When does a group need a travel kitty?
Whenever you pay in cash. If everyone pays by card and logs their expenses, shared settling-up is enough (more on that in the guide "Splitting travel costs fairly in a group"). But as soon as notes come out of a shared pot, it’s easy to lose track without a kitty: who paid in how much, what was paid from it, and how much is left?
How much cash should you collect?
A fixed amount per person at the start works well, say for the first three or four days. Make a rough guess of what will be paid in cash and round up. If it runs low, everyone tops up by the same amount. That’s fairer than one big amount on the first day that nobody can trace by the end.
Who keeps the kitty in their pocket?
Usually one person carries the cash. That’s practical, but it shouldn’t mean only they keep track. Ideally everyone logs straight away what was paid from the kitty. Then the person with the wallet doesn’t have to remember everything, and everyone can see at any time how much is left.
What do you pay from the kitty, and what by card?
From the kitty you pay what concerns everyone and is paid in cash: market, bakery, tips, entry fees, parking. Larger amounts like the supermarket, the rental car or a restaurant are usually paid by one person by card and logged as a normal expense. If the cash doesn’t cover a bill, the kitty pays its part and one or more people add the rest. At the end, everything is settled together.
How does it work with cash in another currency?
If you pay in euros but spend in kroner, francs or lira, log every entry in the currency it was paid in. The kitty balance and the settling-up then run in one shared currency. If foreign cash is left over at the end, it belongs to the group and is included in the settling-up. More on this in the guide "Settling expenses in a foreign currency".
What if not everyone is there the whole time?
Whoever arrives later pays in when they arrive. Whoever leaves early gets their share of what’s left in the kitty and stops paying for shared expenses from the day they leave. And whoever isn’t supposed to pay at all, such as an invited guest or the skipper, is treated: the others cover their share.
What if someone gives more?
Sometimes someone adds a little extra, for a birthday or as a thank-you for the invitation. That’s a donation to the kitty: it benefits everyone else, not the donor. Be open about it, otherwise someone will wonder at the end why they get back less than expected.
What happens to what’s left?
On the last evening, you settle up. What’s left in the kitty belongs to those who paid in: each person gets what they paid in and haven’t used up yet. Donations don’t count for the donor. Instead of laboriously splitting the cash, what’s left is settled together with all the other expenses. Whoever takes the cash passes it on to those who are still owed something.
Tips from experience
- Agree before you leave: What does the kitty pay for, how much does everyone pay in, who is treated?
- Log it straight away, even small amounts. Tips and coffees are the first to get lost.
- Check the balance now and then: Does the cash in the wallet match the balance?
- One kitty, one settling-up: Settle cash and card payments together at the end, not separately.
How it works with HelloKiwi
HelloKiwi has the Travel kitty for this, for every trip and every trip theme. You can rename it, for example to "Chalet kitty" or "Boat kitty". The travel kitty is available for iOS, Android and in the browser.
- Create a trip and invite the participants.
- Set up the kitty: under "Shared expenses" → "Set up travel kitty".
- Pay in: everyone the same amount or each person individually, also in a foreign currency. Under "In the kitty" you can see the balance at any time.
- Pay from the kitty: For an expense, choose the kitty as the payer. Whatever the kitty doesn’t cover is paid by one or more people. Card payments are logged as usual as an expense, with that person as the payer.
- Donation to the kitty: for anything someone adds on top.
- Treat someone: Choose "Is treated (pays nothing)" for the participant, for the whole trip or with "Treated from" from a certain day, for example if they leave early. Under "Who owns the rest?" the person gets their share with "Pay out". If they still owe something, it shows "Pay in" instead.
- At the end: What’s left in the kitty flows automatically into "Who pays whom?". Cash you give each other or the kitty, including leftover foreign currency, is logged with "Hand over money".
In the app for iOS and Android this also works without a connection, and everything syncs the next time you’re online. Only the exchange rate needs internet; offline, you enter it by hand. HelloKiwi is free.