Budget Like a Local

It’s also about budgeting the real cost of your trip. Budget it as a local, with the actual costs of goods and services.

Not counting your hotel, which may, in many cities, price in U.S. dollars and be expensive, look at everything else — the cost of a tube of toothpaste, a can of soda, a club sandwich. Hotels.com came out with the Club Sandwich Index, which surveyed the cost of a club sandwich in 750 hotels with three stars or above in 26 cities worldwide.

Those real costs will help you determine if you can actually afford your destination…like a local.

For more information, Associates for International Research, Inc. (AIRINC) actually compares the costs of everyday items in major cities.

When In Buenos Aires, a 130 ml tube of toothpaste costs about $1,87 while a 1 liter bottle of water is about $1.98. In Miami, the same size toothpaste is about $2.72, and that water is about $1.11.

more>>