End Trip Budget

I should probably keep a better eye on the budget. After traveling seven weeks on the West Coast, I went over budget by $51.88.

The biggest expense was food, which took up 29 percent of my budget. Had I followed my advice and ate Subway or fast food every night, I probably could have brought this cost down considerably.

The cities that killed my budget the most were in the Bay Area. Most of the trip, I stayed pretty close to a week in most places. However, hopping around from San Francisco to Sunnyvale to Oakland and buying two dinners for friends certainly didn’t help matters.

The other city that killed me was San Diego. I had hoped that I would be able to stay with someone the first night, but I ended up having to book a hostel downtown. And thank goodness when I went on the pub crawl that night I was able to get into three clubs for free. A Corona cost me $8 with tip. I only like paying about $5 for beer tops.

Surprisingly, Vegas didn’t kill my budget like I thought it would. I would have went under budget had I not gambled, but it is Vegas after all. What else do tourists do there?

But the one thing that was able to keep my costs down was staying with my wonderful family and friends throughout the West. Some people I hadn’t seen since high school, but it was great to catch up and hang out.

Budget Breakdown

Prescott, Phoenix – $322 – Two weeks

Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County – $204.38 – 10 days

San Diego, La Jolla – $209.87 – Five days

San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Oakland – $320.05 – One week

Reno/Lake Tahoe – $78.34 – One week

Las Vegas/Hoover Dam – $350.58 – One week

Total: $1,451.88 – Seven weeks