[ by Stian ]
OMG – It's unbelievable. We have
already been on the road for 1 whole month now. There's now less than
11 months left of our world tour – thats actually JUST about less
than 330 Saturdays left of the year... Oh no, I am not looking
forward to Monday :( haha – Don't you just love my world?!! One
month has gone by – and I still have loads of energy and spirit and
so far this is the best year of my life and I am still greatly
optimistic for the rest of the year as well:)
Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!
So what about the money....
The big question is: «How did we
manage our budget for the first month?» It turns out that I and
Kenneth seem to have completely different budgets for the year – so
when I look back on all my spendings I seem to be the one that's
managed my money the best – haha. But it doesn't necessarily mean
that I have spent much less than Kenneth though;) My budget allows me
to spend up to 15 000 NOK a month, but my goal is to spend way less
of course, cause I cannot be completely broke when i return home
either. I did though spend more than what i had budgeted for – but
with only 13 percent though – so not so much. I am not worried
'cause I have been told that we will save it all back when in Asia
since it is so cheap over there.
So I am happy that I have managed to
handle my money well, but I am not so sure about how much we will
actually be able to save while in Asia. It all depends of course what
we spend our money on. Food and accomodation is way cheaper in Asia –
but what we have spent the most money on already is transportation
with buses and flights and of course the adventures cost ALOT! So it
all depends on how cheap it is for these kind of things in Asia –
and then we can think about saving money again. We also have Japan
still left, which is said by many to be very expensive as well.
What we spent it on....
So I have spent about 17 000 Norwegian
kroner so far. But what did I spend it on? Well the most expenses are
related to adventures and entertainment of course. I have so far
spent about 4 800 NOK on adventures and entertainment, and an
additonal 1 600 NOK on photos related to the adventures. The
skydiving itself came up to a total cost of 3 000 NOK so if we hadn't
done that I would have been well within my budget. Actually, after
arriving to Australia haven't we done almost any adventures or
entertainment yet. In Australia we have spent about only 330 NOK on
entertaiment so far – but this will for sure change for my
financial report of February month;)
What we though have spent way more
money on while in Australia is EATING OUT! Almost every day after we
arrived in Australia we have had either lunch or dinner, or both, at
cafés or restaurants. In New Zealand we didnt eat out at all almost,
but then again – it all depends on who you are hanging with and if
you are staying in a hostel or not. Our lovely Australian hosts were
eager to show us the nice places Sydney and Melbourne had to offer
and therefore we ended up eating out almost every day :) I do not
regret it – cause I have had loads of great food so far. I have
photos to prove it;) And of course the wonderful memories with the
great people we met are very well worth the money spent:)
Australia vs New Zealand – pricewise;)
Australia is WAY more expensive than
New Zealand in all ways. Its not only that every product in a
supermarket is more expensive when you compare label to label, but
the convertion rate is also way worse in Australia compared to New
Zealand. So something that cost 5 dollars in both countries are of
course then cheaper for us travellers while in New Zealand. A drink
at a bar here in Australia is close to Norwegian prices actually, but
then again drinks here in Australia are WAY better than the ones we
get in Norway. So as long as its quality I don't mind paying for it.
I haven't seen any bars in Norway offering a Bull Mule or a Bon Temps
yet – «sigh».... now dreaming of my Ginger-drinks again, just
gotta love them – I DO, REALLY MUCH!!!!
Also every tour we have looked up
online here in Australia seemed to cost more than 300 Australian
Dollars, compared to almost every tour in New Zealand seemed to cost
less than 200 New Zealand dollars. Transportation is also more
expensive here – but thats just natural since distances are way
longer here in Australia than in New Zealand, and many tours require
overnight stays. But we have learned that we should always check the
prices for flights before we decide upon how to travel because
flights are sometimes WAY cheaper than buses or trains. But great
offers seem to slip our hands often nowdays – haha;) We obvisiouly
have to make up our mind way quicker from now on – but we learn as
we travel;)
So the battle of the pricelevel is
won by New Zealand, who is the clear winner, so if any Norwegians
wants to have gret fun and feel that they get loads of value worth of
their money, then consider NZ before Australia;)
Breaking it down!!!
Eventhough it might seem like it, its
not nanotechnology, Ok? So, now, this is how i spent my money the last
month, but I am not sure I am representative of most people though,
so if you are ever going to spend a month in New Zealand or Australia
then dont go blind on my spendings;) I would actually advice people
to bring enough money (read: ALOT) to be able to enjoy these
countries to the fullest :) They are worth it:)
GOLD: Adventures and
entertainment: 4 830 NOK (€620)
SILVER: Transportation:
2 570 NOK (€330)
BRONZE: Restaurants / Cafès:
2 094 NOK (€270)
4th: Photos
rel.to adventures: 1 600 NOK (€205)
5th. Food
at «supermarkets»: 1 287 NOK (€165)
6th.
Clothes and accessories: 1 224 NOK (€157)
7th.
Accomodation/ hostels: 955 NOK (€122)
8th.
Alcohol at Bars / Party: 775 NOK (€99)
9th.
Souvernirs / postcards, stamps: 714 NOK €92)
10th. Div.
Unexpected costs: 492 NOK (€63)
11th.
Membership YHA: 195 NOK (€25)
12th.
Electronics: 152 NOK (€20)
13th. Spa /
Hairdressing (velvære): 95 NOK (€12)
14th.
Skinproducts (sunblock): 72 NOK (€9,2)
Good on me:) But remember that I have
done couchsurfing most of January, thats why the cost for
accomodation is so low :)
Avarage spending for January month:
about 550 NOK a day, thats about €70.5 for all you other Europeans
who dont know norwegian currency, or around 92 AUD for you
Australians, or 115 NZD for you Kiwis (see how nice I am to think of
you all , all my new friends so far) !!!!!!
Searching for donations ;)
So thats my life for the rest of the
year: Carefully calculating every little thing economically, but
thats ok:) Though, if there is a wealthy benefiter out there that
would like to donate money to my world tour then let me know – i
will promise to mention your name in every post as a thanks from now
on;)
XOXO
I'll keep you in mind if I win the lottery ;-)
SvarSlett