Financing My Trip to Pakistan

Ms. Qureshi
My Monthly Budget
Steps to Budgeting
1. Set a goal
○ I set a medium-term goal of saving for a trip that I want to take in year
2. Find out where the money is going
○ On the previous slide, you can see the budget I made to track my income and expenses
○ I categorized my expenses into 8 categories to see exactly how much money I spent for
different things
3. Save small amounts and get the money out of sight
○ I refrained from going out to eat or going to the movies more than once to save money
○ I also try to take at least one extra shift and at least one night of babysitting to supplement my
income
○ After getting paid at the beginning of the month, I have my bank automatically deduct $700
and put into a separate savings account.
○ (I leave a bit of the $717 left for emergency expenses)
Trip Details
1. Fly in through Qatar Airways to Islamabad (capital)
2. Check into hotel (~2 days) and meet up with driver to discuss plans
3. Go to Peshawar (capital of province) and stay with family (~3 days)
○ Do initial shopping, especially if getting custom-fit clothing, giving the tailors time
○ Look for bookstores to find poetry books
4. Go to village, stay in grandparents’ home with aunt
5. Allah Hoo Trail (near Kohat)
○ Walk along trail, taking photos and videos, especially of Kohat on one side and Dara
Adamkhel on the other
○ Bring food staples to cook lunch using the provided cooktops/grills on the trail
○ Eat dinner at Afridi Inn
6. Stay in village and check on parents’ home to see renovations
7. Go back to Peshawar to finish shopping and pick up clothes (~1 day)
8. Go to Islamabad airport and head home :(
Plan to Finance Trip
After 12 months of saving $700 a month, I will have saved $8,400 for my trip.

My trip will be for about two weeks. While I would like to explore the northern
areas as well as the major cities, I am going to focus simply on my family’s village,
the Allah Hoo Trail in Kohat, which is in the same district as the village, and on
going shopping for clothing and other souvenirs in Peshawar (capital of the
province).

Total amount needed for trip is ~$5,000

See Trip Finances Breakdown on next slide

 Expense Amount Details

Two-Way Ticket ~$1800.00 Via Qatar Airways in August, economy seats

Toiletries ~$100.00 Towel, hygiene/shower essentials, medicine, first aid kit, etc.

Rates could differ depending on the service, but I would like to have a
Transportation (Driver & Car) ~$600
driver who has his own car to transport me throughout my stay

Overestimating, plan on staying with family most nights, so will only stay a
Housing ~$600
couple of days at a hotel

Again, approximate since I will be staying with family. Mostly for days we
Food ~$200
eat out or get street food

Clothing ~$500 Bought during trip: regular use, gift clothing, and party clothing

Trail Supplies $100 Good hiking/walking shoes, water bottle, fruit, and biscuits/snacks

Want to buy a few books of poetry, but cannot find pricing info online, will
Books ~$100
just stick to this budget and hope I can purchase a few

Souvenirs $200 Hope this is overestimating, but will try to stay within this budget

Will put in this amount to help in getting our house fixed, so next time I
House Reno $500
won’t worry too much about housing, unless I visit faraway cities

Total Expenses $4700 Round up to $5000 for any extraneous expenses that may arise
 Why Kohat, Pakistan?: Top 5 Reasons
1. Have not been to Pakistan in 15 years!
○ While I was born and raised in MD, I have close family in Pakistan, and miss them very much
2. Found out about this newly built trail (about a couple of years now) by the Pakistan army
while researching
○ Imagine my surprise when I found out that this trail is in the same district as my village
○ Have always loved mountains, so why not focus on the ones close by the village?
3. Want to see the progress on our house
○ My mom and aunt are, remotely, working on fixing up our house in the village, but we have not actually seen
how the work is coming along
○ I also want to contribute to making it ready for a family trip to Pakistan
4. The Language(s)
○ Want to become fluent in Pashto (family language) & Urdu (national language), so this is good practice
○ I am really into poetry in various languages, so I would love to pick up actual copies of books of poetry instead
of just listening to renditions online
5. The Clothes!
○ Yes, I adore Pakistani clothing, and with my budget I can afford both fancy clothing and everyday clothing
(which I am dire need of) for myself and for my family
Virtual Tour
Atif Farooq’s (2019) ”TRAVEL VLOG: Monal Kohat /Allah Ho Trail /KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA”
Images from Google Maps Reviews
Images from Google Maps Reviews
Images from Google Maps Reviews
Images from Google Maps Reviews
Images from Google Maps Reviews
Images from Google Maps Reviews