The four layers, the travel-day, and somewhere to track it.
| Fixed costs: flights, insurance, visas, gear | |
|---|---|
| Daily number × number of days | |
| The costs nobody counts (atm fees, tips, laundry, sim, water, airport transfers, the first week home) | |
| Buffer: ten to twenty percent of the above | |
| Total | |
| One travel-day = total ÷ number of days |
The travel-day is the unit that matters. Not "is this twelve of a currency I have used for three days" but "is this worth a third of a day of my trip".
Work these out on your first day, then stop converting.
| A simple local meal, where locals eat | |
|---|---|
| A short taxi or transit ride | |
| A coffee or a bottle of water |
Write it once at the end of each day, not at each purchase. Thirty seconds, and it is the only tracking that survives contact with a real trip.
| Day | Beds | Food | Transport | Everything else | Day total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 15 |