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.
I think a lot of people skip my expense reports, because they are not interested in the financial details of our nomadic lifestyle. But these posts offer a glimpse behind the scenes and show the practicalities of a life on the road; the photos providing a sense of the action. Plus, because I’m so behind with my regular travel posts, these reports are the most up to date about what’s recently going on with the three of us.
(As always, hover over or click on photos in galleries to read their captions.)
In February, Mark, Maya, and I continued our Colombian overland explorations in Thirsty Bella, our truck camper disguised as a cow. It was a good month for us. We finally reached our goal of spending less than US$800. Of course, it helped that there were only 28 days. It’s safe to say that this is probably a one off!
The grocery and dining out categories have to be seen in conjunction with each other. When we don’t cook, we order food. Because life is much more affordable in Colombia than in western countries, we splurge a bit more on eating out. Usually for dinner; once in a while for lunch. Yet, we still try to keep things under control and did pretty well with the alcohol budget.
A chunk of money went to fuel, which is also quite cheap here, at US$2/gallon (don’t ask us why the prices are per gallon when everything else is part of the metric system). I guess we covered some miles in February. A negative about doing all this mountain driving is that Thirsty only gets about 8.5 miles to the gallon. Compare that with our (still poor) average of 10.5 miles in the US and it gives you an indication about the road conditions in Colombia. They aren’t pretty! And, they are the reason for our new rule of “four eyes on the road at all times!” Yes, after hours, this gets exhausting.
Some paved roads have toll booths. But don’t assume that these routes are a breeze! If anything, one has to pay even more attention than on the slow gravel and dirt roads, as sunken road surfaces, potholes, and cracked pavement creep up fast to the unsuspecting eye. And, you get the privilege of paying for those surprises. While $3 for a stretch of semi-decent road might not seem like a lot, for Colombian living standards it is, and after a few a day the amount adds up.
Parking, on the other hand, is cheap at an average of less than a dollar an hour, for a guarded lot in town. After three or four hours, it makes more sense to pay the daily rate. We took just our truck into Medellin once to run errands and go on a guided walking tour. The lots were overflowing, but we pulled into one anyway, being on a deadline. That’s when we discovered you leave the key with the attendants and they will move cars around as they see fit, or as people need to depart. Since the back of our cab had heaps of gear in it (part of the back seat acts as storage), we were a tad worried about handing over our key, but these are professionally-run parking lots, so we needn’t have stressed.
Let’s talk about Maya. The good news is that we can find her exact (high-quality) dogfood in Colombia. The bad news is that it costs twice as much as in the US. This is probably the only thing so far that has been more expensive here than in the States. We’ll take it…
When we were in Medellin, our girl lost a toe nail. We don’t know how exactly it happened, but this is a painful injury, as the “quick” underneath became exposed. It’s like an open wound. From the moment we arrived home, we disinfected it and kept it wrapped up. Worried about an infection, we involved a vet and received some remedies. But the main healer is time. So, no more decent walks for a while! After three weeks now, we can finally see progress, but her toe is long not recovered. As you can see in the report underneath, vets are not expensive here.
Mark and I are still trying to camp for free as much as possible. Because we don’t need services, this is an area where we can save money, as long as our spots are safe. That being said, we needed to do repairs on our camper in February, so stayed about a week in an established campground, where we could take the camper off and fix our issues. We also paid for one night at the Rio Claro.
In Guatapé, we were invited to camp for free for a few days on the amazing property of ex-overlanders, which was a very nice and welcome gesture.
In February, we also spent money on fun activities! The entrance fee for the waterfall pool in Florian, which was located on private property, cost about $1 a person, Mark and I joined two “free” walking tours in Medellin, for which we donated the equivalent of $20, we tipped musicians and a dance group, and we climbed the tall rock, El Peñol, in Guatape for $4 each. That gives you an idea about entertainment costs in Colombia.
Because there was no payment for Google Fi anymore (our account was suspended), internet was very affordable last month. We buy 80GB (currently doubled for no extra cost, an amount we can’t even use up if we wanted to) monthly data plans for about $20 each. This is similar to “unlimited” internet use. We didn’t pay for other utilities as we managed to fill up with water for free (or at the campground), our propane tank is still quite full, and garbage service appeared at our door. ????
