european budget??

rugbyken

rugbyken

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when we planned this trip we worked on a budget of €50 a day, our ferries and 3,500 miles at 25mpg and a fiver a gallon +tolls of £60 each way divided by the 91 day trip took 13 euros a day leaving 37 euros for fees food and of course wine , we are pleasantly surprised 21 days in to have €294 surplus and intend refining the budget to €40 a day , would like to boast that this is by careful watch on the finance but we really have not watched the pennies and could easily last several days without visiting a supermarket, we have had fewer than usual plat de jours only 4 so far but still have a healthy €84 surplus on reduced rate , we could have stayed away from sites even more with the amount of wildcamping available but our friends don't have solar etc so we are visiting a site every 4 days for them to recharge, so far we have gone to cadiz gibraltar malaga & almeria so far and we are yet to reach the costa brava where i understand there are not as many POIs but will see ,
 
I can only get 2 weeks off at any one time, so long term budgeting is not a necessity, so I usually budget 100 euro per day to include all costs including the tunnel(which is mainly covered by tesco points), the dogs travel fees and vet visit, tolls & fuel (the biggest cost), sites/aires, food/eating out and attractions, but always bring euros home.

It's good to hear that in the future, when i do get the chance to take an extended trip, it can be done on a lower budget and still be enjoyed to the maximum.

Enjoy your trip
 
Thanks for this post rubyken, I am of to France in April and was looking at some sort of budget to work to so you have given me some good info.
Joe
 
i think you will need more in France. Food and drink we found much more expensive. my gut says work on say plus 50% in France for Supermarket food shops
 
it's true the longer the trip the lower the daily cost biggest charge is the ferry and fuel divide them by 14 or 90 cost is the same
 
I must be a drunk. I budget £150 and i think that ended up at £180 by the time we stopped saving. Saying that we always come home what quite a few €100 what just gets chucked in a jar for next again year. We came home with enough for the ferry, fuel and wifes tobacco for the year. :D
 
if I had to budget for my trips abroad like my friends do , well I would not do it at all, what is the point of buying a motorhome and then have to budget where to go and what to eat and how much to spend on food and so forth, i'm not rich or well off, just a decent civil service pension and we enjoy our trips abroad better then our friends who by the way are more well off then us, owning properties two, top of the range cars and a big motorhome, we own a small Fiat ducato IH TIO R and seem to have more fun than they do when away ie, we eat out almost 6 times a week. I would give it up if I had to budget.:rolleyes2::rolleyes2::rolleyes2::rolleyes2::rolleyes2::rolleyes2::rolleyes2::rolleyes2:
 
Dont think i would have a small 50 quid budget wineciccio as i hate watching the pennies when away. I dont take plastic just cash and would hate to run out hence making a high budget but when we start saving its not so much a budget we aim for more a goal so we can enjoy our self's. I just brake it down to daily. I am still to take my site fees and food from what i have a day but yet to spend over.
 
Yes I would broadly agree about the quality of French food apart from the sausage statement,I find french sausage is generally fairly poor and I have never found anything to rival a good old Wall's pork sausage in France.We stopped at a services one day and saw some lovely looking sausages on display so we both had them with chips.They were the most revolting thing I had eaten for a long time and neither of us could finish them.At the time I described them as roadkill wrapped in a condom.
 
We have a budget , we rarely pay for sites and maybe eat out once a fortnight. I don't view our time away as a holiday but more of a road trip . We are also away about 6-7 months in a year. If we were not frugal the the time we could be away would be cut to maybe 4-6 weeks a year. So the purpose of us having a motorhome is the freedom to go wherever whenever. Our motorhome allows us a different way of life , not just holidays. Wish I could afford to be away the length of time we are and not have to worry about the money side. Oh by the way , even on a budget we have a great time. You need no money to watch a beautiful sunset. Don't need a penny to to marvel at nature or mans brilliance in design. And the Mrs cooks the best spaghetti Bol ever.
My signature says it all .
 
runnach said:
[video]http://blog.flunch.fr/flunch-famille[/video]

Always have lunch there, prior to hitting the supermarket isles!
:tongue:
Click to expand...

Where is that then? There is no contact us to find out unless my google translator is taking the mick.
 
