Travel Budget Tracker

Tracks trip expenses in real-time with multi-currency conversion, daily budget monitoring, and detailed category breakdowns. This skill manages spending across accommodation, food, transport, activities, and shopping with automatic currency handling. Works with expense data you log manually or import from banking apps like Mint, YNAB, Revolut, and Wise, producing clear summaries and alerts when you are over budget.

Supported Platforms & Integrations

Platform	Integration Type	Features
Revolut	Transaction export	Multi-currency transaction import
Wise (TransferWise)	Currency rates	Real-time exchange rate reference
YNAB	Budget categories	Category-aligned expense tracking
Mint	Transaction export	Automated expense categorization
Splitwise	Group expenses	Split costs among travel companions
Google Sheets	Export format	Shareable spreadsheet with formulas

When to Use This Skill

• Use this when traveling internationally and dealing with multiple currencies

• Use this when you want to stick to a daily spending limit and need accountability

• Use this when traveling in a group and need to track shared expenses and splits

• Use this when you want a post-trip spending analysis to plan future travel budgets

• Use this when your trip spans multiple countries with different cost levels

• Consider alternatives when you need automated bank transaction syncing (use Mint or YNAB directly)

• Consider alternatives when you need receipt scanning and OCR (use Expensify)

• Consider alternatives when filing business travel expense reports (use Concur or SAP)

Quick Start

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# budget-tracker-config.yml
trip:
  name: "Southeast Asia 2026"
  home_currency: "USD"
  dates:
    start: "2026-04-01"
    end: "2026-04-21"
  daily_budget: 75
  countries:
    - name: "Thailand"
      currency: "THB"
      days: 7
    - name: "Vietnam"
      currency: "VND"
      days: 7
    - name: "Cambodia"
      currency: "USD"
      days: 7

First run example:

> Log today's expenses: Pad thai 80 THB, Grab taxi 150 THB, temple entry 200 THB, hotel 1200 THB

Day 3 Summary (Bangkok):
  Food:      80 THB ($2.29)
  Transport: 150 THB ($4.29)
  Activities: 200 THB ($5.71)
  Accommodation: 1200 THB ($34.29)
  ─────────────────────────
  Day Total: 1630 THB ($46.57)
  Daily Budget: $75.00
  Remaining: $28.43 ✓ Under budget

Trip Running Total: $187.42 / $1,575.00 (11.9%)

Advanced Configuration

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# Currency settings
currency:
  home: "USD"
  rate_source: "manual"
  rates:
    THB: 35
    VND: 24500

# Category settings
categories:
  - "accommodation"
  - "food-drink"
  - "transport"
  - "activities"
  - "shopping"
  - "miscellaneous"

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
home_currency	string	"USD"	Your home currency for conversion
daily_budget	number	100	Daily spending target in home currency
categories	array	[6 defaults]	Expense categories for tracking
rate_source	string	"manual"	Options: manual, estimated
group_mode	boolean	false	Enable split expense tracking
group_members	array	[]	Names of travel companions for splits
alert_threshold	number	80	Alert at this percentage of daily budget
rollover_budget	boolean	true	Under-budget days roll over to future days
pre_paid_expenses	array	[]	Flights, hotels, tours paid before the trip
tip_culture	string	"auto"	Tipping norms by country: auto, always, never
atm_fee_tracking	boolean	true	Track ATM withdrawal fees separately

Core Concepts

Concept	Description
Daily Budget Envelope	A fixed amount per day that keeps total trip spending on target
Currency Normalization	Converting all expenses to home currency for consistent tracking
Budget Rollover	Under-budget days add surplus to future days for flexibility
Category Allocation	Percentage targets per category (40% food, 30% accommodation, etc.)
Pre-Trip vs On-Trip	Separating expenses already paid (flights, hotels) from daily spending

+------------------+     +-------------------+     +------------------+
| Expense Input    | --> | Currency          | --> | Category         |
| (amount, local   |     | Converter         |     | Classifier       |
|  currency, note) |     | (to home $)       |     | (food, transport)|
+------------------+     +-------------------+     +------------------+
                                                          |
                                                          v
+------------------+     +-------------------+     +------------------+
| Reports &        | <-- | Budget Monitor    | <-- | Running Totals   |
| Visualizations   |     | (alerts, status)  |     | (daily, trip,    |
|                  |     |                   |     |  by category)    |
+------------------+     +-------------------+     +------------------+

