Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting and relatively adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂 That being said, Mark and I seem to manage one big expense a month for some reason, whether it is camper, plane, travel or computer-related. Luckily, we live totally rent-free, wherever we end up.
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. Health insurance and costs are related to my health care as a permanent resident in the US. Mark is still eligible for free health care in the state of Massachusetts as of today. 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. I still pay a small quarterly fee in Belgium for health care (required to retain citizenship), which I mention in my year report.
Most of our July was spent in the company of friends and family, in Belgium and in Massachusetts. There were a lot of social events and life-time celebrations, where gifts and taking family members out to lunch and dinner made up a big chunk of our expenses. Other than that, the usual grocery shopping and fuel for two cars (our Zesty back in New Mexico and Mark's parents' car in New England) played a role. We had a flat tire, and dealt with damage caused by rats.
On the three-day train ride from Boston, MA to Santa Fe, NM, Mark and I didn't spend a dime, and once back in our camper, we stocked up for a week. July was more expensive than usual, but as August progresses we continue our full-time frugal adventures on the road with nothing but free camping so far.
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August 4, 2018 at 11:44
Hi Liesbet! Fun seeing Zesty “posing” in the mountains. It looks like it was a VERY frugal month for you in spite of additional expenses so I’d say “Good Job!” I’m looking forward to hearing about your current adventures. ~Kathy
August 5, 2018 at 08:10
Thanks, Kathy. We’d like to stay well under $1000, but sometimes different priorities prevail. 🙂 Luckily, my complete time in Belgium (other than the taxes on the flights, for which I used miles) was free. I’m looking forward to the coming months, which should be fun and relatively cheap.
August 5, 2018 at 01:54
What did you do for entertainment that cost $1?
August 5, 2018 at 08:13
I bought an e-book of a friend on Amazon, which was on promotion. 🙂
August 6, 2018 at 08:03
The one dollar made me smile,too! Obviously you make your own entertainment. 🙂 🙂 Nice photos, Liesbet!
August 7, 2018 at 14:27
As you know Jo, some of the best entertainment, like hiking and – currently for us – biking, is free. I love it! 🙂
August 6, 2018 at 17:45
I love it that you have so much in your gifts category. We pretty much stopped buying gifts for anyone (except the grandchild) when we started traveling. I felt like we couldn’t afford it. I still feel like we can’t afford it, but I now feel like that was a mistake and I really want to come back from our travels with some sort of souvenir for friends and family to let them know that we were thinking about them as we were roaming around who-knows-where.
I also love the pics of Zesty out in the wild!
August 7, 2018 at 14:35
I’m with you, Duwan. We rarely buy gifts, and are OK with that. We usually only get a few small things for our younger nephew and nieces (and each other for birthdays), and this category generally gets a big, round, 0. 🙂 But, this time we were around for a few big events, so we happily contributed to the happiness of the recipients. I hope you get out in your camper again soon as well!
August 7, 2018 at 18:01
I think you guys did very well. 🙂 So are you back in Santa Fe? 🙂
August 10, 2018 at 10:53
Nope. No more Santa Fe. We left there with damage under our hood from rats and a flat tire on my bike. That dessert, I tell ya! 🙂 Anyway, we drove through Colorado the last ten days and are now in Wyoming. Still work along the road, but we hope to reach the Tetons and Yellowstone this weekend.
August 10, 2018 at 16:26
Oh those rats! What a nasty surprise to have to face after returning from Massachusetts. I’m glad to hear you are having fun on the road. I loved Yellowstone when I visited many years ago.
Jude
August 13, 2018 at 14:55
We are in Grand Teton NP right now, Jude, just having finished a ten-mile hike in the Lake Jenny vicinity, and picking up a WiFi signal at a visitor center. It’s beautoful here, now that the smoke of the Californian wildfires (yes, that reaches all the way to Wyoming) has cleared today. Lots on the agenda and no relaxing (or fixing the last hose part on the car) yet. 🙂
August 13, 2018 at 11:34
I wish my grocery and restaurant spending were as low as yours. Thanks for sharing this run down of your monthly expenses. It can be fun seeing how other people live and how they prioritize money expenditures.
With Love,
Mandy
August 13, 2018 at 15:01
Because of the lifestyle we choose, we have to be frugal, or we’d need “real” and full-time jobs again. It’s all a trade-off. Sometimes, we wish we could splurge a bit more, but our luxury is time, and freedom. 🙂