Course Catalog / BMU 190 / Lesson 1 of 8
BMU 190
New to this course? Take the pretest first. About 10 minutes, not graded. It shows your starting point, so at the end you can see how far you came. Take the pretest
Lesson 1: Plan your trip and budget
New to this course? Read Getting started first. Key words are in the glossary.
Your Course Project: this lesson builds Part 1: Budget. After the Try it, add it to your Course Project and press Check this part.
Warm up
1. Think of a trip you took or wanted to take. Which cost surprised you most?
See the answer
A good budget catches surprise costs.
Why this matters
A trip can go wrong before you leave home: fees pile onto a low fare, and a resort fee onto a cheap room. A plan and a budget catch most surprises early.
BMU Learning built this course with your course guide, Travel Guide Travis, host of The Travel Tribe Guide podcast. Every tip rests on dated official sources. You finish with a complete, budgeted plan for a real trip.
Start with what you already do
You already budget rent, food, and gas each month.
Common belief: The fare and the room are the trip budget.
What is actually true: They are only two lines. Food, local transport, fees, documents, insurance, and a cushion for surprises often add up to as much again. A full budget lists every category before you book.
In this lesson you will
- Write a trip goal with dates, a place, and a total budget limit
- List costs in eight budget categories
- Check meal and room costs against an official benchmark
- Add a buffer and set a savings plan
Key words
trip goal, budget category, benchmark, buffer. Find what each one means in the course glossary.
What this course is and is not
Short explanation
Write your trip goal first. Then list every cost by category, check your guesses against a real benchmark, and add a buffer. Book only when the total fits your limit.
Write a trip goal
Use this pattern: [Who] will go to [where] for [how many] nights in [month], and spend no more than [total]. The total is a ceiling, not a target.
List eight budget categories
- Getting there: fares, gas, tolls, or train tickets.
- Lodging: the total price per night, with required fees.
- Food: meals, snacks, and drinks.
- Getting around: local transit, rides, parking, or a rental.
- Activities: tickets, tours, and park fees.
- Documents and fees: passport, visa, bag fees, and seat fees.
- Protection: travel insurance, if you choose it (Lesson 5).
- Buffer: money for what you did not plan.
Check against a benchmark
Guesses about food and rooms are often too low. One free, official benchmark is the federal per diem from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA): what agencies pay workers for rooms and meals on work trips in the continental United States. For fiscal year 2027, which started Oct. 1, 2026, the standard rate is $113 a night for lodging and $68 a day for meals and incidentals. About 300 places have higher rates; look up any ZIP code on the GSA site.
A benchmark is not a price promise, just a range check. If your food line is $20 a day in a city where the benchmark is $80, look again.
Add a buffer and a savings plan
Use a buffer of at least 10 percent of the total (a course rule of thumb, not an official rule). Then divide what you still need to save by the weeks left, for a weekly savings target.
Text version of this figure
- Trip goal: Keisha and her son, 4 nights in a U.S. city in April, no more than $1,400.
- Getting there: $380 (Two round trips, bags in)
- Lodging: $472 (4 nights at $118, fees in)
- Food: $220 ($55 a day for two)
- Getting around: $90 (Official transit page)
- Activities: $110 (Museum tickets)
- Documents and fees: $0 (REAL ID license)
- Protection: $0 (Health plan covers U.S.)
- Buffer, at least 10%: $128 (For what you did not plan)
- Total: $1,400, which fits the ceiling.
- Benchmark: GSA per diem for FY 2027, standard lodging $113 and meals and incidentals $68 a day.
- Weekly savings: she has $600 saved and needs $800 more. $800 divided by 10 weeks is $80 a week.
Use it when: you check a trip budget.
Try it: A made up traveler plans a $900 trip with no buffer and $15 a day for food in a city where the meals benchmark is about $68. What two fixes come first?
- Check the buffer line.
- Compare the food line with the benchmark.
Check your answer
- Add a buffer of at least $90 (10 percent).
- Raise the food line, or plan to cook.
- If the total no longer fits, trim nights or activities.
Why: Food and the buffer are the lines people most often guess too low.
Text version of this figure
- Trip goal: Keisha and her son, 4 nights in a U.S. city in April, no more than $1,400.
- Getting there: $380 (Two round trips, bags in)
- Lodging: $472 (4 nights at $118, fees in)
- Food: $220 ($55 a day for two)
- Getting around: $90 (Official transit page)
- Activities: $110 (Museum tickets)
- Documents and fees: $0 (REAL ID license)
- Protection: $0 (Health plan covers U.S.)
- Buffer, at least 10%: $128 (For what you did not plan)
- Total: $1,400, which fits the ceiling.
- Benchmark: GSA per diem for FY 2027, standard lodging $113 and meals and incidentals $68 a day. It checks whether a guess is sensible; it is not a price promise.
- Weekly savings: she has $600 saved and needs $800 more. $800 divided by 10 weeks is $80 a week.
Use it when: you check a trip budget.
Try it: A made-up traveler plans a $900 trip with no buffer and $15 a day for food in a city where the meals benchmark is about $68. What two fixes come first?
- Check the buffer line.
- Compare the food line with the benchmark.
Check your answer
- Add a buffer of at least $90 (10 percent).
