Budget for USA!

[jorza]

A hundred a day for tips? Are you one of those people who suggests tipping everyone with $10 notes?

Not everything is tip worthy, and the general rule I've always followed is $1 tip for small things eg taxi's unless it's a long drive, in which case it's 10% of the fare, a $1 per drink at the bar unless there is a tab in which case I'd treat it the same as a restaurant bill, and around 15% of the post tax bill at restaurants, and I tend to leave a dollar or two for maids at hotels (a good way of getting rid of extra coins)

Sometimes I'll go a little higher if the service was really good, sometimes I'll go a little lower if the service was poor.

So carry at least $50 a day for tips? in 5's and 1's?
What the cost of things over there? eg; How do they compare? Cost of food, taxis, sightseeing, shopping..etc.

 

[UP4014]

So carry at least $50 a day for tips? in 5's and 1's?
What the cost of things over there? eg; How do they compare? Cost of food, taxis, sightseeing, shopping..etc.

$20 to $30, is enough for me. Perhaps I'm stingy or don't go to the same places. $5 tip in a diner for Breakfast, $5 for lunch (if you can fit in a midday meal ) and $5 or $10 for dinner is plenty. I'm not getting taxis or boozing it up to often, $1 per drink is adequate.

 

[burmans]

Well the general consensus I have had from a fair amount of searching is that anything from 10-20% is a reasonable tip, 10% is service is just OK (and the receiver wont necessarily be happy with this), 15% is good service and 20% oustanding.

At the 15% average youd need to be spending $650 a day to spend $100 in tips.

 

[jorza]

well the general consensus i have had from a fair amount of searching is that anything from 10-20% is a reasonable tip, 10% is service is just ok (and the receiver wont necessarily be happy with this), 15% is good service and 20% oustanding.

At the 15% average youd need to be spending $650 a day to spend $100 in tips.

yeah math!

 

[codash1099]

What about a multi-currency passport through Travelex?

(Shudder). Try Australia Post's cash card or even Qantas Cash. Both easier on the fees than Travelex.

 

[jorza]

(Shudder). Try Australia Post's cash card or even Qantas Cash. Both easier on the fees than Travelex.

Really? Im a beginner to all this, i just want something heavily accesible as i will putting ALL my money onto it.
Something i could just walk into a shop and pay for it on the card, or walk up to an ATM and pull money out.
Just something easy to use.

 

[cirqueboy]

In NYC, ditch the cab idea and use the Subway. It will generally get you where you want to go a whole lot quicker (traffic is the pits!). The $$ you save you can blow on great dinners, wine and shopping!

 

[jorza]

In NYC, ditch the cab idea and use the Subway. It will generally get you where you want to go a whole lot quicker (traffic is the pits!). The $$ you save you can blow on great dinners, wine and shopping!

Just relayed this back to the missus. Shes bit of a diva, so hopefully she'll agree to take the subway or walk.
Great idea though! my main concern is getting lost in the subway system!

 

[harvyk]

Well the general consensus I have had from a fair amount of searching is that anything from 10-20% is a reasonable tip, 10% is service is just OK (and the receiver wont necessarily be happy with this), 15% is good service and 20% oustanding.

At the 15% average youd need to be spending $650 a day to spend $100 in tips.

Yes, but not everything over there is tip worthy, for example I don't tend to tip a bus driver, the guy serving at burger king, entry to attractions or if I purchase something at a shop (unless the sales assistant is really helpful) So to spend $650 per day (which is beyond the budget set out by jorza) you'd need to do nothing except for travel in taxis, eat at restaurants and drink in bars.

 

[harvyk]

Just relayed this back to the missus. Shes bit of a diva, so hopefully she'll agree to take the subway or walk.
Great idea though! my main concern is getting lost in the subway system!

Take a map (or better yet have a map loaded onto your phone). Subways / trains OS are usually no more difficult to use than trains over here.


The thing to watch out for money wise is "taxes". So just because you see something which is been sold for $10, there is every chance that this number does not include state taxes. It varies from state to state, but expect anywhere from 5% to 20% added onto the price in taxes. Also watch for restaurants which include the tip as a "service charge" on bills. If there is a "service charge" or other such charge do not feel compelled to also leave a tip.

Also read over your bills carefully, if there is a "tax" which doesn't make sense or you haven't seen before feel free to question it.

 

[harvyk]

(Shudder). Try Australia Post's cash card or even Qantas Cash. Both easier on the fees than Travelex.

Be wary of the Aust Post card, I had (have) one and I am less than impressed with it. See -> http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ney/aust-post-currency-card-report-52432.html

 

[cirqueboy]

In your particular situation carrying cash is your best choice IMHO. Regular OS travellers have all sorts of ways to carry foreign currency but this is primarily designed for frequent travellers.

I would recommend to carry the cash with you or if that is uncomfortable, withdraw once when you get to the US. Depending on the exact timing (ie US/AU exchange rates) a US withdraw might be better.

Either way, don' stress on it too much and enjoy your US adventure

 

[harvyk]

In your particular situation carrying cash is your best choice IMHO. Regular OS travellers have all sorts of ways to carry foreign currency but this is primarily designed for frequent travellers.

I would recommend to carry the cash with you or if that is uncomfortable, withdraw once when you get to the US. Depending on the exact timing (ie US/AU exchange rates) a US withdraw might be better.

Either way, don' stress on it too much and enjoy your US adventure

Disagree, there are a variety of currency cards out there which can be obtained at short notice, they can be single or multi-currency cards depending on the needs and take no more than about 15 minutes to get issued, much safer than carrying cash around.

