Back on budget in Busan

We slashed our spending in the month of September. That period of time — August 31 to October 1 — was spent living in Busan, South Korea.

After spending over $7,000 in the previous 54 days touring all around Japan, we were eager to get back to our standard slow travel style.

Below are the exact expenses for our Busan stay, compiled from our “Spending Tracker” cell phone app where we record every cent/Korean won that we spend.

$729  —   Housing

$385  —   Groceries

$273  —   Gifts

$231  —   Restaurants

$170  —   Supplies

$128  —   Beer

$110  —   Local transport

$105  —   Health

$70    —   Travel

$61    —   Excursions

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$2,262  total for 2 people / 30 nights

Budget notes and explanations

— The main reason for our September budget success: a fantastic deal on our Airbnb rental. Most similar lodging anywhere in S. Korea costs double that. Here’s a link to what I say is ‘the best deal in East Asia‘.

We also drastically cut back on restaurant meals in September. In Japan, we averaged $15.26 per day eating out. During the Busan month, $7.70 was the average for restaurants/cafes each day.

By the same measure, our grocery costs increased from $10.35 per day in Japan to $12.83 in Korea. Truthfully, our small, shorter-stay rentals in Japan were less equipped for ‘at-home’ meal preparation. We did have refrigerators, microwaves, and hot water kettles — but not the more fully equipped kitchen we had in Busan.

— Busan is a huge metropolis spread along a thin, mountainous seafront. Free natural ‘entertainment’ is abundant: parks, trails, beaches, promenades, etc. ‘Local Transport’ is bus and subway fares, which are about $1.25 per ride. We took many rides exploring the beautiful city.

— I consulted an ENT (ear, nose, and throat) doctor twice in Busan, seeking treatment for my ongoing sinus issues. Amazingly, the walk-in office visits cost only $10 each. The facilities were equal to Western standards but English communication was challenging. Prescription medications after each consultation totaled $85.

— It was unseasonably hot for our first three weeks in Busan (F 90°+ every day). I drank a lot of beer. Amazingly, the local grocery had a sale on 500ml Pilsner Urquell cans for 2000₩ each ($1.50)!  Mmmmmm… my favorite!  Ellie had plenty of diet soda and iced lattes (she doesn’t drink alcohol).

— Being under budget for the month meant we were able to do some charitable/gift giving. Obviously, retaining those funds would have lowered our costs further.

In sum, we knew our time in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan (upcoming) would be more more costly than less developed Asian nations. For East Asia, we’ve raised our $2,000 monthly ‘budget goal’ to $3,000. 

In Japan, we exceeded that budget by close to 20 percent. But as hoped, we’ve ‘made up’ a little of the overage in South Korea. Going forward, we won’t have any similar housing deals – so we hope to keep our monthly spend close to the $3,000 goal.

Finally, we continue to share our slow travel expense reports so that others can see what ‘living like locals’ can cost in various alluring locations around the globe. Following this post are links to other recent budget breakdowns.

As always, be thankful and generous, happy trails & more beer.

Life is NOW!

Thanks for reading, “Back on budget in Busan.”

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Recent budget breakdowns:

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