Shared plans.
Balanced spending.
GatherTrip is my group travel planning project, connecting destination budgets with transparent shared-expense balances and practical trip organization.
A group plan needs a shared financial picture.
Travel plans can stall when people compare incomplete budgets or lose track of who paid. GatherTrip organizes estimated trip costs and recorded shared expenses, alongside an itinerary and packing list.
Plan the cost. Reconcile the spending.
Destination budgets
The planner combines per-person transport, the group lodging total divided by travelers, daily meals, and per-person activities. A percentage buffer applies to that subtotal. It counts meal days as nights plus one.
Shared expense balances
Record each expense and its payer. The tracker divides spending equally across the current travelers and shows each person’s payments minus their share.
Trip organization
A date-and-time itinerary and packing checklist keep logistics with the financial plan. Local saving, backup exports, and printable reports let visitors keep their work.
Two distinct views
The budget estimates future costs. The expense tracker records entered payments. These are separate tools; the current project does not automatically compare actual spending against the destination budget.
Make the per-person estimate explicit.
A fictional four-person, three-night trip illustrates the calculation. Amounts are entered estimates in USD, not live prices or a travel recommendation.
| Component | Per person |
|---|---|
| Transport | $200 |
| $900 group lodging ÷ 4 travelers | $225 |
| $45 meals × 4 days | $180 |
| Activities | $100 |
| Subtotal | $705 |
| 10% buffer | $70.50 |
| Total per person | $775.50 |
| Four-person group total | $3,102 |
($200 + $900/4 + $45 × (3 + 1) + $100) × 1.10 = $775.50
Increasing lodging by $200 adds $50 per person before the buffer, or $55 after it. The estimate becomes $830.50 per person. This makes the effect of one changed assumption visible.
Every balance has an offset.
In a separate fictional spending example, Alex pays $600, Sam pays $180, Jordan pays $120, and Taylor pays $0. Total shared spending is $900; each person’s equal share is $225.
| Traveler | Net balance |
|---|---|
| Alex | Gets back $375 |
| Sam | Owes $45 |
| Jordan | Owes $105 |
| Taylor | Owes $225 |
The amounts owed total $375, matching the amount Alex gets back. Net balances sum to zero. For a $100 expense divided among three travelers, the published logic allocates $33.34, $33.33, and $33.33 in traveler order, keeping rounding consistent with the total.
The budget, buffer sensitivity, shared balances, and cent allocation were independently recalculated against the published logic for this case study. These checks are not a comprehensive product audit or a user study.
From budgeting to a clear reconciliation.
GatherTrip applies forecasting, cost allocation, and reconciliation to an everyday problem. Separating estimated costs from recorded spending reflects the importance of understanding what each number represents. Its balance view also shows why accounting outputs need to reconcile and be understandable to the people using them.
For my wealth management goals, this project gives me a concrete example of explaining assumptions, showing how a changed input affects a plan, and helping people discuss financial decisions transparently.
A planner, with defined boundaries.
Costs are entered in USD. Shared expenses are split equally among the current travelers, and changing the traveler list recalculates all allocations. The tool records expenses but does not transfer money, make bookings, or synchronize a live plan across devices.
Potential next steps include unequal expense splits, a budget-versus-actual comparison, and currency conversion with explicit exchange-rate assumptions. These are future ideas, not current features. No adoption, revenue, or client-outcome claims are made.