Most trips go over budget in small ways. A coffee here, a taxi there, a tour you booked on a whim. None of it feels like much until you add it up on the flight home. The fix is boring but it works: write the numbers down while you travel.
I built a free Excel planner to make that easy. It keeps your budget, itinerary, bookings, packing list and spending in one file, so you are not hunting through notes, emails and screenshots. You can download it here. There is no sign-up and no email needed.
What is in the planner
The file has seven sheets. You start on Trip, where you enter your dates, how many people are travelling, your home currency and your total budget. The same sheet shows what you have spent so far, what is left, and the cost per person and per day.
Budget splits your money into ten categories, such as flights, accommodation, food and activities. You type what you plan to spend, and the sheet compares it with what you actually spent. A small chart shows planned against spent, and any category that goes over turns red.
Itinerary is a simple day-by-day list. Type the day number and the date fills in from your start date. You can mark each activity as booked or not, and add a rough cost. Bookings holds the details you need in a hurry: confirmation numbers, dates, costs and the last day you can cancel for free.
Packing List comes with a starter list of about 30 items across documents, electronics, clothing, toiletries and health. Mark each one as packed and the row greys out. Add your own items at the bottom. Expenses is where you log purchases, and Rates holds the exchange rates the planner uses.
How I would use it
Before the trip, fill in the Trip sheet and set a planned amount for each category. Add your flights and hotel to Bookings straight away, with the cancellation date, so you do not forget it. Then sketch your days on the Itinerary sheet. It takes about twenty minutes.
During the trip, log each purchase on the Expenses sheet. Pick the category and the currency from the dropdowns and the planner converts the amount to your home currency. If you pay in euros one day and dirhams the next, you do not have to do any maths. Glance at the Budget sheet every evening and you will see early if food or shopping is running ahead of plan.
A few honest notes
The exchange rates that come with the file are examples. Replace them with a current rate from your bank or card app before you trust the totals. The planner does not update rates by itself, and it only knows what you type in. The example rows, such as the Dubai trip, are there to show the format. Delete them before you start.
It is built for Excel. It should also open in LibreOffice or Google Sheets, though some formatting may look a little different there.
Make it yours
Rename the categories if you want different ones, and add rows if you need them. If you think of something the planner should have, tell me on the contact page.
Planning a trip now? Compare prices with the Travel Radar, read how to find cheap flights from Vilnius, or see my 3-day Dubai itinerary.
