Travel Budget Calculator with Trip Mileage Calculator

Travel Budget Calculator Sign

This calculator will help you to budget for a family vacation by allowing you to create your own self-calculating worksheet.

You can create the worksheet either from scratch or from a sample travel budget, and you can include up to 8 categories, each with up to 10 expense items.

This budgeting tool even includes a built-in trip mileage calculator, a built-in trip fuel calculator, and 5 built-in multipliers (per adult, child, travel day, fun day, mile, etc.) for calculating the total cost of an expense from a unit cost.

This means that if you make a change to a multiplier, like shorten your trip by one day for example, you will be able to see the cost difference instantly. Cool!

And finally, the calculator will give you the option of printing out a customized blank budget worksheet and/or a completed budget spread sheet. You can even choose whether or not you want blank lines to appear on the printed worksheet, and if so, how many.

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Travel Budget Calculator

Create and calculate a travel budget, either from scratch or from a preloaded list of expenses.

Special Instructions

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Selected Data Record:

A Data Record is a set of calculator entries that are stored in your web browser's Local Storage. If a Data Record is currently selected in the "Data" tab, this line will list the name you gave to that data record. If no data record is selected, or you have no entries stored for this calculator, the line will display "None".

DataData recordData recordSelected data record: None
Amt saved:Amount saved:Amount saved up for the trip:Amount you have saved up for the trip:

Amount you have saved up for the trip:

Preferably you will enter the amount you have saved up for the trip -- meaning that you will not have to borrow money from your future to pay for the trip. Enter as a dollar amount but without the dollar sign or any commas.

$
# adults:# of adults:Number of adults:Number of adults:

Number of adults:

Optional: If you want to use the built-in multiplier for adults, enter the number of adult travelers here.

#
# children:# of children:Number of children:Number of children:

Number of children:

Optional: If you want to use the built-in multiplier for children, enter the number of child travelers here.

#
# nights:# of nights:Number of nights of lodging:Number of nights of lodging needed:

Number of nights of lodging needed:

Optional: If you want to use the built-in multiplier for lodging nights, enter the number of lodging nights here.

#
# travel days:# of travel days:Number of travel days:Number of travel days:

Number of travel days:

Optional: If you want to use the built-in multiplier for travel days, enter the number of travel days here. The travel budget calculator will add travel and fun days to arrive at the total number of days.

#
# fun days:# of fun days:Number of fun days:Number of fun days:

Number of fun days:

Optional: If you want to use the built-in multiplier for fun days (non-travel days), enter the number of fun days here. The travel budget calculator will add travel and fun days to arrive at the total number of trip days.

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Trip Miles & Fuel CalcTrip Mileage & Fuel CalculatorTrip Mileage Calculator & Trip Fuel CalculatorTrip Mileage Calculator & Trip Fuel Calculator

Trip Mileage Calculator & Trip Fuel Calculator:

If you will be using a vehicle for travel, this section contains a calculator that will help to estimate the cost of gasoline for trip, as well as a field for entering the estimated total number of miles (miles can then be used as an expense multiplier).

MPG rating:Vehicle MPG rating:Vehicle's miles per gallon rating:Vehicle's miles per gallon rating:

Vehicle's miles per gallon rating:

Optional: If you want to use the built-in fuel cost calculator, enter the vehicle mile per gallon (MPG) rating here.

#
Cost/gallon:Cost per gallon:Cost per gallon of gasoline:Cost per gallon of gasoline:

Cost per gallon of gasoline:

Optional: If you want to use the built-in fuel cost calculator, enter the cost of one gallon of gasoline here.

$
# Miles:# of miles:Number of miles:Total number of miles:

Miles calculator:

You can use the following mini calc to add up the miles per travel day, per fun day, and any extra. Entries to these fields will be multiplied by their corresponding number of days entered at the top of the calculator and added together to arrive at the total trip miles.

Travel day miles:
#
Fun day miles:
#
Extra miles:
#
Total miles:

Total number of miles:

Optional: If you want to use the built-in fuel cost calculator, enter the estimated number of drive-miles for the trip. Expand the description in this row to use a mini calc to add up the miles per travel day and/or the number of drive-miles per fun day, plus any extra miles -- all based on the multipliers you entered in the top section of the calculator.