Workflow Examples

Scenario 1: Daily Logging in Multiple Currencies

Input: "Day 8 in Vietnam: Pho breakfast 45000 VND, motorbike rental 150000 VND, Cu Chi tunnels tour 300000 VND, banh mi 25000 VND, rooftop bar 450000 VND"
Output:
Day 8 Summary (Ho Chi Minh City):
  Food:       70,000 VND ($2.86)
  Transport:  150,000 VND ($6.12)
  Activities: 300,000 VND ($12.24)
  Nightlife:  450,000 VND ($18.37)
  ───────────────────────────
  Day Total:  970,000 VND ($39.59)
  Budget:     $75.00 | Remaining: $35.41
  Rollover from previous days: +$42.18
  Available tomorrow: $117.18

Scenario 2: Group Trip Expense Splitting

Input: "3 travelers. Dinner was 2400 THB total, I paid. Taxi was 300 THB, Maria paid. Temple tickets 200 THB each, we each paid our own."
Output:
Expense Split — Day 5:
  Dinner: 2400 THB / 3 = 800 THB each ($22.86)
    You paid 2400, owed 800 → Maria owes you 800, Jake owes you 800
  Taxi: 300 THB / 3 = 100 THB each ($2.86)
    Maria paid 300, owed 100 → You owe Maria 100, Jake owes Maria 100
  Temple: 200 THB each (settled)

Running Balance:
  Maria owes you: 700 THB ($20.00)
  Jake owes you: 800 THB ($22.86)
  You owe Maria: 0

Scenario 3: Post-Trip Analysis

Input: "Trip is over. Give me a full spending report."
Output:
Southeast Asia 2026 — Final Report:
  Total Spent: $1,423.67 (9.6% under $1,575 budget)
  Daily Average: $67.79
  Most Expensive Day: Day 12 ($124.50 — Halong Bay tour)
  Cheapest Day: Day 4 ($31.20 — lazy beach day)

  By Category:
    Accommodation: $478.00 (33.6%) — avg $22.76/night
    Food & Drink:  $389.50 (27.4%) — avg $18.55/day
    Transport:     $234.17 (16.4%) — avg $11.15/day
    Activities:    $198.00 (13.9%)
    Shopping:      $89.00 (6.3%)
    Misc:          $35.00 (2.5%)

  By Country:
    Thailand: $527.30 ($75.33/day)
    Vietnam:  $489.87 ($69.98/day)
    Cambodia: $406.50 ($58.07/day)

Best Practices

Log expenses immediately. The biggest failure mode in travel budgeting is forgetting to log purchases. Spend 10 seconds after each transaction noting the amount and category. At the end of each day, run a quick summary to catch anything missed.

Use the rollover feature strategically. If you know a big-ticket activity is coming (scuba certification, helicopter tour), underspend intentionally on the days before. The rollover system banks your surplus and makes the expensive day feel guilt-free because it was planned. This is far more sustainable than rigid daily limits.

Track ATM and conversion fees separately. International ATM withdrawals typically cost $3-5 per transaction plus a 1-3% conversion markup. These fees add up quickly — on a 3-week trip with twice-weekly withdrawals, that is $50-100 in hidden costs. Withdraw larger amounts less frequently to minimize fees.

Compare country-level costs for future trips. The post-trip analysis showing daily averages by country is invaluable for planning future trips. Knowing that Vietnam costs $70/day versus Japan at $150/day lets you plan trip lengths and budgets with real data rather than guesswork.

Separate pre-paid from daily spending. Flights, pre-booked hotels, and tour deposits should be logged as pre-trip expenses. Your daily budget should reflect only on-the-ground discretionary spending. Mixing them makes your daily budget artificially high and gives you a false sense of available money.

Common Issues

Problem: Exchange rate fluctuates during the trip. Set rate_source: "manual" and update rates weekly based on the rate you actually receive at ATMs or exchanges. The rate you get at a Bangkok ATM is more relevant than the Google mid-market rate. Log the actual rate each time you withdraw cash for accurate tracking.

Problem: Forgot to log several expenses. Review your bank or Revolut transaction history at the end of each day and cross-reference with your logged expenses. Missing items are usually small cash purchases. The skill can bulk-import a list of expenses with timestamps to catch up quickly.

Problem: Group splits are getting complicated. Use group_mode: true and log who paid for each shared expense. The skill maintains a running balance between all members. Settle up every 3-4 days rather than at the end of the trip to keep things manageable.

Privacy & Data Handling

• Local processing: All expense tracking, currency conversion, and budget calculations happen locally in your Claude Code session. No financial data is sent to any service.
• Data retention: Expense data exists only during the active session. Export your trip data to a local file before ending the session to preserve your records.
• Export options: Export as markdown summary, CSV for spreadsheet import, JSON for programmatic use, or Google Sheets-compatible format with formulas preserved.
• Sensitive data: The skill does not access your bank accounts, credit cards, or financial apps. All amounts are entered manually by you. No payment credentials are ever requested.
• Sharing: Group expense reports can be exported and shared with travel companions without revealing your personal budget limits or non-shared expenses.