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 February, Mark, Maya, Thirsty Bella, and I explored an attractive part of Patagonia. The first week, we drove north in Argentina and the rest of the month, we bounced on the gravel, potholed Carretera Austral (Ruta 7) in Chile.
While it is still summer in the Southern Hemisphere, the rainy weather has made our time here less pleasant. But more about that in future posts.
This expense report could well be the most straightforward one ever. Nothing complicated, unexpected, or weird happened. And, despite fuel being at an all-time high (I say this every month) at $670 (!), we stayed on budget. This record amount accounted for more than half of our expenditures in February! Blame all the driving, the awful roads, and the high fuel prices in Chile ($6/gallon).
Our grocery bill is back on track at around $300. We didn’t come across “real” supermarkets, so have been buying our bread at bakeries, our produce at vegetable shops, and other necessary goods at convenient-store like establishments. We buy what we need, rarely what we want.
Once we reached Chile, we ate out again! Empanadas in Cochrane that consist of ground beef, boiled egg, an olive, and a raisin (beware of the pit in the olive; yes, many dishes containing olives down here, like pizza, still have pits); a tasty fish lunch in Tortel; an incredible pizza in Puerto Rio Tranquilo; and a set lunch menu in La Junta. None of this was cheap, but the total remained under $100.
As usual, most of our meals were cooked and eaten at home. I’ll never tire of Mark’s cuisine, but when he’s busy, working, or tired, I take over.
We also paid for excursions in February. An intended highlight was a boat tour on stunning General Carrera Lake to the famed Marble Caves ($54). The trip didn’t really go according to plan, but we still enjoyed the experience. And, the three of us walked up to Las Manos in Cerro Castillo, to observe rock art in the form of hand paintings ($6). I’ll report on these Chilean attractions later.
Our engine still contains two generic injector coils that we purchased new in Bolivia over a year ago and that we ideally replace with OEM ones. Mark ordered one on Amazon (he always waits for the best available price – one more to go) and, when discovering that an unopened tube of caulk had gone off after we separated our camper from the truck for a repair, we had to hunt for caulk locally. Again, we only found a temporary solution. These two items brought the camper repair category to $58.
Life is more enjoyable with a glass of wine, so we spent $54 on alcohol: some local beers for Mark and a few bottles of wine for both of us. The $39 for utilities went to our monthly Starlink subscription. The exact amount depends on the exchange rate for Argentinian pesos. Our company pays the other half. Filling up with potable water was free.
For once, we needed to stay at a campground, because we had to wash the car, take our camper off, and fix parts of the box. We managed to keep it to one night.
In general, we wild camp and avoid official campgrounds for several reasons (just like marinas when we sailed). Boondocking/wild camping is free, offers privacy, flexibility, and natural surroundings; you don’t have to reserve or register; and there is no check-out time. So that’s what we did the other 27 nights in February. Although we were rarely alone then, too!
The last item of this month’s expense report is laundry ($10). Mark and I have been washing, rinsing, and drying our clothes and linen in nature most of the time. The river water in Patagonia is extremely cold, but the sense of accomplishment – within our own time and space – after finishing a load, or three, is immense. That being said, we do wish laundromats get cheaper as we head north, especially since it has been raining non-stop, lately. This means lots of dirty clothes and no option of drying anything out.
The grand total for February was $1,307, so right on track. But we do need to start spending less on fuel!
(It might be easier to read the table when turning your device in the horizontal position.)
Find all our expense reports here. To learn what other full-time nomads spend, check out the blogs of our nomad friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.
Next up: The real Patagonia!
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March 9, 2025 at 10:52
Interesting as always. I think a lot of us understand “We buy what we need, rarely what we want.” When my two kids arrived and I quit work to stay home with them, I only shopped sales. That became its own excitement in diversity!
March 10, 2025 at 09:40
Hi Jacqui,
I guess it can be a good challenge when needing to watch where your money goes. I think you become smarter, financially. That being said, I’m sure most of the western world goes to the store and buys what they want. Not like a generation or two ago, where you bought what you needed.
