what everyone actually owes
Guys Trip Budget Calculator
Add up what the trip actually costs, divide by the number of people, and add a contingency on top. The deposit is the lodging total alone, split the same way, because lodging is usually the one nonrefundable cost the organizer is on the hook for the moment they book. See The Deposit Is the RSVP for why that split matters more than the total.
The formula
Add up lodging, transportation, food, activities and swag. That is the trip subtotal. Add a contingency percentage on top for the thing nobody budgeted for, ice, a flat tire, one more grocery run, and divide the result by the number of people. That is the total each person owes.
The deposit is different from the total. It is just the lodging total, divided the same way and rounded up, so nobody's share falls a dollar short of what the organizer actually owes on the booking. Lodging is usually the only cost that is nonrefundable the moment the organizer books it. Everything else, food, gas, activities, can be settled closer to the trip or during it.
If someone drops out after the lodging is booked, the trip total does not shrink, the lodging is already paid for. Dividing the same total by one fewer person is what a cancellation actually costs everyone else.
A worked example
Seven guys, three nights in a state park cabin: $585 lodging, $588 food, $245 gas. No contingency.
| Subtotal | $1,418 |
|---|---|
| Contingency (0%) | $0 |
| Trip total | $1,418 |
| Total per person | $203 |
| Deposit per person (lodging only) | $84 |
That $203 matches the cabin blueprint's own published $203 per person, because it is the same trip run through the same math.