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. Other health issues are resolved locally and out of pocket where needed.

In August, traveling around Brazil in Thirsty Bella, Mark and I tried an experiment: we wouldn’t worry about money and would freely spend on whatever we wanted, just to see how much of a difference that attitude would make compared to our usual frugal approach.

Quick stop at a waterfall along the coast

Ironically, that month turned out to be the cheapest of 2025 thus far—but for unexpected reasons. Our sedentary two-week stay in Rio for work meant the business covered camping and we drove less than usual. A generous friend treated us to a dinner. And, frankly, we weren’t that tempted by most of the food options on offer.

Groceries Take the Lead

For once, groceries—not fuel—were our biggest expense, at nearly $400. That’s on the higher end for us, especially since produce in Brazil is very affordable. My best guess? We did a big stock-up after Mark returned from the US, bought fresh seafood, and went overboard at bakeries, splurging on whole wheat bread and pastries.

Fish store where we bought unpeeled shrimp and sushi

Sushi as an appetizer for $4

Kombi vending machine at a mall in Ubatuba

Buying multigrain bread at a fancy bakery in Ubatuba

These green coconuts can also be bought in grocery stores in Brazil.

A full fruit basket makes me happy!

Some of the bounty from a grocery store

A wonderful grocery store in Sao Pedro de Aldeia – and we fit in the parking lot!

A Belgian-style treat from a bakery in Rio

Produce store in Arraial do Cabo

Fuel and the Car

Fuel came in under $300, which is low by our standards. We drove the coast in short stretches, did another oil change (our sixth in three years on the continent, and likely the last), and easily found the right oil. We also paid small amounts for parking and a bridge toll.

Doing our most recent oil change

Mark catching the old oil

Dining Out

We expected dining out to spike with our “permission to indulge.” While we did enjoy a few restaurant meals, the total—$114—was still relatively low compared to other travelers in Brazil, or folks back in the Western world.

A fish dinner out in Paraty, which Larry (adamantly) paid for

A fantastic ramen dish for lunch

A set lunch out at one of the affordable restaurants in Rio

Fish lunch for me and meat for Mark

Larry treated us to a bowl of shaved corn on the beach of Arraial do Cabo

We treated Larry to an acai bowl in Arraial do Cabo (Photo courtesy of Larry Tofler)

A delicious and filling acai bowl

As usual, we cooked and ate most of our meals at home.

Peeled and deveined shrimp ready to be cooked

Mark made a wonderful jambalaya dish with the shrimp

Fried potatoes and a salad

Happy hour at the beach

Cauliflower fritters

Philly cheese steak lunch at home

Vegetable stir fry dinner

Making vegetarian spring rolls at home

Fries in our oven with a salad

Happy hour at our “grassy beach” in Sao Pedro de Aldeia

Alcohol

Our alcohol expense was average at around $80 with the purchase of a cachaça chocolate and hot spice liquor being the odd duck.

Some of our alcohol bought in August

Utilities

As usual, utilities covered half of our Starlink subscription, with our business paying the other half, and propane. We managed to refill our propane tank in Ubatuba, a rare opportunity since American-style tanks here require the gravity-fill method, which comes at a premium fee. We managed to fill our water tank for free at a campground in Rio and at a utility facility in Paraty.

Getting our propane tank topped up in Ubatuba

This propane store does the effort to gravity fill foreign tanks

Filling up with water at Fritz House in Rio

Maintenance

In Rio, we bought primer and spray paint for Mark to sand, tape, prime, and repaint our camper ladder and electric jacks—a major project—while I focused on work.

Spray painting our camper ladder

Newly painted camper jacks – the black touch at the bottom is new

Transportation

Driving through Brazilian cities, especially Rio de Janeiro, has been tough. So, we’ve stationed ourselves on the outskirts and relied on Ubers to reach attractions. With Maya, it’s trickier, but about one in four drivers accepted her once we sent them a message that she “was calm, clean, and well-behaved and would lie on the floor of the car.”

Boat ride from a beautiful beach in Arraial do Cabo back to the town – Larry paid for our ride. (Photo courtesy of Larry Tofler)

Boat ride back to town from the beach

Camping Costs

Our 11-night campground stay in Rio counted as a business expense, but we also paid for two additional nights in parking lots—once in Paraty and once in Rio. Both were safe, convenient, and within walking distance of the action.

Parked for 24 hours in Paraty

Home for two weeks at Fritz House

Parked for a couple of nights by the Lagoa in Rio

The rest of the month, we camped for free in nature or on the edges of towns or beaches.

Free camping spot in Caraguatatuba

Free camping spot at Mococa Beach

Free camping spot at Estaleiro Beach

Our favorite beach spot in Ubatumirim Beach

Our wild camping spot for one night in Mambucaba

Our wild camping spot for one night in Coroa Grande

Parked for a few days in Sao Pedro de Aldeia

Free beach front living in Cabo Frio

Entertainment

Speaking of Paraty, Mark joined a “free” walking tour there with our friend Larry and tipped the guide about $10.

