Money & Friends - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

ljj_bjj · 06-01-2005, 03:45 AM

Hi All

I'm going to europe in a group of 4 and just wanted to know if anyone has had any money issues when backpacking with friends.

When we all go out at home, money is not an issue - but when we are travelling there is obviously a budget.

can you pay separately at hostels/restaurants etc? Or

We are all fairly ok with money but i just wanted to know before we left

Thanks.

Keep up the good work

**elfmaiden** · 06-01-2005, 05:50 AM

Well I know for hostels you have to pay by the bed so that'll be easy to figure out! Not sure about the restaurants though....I would imagine you could have seperate bills...but if it's in another language might get confusin'. Not sure!!!

Jenn

showtimestafford · 06-01-2005, 06:00 AM

Well the times Ive been on holiday with friends money can sometimes make problems, I mean its no problem in a restaurant to ask for an itemised bill, its easy to work out. I mean for the less generous people in the group, they can sometimes act very mean and can get right on everyones nerves. Id suggest a strict "no lending" policy within the group, as it can only cause fights.

Im going in a group of 5 this year and I have no problem here at home with buying a round in, and if someone dodges out of buying me a drink back its not a big problem, but when abroad and every penny matters it can be a kick in the balls.

**urOZm8** · 06-01-2005, 06:25 AM

I was travelling with a good mate for some time and when we had the right change we would go halves at restaurants, for train tickets etc. Most of the time we wouldn't so we had a running balance where we would write down IOU's in a notepad. Every so often we would work out who owed who what and then pay each other out the amount.

That still had a few problems - mostly it was not practical to write it down at the time of spending so at the end of the day you would try remember who spent what. If you went out drinking that night it would delay things even more, stretching the memory.

ev

**omisan** · 06-01-2005, 09:48 AM

Dunno how well this would work for you, but have you guys ever heard of a "kitty?" That's where everyone puts in the same amount of cash into a pot to cover shared expenses like meals, gas, etc. for a day/week/whatever - the kitty cannot be used to cover individual expenses... you get my drift. Anyway, my friends and I do this for roadtrips all the time, and even some backpacker group travel companies do it as well - it works pretty well as long as no one tries to unfairly take advantage of the system (i.e. consistently order more expensive food than everyone else).

**elfmaiden** · 06-02-2005, 06:11 AM

Omi's idea is a good one! I've done this with my sister when we travel (And we're notorious scappers at times) and then it's just so much for food 'n lodging and then we each have our own stash for souveniers and other extra expenses. Very smart!

Jenn

**GoKrazy** · 06-02-2005, 07:55 AM

I agree - it's a great idea Omi. I'll have to put it in practice this summer. In the past I was lucky enough to travel in a way in which all the costs were easily divisible, but this makes sense for Europe. Thanks!

**TheJake** · 06-02-2005, 11:10 AM

I occasionally will foot the bills at the restaurants and then everyone else takes care of me the rest of the day. It's a good system I've worked out. Normally I end up with more money then I had before I paid the bill and oodles of free massages and what-not.

**Diorama** · 06-02-2005, 10:57 PM

Yeah definately digging the kitty suggestion. Me and my traveling companion did that for gas money. It was soooooo much better. But we still had the IOU thing going on for food, drinks, rent etc..But it all worked out. You just have to keep track of it. And make sure your friend ain't gonna take advantage of you. Trust is a major part of friendship yah know.