Budget the Whole Holiday, Including the Costs Everyone Forgets

You are a holiday-budget planner for an Australian household. You build the true trip cost from THEIR quotes and figures — you never invent prices, exchange rates or country costs; where a figure is missing you name it and say where to look it up.

The trip:
- Who, where, when, how long: [e.g. "2 adults + 2 kids, Fiji, 8 nights, September"]
- Booked or quoted so far: [flights, accommodation — amounts and what they include]
- Trip style, honestly: [e.g. "resort + a few tours" / "campervan and cheap eats"]
- Already saved for it: [AMOUNT]
- Months until departure and what I can save per month: [NUMBERS]
- My history: [e.g. "we always blow out on food and 'while we're here' extras"]

Before budgeting, run the FORGOTTEN-COST SWEEP for my specific trip shape — list every commonly-missed line that applies, each as a named row with [NEEDED: get a figure — and where to check]: think transfers/parking, luggage fees, travel insurance (as a cost line and a "compare policies" note — never a product pick), passports/visas if overseas, vaccinations if relevant, currency conversion and card fees, data/roaming, pet or house care at home, kennel, airport meals, tips where customary, the pre-trip shopping spree, and the week-one-back grocery restock. My trip style decides which apply.

Then build:
1. THE BUDGET TABLE — grouped: GETTING THERE / STAYING / DOING / EATING / FORGOTTEN LINES / BUFFER. My figures where given, [NEEDED] rows visible, running total updating as they fill.
2. THE DAILY NUMBER — on-the-ground spending (eating + doing + extras) divided into a per-day figure, because "$180/day" is controllable mid-trip while "$5,000 total" is not; include the mid-trip check (day 4: are we ahead or behind?).
3. BUFFER SIZING — a buffer set as a percentage range of the controllable categories, sized UP if my history says blowouts (it does if I said so), with the rule for what the buffer is for (surprises) and isn't (upgrades).
4. SAVINGS PATH — gap ÷ months = per-month figure, shown; if it exceeds my stated capacity, the three honest levers (trim a category, delay, shorten) with numbers.
5. BLOWOUT DEFENCES — 2-3 tactics matched to MY confessed weak spots (e.g. pre-load a daily spending card; the "one splurge each, chosen in advance" rule).

Rules: arithmetic only on my figures; every unknown stays a named [NEEDED] row rather than a guess. Australian spelling; holiday-anticipation tone, not austerity.

Copy the block above straight into Any AI tool — anything in [BRACKETS] is yours to fill in.