured out our inter-European flights (Rome-Zurich and then Zurich-London; total: roughly $1000; not too bad, considering we need to buy 5 tickets every time we turn around) all we really needed to figure was trains (we didn’t worry about the occasional bus or cab). So here’s what we’re doing in terms train travel: Milan to Como; Como to Orvieto; Orvieto to Positano (and return); Orvieto to Sienna (and return) [POST-TRIP interjection: we never took a train to Sienna, but instead rented a car to Assisi! I don’t remember quite what that was. $100 for the day?]; Oriveto to Florence; Florence to Rome; Zurich to Wengen (and return). Believe it or not, all of that comes in under $1,000.
To sum up:
Expense #5: Inter-European travel = $2,000.
What about those weeks in Florence and Positano, Rome and Zurich? “What about your lodging?” you ask. Good questions.
We knew that we’d be able to stay for free in Orvieto, since my college has a faculty apartment in the town. So we tried to maximize our time there, using the city as a point of departure for our journeys and day trips. All told, we’re staying almost 6 weeks there. Obviously, that helps a lot.
But, as I said, we still rented AirBnb’s. We rented at Lake Como, Positano, Florence, Rome, Wengen, Switzerland, and in the Peak District in England. We’re splitting the cost of a couple of these with Bridget’s parents who are coming soon. But in any case, we basically tried to keep all those weeks under $1000 each. Some were a little more, some a lot less.
Expense #6: Lodging for 97 days = roughly $6,000.
Total of Expenses 1-6 = $21,000!!! Yikes!! “Seriously, how did you pay for it?” you say. Again, great question. I’m a professor at a small school. I make peanuts. Bridget does some photography and the blog. She makes just a little bit less than peanuts. So here’s how we did it.
(1) The first thing we did back when we hatched this plan in 2010 was sign up for a Capital One Venture card (you know, the “What’s in your Wallet” people). They gave us 30,000 points to sign up (or roughly $300), and 2 points for every dollar spent thereafter. With that, we started saving (yeah, by spending?!). Virtually every purchase from the fall of 2010 to the spring of 2015 went on that card. In the end, we had enough saved there to purchase most of our round trip tickets to Europe (and remember, Anders travels for free everywhere we go).
(2) Right around then we also started sticking roughly $100-$250/month into a savings account called “Parker” at our bank (he had just been conceived when we hatched this plan!). I say roughly because some months we forgot entirely and then others we put in even more. Anyway, 5 years at even $100 a month and you’ve got $6,000. (Yes, all you savvy investors, we should have been putting that money in the market. We are not savvy investors.)
(3) Over the last few years, I’ve had the opportunity to teach several overload courses at the college for a flat rate (I think I’ve done 6 or 7). Most of that money went into the savings account for this trip. I distinctly remember on a number of occasions being swamped with papers to grade and thinking “OK, I’m doing this for Italy 4 years from now!”
(4) In addition, as faithful readers you may be surprised to learn that Bridget has knocked off a number of liquor stores over the last few years. She’s been really good about saving that money, instead of, for example, blowing it on shoes.
(5) Even though I’m on sabbatical, I’m still getting paid. And since my work here in Italy involves some research (I’m here to research a course called “Early Christianity in Rome”), I was able to apply for some external grant money. I did and was awarded one, and for a few thousand dollars! We banked it in “Parker”.
(6) Finally, since we knew we’d be away from our own home for 3 months, we worked really hard (especially getting it ready) to rent it out while we were gone. To that end, we were successful. Not having to carry that mortgage while away was really, really helpful.
In the end (although we’re not done spending yet!) I’m pleased to report that our savings/earnings for this 100 day adventure exceeds what we expect from our expenses. [POST TRIP interjection: we’re delighted to report that we actually came in quite a bit under our estimate of expenses.] If we can do it, you can do it too. (Well, you might need to get a PhD, get an academic post, and earn a Sabbatical to get the time off, but you know what I mean.) You just need to dream about it and then plan for it and then make it happen. Dream big. Oh, and can I add here that we drive a 2003 Honda Odyssey with 240,000 miles on it. You can put your finger through the tail gate rust.
Any questions?
This is fascinating! I figured more of it was paid for by Steve's job – like his airfare and such. I'm super impressed you guys paid for basically all of it on your own!!
Also, I'm glad you got to go on the trip before the liquor store robberies caught up with you 😉
His airfare was paid for by his work! He failed to mention that (edited now!).
This is absolutely AMAZING!
Great explanation of the whole thing! I think this can be applied on a bigger or smaller scale (less people or more cities/countries). This is fantastic! Thanks for sharing
This fascinating! Thank you so much for sharing!
http://lessthanaverageheight.com/
You rented your house out? How did that go upon returning….did you know the people and was your house cleaned before you returned to your home it might freak me out having a stranger sleep in my bed lol
It was totally fine! Clean as can be (probably cleaner than we left it). Two different renters–one was family having construction done on their own home, and the other was a set of grandparents coming to visit family.
Thank you for being so transparent! It's so easy to see a family do something of this scale and to immediately think it's impossible or requires some kind of magic fund. Really appreciate the information and now feeling empowered to start planning for something like this in 5 years!
