This tracker will continue to be updated as I travel, with new information and relevant expenses added along the way. Last Update: October 10, 2026
I’m not even going to fake the funk, y’all. I dropped the ball on this financial tracker series (a symbol of a greater issue, perhaps? lol). Regardless, while I kept this series essentially up-to-date through my time in Phuket last year, I am missing the details for my week-long trip to Bali and my second appearance in Phuket, from January 5 through February 25, 2026.
Now settled in Da Nang, Vietnam, moving forward, I’ll do my best to track every penny (i.e., dong) spent while on this journey, including food, transportation, lodging, attractions, self-care, gym fees, etc., etc., etc. You know, the usual.
Below is a breakdown of my expenses during this now two-year-long journey. I’ve categorized everything to give you a clear picture of what it really costs to solo travel full-time, whether you’re a budget traveler, digital nomad, or just curious about the financial reality of long-term travel.
Da Nang Round Two (August 30 - Let the Fates Decide):
Welp… I think I officially found my new home base. I’ll update more on this soon. For now, I wanted to get this back up to date so we can stay caught up moving forward. See ya’ll soon!
- Lodging: $1,361.28 (avg. 26.69 per day)
- Airfare: $935.20 (One-way from Orlando to Da Nang)
- Transportation: $79.03
- Food: $478.91 (20.82 per day)
- Gym & Supplements: $152.34
- Beauty & Self-care: $99.81
- Adventuring: $69.75
- Visa Fees: $50
- Clothes: $144.76
- Everything Else: $0
Total Expenses: $3,371.08
I’ll calculate the following every 30 days, with the first update coming on 9/30.
- Daily Average: $0
- Monthly Average: $0
Since I’m really starting to view Da Nang as my new home away from home, I wanted to make more intentional choices around my lodging. I found this gorgeous apartment with plants, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a wraparound balcony tucked away from the main tourist strip. 10/10 Highly Recommend.
My son got me this Snoopy following his trip to Tokyo and Jeju Island back in 2024. He’s been traveling with me since. A little piece of my kid, even when he’s 5k miles away. 🙂
More intentional in living this time around, and more intentional in building community. If you’re in Da Nang, TamTay Fitness is a first-class, two-story facility complete with a sauna and ice baths, and also hosts several weekly community events throughout the week, including Tuesday’s Run Club.
Fukuoka, Japan - Speaking Trip (Sept 29-Oct 10):
Earlier this year, I decided it was time to push out of my comfort zone and default setting of keeping to myself more than is probably healthy. Naturally, I decided the best way to do that was to apply to speak in front of actual, real-life humans at conferences, like I don’t have a fear of public speaking?!?!
Needless to say, the plan worked(?), and I was selected to speak at two conferences. The first was Colive Fukuoka in Japan, which also happened to be my first time visiting the country. And Fukuoka, which was much bigger than I expected, turned out to be a pretty great place to make my Japanese debut.
From a budget perspective, Japan is definitely more expensive than places like Da Nang and Bangkok, so I’ve decided my next trip will happen after I make a little more progress on this whole financial stability journey. LOL. Priorities, people.
Regardless, I had a great time, and if you’re planning your own trip to Japan anytime soon, here’s what you can expect to spend.
- Lodging: $520.22 (avg. 52.02 per day)
- Airfare: $645.69 (One-way from Da Nang & Fukuoka to Cebu)
- Transportation: $230.33
- Food: $232.82 (23.28 per day)
- Adventuring: $27.08 (Lucky me! Most of my extracurriculars were covered by the event)
- Conference/Work-related Expenses: $47.32
- Beauty (It’s Japan, OF COURSE I stocked up on makeup and toiletries!: $105.66
Total Expenses: $1,809.12 ($180.91 per day)
A note on food costs: At least one meal a day was covered by the conference, so my actual food spending doesn’t reflect what you’d likely spend on a typical trip to Japan. Without those included meals, I’d estimate my food budget would have been at least $30 per day. Keep that in mind when using my numbers to plan your own trip.
featured gear
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I made this crop because fear has never done me any favors. It never made me stronger, never pushed me forward… quite honestly, it just kept me stuck. There’s always a reason to hesitate, to wait, to play it safe… but I’ve learned the hard way the only way through is to show the fuck up and do the damn thing. So this is my reminder… to myself and anyone who needs it: FCK FEAR.
