We made it home to the melting snow, dirty streets and cool temperatures. Laundry is done. Dive gear is rinsed and put away. Wetsuits are still drying. Time for the post trip budget analysis.
I can safely say we did NOT loose any US bills on this trip! (Not a repeat of our Africa trip, thank goodness.) YAHOO! The tally of what cash we took with us, what we spent and what we came home with adds up!
Here is my analysis of budgeted amounts to actual spent:
Budget Actual
Food 900 405
Diving 1,410 1,350
Misc, Shopping Etc 300 270
Travel Days Food 80 50
Safety Margin 300 0
TOTAL 2,990 2,075
We spent under half of the budgeted amount for food. After the first few days in Cozumel, we realized that the portions were huge, so we started to share entrees. Sometimes three of us would share two entrees. We also found a bakery where cheap lunch could be had. These two factors helped cut our food costs immensely.
Diving costs were pretty close as were the Misc expenses. Travel Days Food was budgeted a little high and we did not have to use the Safety Margin funds at all. Not baaaad!
It’s nice to come home and go to the bank to put money back into the travel account to wait for our next foray into the world.