One of the historic buildings in Paraty

The house of a former prince was part of Mark’s Paraty walking tour

Laundry

In between translating legal communications at Fritz House in Rio, I did two giant loads of laundry in the machines of the campground. That took a big chunk of two days.

These machines were big, but very slow

Drinks Out

Our drinking expenses were almost laughable: just $6. That covered a few coco gelados (fresh coconut water served in the refrigerated nut) along the coast and a single caipirinha cocktail in Rio. Not bad!

Preparing the green coconut as a drink

Being treated to excellent juices by our friend Ana, the owner of this café

Enjoying a drink at Copacabana Beach in Rio

Refilling my water bottle with free, potable water in Paraty

The Bottom Line

At just under $1,100 for two adults and a big dog to travel around Brazil, August was a fantastic month for us financially. September, however, is shaping up to be much higher. It seems we committed to this “spend what we want” experiment one month too early. But that’s the nature of our lifestyle—circumstances change everything.

August 2025 Overview:

Groceries:

Car  (fuel: $274; maint.: $53; parking: $4; toll: $1):

Dining out:

Alcohol:

Utilities (Internet: $35; propane: $16):

Camper:

Transportation (Ubers):

Camping:

Entertainment:

Laundry:

Drinking out:

TOTAL:

$387

$332

$114

$81

$51

$42

$40

$12

$9

$9

$6

———

$ 1,083

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. Other health issues are resolved locally and out of pocket where needed.

July was different than other months. Mark, Maya, and I reached the coast of Brazil in Thirsty Bella on the first day of the month. That week, we looked for a campground where Maya and I could stay, and on July 7th, Mark flew to the US for almost three weeks to visit doctors, family, and friends in Massachusetts. Maya and I stayed put in Bertioga. Once Mark returned, we slowly headed north along the coast.

Reaching the coast in Bertioga on a rainy day

The coastal road north

Camped in pretty Jureia

Happy hour in Jureia; the beach is located behind the grassy field.

For once, the car category was not the highest one, because Thirsty stayed put most of the month. Groceries came in first at a low total of $253. Mark’s mom supplied food while he was there, and I was consuming whatever we still had in the camper, only buying the absolute necessities like bread and produce.

Stocking up at a local grocery store

Local grocery store in walking distance of the campground

A bunch of bananas, two apples, and four buns (I’d eaten two already) cost under US$2 at a local store.

Bella Casa, the best bakery in town!

The interior of this giant bakery

The rustic baguette was delicious

And my vice: fresh pastries and pudding

Brazil produces one of my favorite pastries in their bakeries, a boule de Berlin!

We did do a decent stock-up in early July, and Mark brought back “specialty items” from Trader Joe’s and Walmart, like spices, maple syrup, hot sauce, and rice paper (yay, we can finally make spring rolls again).

Edible goodies from the US

We had looked forward to visiting this European chain store in Campinas, Brazil.

To reach the parking lot of this store, you have to clear these arches. There was no other parking availability, so we asked a fuel station if we could park along their curb for an hour.

As always, most of our/my meals were homecooked dishes.

A simple dinner of brown rice, broccoli, and chicken

Another simple dinner at home

Being plugged into power meant I could make little pizzas in our 12V oven.

Grilling dinner got a bit crazy

A lovely lunch of good bread and homemade hummus

More homemade pizza and coleslaw

French toast for my Sunday breakfasts

We still spent over $200 on fuel — one fill-up here in Brazil and for gasoline put in Mark’s rental car in the US. He also needed to pay $19 for hospital parking lots in Boston, and we purchased a new engine gasket and toll tickets.

Accommodation was a new and high category (we usually camp for free), because Maya and I stayed in a campground for almost three weeks and Mark went on a weekend trip with a friend and needed one hotel night in the US. The rest of our camping was free.

We decided to go with this campground in Bertioga for Maya and me

The beach entrance of my campground

Home for three weeks

Parked in Caraguatatuba for the last night of July

Transportation was a rare and high category, because Mark took two Ubers to get to and from the airport of São Paulo, which was a two-hour drive. At under $40 each way, this price was manageable.

Mark waiting for his Uber driver to get to the airport of São Paulo

New lights installed just for us

The high fee in the transportation category came from the airline company Avianca, which charged $120 for one checked bag! We usually only travel with carry-ons, but spare parts needed to come back to Brazil to repair and maintain our camper and truck, which allowed us to add other items, like engine parts for a fellow camper and special foods.

One (expensive) checked bag

Our new hosting company, Easy WP, is raising their prices in September, so we had to bite the bullet and fork over more money for a cheaper two-year promo plan. This cost us $100, as we used $40 of earlier donations for blog support. It would be nice to have the total amount covered by donations to only put the required time and effort into these posts, and not the money. 🙂

We also needed a case for my new tablet and a new headphone plug for Mark, for his new smartphone — welcome gadgets we received from a family member (see later).

