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, we both return to the East Coast.
Mark, Maya, and I spent the entire month of February in Baja California Sur, Mexico. It was a fabulous time for the mind, body, and wallet, once Mark returned from his 10-day visit to Massachusetts to spend quality time with his dad.
As a matter of fact, February 2022 was a month for the books – we generally had a really good time, exploring the peninsula, discovering peaceful beaches, spending time with friends, and eating delectable fish tacos. I hope to elaborate on some of our fun Baja experiences in upcoming blogs, whenever resources allow.
Our biggest February expense was the car again, mostly because our annual Newburyport residency tax was due. Since we sat still for a chunk of the month, the fuel amount wasn’t too bad. In Baja, Mexico, a liter of gasoline costs around 22 pesos at the moment. This is roughly $4.20 per gallon. Usually, this is more expensive than in the US. While prices for fuel have gone crazy there, in Mexico they have gone up less than 1 peso per liter (20 cents per gallon) since March 2021. Food for thought…
We didn’t spend a lot on groceries for a few reasons: prices for produce are cheaper than in the US, we don’t care about imported or brand products, and we have eaten out multiple times, which is reflected in the higher than usual dining out category. Once a week, Mark and I order fish or shrimp tacos from a street vendor or at a restaurant. These cost around $2 a piece, of which we each consume three or four. And, there might have been an extra meal or two on top of that.
Utilities include propane (which, luckily, is cheaper here than in the US), water (which we buy at agua purificado shops that have a hose to fill our tank – average cost is 13 cents per gallon or about $5 for a full tank), discharging our black tank (when we’re careful, it takes three or four weeks to completely fill Temp’s toilet tank; this has never happened – in Zesty we could only go one week), and internet. We keep our US data plan going, even though we are not using it right now. At $35/month for unlimited data, we don’t quite want to give that up, because this particular AT&T plan doesn’t exist anymore.
Ordering purified water in La Ribera
In Mexico, we use a local SIM-card and buy internet plans. Our friends Duwan and Greg (from Make Like An Apeman) had extra data the end of February, so they were super generous to let us use as much as we wanted. Most of the time, however, we are not in areas with cell (data) service. Because we make phone calls through Google Voice (over the internet), we don’t need phone plans.
We started celebrating Mark’s birthday a day early, on February 28th. I’d bought him a 7-year-old bottle of our favorite rum, Flor de Caña, and we did a tasting – adding the 4- and 5-year-old versions we already had – on our “private” beach in a remote area of the peninsula. Tip for anyone else who likes Flor de Caña rum, which originates in Nicaragua: the 4-year-old one is pretty much the cheapest rum here on Baja, at 160 pesos ($8) for a 75cl bottle!
Sea of Cortez
I joined Duwan and Greg on a day trip to the Sol de Mayo waterfall and a couple of other sites. Dogs were not allowed, so Mark stayed home with Maya. At seven dollars, the entrance fee to the falls seemed steep, but it was worth it. One could spend an entire day there, swimming, photographing, and walking upstream to smaller pools and cascades. Plus, I snuck a shower in the refreshing water!
We managed to camp for free the entire month, finding some amazing places off the beaten track. As always, we couldn’t have done it without our trusted iOverlander app and tips from friends. Special thanks to Jon and Gail and Sandie and Karsten.
Our total expenses were well under average last month and we hope that’s an indication of how we can live and travel south of the border. Once we arrive in South America, we hope $800 (instead of $1,300) can become our new average…
Find all our expense reports here. To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.
Duwan and Greg also covered their month of February in two blog post: here (part 1) and here (part 2).
Sunset on the sandspit in La Paz
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