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 US East Coast.
In March, Mark, Maya, and I kept exploring Colombia in depth with our truck camper Thirsty Bella. We drove quite a bit, mainly covering the distance between the Medellin and Bogota areas. On top of filling our fuel tank a few times, we continuously paid for toll roads, which are expensive by local standards. In other countries, we avoid toll roads, but here this could mean we’d never reach our destination, turn a two-hour ride into an eight-hour one, or damage our rig.
(As always, hover over or click on photos in galleries to read their captions.)
The exchange rate between the US dollar and the Colombian peso is getting worse and prices are rising, like elsewhere in the world. Gasoline now costs almost $2.50 a gallon, which is 50 cents more than when we arrived five months ago. A long day on the road sets us back $20 in tolls, which is easily one or two meals out for both of us. Still, life is affordable here, which is one of the reasons why we love this country so much.
You might remember that we hit a nasty pothole on a highway a couple of months ago. It damaged our camper, which we fixed in Medellin the previous month. But, in Bogota, we discovered that, besides a serious dent in our truck bed created by the impact of the front edge of the camper hitting the metal, the top layer of the bed had come lose from the bed frame (and even warped part of it underneath). A welder managed to spot weld the top pieces back together.
When the truck (Thirsty) and camper (Bella) were separated to allow work on both, Mark took Thirsty to a carwash as well ($4) and bought a safety kit (fire extinguisher, safety triangle, vest …), which is required gear in several of the South American countries. I never got to take a photo of the sparkly truck as Mark and our friend Juan took it offroading in the mud soon after.
Our grocery amount was average (for here), but our dining out expense proved very high. We splurged in the cute towns of Jardin and Filandia, went out for a nice meal on Mark’s birthday, and treated our friends Juan and Lali to a couple of dinners as a thank you for their help and hospitality. On the flipside, a new acquaintance took us – and his paragliding friends – out for a meal and Lali prepared a traditional “Colombian chocolate” for us, which involved soaking cheese in the sweet liquid! This month, we are reigning in our eating (and drinking) out escapades.
The main reason we spent a week in the town of Cota, outside of Bogota, was to visit Juan and Lali from Overland Sally and to build a wooden frame to raise our camper. Recently, maybe because of the dent in the bed of our truck, the front edge of the camper and the roof of the truck cab collided frequently. Bang. Bang. Bang. Not ideal and the sound got annoying on bumpy roads, of which there are many.
Granted, the distance between both parts was a bit tight at half an inch (1cm), but thus far, it hadn’t been a problem; we tried to have an as small as possible footprint with this camper – height- and lengthwise. While small for American norms, we are still (too) big for Colombian towns and roads. Nevertheless, we needed more distance between the camper and the cab, so had to build a platform. Juan was the perfect partner for the job and we strongly recommend his services.
Instead of two thick sheets of plywood, we opted to create a structure with wooden planks and a thin sheet of plywood on top to save money and weight. It was still expensive and heavy, though, as we picked high-quality wood and even crappy plywood is pricey. Our rig sits 1 ¼” (3cm) higher now, which affects us when entering our home via the (raised) steps. But the frame shouldn’t break, the camper shouldn’t hit the cab anymore, and the new contraption doesn’t budge.
For my birthday in November, I requested an exciting activity. It wasn’t until last month that I found it: paragliding with Nube Extrema in Jerico for 230,000 pesos (US$50). This was a first for me and I was happy with the location, once the fog and clouds cleared. While the experience was peaceful and special (not scary at all), my motion sickness acted up, in the air and on the fast, bouncy, windy 40-minute drive back up the mountain, despite sitting in front. I also bought a leather purse for myself and a postponed gift, a screw organizer box, for Mark’s birthday.
The alcohol and drinking out numbers aren’t crazy and also include treating our Colombian friends. Nevertheless, we will try to do better with these categories in April. We are spending too much. Mark had a chipped tooth (and a cavity) taken care of in Cota as well. We had a productive week there.
While in North America we tried to stick to free activities, we are doing this South American trip only once, so are allowing ourselves paid entertainment. In March, we visited a bird sanctuary, natural hot springs and wax palm strands on private properties, and we took a funicular up a mountain (Cerro Monserrate) in Bogota. We had hoped to take a ride up and walk down, but dogs are not allowed on the path and stairs.
We bought another monthly Claro data plan for $22, which gives us 80GB of data (currently with a promotion of another 80GB, so 160GB in total, which we could never use up) and filled our 20-pound propane tank, which seems to last about two months and is used for heating and cooking. We managed to get potable water for free.
In mid-February, Maya lost a toe nail and we had a vet come check it out. Three weeks later, the claw wasn’t growing correctly around the flesh, so another vet visit was needed (with a small procedure and meds) and we had to start over, treating the wound and restricting long hikes. The end of March, we visited a third vet to get our girl another rabies shot for her upcoming entry into Ecuador, which requires this vaccination to be administered between 30 days and a year before arrival. The cost for this last vet consultation, the shot, and a pet passport was a mere $4!
We kept our stays in paid campgrounds and parking lots to a minimum – mostly because we have no use for the facilities – and spent $24 on accommodation for the entire month. We spent two nights in a parking lot of a restaurant (Meraki Salento) in return for ordering dinner and drinks. We filled our water tank here as well.
While in Cota, we took Uber and InDrive taxis into Bogota and we reimbursed Juan for some of his fuel carting Mark around. All this was still more convenient, faster, and less stressful than taking our truck into the capital, like we did in Medellin. Our F350 truck, just by itself, is still a beast on the narrow roads of this country. Maya and I also took one tuk tuk ride when her toe nail was still healing.
Laundry was affordable last month, since I could drop a few loads off in Jardin for the price of self-service in the US and the owners of the parking lot in Cota were super helpful in letting me use their machine for two washing cycles. I should have taken a photo of the lines I strung and clothes I hung among the dozens of parked cars on the gravel lot!
Because of the humidity and constant rain, our laundry didn’t dry in one day, so we turned the heater on and “hand dried” the wet pieces before bedtime
After laughing at tourists and locals alike – and motorcyclists – wearing “plastic bags” over their clothes and around their shoes when rain arrives, we gave in and bought a plastic poncho as well, mainly to protect our backpack during a walk in Valle del Cocora, where the chance of rain was 100%. I have to admit that it came in handy!
And that’s a wrap-up for our March expenses, which were much higher than we preferred (we have to do better) in a country like Colombia, but which are still under our average monthly amount of $1,300.
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.
If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!