Happy 18th anniversary to us!

Dom Miguel restaurant in Bertioga

A wonderful, tasty, and special appetizer: salmon carpaccio

A main course of shrimp, rice, and French fries with the typical Brazilian topping of farofa

No mayonnaise or ketchup in sachets here, but red wine vinegar, olive oil, and parmesan cheese instead.

The evening before Mark left, we celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary at a nice restaurant in Bertioga ($40). The other “dining out” money went to a buffet lunch for me, another one for both of us ($5 per person), and for Mark’s meals at restaurants in the US. Our American friends and family enjoy eating out; that seems to be a thing when meeting people, but it adds up.

Brazilian buffet options

More Brazilian buffet options

Buffet lunch out for $5

Buffet lunch out with Mark and Mark

Mark brought back $68 worth of gifts for me; all accessories for the fabulous and fancy camera that came into my possession upon his return (see later).

My husband managed to get all his health check-ups taken care of (with great results) in Massachusetts and only needed some meds, but since I didn’t go to the US this year, I have to focus on my healthcare in Brazil. While Mark was gone, I received a teeth cleaning for about $50. My dental hygiene is still excellent (according to dentists), so I can stick to one cleaning every six months.

My dentist in Bertioga

The Argentine peso is doing a little bit better, so our monthly Starlink subscription dropped under $80. Our business pays half of that, so the bill of this report for internet is $36. Mark also brought back household supplies for our camper life ($27). Potable water was free in July, but because my campground only had well water, I had to be super careful with what was in our tank.

The gym building of Barra do Una provides a spigot with free fresh water

Topping up with potable water after being extremely careful for three weeks!

Furthermore, we spent $24 on Amazon for camper repair items like strong tape, a sink drain, and a cap for a faucet. Mark brought back much more gear, but because we are Amazon Vine members, we received all that for free.

New faucet for the kitchen sink after dealing with a leaking one for six months

Seven dollars went to laundry last month (I managed to do most of it for free at the campground) and $1 to a jewelry set. After not wearing my “daily pearl” for a year and a half, I finally have a string to turn it into a necklace again. Yeah, I’m not sure why that took so long.

A very convenient laundromat

I am getting used to doing laundry in machines again!

The laundry room at the campground

The laundry needed two days to dry in this cloudy, humid weather

A better day for laundry

Last load of laundry before Mark returned

Mark and I did spend money on alcohol ($16) and drinking out ($11) in July, but the last of our donations evened this out to zero. Our gratitude goes to all the people who have supported our blog and journey over the years.

The end of our favorite wine from Argentina

Having a drink at the beach with fellow overlander Mark from England – and his dog, Fran

The only thing left to mention is a generous gift from my uncle last summer in Belgium. We saved this amount to buy three items we’ve been wanting for years. When the purchase prices were right and we knew Mark would be in the US to receive the gadgets, we spent the entire sum.

Our new gadgets!

We managed to order a “used, as good as new” Sony RX10 III camera for me (something I have never been able to afford), a refurbished tablet for me, and a refurbished smartphone for Mark. We are super happy with these items and lucked out with the quality of them when placing bids and orders. Thank you, Uncle P!

How we saved money in July

• I was extra careful those three weeks Mark was away, enjoying the game of spending as little as possible. If it wasn’t for the dentist, I would have gotten away with a $30 bill for groceries, one lunch, and three drinks. And that includes treating a camper neighbor to a caipirinha on the beach. Still, I spent well under $80 for three weeks of living — not including the camping fee.

Free Amazon Vine items – Can you tell I’m ready for the beach?

• Because we are Amazon Vine Voice participants (a by-invite-only membership), we order most of our gear for free within the US, in exchange for leaving honest reviews. This, however, depends on which items become available and their quality, shape, or color isn’t often what we like or want. But it’s still a great deal and has saved us thousands of dollars over the years.
• I managed to negotiate a nightly rate at the campground of R$50 instead of $RS60 ($9.50 instead of $11).

Our total for the month of July was over average again at $1,373, but at least we both earned enough money to cover that amount and not dip into savings. 🙂

July 2025 Overview:

Groceries:

Car  (fuel: $214; parking: $19; maint.: $5; tolls: $3):

Camping:

Transportation (luggage: $120, Ubers M: $73):

Dining out:

Computer (hosting: $139; parts: $8):

Gifts:

Medical (dentist L, meds M):

Utilities (Internet: $36):

Household:

Camper parts:

Laundry:

Clothing:

Alcohol:

Drinking out:

TOTAL:

$253

$241

$233

$193

$129

$107

$68

$54

$36

$27

$24

$7

$1

$0

$0

———

$ 1,373