Whether produce is locally grown or imported, most people I know would buy whatever they like. There are so many savings to be had when shopping for what’s on sale, which is how we do it. We buy the vegetables that are on sale or most affordable and we do the same with other products. And then, we cook with what we have.
March 9, 2025 at 11:11
Congratulations on staying on budget despite high fuel prices. Delicious looking meals!
March 10, 2025 at 09:42
Hi Donna,
When Mark is not too exhausted or overwhelmed, he enjoys cooking and producing varied, tasty, and healthy meals. Often, though, we are so busy and tired from everything happening in our life that we need to do something simple, which is not always easy in a camper. It has to remain healthy as well.
March 9, 2025 at 11:43
Reading a book! Where is that construction worker’s phone?
It looks like you are eating very healthy. We are paying more attention to our diet. But on travel days, we end up eating junk – processed food that doesn’t need to be prepared and is easy to get. When we get to a place with a real kitchen we think of all the things we can make. Right now, we have an oven – and a casserole dish!
It looks like you had some nice places to stay. And nice roads, maybe?
Summer is rainy season here in Perú too. The roads are terrible.
Note for our future van – a pole to hold up a clothes line.
I wouldn’t be able to do laundry in cold river water. My hands are way too sensitive to cold. It would hurt too much. I hate that having laundry done is so expensive. We’ve only had to hire out laundry once. It was done by the guy who owned the hostel, and he gave us a discount because I provided the detergent.
Looking forward to reading about the Marble Caves and your other adventures!
March 10, 2025 at 09:51
Haha, Duwan. That’s what I was thinking regarding the construction worker. Usually, when not on a walkie talkie or moving the sign around, these men and women are busy on their phones. I thought this was a revelation!
I’m sure it’s hard to cook healthy when you don’t have your own kitchen. We had that experience for those three weeks at Airbnbs when my cousin visited in Peru. The biggest issue was not to find food, but to have the right utensils and pots and pans to cook with. Even when house sitting, we carried our own chef’s knife with us.
Yes, we are eating healthy. I feel we’ve always cooked and eaten healthy, but it went to an even higher level ten years ago, after Mark got sick. No junk food for us. Maybe we order fries with a dinner out once every two months. 🙂
I’m so glad you have an oven now. Even though we have a little one (an easy bake oven), we miss a normal sized one and we need a lot of power to be able to use it. As in, a pretty full battery, so two hours of oven time doesn’t drain it.
No nice roads last month, but at the moment, we have returned to pavement. Mostly. 🙂
We have an important note for our next camper: no more propane! This was already a hassle to get in the US. And, despite switching our fridge over to electric for that very reason, we still seem to struggle finding propane stations that are open or willing to fill our tank. Even in Argentina, which shouldn’t be an issue!
Well, we just dropped some of our laundry off for the first time in six weeks. Since they charge by the piece, I kept the socks and undies (36 pieces left), so I still need to do all those by hand, one day. Hopefully, the rest gets done by this evening. Now, we “wait” around in the city for that.
March 9, 2025 at 12:19
Well, you three always amaze me. In spike of all your adventures you still manage to live on such a small amount of money. I admire your ability to do that, especially since last month half of your costs was fuel. Between Medicare, Medi-Gap, and dental insurance, those three alone cost us $900 a month and truck insurance is $140 a month. So for just insurance, we pay more than $1000 a month. Almost your entire month’s budget. Wow!!!! As aways, I enjoy following your journey. Jim
March 10, 2025 at 09:57
Hi Jim,
Yeah, the price for healthcare in the US is insane and always has been, it seems like. The only reasons we get away with it for free in the US is 1) because our residency is in Massachusetts and, 2) because we make less than minimum wage. So, working harder and more – or at better hourly rates – would bring that in jeopardy.
But… if something happens to us on the road, we pay out of pocket here and our taxes in MA are quite high. We always say and feel that our taxes are our healthcare fees. 🙂
When we were sailing, we paid around $3,000 a year for boat insurance. That was insane. We sailed for eight years and never needed it. You do the math! That was a painful expense back in the day.