 

[petercr]

When we did LA/NYC/DC in Feb we took $500 in cash (small and med denominations) and had about $4000 on CBA travelcard to cover 2 adults, a teen and two kids. That pretty much lasted us the 3 weeks we were there including a shopping spree at Macys for the females and a spend for me at the Lego shop in the Rockerfeller Centre (to buy a Lego R2D2) and the Bose factory outlet in NJ (love my QC15's). When we needed to get cash, we generally got a couple hundred at a time.

Except for one night in LA (due to flight delays to JFK but insurance covered that in the end) all hotels were pre-paid. 3 nights in Anaheim were also pre-paid including 2 days at Dizzyland. All local travel costs where paid out of what was loaded onto the card.

I picked up the CBA travelcard in the local branch and was able to load it there and then (back when the AUD was better than even ). Getting the USD took 48hrs notice from the same branch and was no drama except that all the notes were hot off the press (US notes have a bad habit of sticking together when new).

If you're going to spend some time in NYC, get yourself a subway pass ($29 for 7 days) as that's going to be heaps cheaper than taking a cab everywhere especially if there's only 2 of you. Otherwise it's $2.75 pp per trip.

Oh and go see the skyline from the Top of the Rock - you can't get a photo of the Empire State Building otherwise.

 

[drron]

The NYC metrocard can also be used on busses-and sometimes a bus is more convenient.
If not there for a long time then get a metrocard as it saves time.They are now charging you a dollar to get one but if you load it with $20 you get an extra dollar credit.
When we have gone and one card has run out we just use the one card-just follow each other through the gate and hand the pass back to your partner.
See here-
MTA/New York City Transit - Fares and MetroCard

 

[Mjgradow]

Hi guys!
As im leaving in two weeks, i have more than enough funds to suit any kind of budget.
But what im needing to know, is how much (in your personal experiences) would you say i would need to bring to USA for spending.
I have already paid for flights and hotels.

I am going for two and a half weeks with my partner, travelling to NYC, LV, LA and Hawaii.
Im looking about bringing about $6000, which after (todays) exchange rate changes to about $5400 which is roughly $320 per day. Is this too much, is this not enough? Were wanting to explore as many attractions as possible, disnyeland (LA)..etc. a full tourist holiday. We will be catching cabs everywhere and buying food to take out.

Also my partner will have roughly $220 per day to spend.
This is a roundabout total of $540 per day for two people. (shes a shopper though...unfortunately)

Would love your input.

Thanks.:mrgreen:

I am from California. New York is extremely expensive at most restaurants but you can look up famous deli's like Carnegies or Katz's and split one of their monstrous pastramis. Katz's has a sign over the table where Meg Ryan in a movie faked an cough and a lady at a nearby table said, I'll have what she's having." There are also movie tours that are fun and not too pricey. Take the metro vs. taxi. Get out of LA. It is a horrible place. Ok, Disneyland is cool but that's in Anaheim. If you rent a car, better to drive up highway one, one of the most magnificent drives in the world. Here you can segway to Hearst Castle and if you're coming in November or later, see the elephant seals lounging on the beach at Point Sal. If you need more USA info, please feel free to ask me at Sjgrado..yahoo.

 

[cove]

If you are happy with eating at Denny's , Subway or equivalents and go to supermarkets you will find the cost of food in the US to be really modest compared with Australia. Basically about half price is what I find.
Be careful in New York and Las Vegas and you will be fine.
In Los Angeles we use the Big Blue bus to go to Santa Monica or into the heart of Los Angeles and it is a bargain compared with a taxi or limo. Baseball is still cheap to get a seat and basketball is quite a bit more but is still fun.

 

[petercr]

Speaking of food, we found it somewhat ironic that you could buy a bottle of wine with no problems in a supermarket but buying a 24-pack of paracetamol required the safety packaging to be unlocked by the check-out supervisor.

 

[drron]

Speaking of food, we found it somewhat ironic that you could buy a bottle of wine with no problems in a supermarket but buying a 24-pack of paracetamol required the safety packaging to be unlocked by the check-out supervisor.

That sounds funny because at Walmart you can get 200 without any security packaging.It will be under it's US name though-acetaminophen.Tylenol,advil are the common brands but lots of generics.
Personally selling 200 caps is dangerous.

 

[Dougo]

Just relayed this back to the missus. Shes bit of a diva, so hopefully she'll agree to take the subway or walk.
Great idea though! my main concern is getting lost in the subway system!

Walking is great in NY - so many sights to see that you'd miss out on such as the small pockets of green parks etc. Forget the stylish shoes and go for comfort as the blocks size going across town are huge

But having said that, we've found that the subway is the quickest and easiest way to get around NY if you don't want to walk and take in the scenery.

Just get a good subway map and if you are in NY for the best part of a week, then buy the weekly. If you look at the subway map you'll find that some lines meet and you can change trains without incurring another train ticket and at some station such as Union Square (?) or Grand Central you can get a train that will go "across town" and either to another line or to a destination such as Times Square from Grand Central Station.

You're likely to find that once you get used to it which shouldn't take long, then you'll use it for at least two - four train rides each per day and it'll pay for itself in no time at all and you can use that same ticket on buses too. A quick tip that helped me to work out the direction of the train was to work out if I wanted to go uptown or downtown, and then enter the subway based on the direction the cars were going which was either up or downtown.

In NY, if you want food court food where office workers eat, try under Grand Central Station - some very nice soups there as well as lots of variety, an oyster bar as well as famous NY cheesecake at Juniors.

There are quite a few things to do in NY which won't cost a lot of money and some are free such as the Staten Island Ferry, walking the Brooklyn Bridge, going to any of the parks and for some venues / galleries / museums, there are "pay as you wish" night / days and some are free entry. One of the places that kept us amused for a while was the B&H camera shop near 34th/9th Ave I think - definitely worth checking out if you are into cameras etc.