What I'm spending on travel in 2026 as a travel blogger with a full time job

Lengthy title aside, I'm really interested in the financial side of travel and wanted to put this blog post together to share how much I end up spending on travel throughout 2026. While I'm not a full time travel blogger, it is my favourite pastime and all of my annual leave is spent on trips and holidays! 

I'm writing this intro in January after reading a similar blog post from my friend Laura, and I wanted to put together my own little version. Mine will look slightly different, as I'm going to update month by month as I book, pay for and actually go on all my 2026 trips. I know talking about money is taboo for some people, but I'm fascinated and I know there's plenty of nosy people out there just like me...

Also, a little caveat to say I'm including the full cost spent between me and my wife, as we of course share everything between us. At the end of the year I'll split it in half and see what we each ended up spending! I'm also not including the amount we add to our travel savings pots each month, as I'll include that money when it actually gets spent. Hopefully that makes sense, and without further ado let's get into what I'm spending on travel throughout 2026 as a travel blogger who (sadly) works full time.

What I spent on travel in January 2026

January was a month without any physical travel, as it often is for many people. But that's not to say money didn't get spent on travel! Here's what I paid out towards my all time favourite hobby of seeing the world...

£350 - cruise top-up payment. We booked our 2026 cruise with Marella and paid a deposit at the time; we then had to make a January payment before we pay the remainder of the balance in February. We were very lucky to get money towards our honeymoon as wedding gifts, so this came out of that pot.

£25 - cottage holiday deposit. We're going on a UK cottage break in December with my wife's family and I was in charge of the booking, so I paid out for the deposit to book this in.

£90 - new suitcases. My wife and I usually only travel with hand luggage, but for our cruise and our trip to Turkey this year we've got a much bigger luggage allowance so we needed to get some suitcases which we could fill with clothes and check in! I got our new ones from Tripp (in the January sale) which is my Dad's go-to brand so I know they're good.

£120 - deposit for a weekend break to Paris for my birthday in July. This was in fact easyJet credit we had from cancelling a trip last year, so technically free... #girlmaths 

January 2026 total: £585 

I'm really looking forward to seeing how this total climbs throughout the year and working out what a travel blogger really spends on travel in a year!