2K Travel

2K Travel: Tokyo, Japan Case Study

7 days in Tokyo, Japan with round-trip flight and 7-day sleeping accomodation? Impossible, right! No! Actually, it’s quite easy. Let’s map out what a 7-day trip to Japan could look like using real data. We will also have to make some hypothetical budgets for food and drinks.

The Flight

Total: $738 (bags included!)

Link to more flight information: https://bit.ly/2NDxSSg

The Sleeping Accomodations

Total: $415 ($59.29/night!)

Link to additional sleeping accomodation information: https://bit.ly/2K1IucL

Food + Drink

7 days x $70/day = $490.00 ($23.33/meal)

Transportation (Train)

Tickets: $100 ($14.29/day)

Totaling Up The Trip

Flight: $738.00
Sleeping Accomodations: $415.00
Food + Drink: $490.00
Train Tickets: $100.00
TOTAL: $1,743.00

Extra Money Left Over?

Yup. Even with a round-trip flight from Chicago to Tokyo, 7-nights in an AirBnB private room and $70/day for food (which is quite generous), there is still $257 left over for whatever you want. If you reallocate those savings to your food + drink budget, you’re up to $106.71/day ($35.58/meal)!

What’s even crazier? It could be done even cheaper! Staying at a capsule hotel instead of a private room would gain you an additional $181.00 for whatever you want.

We won’t say we told you so! What are you waiting for? Start planning your trip to Tokyo now –> Search Flights Here!

2K Travel: Suggested Money-Saving Tips in Preparation

Our previous post was a quick overview on how to save up $1,700+ pretty easily. This post is in the same ballpark. The fact-of-the-matter is that you’re going to spending money on things like groceries, restaurants, phone bills, etc. Why not put all of those expenses on a credit card and gets points you can use for your upcoming 2K Travel? Hear me out…

Meet the Amex Gold Card, Folks.

The card awards 4 points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide and US supermarkets. With a current valuation of 2 cents per point in mind, the Amex Gold yields a whopping 8% return on food purchases (thepointguys.com).

According to CreditDonkey.com, “Americans spend more than 6% of their annual income on food every year. For one person to eat on a “moderate” budget, it costs $3,000 per year, or almost $250 per month. It costs a family of four between $712 and $1,106 per month for groceries.” For a single person, that $250/month, or $3,000/year, translates into 12,000 Amex points.

Meet the Hilton Honors Program, Folks.

Get this, 1 Amex points = 2 Hilton points (sometimes 2.6 points). What does this mean? You can find a Hilton hotel in most cities for about 20,000 points. With your 12,000 Amex points transferred to Hilton Honors, that 12,000 is now 24,000 – 31,000 points! AKA: a free night in a Hilton hotel!

This credit card “hack”, if you will, is just one of many out there. We suggest exploring credit card options out there that you can use directly on your 2K Travel expenses related to travel. CreditKarma.com could be a great tool for this research. They even have a section for filtering credit cards for travel points!

2K Travel Tips to Save Up $2,000

No one here is saying nor will we ever say that $2,000 is not a lot of money. We get it. Life is expensive. However, in the realm of international travel, it is a relatively small amount of money. Challenge accepted!

Life is a series of decisions we make every single day. Budgeting is part of that. Every day, we make spending decisions that are, well, not reflective of our goals. A coffee here. Take out instead of cooking. One more cocktail or glass of wine out at dinner. Life is short so you do you. But keep in mind that those little expenses could be what is robbing you from a week in a Europe or train-hopping in Japan.

Let us see how a few changes to your spending could make saving up $2,000 seem more achieveable. We will make some assumptions and generalities that are pretty common but may not apply to you. Either way, the point should still be clear.

That Daily Coffee Stop

Item: Coffee
Price: $2.50 each
Frequency: 5 times/week
Monthly Total: $50.00
Annual Total: $600.00

Those Weekly Lunch Breaks

Item: Going Out For Lunch
Price: $12.00 each time
Frequency: 2 time/week
Monthly Total: $96.00
Annual Total: $1,152.00

The Results

The numbers speak for themselves! Just cutting out coffee stops 5x/week and going out for lunch 2x/week, you’re already up to $1,752 in savings! That is a minor sacrifice to, instead, see the world!

The Three Assumed Compromises of 2K Travel

When it comes to traveling the 2K travel way, there are expectations that need to be set to avoid any unnecessary surprises. When you travel normally, you have probably become accustomed to more streamlined, easy-to-book hotels and non-stop, direct flights. While those are nice elements to have, they are not always something you are going to have available with 2K Travel.

The Three Assumed Compromises of 2K Travel

Below is a list of what we will refer to as the Three Assumed Compromises of 2K Travel:

1. Non-Stop Flights

It is possible but unlikely. If you’re looking for the convenience of non-stop flights for international travel, we get it. However, one need adjust their flights baseline standards to be a $2k Traveler.

2. Hotel Accomodations

Sometimes, 2K Travel allows for a hotel now and then. If so, it will be a small one without many frills. However, a 2K Traveler need be prepared to push their boundries and crash at a capsule hotel or a sweet hotel.

3. Off-Season Travel

It is possible to find a $2K Travel deal during the primetime tourist season. However, it is not going to be the norm. Besides, you’re there for the sights – not the crowds and lines!

The Three Assumed Compromieses are financially interlinked and equally important. The more you are willing to waiver on one will directly impact your budget for the next one. For example, spending an extra $150 on the flight reduces your options for your hotel/sleeping accomodations. It’s a bit of a give-and-take but should be viewed as a fun challenge!

Listen, if you want to see everything you want to see in the world with non-stop flights and stay at the Hilton downtown, that is fine. I just want to let you know that if you spend $10,000 on travel in, say, 5 years, you can either spread that across five trips or less. There is so much to see in the world! Try to see as much as possible!