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.
A lot has been going on the last few weeks (again), which means I barely have time to breathe, let alone keep up with my diaries, answer emails, practice Spanish, read a book or blog posts, write, research products and destinations, or work on my own blogs. This one has been ten days in the making, half an hour each time I make an attempt, not my usual approach.
Quick stop to look at the Capitol of Utah in Salt Lake City
Natural arch in Utah
Summer colors in Utah
Chimney Rock in Colorado, near the ranch of our friends
The new fridge we picked up in SLC, Utah, traveled on the back seat, so Maya needed to ride up front…
Drive through Silverton on the way to a weekend of camping with friends in the mountains
It’s been busy on the road – driving huge distances, dealing with logistics to get us all to South America, returning wrong Amazon packages, fixing items that shouldn’t break, maintenance on the car, dealing with failing equipment, disappointments, and limited customer support, and keeping up with our current life – finding free camping spots, locating stores to buy specific items, picking up packages (which require an address), finding the resources we need, and hopping from store to store and campsite to campsite and fuel station to fuel station.
Climbing the dirt roads of San Juan National Forest to camp for a few days
Scenic rock in the national forest
View near our free campsite in San Juan National Forest, Colorado
I’m due for an update here on Roaming About, but first we have to find a decent (and free) location to sit for a while. This proves to be hard in the Houston area. Maybe next week. Back to our expenses of last month…
In September, Mark and I drove a lot – from the middle of Oregon through Idaho, Utah, a tiny piece of Colorado, and New Mexico to the Houston area in Texas. And then a bunch more in this state as well. With our crappy fuel economy (10.5 miles to the gallon), it is no surprise we spent $900 on gasoline to drive 2,000 miles. The idea was to sit still somewhere, once we arrived in our last US state, but the weather has not been cooperative. High heat and humidity, nasty bugs, and heavy wind have kept us moving about.
Unfortunately, we didn’t come to sightsee – it was super hot and we needed to keep moving
We wish we could have stayed longer in Colorado – which was the plan.
Our time in New Mexico was short lived
We did another oil change and bought spare parts for our engine. Our grocery expenditure was relatively low. One of the reasons for that was needing to empty our fridge, because we had to “swap it out” and staying for a few days at a decent beach without shopping for food beforehand. I really enjoy getting rid of things – whether it is by eating food or donating material belongings.
We spent ten days on one of the properties of our friends Danny and Christine in Colorado, where we parked in and used their workshop
Much easier to do camper projects under the cover of a shop and with any tool one could ask for
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we keep on buying and buying for this upcoming South America trip – mostly on Amazon. Mark and I purchased new KEEN hiking shoes (you can find Mark’s here and mine here), ZEEPORTE snorkel gear (Mark picked grey ones here and I chose blue ones here), and a new CUISINART grill (which you find here). We are still considering replacing our 5-year-old COLEMAN camping chairs before leaving.
New snorkel sets – our last pairs were left on our sailboat Irie in Tahiti, seven years ago
New shoes for us as well – Mark swapped his out, I’m keeping these as spares for now.
The advantage of this particular CUISINART grill is that the regulator is easily removed and it allows you to use the low-pressure propane from your RV tank. As always, we researched these products, checked their reviews, and bought them at a great price (at half their original price or heavily discounted), because they are Amazon warehouse deals – the perfect way to save lots of money. To see if there is a warehouse deal on the product you are interested in, click on the “New & Used” box at the right side of the purchase page. The same Amazon rules and conditions apply.
Finally we own a grill again – this has been since 2015 on Irie as well
Side note: My parents usually give us Amazon gift cards as New Year and birthday presents and I asked these in advance this year, because we won’t be able to order stuff down south. The money is to be used for “fun stuff”, not camper parts or necessary items to sustain ourselves. Yet, based on the timeline and returns and refunds for wrong parts, the categories of these might change over time. Our end-of-the-year expense report is therefore more accurate in terms of categories and amounts. The personal goods in this report are supposed to come off the gift cards, which are currently used for spare parts, car maintenance items, and household necessities as well.
Visit to Mark’s nephew Randall and his wife, Rebeccah, plus dog Duke in SLC
Adoring four little kittens at the ranch
A pack of dogs kept us company at the ranch
The alcohol and gifts (dessert goodies) last month came with us when visiting friends and family, and we paid the annual fees for one of four website domains. The total for our hosting fees is around $200 a year. I hereby want to thank everyone who has donated to this cause, so far.
This truck passed us at a 75mph and – no doubt – scratched the driver side of our camper. It was hard to catch up with him to take this photo. Luckily, the damage was negligible but we did chew through extra gas as it took twenty minutes, before we caught up!
Accommodation last month was free again, thanks to friends inviting us to camp on their property or offering a guest room and us boondocking everywhere else.
We had to climb into the mountains to camp from Utah on, as the daytime temperatures were around 100 degrees Fahrenheit
Sometimes, the dirt roads were pretty bouncy…
View through our window in the mountains of Central Utah
Bella camped with like-minded souls
One of the residents during our walk with Maya
Attractive campsite in a park when passing through New Mexico. We needed shade on our drive south, which was hard to find.
We also never paid for sightseeing – once because our friend Christine has a National Park pass; other times because the destinations and activities didn’t cost anything.
Visiting Chimney Rock with Christine and her daughter Sophie
Reading up about this kiva and other ruins at Chimney Rock National Monument in Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Quick stop in Pagosa Springs on the way south
September wasn’t a cheap month, but it brought us to Texas (prematurely, but more about that another time) and we are now biding time in the Galveston area, which is where we will ship Thirsty Bella from. Plus, we stayed under $2,000. Maybe that should become our goal, instead of the usual average of $1,300. It is certainly more realistic. For now.
My first ATV ride ever!
Louie and Maya ride in the back of a golf cart
Weekend in the Colorado mountains, near Silverton
Horse riding on the ranch of our friends, Danny and Christine
(PS: We did have $1,711 of Lance camper expenses in September as well – mostly to buy a new fridge – 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.)
This post contains affiliate links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases without extra cost to you.
