Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂
This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and one 60-pound dog (we adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019). Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups and extensive care, we return to the East Coast.
October was a rough month for us, in terms of discomfort, stress, frustration, and bad luck. Nothing, truly nothing, went according to plan. But we persevered and, once again, friends came to the rescue. I’ll explain when going through the numbers.
Mark, Maya, and I arrived in the Houston area of Texas several weeks earlier than planned, because our brand-new, state-of-the-art $1,400 Isotherm fridge had to be replaced under warranty. The most economical way for us to arrange this (from Colorado) was by picking up a replacement 1,100 miles away, in Seabrook, Texas, ideally as soon as possible. This would give us “plenty of time” to make sure fridge #2 worked as advertised and expected. Well, it didn’t, and to this day – now out of the country – we are trying to diagnose the cooling issue. We bought extra tools and gear to keep working on this in Colombia.
Massive container ships in Galveston
One day soon, Thirsty Bella will be outbound on a similar car carrier
Delays of the ship that would bring Thirsty Bella to Cartagena had us pinned in Eastern Texas even longer. And, believe me, there is another story coming about that as well. This post of last month was just the beginning. I think Mark and I could produce our own drama series or soap opera by now!
But, let’s get back to our expenses. The grocery category ($354) was on the high side, because we had emptied our fridge the previous month, since it had to be replaced and we had no cool space in 100-degree Texas to store perishables. So, we started over, with a similar goal: finish eating all/most of the food by the time we’d leave the country.
Almost empty fridge
Taking our fridge back out to reverse the fan
Texas is big, but we figured that once we had reached Houston and Galveston (from where our camper ships), we’d stay put for the month. Fuel is pretty much the cheapest in the country here. Yay. Maybe we could get by on one tank?
Nope. The weather chased us around, from county park to the beach, onto the mainland, and back to grassier environs. Incessant heat, 90% humidity, being sandblasted by wind, and a good sprinkle of mosquitoes had us drive the two-hour distance between Galveston and Anahuac multiple times.
Bolivar Peninsula
Beach camping on Bolivar Peninsula
Tea time at the beach
Sunrise on the beach
Sandy nose!
Sweating and cuddling
We also did more preemptive car maintenance ($120) in preparation for the big trip: changing the air filter, transfer case fluid (one extra top-up needed), and coolant (three flushes) in our engine. These were tasks that couldn’t be done in sand, on windy days, in parks, surrounded by mosquitoes, or during the heat of the day. The tolls were paid to cross a $2 bridge between Galveston Island and San Luis Island, where we hoped to spend a week and finally relax a bit, but the wind had something else in mind. More driving.
Great beach spot on San Luis Island – I wished we could have stayed longer
Heavy winds sandblasted our home and car – not good!
Flushing the coolant
Picking up trash – everywhere we parked in Texas, we found lots of litter
Mark and I bought three bags of dogfood ($131) for Maya to give us a head start in South America. Since our girl is allergic to corn and chicken (and a lot of other things), finding suitable food will be a challenge. We also stocked up on another container of her fish oil supplement ($49) to keep her coat shiny and her health optimal.
The alcohol category was surprisingly high ($81). I guess we tried to drink some of our worries away. We also hung out with friends and bought wine and rum to share.
Our new grill in action! (Photo by Duwan Dunn)
For the first time in years, there was an accommodation cost! One we happily obliged to. Our Houston friends, John and Harriet, graciously offered us the use of their condo right on the beach in Galveston, when we met up at their house in the city, the end of September. Our only contribution would be the cleaning fee at the end of our stay. We eventually planned on using this accommodation for our last week in the US, during which time our camper would be shipped. We’d be able to see the car carrier leave from the condo’s balcony!
The Galvestonian is an incredible place to stay
Condo balcony on the 7th floor
But the anticipated schedule was not to be, delays messed everything up, and we felt no need for a condo when we could still live in Bella. So, we cancelled our reservation for the end of October. Our camper was to be dropped off on November 7th at that point, with our plane to Miami leaving the same day…
As most of you know, Mark and I never stay in and pay for campgrounds. We wouldn’t be able to afford this lifestyle otherwise. We boondock pretty much 100% of the time, which means we camp without facilities and amenities. Not that electricity hookups would matter, since we don’t have an air conditioner on board. And this is an important factor: nobody lives, let alone camps, without AC in Eastern Texas this time of the year. After weeks of suffering from the high humidity, we finally realized why we were always the only RV wherever we parked for the night…
Ferry from Bolivar Peninsula to Galveston Island
Second ferry ride to Galveston
Our go-to beach camping in Galveston, when not too windy
Texas City skyline
Sleeping under a bridge in Texas City after not finding a better option for the night
Watching the full moonrise from this park instead of over the ocean on San Luis Island, as planned
So, when it all became too much – the sweating, the running around, the stressing over issues and logistics, the bugs – we inquired about the availability of John and Harriet’s condo and snatched a glorious week there to cool down, take a deep breath, keep working on the fridge issue and more logistics, go for long beach walks with Maya, and… be sick. Maybe it was the AC? Maybe the culmination of everything going on? Maybe it was finally “letting go” for a bit? It was mostly Mark being under the weather last month, but now, here in our Airbnb in Colombia (with AC), it’s my turn.