We managed to fix several camper problems without breaking the bank, had to use public transportation in Medellin the second time we visited, needed household items (matching forks, something that Mark had been craving for a while, and a different basket that won’t flip its contents when we hit a pothole or tope), barely drank out, and only paid for one load of laundry (washing). These last savings are thanks to our friends Susan and John, who blog at Latitude Adjustment and also have a series of interesting posts about Colombia. They generously let us borrow their home’s facilities in El Retiro. I washed three loads of clothes and took over their hanging racks – and second floor – for three days in a row! ¡Gracias amigos!
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.
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March 8, 2023 at 15:16
Those are some pretty impressive places and great that you keep track of expenses and keep a good budget.
March 8, 2023 at 15:30
Hi Thomas,
Thanks for swinging by. I think keeping track of expenses tells you a lot about yourself and your priorities. And, of course they help if you’d like to make changes. But, for most people who make good money, none of this matters too much. Mark and I have to be very careful, hence the habit of keeping track – and sharing! It makes us more accountable, haha.
March 8, 2023 at 15:47
Good job! Less than $800!
I have renamed my monthly expense report Nomad Life & Expenses because I want it to be a place to reflect on the last month and just like you to keep up to date about where we are and what we’ve been doing. I like it as also a place to write about more personal things. I will get back to writing mine after I finish this comment.
Poor Maya. It souns so painful to lose a toenail. So glad you found her food! She is so sweet hanging out with her new friend.
Great pictures of thecplaces you’ve been! Those stairs up that rock are crazy! Love the views.
They do the same thing in parking lots in Mexico. We stayed in a parking lot in Guadalajara for about a week once waiting for my computer to be repaired. We didn’t have to give our keys since we were living there and parked in the back but it was interesting to see the owner move cars around to get them packed in there. I think this guy loved overlanders because they stayed for days and he didn’t have to move them. He asked us to leave a review on iOverlander when we left.
It’s good to see you guys having fun. Love the update!
March 8, 2023 at 20:23
Hi Duwan,
I noticed that you’d renamed the expense feature on your blog a little while ago. It makes sense as we both seem to be way behind with our “regular” posts. Since the expense posts are on a deadline, they get done! 🙂
We’ve been doing research about Maya’s food. We managed to bring three 40-pound bags into the country and still have one left, but decided to always have a spare one, just in case we are not able to find the right kind. Mark recently discovered that the bags are even more expensive in Ecuador, so we will try to stock up in Colombia to cover our three months there. You wonder where we can keep putting it all!
Maya’s toe is not doing well at the moment. I think we overdid it with a recent hike and it’s swollen now. We will take her to a vet again tomorrow. This really sucks. It’s been three weeks already. She’s so bored and unhappy being stuck inside.
How cool that you got to stay in that parking lot for so long – and that the guy knew about iOverlander. I don’t think Colombians have ever heard about this app, even though it is exclusively what we use here as well.
It’s so nice to be able to splurge a bit more. Although, Mark has been strict about the pastries!
March 8, 2023 at 17:53
Hi Liesbet, I actually appreciate your attention to the monthly expense report as it provides a bit of behind the scenes information. It is pretty incredible that Maya’s food cost almost as much as yours. Thankfully everything else is a lot cheaper than in the states. Nice that you could visit with your friends and catch up on your laundry at the same time.
March 8, 2023 at 20:26
Hi Suzanne,
Thank you for letting me know that the expense reports hold your interest. Interesting about the cost of Maya’s food compared to ours. I hadn’t quite realized this yet. Her bag lasts her about six weeks, though, so she is still the most frugal member of the family. :$)
We will miss the affordability of Colombia whenever we move on. Maybe this country will become our homepage one day…
March 8, 2023 at 17:58
You work so hard at living this nomadic life. You deserve all the money you save. It reminds me how much most of us pay just for convenience I love the picture of Mona and Maya. How cute they are together!
March 8, 2023 at 20:29
Hi Jacqui,
Thank you for the compliment. And, good observation about the fact that we often trade comfort for affordability. The less we spend, the longer we can live on the road. That’s pretty much what it comes down to. So, our sacrifices – so far – are worth it.
