How much are your expenses when you travelled to India? Any tips in cutting costs? How did you manage your budget?
Ways to cut costs are cheap food, cheap hotels, and cheap transportation. If you want to go really cheap, try eating for free at some of the temples. But the best way to cut back is to just spend less. Typically, that means cutting out alcohol and expensive purchases. Those are the things that bust budgets wherever you travel.
The list above basically sums it up. Impulse buying generally will ruin your budget. So, you really have to be mindful of your budget. Pay attention to the little things. Little purchases such as buying of water, snacks every so often are highly unrecognizable as budget blunders. Also, if you're one of those who like to collect keepsakes, then that too is a budget blunder. Generally, the best advice wherever you are traveling is to be mindful of your budget and draw your limits. You should not be too focused on how much you can save on this and that as it will rob you of enjoying your trip. Make friends with fellow travelers. I haven't done it myself, but I have seen quite a lot of fellow travelers just striking casual conversations and ending up sharing things such as meals. It may not be for everyone, but I've actually seen how that helps in minimizing their travel costs.
Hey !!!!!! The best possible thing you can do is avoid getting indulge in buying things, let this shopping be rest till your journey ends. Keeping yourself updated and friendly will also cut some expenses, go for home-staying option rather than expensive hotels. And for food here in India you can enjoy meals on Dhabas which are like mini hotels but without ambience but offers great meal at a reasonable price. And third use public transport system for roaming through the city or just hire a taxi so that you would travel unnecessary long distance. And that is all from my experience...................rest is yours when you have your own.............care to share with us............ Thanks...............
There is another way to look at this, too. Instead of cutting back on the budget, figure out how to make a little extra with your trip. If you have a local newspaper, or some other travel site you can write for, you could earn a couple hundred dollars easily by writing about your trip. Add in some pictures, and you can have a fair bit of extra spending money.
I think that budgeting when travelling can be particularly hard, especially if your going to a country that you've never been to before. One of the main ways that I've saved recently, and this may sound a bit selfish, is I've not brought anyone any gifts back from the countries I've been. Personally I'd rather spend a little extra on myself and my holiday than on some cheap and tacky souvenir that people probably didn't really want anyway.
When I was younger, I used to do a lot of shopping whenever I travel. But nowadays, as much as possible, I don't go shopping. And I find that I was able to save a lot of my pocket money. Sticking to the budget really helps a lot. You need to have a lot of control not to buy anything that you see even though they're a bargain. There's one time that I bought a piece of every little trinket that I saw. All were cheaply priced. But when I totaled my expenses, I found out that I went over my budget.
When we travel anywhere and we find goods at bargain prices, I think that most of us tend to go a bit wild and purchase more than we should. Some people specifically go abroad just to do that, and they'll hardly take anything with them and buy a lot of items in the destination country especially to bring back home with them though. I'm not sure if people would travel all the way to India just to do that though?
Well, it doesn't really have to do anything with the place. Basing on my experience, whenever there's a bazaar or a flea market, even if I don't have plans on buying anything, I tend to buy stuff, even though I do not need them. I think most girls like me are like that. Shopping is life. HA!HA!
When it comes to cutting down costs, it all has to do with you not the location. India, unlike many European or American destinations, has a wide variety of low cost hotels, food joints, and free-visit-attractions. The amount of money you spend will solely depend on the choices you make. However, don't cut costs so much that you start drinking unhygienic water. You may just contract something awfully bad.
Well I was just going to say, that's a female trait, before you went and said it yourself, haha! Seriously though, I think to some extent we all like a bargain but if we're buying something we don't need, it's not really a bargain is it? Not only that, if we're on a tight budget that money could be put towards another part of your trip.
I honestly believe that if you want to cut costs, you have to give A LOT of trust to the locals. What I'm suggesting is backpacking through the different places you want to go. You can walk to places or hitch a ride from the locals instead of hiring a car; you can couch surf on a local's house instead of renting an apartment; you can help the locals with chores in exchange for food if you don't want to spend a lot on food and drinks. It's really a great experience, since you will be able to learn a lot about the culture and meet a lot of friends along the way. But like I said, it would really involve you trusting them a lot.
While you're right, and there's no doubt that you can learn a lot off the locals, sadly times are changing and its getting harder and harder to get people to trust you. That's not just in India, but in every part of the world, and its one thing asking for directions, its an entirely different matter asking for work or a place to stay for the night.