#
# gallons:# of gallons:Estimated number of gallons of gas:Estimated number of gallons of gasoline:

Estimated number of gallons of gasoline:

If you have completed the prerequisite MPG and total miles entries, this line will show the calculated number of gallons of gas needed for the trip.

Gas cost:Cost of gas:Cost of gas (amt to enter in worksheet):Cost of gasoline (amount to enter in worksheet):

Cost of gasoline (amount to enter in worksheet):

If you have completed the prerequisite MPG, cost per gallon, and total miles entries, this line will show the calculated cost of gasoline for the trip. You can then enter this amount in the travel budget worksheet below -- usually found under the Transportation category.

Travel Budget CategoriesTravel Budget CategoriesTravel Budget Categories and ExpensesTravel Budget Categories and Expenses

Travel Categories and Expenses:

If you would like the Travel Budget Calculator to populate all categories and item fields with suggested titles, tap the Load Sample button in this row. If you would like to clear the category and item titles, tap the Clr button on this row (may also appear as Clear or Clear Worksheet).

Categories: Tap the plus signs (+) to expand each category. Tap the category names to edit them.

Expenses: After expanding a category, tap any expense name (or "Blank") to open a popup wherein you can make changes to the name and budget amount.

Edit Category Name:

Tapping the "Save" button will close the popup and save the changes to the main worksheet, whereas tapping the "Cancel" button will close the popup without saving the changes.

Edit Expense Name and Amount:

Note that the "Times" field only applies if the "Per -->Times" option is selected. Tapping the "Save" button will close the popup and save the changes to the main worksheet, whereas tapping the "Cancel" button will close the popup without saving the changes.

Budget SummaryBudget SummaryBudget SummaryBudget Summary

Budget Summary:

This section of the calculator will keep an updated summary of your entries.

Budget:Travel budget:Budget amount for travel:Amount you are budgeting for travel:

Amount you are budgeting for travel:

This is the budget amount you entered in the top section of the Travel Budget Calculator.

Entered:Total entered:Total of all entered expenses:Total of all entered expenses:

Total of all entered expenses:

This is the total of all expenses you have entered into the Travel Budget Calculator.

Under/-Over:Under/-Over budget:Under/-Over budget:Under/-Over budget:

Under/-Over budget:

This is the amount you are over or under budget. If the result is preceded by a minus sign, your entered expenses exceed the amount you are budgeting for your trip.

Printable Worksheet SettingsPrintable Worksheet SettingsPrintable Worksheet SettingsPrintable Worksheet Settings

Printable Worksheet Settings:

To create a printable travel budget worksheet, indicate how many blank category and expense rows you want included in the worksheet, and then tap the "Create Printable Worksheet" button. This will open a printer friendly window displaying your current travel budget worksheet.

Note that you can create a blank budget worksheet by leaving all of category and expense amounts set to zero.

Blank cats:Blank categories:Number of blank categories:Number of blank categories:

Number of blank categories:

Select the number of blank categories you would like included in the printable travel budget worksheet. The maximum number of categories that will display in the worksheet is 8. For example if you have 6 categories with entries, but would like two more blanks for later use, select 2 from the drop-down menu. This will include 6 completed categories in the worksheet and two blank categories. If you are printing out a blank worksheet, simply select the total number of categories you would like included.

Blank exp:Blank expense lines:Number of blank expense lines:Number of blank expense lines:

Number of blank expense lines:

Select the number of blank rows you would like included for each category in the printable travel budget worksheet. The maximum number of rows that will display for each category in the worksheet is 10. For example if you have a category with only 4 entries, but would like two more blank rows for later use, select 2 from the drop-down menu. This will include the 4 completed rows, plus two blank rows, for the category in the worksheet . If you are printing out a blank worksheet, simply select the total number of blank rows you would like included for each category.

If you would like to save the current entries to the secure online database, tap or click on the Data tab, select "New Data Record", give the data record a name, then tap or click the Save button. To save changes to previously saved entries, simply tap the Save button. Please select and "Clear" any data records you no longer need.

