FAQ – Did Inflation Impact Our Leg 12 Numbers?
This year we considered upping our annual travel and living budget for the first time since we started traveling full-time in 2018. Since then, we’ve stayed at $3,000 per month on average for our “discretionary” budget housing, food, entertainment, and transportation expenses. That doesn’t include all types of insurance, maintaining our car at home, healthcare, and monthly bills like our cell phone and streaming services, which I account for on a separate budget. Seeing the skyrocketing inflation in the US and abroad had us a little concerned about being able to do all we wanted to do this year for $36,000.
We decided to try keeping our budget stable, especially since we’d be starting the year in Mexico, one of the least expensive countries to travel in. Of course, Mexico has been experiencing inflation too, but I tried to account for that in our modest 4-month budget. And we did quite well! And, we managed to have a fantastic time and ended up spending almost exactly what I budgeted. Here’s how our four months in Mexico looked by the numbers:
Where We Were
Countries visited: 1 – Mexico
Cities visited (overnight): 7 – Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita, Guadelajara, CDMX (twice!), San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapa de Corzo, Taxo
Additional cities visited (day trips): 6 – Mismaloya, Boca de Tomatlan, Tlaquepaque, Temascaltepec, San Juan Chamula, Tepoztlán
Number of hotels: 3
Number of hotel nights: 3 (fun fact – all three were on overnight trips when we also had an Airbnb)
Number of apartments: 5
Number of apartment nights: 120
Total beds slept in: 8
Total lodging budget: $5,179
Total lodging actual: $5,327 (a little over budget due to Sayulita hotel and extra housekeeping tips; other two hotels were paid with points)
How We Got Around and What We Did
Total transit budget: $2,901
Total transit actual: $2,687
Number of flights: 6 (definitely more than we like, but includes a stop in Florida on the way home)
Total food/entertainment budget: $4,920 ($273/week for 18 weeks, about $50 less per week than our two recent Europe legs)
Total food/entertainment actual: $4,967 ($276/week, pretty much spot on budget)
Totals
Total budget: $13,000 for 18 weeks ($722/week average) (about $50/week lower than our usual budget)
Total actual: $12,981 for 18 weeks ($19.41 savings, probably our closest budget to actual)
Number of weeks over budget: 7
Number of weeks under budget: 11
Least expensive week: Week 4, January 23-29, $446, our last week in Puerto Vallarta
Most expensive week: Week 1, January 2-8, $1,226, but half was our flight to PV ($625)
The Best Parts
Best experiences (chronologically):
- Beach time and dinners on our roof with an ocean view in Puerto Vallarta
- Hiking from Boca for a beach day at Las Animas Beach
- Discovering Xtabentun in Guadalajara
- Experiencing the arts in Tlaquepaque
- Hiking with thousands of monarch butterflies at Santuario Piedra Herrada
- Showing Chad’s folks our favorite city and attending the Ballet Folklorico
- Seeing monkeys and an alligator on our boat ride through the Sumidero Canyon
- Witnessing people pray in the Templo de San Juan Bautista in Chamula
- Experiencing Semana Santa in Taxco
- Finally touring Templo Mayor in CDMX, plus numerous other museums
Best meals:
Oysters on the beach from “Cachurras” (Puerto Vallarta), Marisqueria Los Lirios (Puerto Vallarta), brunch at Los Danzantes in Coyoacán (CDMX), molcajeta at La Casa del Teko (CDMX), Chiapan buffet at Jardínes de Chiapa Restaurante (Chiapa de Corzo), vegetarian mushroom feast at K’an k’an (San Cristobal), fancy night out at El Secreto (San Cristobal), Korean meals near our apartment (CDMX), dorilocos in the park (CDMX)