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Da Nang, Vietnam (February 25 - May 11):
While Vietnam wasn’t on my original list of locales when I started this journey two years ago, my extended time in Phuket (during high season) quickly became a strain on my increasingly limited (by choice) budget. With another 60 days in Thailand almost up, I decided it was time to get back to basics and explore more of the world. And given my budgetary challenges, starting in the Land of the Blue Dragon was an absolute no-brainer.
- Lodging: $1,778.95 (avg. $20.68 per day)
- Airfare: $1,516.69 (This total is waayy higher than it needed to be. But my change of plans in leaving Phuket early, having WAY too much luggage, and having to return to the States to handle some family things resulted in increased costs.)
- Transportation: $183.01
- Food: $1750.66 (avg. 23.04 per day)
- Gym & Supplements: $117.13
- Beauty & Selfcare (incl. Tattoo Removal, and full health screening, yearly physical, x-rays and allergy testing): $948.20
- Adventuring: $40.14
- Visa Fees: $145 (This includes the $120 rush fee I had to pay to get my visa processed in time. I’ll post the proper way to avoid this in my Shit You Should Know… guide).
- Laundry: $83.67
- Presents: $138.67
- Everything Else: $193.68
Total Expenses: $6,895.80
- Daily Average: $90.73
- Monthly Cost of Living: $2,721.90
Vietnamese Coconut Coffee – Literally the yummiest coffee I’ve had in my LIFE!
No clever caption… this pic just screams Vietnam to me 🙂
My Khe beach is possibly my FAVORITE beach since Barbados 🙂
Previous Trips:
To make comparisons easier, I’ve included the daily and monthly averages for every major destination I’ve called home since embarking on this grand adventure.
As a reminder, the totals below include things like lodging or rent, food, transportation or gas, gym fees, supplements, beauty products, mani/pedis, etc. Standard bills/debt payments that I have, no matter where I travel, like phone, business expenses, insurance, storage, etc, are not included. The full breakdowns with category details for 2024 locations can be found here, and here for 2025 locations.
Now that this journey is two years deep, I’ve chosen to include only the locations where I stayed at least one month. For precise figures—regardless of destination or length of stay—please refer to the individual tracker links above.
Barcelona (Two Months):
- Total Spent: $6,046.50
- Daily Average: $102.48
- Monthly Average: $3,023.25
South Korea (Two Months):
- Total Spent: $4,928.98
- Daily Average: $82.15
- Monthly Average: $2,464.50
Barbados (2.5 Months):
- Total Spent: $6,598.85
- Daily Average: $94.27
- Monthly Average: $2,828.08
Bangkok (4.75 Months):
- Total Spent: $11,342.61
- Daily Average: $86.19
- Monthly Average: $2,585.16
Pattaya (2 Months):
- Total Spent: $3,815.30
- Daily Average: $68.13
- Monthly Average: $2,043.91
Phuket (1.5 months reflected here/3 months total):
- Total Spent: $5,913.12
- Daily Average: $113.71
- Monthly Average: $3,411.30
- This only accounts for one extended stay in Phuket (Sept-Nov 2025). As mentioned above, I lost track of this for a few months and was in Phuket for the second time during high season (Jan-Feb), so these numbers should be at least 25% higher on average. In case its not clear, Phuket is EXPENSIVE any time of the year compared to other locations in Thailand.
Upcoming Trips:
It feels like there are more places to eat per capita in Da Nang than anywhere I’ve been… including Bangkok!
September 2026 – March 2027: Da Nang, Vietnam
October 2026: Speaking in Fukuoka, Japan, and Siargao, Philippines
March 2027: Puerto Rico
April 2027: Barcelona and Amsterdam
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FCK FEAR | Gym Crop Tank
$36.00 -
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