I don't think that's selfish at all! When I first started out traveling, I would buy gifts for basically everyone I knew and not only did it cost a lot, but it took up a ton of time too. These days I don't bother with it either really - unless it's for super close friends - and most of the time the things they want are random candy bars that we don't have here, so that doesn't cost the earth!
India is actually one of the more affordable countries to travel to. Here's a little breakdown of possible expenses you might have (based off of mine): Accommodation: 890 Rs Food: 460 Rs Transportation: 700 Rs Water: 32 Rs Tips: 65 Rs Entertainment and Shopping: 500 Rs Miscellaneous: 300 Rs So in total, that's about 2947 Rs or $44, but keep in mind that there's a lot of excess in the equation. Plus, the accommodation we chose is mid-range. We also kept eating and buying lots of things. Then, transportation costs a lot just because we opted to travel within the city and trains here need to be booked a couple of days in advance. In average, I would say it's a bit less, maybe $20 to $30. With this amount, you can enjoy your trip in India already. Some travellers can even go with $10 to $20 a day, with just having the cheaper alternatives. My tips in cutting costs would be: Stick within your budget. Don't buy excessively, like we did, and only buy for souvenirs at the end of your trip. This way, you won't lose the intended money for travelling and eating. Opt for tour packages, although they're restrictive, they can definitely help you save some money. Usually, there's a free breakfast meal with packages so you won't need to go out. Transportation is also included in it. Haggling is your best friend. Once you go shopping for souvenirs, make sure to haggle as it's going to save you a lot of money. Stick to a cheaper or mid-range hotel, after all, you're not going to spend your days mostly in it anyway. As long as it's clean, I'm fine with a cheaper hotel. When it comes to your budget, always prepare it in excess. Why? Because there are unforeseen expenses that might happen, like emergencies or unintended shopping. It's better to be safe and carry an extra than end up with no money in the end.
Honestly, another thing to consider is bringing small gifts to India to give out. If you plan to meet a lot of people, perhaps work with the poor, or go to the rural areas, little gifts should be budgeted for. Even something as simple as stickers to hand out to kids is a great and simple thing to give. Budget one or two dollars a day for these sorts of things, and you will find your trip is a lot more rewarding.
I love this idea. When I travel I always try to go with the mindset of leaving somewhere better than I found it - I think it's a good motto for life in general! In other places I've traveled to, I've researched reputable orphanages and organizations like that and brought things like coloring supplies and school related stuff to help them out. I'm not on the biggest budget but it's sure nice to be able to give back to the communities you visit.
That's not actually an idea that I'd thought if before, but I can definitely see how it could help on a trip. Most people, including myself, will take souvenirs back home that they won't be able to find, so doing it the other way aswell, is definitely something to think about. The only restriction of course might be the luggage limit, but other than that there's no reason not to.
One awesome thing I found for orphanages that they really wanted in SE Asian countries was sports equipment - so I bought deflated soccer balls and stuff that could be easily inflated again with a bike pump! Took up next to no space and they were so thrilled with them! I think it's so great seeing kids out playing sports - one of those things that connects us all over the world!
A mate of mine brought with him a ton of stickers and handed them out all over Myanmar. The kids loved them so much. When he went back to those villages after a couple of years, he still saw the stickers in windows and all over the place. The kids all remembered him. He had a lot of heartwarming stories to tell. I think he even wound up paying some school fees to send a few of those kids to the local schools. It was not a lot to an America, like less than a hundred dollars, but it changed their lives.
I would suggest to check the exchange rate see how much money you will get when converting to Indian rupees and see which areas you will travel to and how much you want to spend so you are not short on money while in India and saving money before going on your trip, can help and would have to think about visas and plane tickets as well. I reckon another thing to be careful of is when you ask directions some people may ask for money to tell them where a place is or even information about something some of my relatives went last year to Mumbai and did encounter that while visiting the city and they wanted money or tips for guiding them. So you need to research about the place you are going to and see what the local customs are and what the rates are when staying or eating out otherwise you may end up spending more than you wanted and not enjoy the experience as you overspent on things you did not really want.
I think researching the area you're going to is a good point as a lot of India these days is a lot more modern and commercial than people originally think. There's no point in taking things over there with you, if they're already readily available and maybe even cheaper there aswell.
