APRIL 2023 EXPENSE REPORT
Introduction
Welcome and thank you for being here!
This is my second Expense Report I’ve produced since I packed my bags and left the United States. Truthfully it feels as if it’s my first given that it’s the first report covering a full month of travel. (To read the March Expense Report, click here.)
April was a momentous month that answered questions, provided lessons, and ultimately allowed me to explore several of my most desired destinations. In chronological order, I visited Australia (#33), Hong Kong (#34), Taiwan (#35), Japan (#36), and South Korea (#37). Following in the footsteps of March, April saw me visit notoriously expensive destinations yet again. Front-loading my year of travel with expensive countries wasn’t some coincidence; no, this was a strategic, deliberate decision.
You see, I’m the type of guy who prefers the bad news before the good, who likes to work before play, who likes to enjoy a gluttonous fried chicken feast, but only if I’ve worked out in the morning. That’s all this is. By visiting the expensive places first, I get to face the terror of my exorbitantly high average daily spend (ADS) from the get-go, and watch it only shrink lower and lower as the months go by. Yet most of all, I’m able to guarantee I see these pricey places: because I will happily travel from Guatemala to Malaysia to India, but if I never experienced Hong Kong or Japan, everything would feel incomplete.
With that being said, let’s get into what you’re all here for: numbers.
✵
The transportation section of my expense reports will include any pre-booked transit journeys from destination A to destination B: these are flights, trains, buses, ferries, and rocket-ships if need be. Excluded are public transportation, metros, taxis, ubers, buses to/from airports, etc.
Transportation - $740.57
Expenses
Notes:
Spending an average of $24.69 per day on transportation alone, exclusive of local transport, seems like a decent chunk of change. But in all reality, I’m quite pleased with the modesty of that number, given the means of transport I took and the quantity of journeys I had.
Addressing the former, I flew in Business Class on 2/3rds of my flights, and bought a first class train ticket as well as a business class ferry ticket. Therefore, I’m satisfied with the value I scored (in both cash and points terms) on multiple journeys, given that I wasn’t traveling in the cheapest cabin every time.
Addressing the latter, you’ll notice a staggering ten line items, denoting a journey once every three days. There’s no two ways about it, that’s a lot of traveling. Doing so in expensive countries, often in style, and arriving at merely an average trip expense of $74.07 doesn’t seem like a bad deal to me.
Accommodations - $987.32
This section is inclusive of all nightly accommodation expenses.
Notes:
For the entirety of the month, I stuck diligently to the hostel lifestyle, not that my budget afforded me much of a choice. Other than a couple creator collaborations I negotiated in Sydney and an Airbnb in Hong Kong, every single night was spent in a multi-person hostel room. Exclusive of the outlier (the high rate due to F1 in Melbourne), my total expense on hostels was $540.10, which represents an average nightly expense of $25.71 across 21 nights. Inclusive of all bookings, my average nightly expense was $32.91, which represents a month-over-month (MOM) decrease of 40.75%. While I’m merely pleased with my average nightly expense of $32.91 in the month of April, I’m sincerely over-the-moon about a MOM decrease of 40.75%.
I ask you not to pity me for spending nearly every night in a multi-person hostel room. You see, hostels are no longer the raggedy, decrepit, thrifty sleeping arrangement you probably have in your mind. No no no, the space has been flipped on its head entirely for the better. The new standard is enclosed cubicles with comfortable beds and linens, fast WIFI, plentiful power ports, strong AC, complete privacy and calming quiet. Beyond that, the camaraderie, sociability, memories and friendships that hostels afford one are invaluable, and often encourage me to book at a hostel even when I have the option to do otherwise.
Miscellaneous - $1436.88
The Miscellaneous section of the expense report includes all expenses outside of transportation and accommodation. Perhaps in the future I’ll break this up into multiple sections, but for now I’m just lumping these expenses into one section.
Categories are ordered from largest expense to smallest expense.
Notes:
My miscellaneous section is slightly skewed as I heavily relied on cash for day-to-day expenses in April. Spending with a credit card is my preference for myriad reasons, namely points accrual, no withdrawal fees, and being able to see my transactions in a statement format.
I was utterly shocked at just how cash dependent many destinations were that are lauded for their level of advancement. Throughout Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and to a lesser extent Taiwan, I found cash to reign supreme over credit and debit cards.
Due to a large proportion of my miscellaneous section being my ATM withdrawal expense, it’s difficult to properly analyze my spending on dining & groceries, activities, and local transport. I was frequently using cash to buy street food, recharge metro cards, and sometimes fund activities.
As the numbers stand, I averaged $24.68 per day on cash, $12.86 per day on dining & groceries, $4.71 per day on activities, and $3 per day on phone data. Let it be known that a significant chunk of the ATM withdrawal expense may be attributed to the $5 per withdrawal charge that Bank of America charges me. I look forward to dodging that expense after I receive my High-Yield Checking Account debit card with ATM fee reimbursements at the end of May.
✵
My average daily spend (ADS) for April was $105.49, which represents a MoM decrease of $59.69, or 36.14%. My ADS is nowhere near what I initially budgeted for (~$60), but it is headed in the right direction. It’s also worth noting that I yet again found myself in predominately expensive countries.
As I move onto more inexpensive countries, obtain my debit card with ATM fee reimbursements, and potentially have fewer transport journeys, I’ll gladly welcome a steady decline in my ADS.
average Daily Spend (ADS) - $165.18
Summary
total spend - $3,164.77
Prior to my departure from the United States, I budgeted and prepared (financially, logistically, mentally, emotionally) for a full year of travel. With each passing day, it becomes more probable that my adventures won’t actually last for a full 12 months.
The reality is that the world that existed when my role models embarked on similar journeys is looonnggg gone. I watched people successfully spend $30-$60 per day travelling full-time and referenced their spending as a yardstick. The ultimate gut-punch has been the ubiquity of inflation, heightened costs of lodging, and lofty expenses associated with globetrotting at a fast pace.
It's not all gloomy skies, however. I did enjoy a 40.75% decline and 36.14% decline in my average nightly expense and ADS, respectively. I knocked out several of the most expensive countries I’ll visit in my lifetime, and I’m moving onto more inexpensive countries for the rest of 2023. Furthermore, I’m growing more skilled at editing my YouTube videos (shameless reminder to subscribe if you haven’t already) which is freeing up time in my schedule for exploring potential income streams.
All in all, I feel contentment, control, optimism and gratitude with where my finances stand at the two-month mark of travelling. I look forward to watching these reports evolve with each passing month and anticipate with great excitement the day this becomes an income & expense report.
If you’re still here, thank you for reading this and I hope you found it useful. It’s you people who keep me going!
P.S.
If you want to support my journey, please consider following the socials linked at the bottom of this page, primarily my Youtube channel.