- Raise the food line, or plan to cook, and note why it is below the benchmark.
- If the total no longer fits, trim nights or activities.
Why: Food and the buffer are the lines people most often guess too low.
Foreign card fees
Paying by card abroad? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says some cards charge a foreign transaction fee. Read your card agreement and add any fee to your Documents and fees line.
Worked example: Keisha's trip budget, annotated
Keisha plans four nights in a mid size U.S. city in April for herself and her son. Her ceiling is $1,400. Keisha is a made up example.
| Part | Model | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Getting there | $380 for two round trip fares, bags included | Total price, not the base fare. |
| Lodging | 4 nights at $118, fees included: $472 | Close to the GSA benchmark for that city. |
| Food | $55 a day for two: $220 | Below the benchmark because they will cook breakfast. |
| Getting around and activities | $90 transit and $110 tickets | Priced from the official transit and museum pages. |
| Documents, fees, buffer | $0 documents, $128 buffer (10 percent) | Total $1,400 fits the ceiling. |
She has 10 weeks to save $800, or $80 a week.
Strong and weak examples
Two made up situations. Decide which example is stronger, then check.
Situation 1
Example A: Ceiling $1,400: fares $380 with bags, lodging, food, local transport, a buffer, and $80 a week saved.
Example B: Budget: about $1,000, should be fine.
Check your answer
Example A is stronger. Real prices and a buffer, so the total holds.
Why the other one falls short: No line items, so costs pile up past the ceiling.
Situation 2: A short road trip
Example A: Weekend ceiling $450: gas $80, two nights $220, food $100, $50 buffer. Saving $45 a week for 10 weeks.
Example B: A weekend trip: you will just use your card and sort it out later.
Check your answer
Example A is stronger. A total, the main costs, a buffer, and a savings plan.
Why the other one falls short: No ceiling, no buffer, and a bill that arrives after you are home.
Practice: Find the gap
A made up traveler named Diego plans a five night trip. His list has fares, lodging, and activities. What is missing, and why does it matter?
Check your practice: feedback
Missing: food, getting around, documents and fees, and a buffer.
Why it matters: those lines can be a large share of the trip, so Diego may book a trip he cannot pay off.
Common mistakes
- Budgeting only the fare and the room. List all eight categories.
- Guessing food costs. Check the GSA benchmark for the city.
- No cushion. Add a buffer of at least 10 percent.
Try it: Build your trip budget
Pick your scenario:
- A weekend trip within driving distance
- A flight to visit family
- A first trip abroad
- Start a notebook or file called Trip Plan.
- Write your trip goal with the pattern.
- List a cost for each of the eight categories.
- Look up the GSA per diem for your destination, if it is in the continental U.S., and compare.
- Add a buffer of at least 10 percent.
- Work out your weekly savings target.
Do it by: tomorrow
Reflect
Which budget line are you least sure about, and how could you check it?
Check your understanding
1. Which trip goal is the most complete?
- A fun trip sometime soon, as cheap as possible.
- Two adults, four nights in Denver in May, no more than $1,600.
- Somewhere warm with a pool for the whole family.
See the answer and feedback
B is correct. It names who, where, how long, when, and a ceiling.
A: It has no place, dates, or limit.
C: It has no dates or budget limit.
Review: Write a trip goal.
2. Your food guess is $20 a day, and the GSA benchmark for the city is $80 a day. What should you do?
- Recheck your food line, since it may be far too low.
- Keep it, since the benchmark is only for workers.
- Drop the food line from the budget.
See the answer and feedback
A is correct. A big gap from the benchmark is a signal to look again.
B: The benchmark is a range check for anyone. Review Check against a benchmark.
C: Food is one of the eight categories. Review List eight budget categories.
3. Your trip total is $1,000. What buffer does this course suggest?
- Nothing, if you planned well.
- Exactly the cost of one night.
- At least $100.
See the answer and feedback
C is correct. At least 10 percent of the total.
A: Even good plans meet surprises.
B: The buffer is a share of the total.
Review: Add a buffer and a savings plan.
Takeaway: trip budget checklist
- Trip goal with a ceiling
- Eight categories filled in
- Food and rooms checked against a benchmark
- Card fees checked
- Buffer of at least 10 percent
- Weekly savings target
Recap
- A trip goal names who, where, when, and a ceiling.
- Budget all eight categories, not just fare and room.
- Check guesses against the GSA benchmark.
- Add a buffer and a weekly savings target.
You now have: a trip goal, an eight line budget, and a savings plan.
Next up
Next you will compare fares and stays on total price and spot hidden fees. Lesson 2: Compare fares and stays, spot hidden fees. BMU 190 is part of BMU All Access. All Access is $9.99 a month and gives you unlimited access to the course catalog. Sign up free as a Founding Member to continue. Public enrollment opens Nov 9, 2026.
Sources
- GSA: Per diem rates and FTR Bulletin 27-01 (FY 2027: standard lodging $113, standard meals and incidentals $68) (current as of Oct 29, 2026)
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Know Before You Owe: Credit cards (current as of Oct 29, 2026)
Please read
This course teaches a careful way to plan trips. It does not promise any price, deal, or result. General education, not legal, insurance, medical, or financial advice.