Thanks for the post!! And you along with your husband are such good, witty writers! Love his guest posts!
Thank you for sharing 🙂
Everything is possible! Thanks for sharing your budget. I don't own a car so I can save for my travel expenses. Little bit helps!
As a fellow wife of an academic, I loved hearing this from Steve's perspective and I'm going to make my husband read this so we can start saving for his sabbatical in 2020!
Oh my goodness Steve is so funny, I cracked up more than once while reading this! There's a small chance that we'll be going to Europe this year for my husband's work, so I'll definitely be coming back to re-read this if we do. Fingers (very, very) crossed!
I loved this for so many reasons. Not the least, the common sense savings approach and humble can make this happen attitude. Your posts while travelling were wonderful, too.
You guys are so awesome!! Thanks for sharing this info with us. It's a dream of mine to do something like this.
Looking forward to doing this one day with my family. Great tips, thanks. Bridget, would love more details on the knocking off liquor store aspect- i.e., balaclava versus ski mask, planning the getaway- 😉
Definitely balaclava.
Just like everyone else, I enjoy hearing Steve's side! Great voice! But, I'm also curious about the house renting! How did it go? ?
The renting was GREAT. One of the renters was family having construction done on their own home, and the other was a set of grandparents by word-of-mouth. Both went great and we were so happy to have done it!
How amazing! So happy for all of you!
Ok, this was an awesome, helpful and fun post! Thank you!
Hello, it's a very interesting share that you made here. I have a question, did you go for a small holiday in between?. I meant while you're saving for your big holiday. If yes, how did you manage the budget for them?.
Thank you
We did, but we mostly stayed with family (both in Colorado and in New Jersey where our families live). We did rent a place at a nearby lake twice since 2011, but that was often split between other people who rented with us. So yes, there was SOME spending in this regard, but minimal.
I'm so glad you shared this post. My husband and I want to start a savings account for traveling. We plan to start this year! I'll have to show him this!
what a great post … thanks for sharing the deets!
Thank you so much. I'm sick of reading fluff posts when people talk about travel expenses. This one seems realistic, and that it took some work.
This is an exciting post, yes I am excited by finances, and it seems so doable – I think we're headed to S. Korea sometime in the future! 🙂
I love his post! I need more nuts and bolts type reads like this to keep heading toward goals! Thanks for being frank about all of it — it makes dreams like a European vacation seem actually more achievable!
This. is. awesome. My husband (school counselor) and I (kindergarten teacher) are dreaming of a trip like this for our family some summer. I am determined to make it happen. Thanks for putting this together, Steve and Bridget.
I am not travelling but may I just say really great post and well put together:)
Thank you for sharing this! Loved the Honda comment. This is very similar to how my family operated when I was a kid and I'm very thankful for it. It's a great example to see as an adult to inspire our family again!
Did you put most things on a credit card? Did you take out a lot of cash every week? How often did you review your budget while there? Lastly, did you say we have x amount every day to work with and we can't go over that amount? I'm just looking to see how you stayed on budget while you were there.
This is one of the most helpful blog posts I've ever read. Thanks for the transparency & for writing it all out!
Thank you for sharing these details!! We hope to take our kids abroad in a few years and we've started saving, but I'm still at a loss for how to break it down. This was really helpful.
Amazing article! Thanks alot for sharing. This is for sure helpful for a traveler just like me.Currently, I am exploring private tours of san francisco when I'll be back I am going to plan a awesome trip to Europe.
This is so so helpful and informative!! I ALWAYS say that we don't make enough to travel like that, but the way you describe it, makes it seem more than doable! Thank you!!
You guys are awesome!! Way to be savvy spenders and not blow your money away like a lot of people in this country do. Thanks for the inspiration! Maybe we should start saving for a trip… (Right now we just budget for "vacations" every year but don't have a long-term vacation-saving plan).
Ok so Ii have read this 3 times now! And taken notes (ha). Thanks for sharing. It was so insightful My husband and I – and our 4 kids are planning our own Italian adventure. We are going in August this year. We are hoping to go for around 5 months (If we can afford it) and are busy planning, preparing, and researching now. I have about 50 questions I'd like to ask you but I'm sure you're way to busy for that.
But here are a couple that I'd really love to ask:
How did you go feeding your kids? our kids are ages 10, 8, 5 and 13 months. I'm still breastfeeding the little one, and we try to eat pretty clean. Is it all just pasta, pizza and gelato?
(Which of course we will be happy eating!) Especially the good coffee and morning pastries – hello. yes.
But in saying that I do want to be able to prepare some good healthy wholefoods while we are away. Meals with nutrients and vitamins. Did you find it was easy to buy things for lunches and snacks during the day? are there plenty of farmers markets etc?
Also you mentioned that you guys hired a boat for the day while you where on the Amalfi coast. How did this go with the kids? Especially your youngest? Was it pretty safe? Did they go ok being on the boat?
And one more: what would be your best piece of advice for travelling with kids in Italy? (I know its a bit of a loaded question – but any tips would be greatly appreciate!)
Any must sees / great parks / things i should take?
Ahhhh maybe i should just email you!!!
Thanks in advance!
All the way from sunny Australia.
Louise Vaccaro
nice