Beach and bay walk – the water was much warmer than expected!
Happy hour with a view
Maya gets comfy in the weirdest places
Maya frolicking in the water
Poolside at the condo
Curled up in a ball under my chair
Sunrise seen from the condo
The cost for our utilities ($48) was similar to previous months. It was the last time we paid for our fantastic unlimited AT&T data plan of $35 a month, which doesn’t exist anymore for new subscribers and which we managed to sell on. The rest of the amount was for propane. Frugal as we are, we only bought two gallons, since our tank needed to be empty in order to ship our camper (which is another incredible story for later). Then, Mark discovered a propane leak. It took weeks to diagnose and fix that issue, and more propane.
Checking for a propane leak
Getting free potable water at the sewage plant in Texas City
One for the books: taking a cold shower at the sewage plant of Texas City
The last week of October, our good friends and fellow nomads Duwan and Greg joined us in Texas. We started out at Fort Anahuac Park for three nights (a permit is needed) and – contrary to what we were told previously – discovered we couldn’t stay at other Chambers County Parks for another week. The hunt for free camping in the region then had us stay at a boat ramp, rest area, and Harvest Host brewery location, finishing up at the beach in Galveston again when the wind finally subsided.
Camped at Fort Anahuac Park – we stayed here three times in October, for nine nights in total
Parked for the night at a rest stop – here, we saw an abandoned dog and four cats
Camped among the cargo ships
Maya loves visiting Duwan and Greg’s van, Ballena Blanca – lots of treats to be obtained there!
Last evening together with our friends
When camped at the Equal Parts brewery in Houston, our group went out for drinks and appetizers ($30) on their patio and street tacos at a Mexican food stand ($10). My (bad) Spanish was rewarded with a free Agua de Jamaica (hibiscus juice) and meat taco. ????
Camped on the brewery parking lot (Photo by Duwan Dunn)
Ordering street tacos (Photo by Duwan Dunn)
As always, we cooked and ate most of our meals at home, by ourselves or with friends. Mark spoiled me with his favorite recipe a couple of times: mushroom burgers on a bed of lettuce with aioli and jasmine rice.
My favorite Mark meal: mushroom burgers from scratch
Leftover mushroom burger on a bun with sweet potatoes and spinach
Amazing salad – healthy, diverse, and tasty
Mushroom burgers for everybody in Bella
Greg’s delicious van pizza
Van pizza made by Greg and Duwan and eaten in Bella
Broccoli in the electric oven!
Fried cauliflower and roasted broccoli
I finally met Lexie, a fellow adventurer whose blog I have been following for years. She treated us to lunch and gifted us Texan goodies, which we savored for days.
Meeting blogging friend Lexie in League City
The money spent on household items went to yet another clock and stain and brushes for our new cabinet. I’m still baffled at how we managed to pick the perfect color from memory – no samples and no photos had accompanied us to Home Depot.
New clock – attempt #6 is a winner!
Old clock – it stopped working after a week
Staining the new fridge cabinet
Finishing up the painting project
Can you believe the perfect match with the rest of the cabinetry (to the right and left of the photo)?
During our 24 hours in the big city, Duwan, Greg, Mark, and I also enjoyed free entertainment in the form of historic buildings, street art, a walk in Buffalo Bayou Park, a glimpse of and in Rothko Chapel, and a stroll through the impressive and fascinating Menil collection.
Houston skyline (Photo by Duwan Dunn)
Mural in Houston
A Picasso painting at the Menil Collection
Rothko Chapel and a monument dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr.
To top it off, our total expenses for October were not bad at all – under our monthly average. Maybe this is the start of affordable living again…
(PS: We did have $101 of Lance camper expenses in October as well – diagnostic tools and extra parts – as preparation for our upcoming multiple-year South America trip, but since we budgeted for that, it becomes part of our purchase price. I plan to write a separate post about those projects and costs in the future.)