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Help and Tools

Tips

On how to budget for and take vacations in a way that won't ruin future vacations.

Budget Travel Tip #1: Don't Borrow From Your Future Vacations

The most important budget travel tip is to never borrow money to pay for a family vacation.

Why not?

Because if you continue to borrow money to pay for your family vacations you will have less and less money available for future vacations.

And the more financial stress you experience as a result of the ever-increasing monthly debt payments, the more you will feel you need an escape (vacation) from the added stress, and the more you will have to borrow to escape.

It's a vicious cycle that can lead to financial and emotional bankruptcy.

Budget Travel Tip #2: Travel On a Budget

If you want to avoid jeopardizing future vacations, it's imperative that you create a realistic budget for your trip and then stick to your budget.

This is rarely easy since traveling with credit cards is safer than traveling with cash. But unlike an empty wallet, a credit card does not provide a clear indication you've exceeded the amount you budgeted for a given expense category.

Therefore, in order to make sure you stay within your travel budget limits, it's important that you keep a running tab of all of your travel spending as it occurs.

One of the best ways I have found to keep a running tab of your travel spending is to use a blank checkbook register.

  1. Allocate a few pages of the register for each trip expense category.
  2. Record the budgeted amount as the starting balance for each series of pages.
  3. Record each expenditure as they occur into the appropriate section of the checkbook register and deduct the amount from the balance -- just as you would when writing a check.
  4. When the balance of a category reaches zero you know you have exhausted the funds budgeted for that category.
  5. Spending any more for a zero-balance category means you will have to either transfer funds from other sections, or increase your debt.

Budget Travel Tip #3: Give Equal Focus to the Post Vacation

In order to successfully plan a budget family vacation, it's important to use your imagination for more than just imagining how much fun you will have.

You also need to give equal focus to imagining how you will feel about the vacation after it has occurred. You can do that by honestly answering the following types of questions.

  • Will the memories, souvenirs, and photos be as exciting to you as looking forward to the vacation?
  • Will you spend the next year partially depressed because you dearly miss laying on the beach, hearing the ocean waves crash onto shore, and being waited on hand and foot?
  • Will you spend several weeks working harder than normal just to catch up on everything you fell behind on while away?
  • How many hours did you have to work at your job in order to earn the after-tax, after-work-related-expense income to pay for the vacation?
  • After calculating the lost interest income from not being able to invest the cost of the vacation, will you still see the vacation as being a good investment?
  • Is there anything else you could have bought with the cost of the vacation that the family could have enjoyed for a longer period of time than the length of your vacation?
  • After returning home from your vacation do you think you will feel like you could have gotten by with less of a vacation?

The bottom line is, don't be like most people who only use their imaginations to envision how much they will enjoy the "party" aspect of their actions, while failing to use their imaginations to envision the "hangover" aspect of their actions.

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Adjust Calculator Width:

Move the slider to left and right to adjust the calculator width. Note that the Help and Tools panel will be hidden when the calculator is too wide to fit both on the screen. Moving the slider to the left will bring the instructions and tools panel back into view.

Also note that some calculators will reformat to accommodate the screen size as you make the calculator wider or narrower. If the calculator is narrow, columns of entry rows will be converted to a vertical entry form, whereas a wider calculator will display columns of entry rows, and the entry fields will be smaller in size ... since they will not need to be "thumb friendly".

Show/Hide Popup Keypads:

Select Show or Hide to show or hide the popup keypad icons located next to numeric entry fields. These are generally only needed for mobile devices that don't have decimal points in their numeric keypads. So if you are on a desktop, you may find the calculator to be more user-friendly and less cluttered without them.

Stick/Unstick Tools:

Select Stick or Unstick to stick or unstick the help and tools panel. Selecting "Stick" will keep the panel in view while scrolling the calculator vertically. If you find that annoying, select "Unstick" to keep the panel in a stationary position.

If the tools panel becomes "Unstuck" on its own, try clicking "Unstick" and then "Stick" to re-stick the panel.