I’m glad you liked the photo of Maya and Mona. When this “property dog” came by for a visit, we let her inside the camper. We usually don’t do this, but we knew Mona had a good home. Of course, she never wanted to leave anymore. But it was so darn cute when both dogs snuggled up together on our bed like that. Maya was very tolerant and Mona was super comfy!
March 8, 2023 at 21:27
A $15.00 vet bill and matching forks–you guys (after a long, upward climb to get there) seem to living the dream in SA.
Cliff and I have a different budget, but we still live modestly, weighing what we spend and paying attention to what save.
March 14, 2023 at 13:34
Haha, Marian! Aren’t we always living the dream? 🙂 I think budgets work differently for different people and we all need to figure out what we are comfortable with. The main thing is to actually be aware about expenditures to start with!
March 9, 2023 at 07:48
Still really darned cheap. Did you guys climb those stairs all the way to the top?
March 14, 2023 at 13:35
Yes, we did climb all the stairs, but took our time getting up there, resting four or five times. To take photos. 🙂
March 9, 2023 at 12:01
Hi, Liesbet – I, too, find your expense reports super interesting. I was glad to read that Maya’s toe is healing. Sending warm hugs to all three of you.
March 14, 2023 at 13:37
Hi Donna,
Thanks for the vote of confidence and interest! 🙂
Unfortunately, Maya’s toe took a turn for the worse and we had to visit another vet. But more about that in the next expense report! It is now, finally, starting to heal correctly.
March 9, 2023 at 15:06
Wow, your budget is amazing! And it must have been a lovely respite for you to park on your friends’ property and not have to worry about safety or camping fees. I hope Maya is soon fully healed!
March 14, 2023 at 13:39
I agree, for once, that our budget was pretty good in February. We are trying to find a balance between saving money and splurging right now. 🙂 And, yes, about the safety and comfort of camping on people’s properties. The only negative of those situations is that we don’t want to overstay, feel like we have to do things in return, and sometimes lack privacy. Maya is finally on the mend, but it will take many more weeks for her nail to fully grow.
March 10, 2023 at 17:28
Aww, thanks so much for the shout-out, amiga! We’re glad we were able to help out, in such a little way. But the best part was getting to meet you three and spend some time with you! Hope you’re able to come back this way.
– Susan
March 14, 2023 at 13:40
Hi Susan,
It was so wonderful meeting you both and getting to know El Retiro a bit. We do hope we will be back in Colombia one day. Maybe after our trip in SA ends…
March 18, 2023 at 06:55
How cute that Maya found a friends she could settle with. So sorry to hear about the injury picked up with her toenail.
Is public transport cheap? The metro looks very modern and comfortable.
Glad you managed to get all those repairs done. But my goodness, that fridge seems to be a constant problem, doesn’t it?
Did you do all 675 steps to the rock? It looks impressive. What a great way to exercise, Liesbet.
March 19, 2023 at 00:22
Hi Hugh,
Yes, we did all those steps on the rock. The good thing: we had time. 🙂 That being said, we just beat the crowds by leaving at 10am, as it was a Sunday and this attraction is extremely touristy and popular. Colombians really enjoy getting out and about during the weekends.
Maya has made a few “friends” here (as much as she cares), but Mona has been the most awesome so far and one of the two dogs that we have actually allowed inside Bella!
Public transportation in Medellin is very affordable. After you buy the metro card for the equivalent of $2, it costs around $1 a ride and you can keep using the same ticket from the start to the finish of your route, including trams, buses, and cable cars. Taxis cost less than $5 to cover most of town, any time of the day, but they are slow.
March 20, 2023 at 12:28
Liesbet, I’m so impressed! Congrats for coming in below your budget goal – now if you could just delete 2 days from each month you’d be all set. 🙂 I love your budget posts and always look forward to them. Thanks. ~Terri
March 23, 2023 at 10:56
Haha. I love your idea of deleting days to stay within budget, Terri. Except for the fact that I really enjoy every day of my life and I don’t want to waste or delete any. Every month should be 31 days and every day should contain more than 24 hours, as I never get everything done I want to achieve! 🙂