Show me the money!

Travelling costs money, sometimes, a lot. Which is why budgeting when travelling is always a good idea. I’m great at planning a budget (because I love planning); unfortunately, I suck at sticking to it. However, I realize that the only way I’ll reach my goal of visiting all 47 parks before 2027 is if I budget carefully. But realistically, how can I develop a budget for trips that will span ten years and where getting to certain destinations will be extremely expensive. For example, a friend who recently travelled to Vuntut Park in the Yukon told me she could have bought a small car for the price of that trip!

So back to my initial question, what about my budget? Taking into consideration that I need to plan for two (me and my husband) I’ve landed on a budget of $75,000 to be spent over a ten year period. Obviously some years will be less than $7,500 and some years will be significantly more.

I’m pleased to report I’m already ahead of the game. I started my Quest in 2017 and only spent $20 in gas to get to the Thousand Islands Park! This means that in 2017 I “saved” $6,480 to put towards travels in future years. Ok, I realize that there are tons of reasons why my budget approach is flawed.

But, it’s my trip and my money so I’m sticking to my plan.

My budget for this coming year: $5,000 to visit six parks: Mauricie, Point Pelee, Rouge, Georgian Bay, Bruce Peninsula and Pukaskwa.

The challenge will be sticking to my budget! I’ll let you know how well I do.