AUGUST 2023 EXPENSE REPORT
Introduction
Hi!
After a considerable hiatus from blogging, I’m back with my sixth expense report covering travel in the month of August. This report has me positively joyful for many reasons: for one, August turned out to be my second least expensive full month of travel, which was a tremendous shock. Additionally, it’s a sentimental feeling writing about a sixth month of travel, as it indicates the half-way mark of the year of travel I’ve set out on, meaning I haven’t quit just yet and I’m still going strong.
My travels in August saw me visit Albania (#51), Montenegro (#52), Croatia (#53), Bosnia (#54), and Slovenia (#55). This was my final full month spent in the Balkans which is were I spent most of the summer, outside of visits to Turkey, Lebanon, and Georgia. It was positively my favorite month in the Balkans, as I had the pleasure of road tripping in Croatia with dear friends of mine from home, and I got back up in the skies in Bovec, Slovenia where I spent a couple weeks skydiving all day every day.
Let’s get into it:
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Expenses
Transportation - $177.39
The transportation section of my expense reports includes 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.
Notes:
My transportation expense totaled $177.39 in August, which represents a month-over-month (MoM) decrease in average daily transportation spend of $9.01 or 61.1%, from $14.73 in July to $5.72 in August. This shatters my previous low of daily transportation spend, which was hardly a surprise: I didn’t take a single flight in the month of August. Even though all my flights are booked with points, those taxes and fees can still be hefty from time to time.
Of particular note is the low expense of buses in Albania. “Buses” in Albania are really minivans that run loosely on a departure schedule; rather, the caravans leave as soon as the vehicle is completely full, and payments are made solely in cash to the cig-smoking bus driver. As one would expect given that experience, these journeys are consistently cheap.
Accommodations - $647.45
This section is inclusive of all nightly accommodation expenses.
Notes:
My August accommodation expense of $647.45 indicates an average nightly accommodation expense of $20.89. This represents a MoM increase of $187.45 from $460.00, or 40.75%.
All things considered, I’m rather content with the figure I arrived at, as Croatia in the summer is practically the same cost as Copenhagen. I saw hostels in Dubrovnik going for $80+ per night, and benefitted greatly by traveling with friends, as we were able to get an Airbnb that was significantly cheaper (when split four ways) than any hostel.
Additionally, hostels in Albania were considerably inexpensive, especially considering it was high season and the inflated cost of Albania’s neighbors (Greece & Croatia). All hostels were paid in cash, and were of very acceptable quality. My hostel in Gjirokaster was possibly my favorite hostel I’ve ever stayed in (follow my tiktok), and the hostel in Bovec, Slovenia was a close second. All-in-all, it was a great month for hosteling!
Miscellaneous Expenses - $1,041.46
The Miscellaneous section 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 average daily miscellaneous expense of $33.59 indicates a MoM increase of $7.27 or 27.62%. This metric could’ve been even less had I allocated my Rental Car expense to Transportation, yet I refrained from doing so as it wasn’t a necessary expense and felt much more like an activity.
Once again, a significant amount of my daily expenses in August were in the form of cash, which makes it difficult to categorize them. In any case, I do suspect truth in the Groceries total being 65.4% higher than the dining total. I did a lottt of cooking in August, partially because I love to cook, partially because I had ample access to kitchens, and partially because Balkan food gets quite old when you eat the same few things every day in every country (no disrespect to all you Balkans out there).
In Bovec, my hostel had a full indoor kitchen and a full outdoor kitchen; making dinners at that outdoor kitchen after a full day of jumping will remain as one of my greatest memories from the entire summer.
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Summary
Average Daily Spend (ADS) - $60.20
My average daily spend (ADS) for August was $60.20, which represents a MoM increase of $4.31 or 7.71%. This is my third lowest ADS yet and was a complete surprise, given the overwhelming sense I had in Croatia and Slovenia that I was bleeding cash. Anxiety brewed within me for composing this report, so arriving at only a 7.71% MoM ADS increase is an utter relief.
Total Spend - $1,866.30
In August I excelled at striking that balance between frugality and frivolity. I hardly splurged on accommodation, yet indulged in a gelato here and there when I most craved it. Overall, it was a comfortable budget in light of the summer season and the destinations I visited; Croatia and Slovenia aren’t the cheapest destinations, yet Albania and Bosnia don’t break the bank by any means.
In August I maintained fervor and appreciation for the countries I explored, yet admittedly a sense of fatigue crept in as the month progressed. I found myself exhausted by the brutal heat, the abundant cigarette smoke, and the unvarying cuisines. I looked forward to Slovenia with immense excitement, and thankfully that experience lived up to all the hype and then some. I progressed so much as a skydiver, and it made me question what it is that I love most in this life: experiencing new cultures, or falling back down to earth?
If you’re here, I LOVE YOU — thanks for reading and giving me purpose.
P.S.
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