It is important to keep track of your vacation expenses and how much you plan to spend on each component of your vacation. There are many people who like to plan their vacation expenses when booking a cruise vacation in advance to try to get an estimate for how much the entire vacation will cost and to try to keep from spending on a whim. This post will give some tips on how to write a budget for an Alaska cruise and I will provide a free budget template for you to use in this blog post. The budget template is as detailed as I could make it and it includes as many cruise related and pre/post cruise expense categories I could think of.
Alaska Budget Template/Worksheet:
Click Here To Open The Template In Google Documents (No Google Login Required)
I. The General Basics of A Cruise Budget
A budget is way for you to plan your expenses and then afterwards go back and see how much you actually spent. Detailed budgets will allocate specific dollar amounts to different aspects of cruising. Before you take the time to create a budget there is something you must understand. A budget is only good if you plan on following it. If you create a budget, but then disregard it and spend freely on your vacation it was pointless creating a budget in the first place. If you don't plan on following your budget you should not waste your time making one!
II. Deciding On Dollar Amounts For Each Category
The key to deciding on dollar amounts comes down to two essential things. First, you need to know an approximate amount of how much things will cost. If a round trip airplane ticket is $500.00 per person you will need to budget that amount times the number of tickets you will have to buy. Don't forget to include your spouse, children, or anyone else you are paying for! You wouldn't want to only budget $100.00 per person for airfare tickets it the rate is much higher. Being reasonable is important when deciding on amounts. Don't plan on spending $10.00 at the bar when you know you will visit the ship's bar often for a drink. This brings me to my second essential thing -know your personal spending habits. If you don't plan on visiting the bar you will know to budget no money to bar spending. If you don't plan on visiting the casino you know you can budget zero dollars to the casino. However, if you plan on buying a lot in the gift shop you can plan on budgeting a significant amount to that category.
III. After The Cruise
After your entire vacation is over compare what you budgeted to the actual amounts you spent. This will help you see if you spent more or less than intended. You will also learn for next time how to create a budget that better fits your spending habits.
Your spending is in your hands. Spend your money on your cruise vacation wisely and with care. Remember, things may seem like a novelty on the ship, but when you get home you will have to pay for them and all of your other expenses. Enjoy Alaska!
Alaska Budget Template/Worksheet:
Click Here To Open The Template In Google Documents (No Google Login Required)
I. The General Basics of A Cruise Budget
A budget is way for you to plan your expenses and then afterwards go back and see how much you actually spent. Detailed budgets will allocate specific dollar amounts to different aspects of cruising. Before you take the time to create a budget there is something you must understand. A budget is only good if you plan on following it. If you create a budget, but then disregard it and spend freely on your vacation it was pointless creating a budget in the first place. If you don't plan on following your budget you should not waste your time making one!
II. Deciding On Dollar Amounts For Each Category
The key to deciding on dollar amounts comes down to two essential things. First, you need to know an approximate amount of how much things will cost. If a round trip airplane ticket is $500.00 per person you will need to budget that amount times the number of tickets you will have to buy. Don't forget to include your spouse, children, or anyone else you are paying for! You wouldn't want to only budget $100.00 per person for airfare tickets it the rate is much higher. Being reasonable is important when deciding on amounts. Don't plan on spending $10.00 at the bar when you know you will visit the ship's bar often for a drink. This brings me to my second essential thing -know your personal spending habits. If you don't plan on visiting the bar you will know to budget no money to bar spending. If you don't plan on visiting the casino you know you can budget zero dollars to the casino. However, if you plan on buying a lot in the gift shop you can plan on budgeting a significant amount to that category.
III. After The Cruise
After your entire vacation is over compare what you budgeted to the actual amounts you spent. This will help you see if you spent more or less than intended. You will also learn for next time how to create a budget that better fits your spending habits.
Your spending is in your hands. Spend your money on your cruise vacation wisely and with care. Remember, things may seem like a novelty on the ship, but when you get home you will have to pay for them and all of your other expenses. Enjoy Alaska!