After years of slow travel we have learned that the fastest way to blow a trip budget is not flights or hotels, it is the little nights out in between. A long-haul trip is a marathon, not a sprint, and the fun money needs a plan just like everything else.
Give your fun money its own envelope
We keep a small weekly allowance for entertainment that is completely separate from food, transport and accommodation. Whether it is a cooking class in Ubud, a boat party off Koh Rong or a quiet evening with a drink and a game on the phone back at the guesthouse, it comes out of that envelope and nothing else. When the envelope is empty for the week, we get creative with the free stuff instead, and there is always plenty of that.
Know the real cost before you go out
Entry, drinks, transport home and the inevitable late-night snack all add up. We write down a rough number before we leave the room so there are no nasty surprises in the morning. For the evenings we stay in, a bit of online entertainment is a cheap way to unwind, and enthusiasts who enjoy a flutter often compare platforms like Betpas before they travel so they are not fumbling around on dodgy hotel wifi looking for options.
Free beats cheap, and cheap beats expensive
Our best nights on the road have almost never been the expensive ones. A sunset on a Siquijor beach, a street-food crawl in Phnom Penh, a card game with other travellers on a hostel balcony: these are the memories that last, and they are kind to the budget too. Spend where it counts, save where it does not, and the trip lasts a whole lot longer.