Sorry the point I was trying to make is that we find Spain cheaper than France and UK. French and UK prices pretty similar in our view and I guess depends where you go.
 
jacquigem said:
Sorry the point I was trying to make is that we find Spain cheaper than France and UK. French and UK prices pretty similar in our view and I guess depends where you go.
Click to expand...

That's what I understood from your post. We also found Spain much cheaper than France last year
 
Yeah ok sorry ,I thought you would be able to read my mind.

I didnt want someone going to France thinking they could live similarly on a Spanish budget.
 
Budget??, sod the budget, I come away with a bundle of dosh & go home 4 months later with a smaller bundle of dosh.
No idea what I spend but it's not much,
I keep well away from wretched camp sites, don't go on toll roads, buy food from markets, fish from quays.
If you start counting the pennies (or centimes) you might as well give up
 
spigot said:
Budget??, sod the budget, I come away with a bundle of dosh & go home 4 months later with a smaller bundle of dosh.
No idea what I spend but it's not much,
I keep well away from wretched camp sites, don't go on toll roads, buy food from markets, fish from quays.
If you start counting the pennies (or centimes) you might as well give up
Click to expand...
A rather mean outlook I think. " if you start counting the pennies you might as well give up " and how condescending. So if your not rich or have a huge pension that you can go do whatever you like with without having to worry then people should give up?????
It must be really nice to be in your super duper ivory tower looking down on us all that DO have to watch the pennies. Is this how people on this site actually think? Because I'm seeing it more and more on here. " the exchange rate don't matter to me " signatures showing that they have spent a small fortune on their camper as if it means anything . And as above if you have to budget then give up. Give up what? The camper , or if people are also watching their pennies and budgeting to just survive maybe they should give up too , maybe on life!
 
The main purpose of Budgetting

Or from our perspective.. More accurately termed "estimate of costs"
is so that you do not get any nasty surprises or you feel you can enjoy without "breaking the bank"
We do not worry if we go "over budget" !

I estimated £3940 for our trip to Scandinavia.
We spent £3620 (everything inc Tunnel / Ferries Entry fees / Extras / souvenirs) over 111 days thus under £33 a day
We eat well (although we rarely go to Restaurants) and this included buying alcohol in Scandinavia
Trip outline
So Calais to Hirtsals to Kristiansand often stopping 2 nights
Kristiansand to Nordkapp
South via Finland and Sweden the ferry and bridge to and in Denmark
Finally back to Calais/Dover
Lots of cheap/free camping 6625 miles

This may be of use to others thinking about a similar trip but worried about costs !
All the ferries/eurotunnel were taken during the day

Our time in UK only 1000 miles
£2138 for 73 days thus just under £30 a day
This figure included clothing but very significantly less spent on diesel but a good deal more on camp-sites

Basic motorhome costs
Tax Insurance MOT Service are not included in either of the above

For the 6 summer (Ha Ha) months whilst we are using the vehicle I "allocate" £300 a week for all costs (ie inc MOT/Service but not insurance)

Being very familiar with spreadsheets the above figures are accurate
I categorise my spending as
Camping
Food
Diesel / Gas
Tourist
Ferry / Tolls etc
Other

I also record overnight location and mileage on a daily basis (very sad !)

This works for us
I am sure others will have alternatives which suit them

I am sure members are aware of the route planning facility in Google maps
I use this to simply arrive at a basic mileage figure which I then increase to allow for detours and excursions
 
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Ive always found France the cheapest and easiest country to stay in out of all the ones we have visited especially around peak season. Spain may be cheaper for supermarket shopping but lets face it compared to France whats on offer is rotten. I cant spend more than a couple of weeks in Spain or I get withdrawal symptoms for decent cheese for a start to be honest. :D

We use Aires and wild a lot and France, Germany and to some extend northern Italy are perfect for that so you have to think of the money you save that way as well. We spend so much time in France you get to know exactly whats nice to eat and drink, what is good value and what isnt. Our weekly shop in France works out less than here for sure and is definitely better quality. Problem is I like it so much you pay through the nose for the same stuff when your back in the UK.

We dont have a budget, just a way of life but it works out usually between £800-£1000 a month and we eat and live well. I suspect we save a lot on fuel compared to most though as we dont dash around everywhere in the van. The scooter tends to do almost as many miles as the motorhome.
 
Well, we start off with some money in the bank. I check the account and if we've got the same or more at the end of each month = happiness. If we've got less..........then we've got less!

Pat
 
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