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. 🙂 Since July 2018, Mark and I have been combining van life in our Zesty and house and pet sitting, which we did full-time before that. The best of both worlds!
This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for the two of us. Under groceries we incorporate all the 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 Mark’s vitamins and supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care in the state of Massachusetts. If a non-emergency were to happen outside of that state, it will be expensive! For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.
In February, our van was our home as we traveled and camped in California and Arizona. We finally replaced the grill, something Mark wanted to do from the moment we bought Zesty 1.5 years ago, but I vetoed, seeing it as an unnecessary expense. When he found a good price, I caved. We were actually on track for the cheapest month in a long time – less than $700 – despite the extra costs for taxes, propane, clothes, and a dump station (we rarely pay for this, but couldn’t find a free one in the Borrego Springs, CA area, where we stayed for ten days). Then, we filed the form for my naturalization (citizenship) application on February 28th: $725. Just like that, our monthly expense more than doubled on the last day of the month!
My health care cost from previous months disappeared as our income is much lower than last year. The eating out category was extremely low. Mark and I split a lunch when meeting other Sprinter van owners in town.
And, Mark only needed to add $11 to our T-Mobile account to buy the 5GB ($30) data plan for February. In March, we are going a different internet route… Without the citizenship fee, February would have been awesome!
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