March 9, 2025 at 13:40
Finally, somewhere where gas is actually higher than what we’re paying for in California ($5.60 per gallon). Pretty wild to think that fuel makes up more than 50% of your expenses.
March 10, 2025 at 09:59
Hi Pete,
Chile and Uruguay have been the most expensive countries for us when it comes to fuel (at about $6/gallon) And, since we drive a lot, this stings. It’s crazy that half of our budget in February went to gasoline (diesel is cheaper down here), but it’s a cost we can’t avoid. It’s the price for freedom. 🙂
March 9, 2025 at 14:50
You end up with a decent list of expense every, single month. And, it looks like you are eating well too.
I remind myself that you have summer as we in Florida are coming out of winter. I’m not complaining, but the tips of my fingers are cold: 😀
March 10, 2025 at 10:02
Hi Marian,
To use Mark’s words: “This has been the crappiest summer of my life! I’ve never been this cold or have seen this much rain ever during that season.” Bluntly said: the weather has been quite miserable, especially the last month. And in a camper (with a dog), that makes it tough. Especially the condensation and fact that nothing dries and starts smelling.
I’m actually okay with it, since it’s the price to pay to explore Patagonia. Mark thinks differently: “Why would I choose to be uncomfortable, while I can travel elsewhere with better weather?”
March 9, 2025 at 17:47
That is a lot on fuel. Good thing everything else was reasonable.
March 10, 2025 at 10:03
Hi Alex,
We feel like we are working to pay the fuel bill, each month. And, because of that, we have to be extra careful spending money on other items.
March 10, 2025 at 00:00
As always I’m impressed by your contentment and enjoyment of a way of life do many of s would find so hard. But the gorgeous vistas, delicious looking food, and fun outings in Patagonia do sound delightful. Thanks for sharing.
March 10, 2025 at 10:06
Hi Annie,
Thanks for your sweet and supportive comment, as always. Actually, that contentment and enjoyment are wearing off. Life on the road has been hard and we are trying to figure out ways to make it more comfortable and enjoyable. But we have so many chores and obligations. If we don’t find a solution to make this lifestyle more attractive, we have to stop or go elsewhere. It sure was easier to live and travel in a camper in North America! 🙂
March 15, 2025 at 13:38
Wow, “nothing complicated, unexpected, or weird” – that in itself is unexpected and weird! Your budget for this month must be a relief to you. I can only imagine how stressful it must be when you’re dealing with the “unexpected and weird” while worrying about finances as well. If you get tired of the struggle in South America, do you have another set of adventures lined up somewhere else?
March 20, 2025 at 07:29
Haha, Diane. You are right, this expense blog was weird in its normalcy. I realized it after scrutinizing the categories. For once, they all made sense. Crazy expensive fuel, but that’s always the worst category.
And you are right again about the finance situation in regards to the traveling. We are often envious of retired people and people on sabbatical doing this journey, without having to worry about work and money. But then, we realize we’re down here – and everywhere – as long as we want, unlike them, and then we see things in perspective. Of course, it would be nice to just “be” and explore and relax, without that weight of the jobs and the money on our shoulders. Our moods, stress, and demeanors would benefit from that. 🙂
Nothing lined up next. We think we will be here for about another year and then hope to sell our camper in South America and then “reassess” in the US (if my MIL needs our presence) or Belgium (more likely and attractive at the moment). What our next adventure will be is related to how Maya is doing as well. She’s getting old.
March 20, 2025 at 11:39
Wow, time flies. It seems like only yesterday that you got Maya. Our furry friends just don’t live long enough, do they?
March 20, 2025 at 19:56
True, Diane. Although, Maya is the first dog we have ever had between us (our of five) to live more than ten years! We shall take what we can get with her. 🙂
March 19, 2025 at 07:20
I guess there isn’t much you can do about the price of fuel unless you shop around for the lowest price. However, I find it’s mostly the same price, and if there is a difference, it’s only a few pence. That said, I’ve switched to all electric now, so I no longer have to visit a fuel station. Now, I have to look out for charging stations, although a full charge at home usually suffices for where I go.
Well done on keeping to the budget, despite the big fuel spending.
March 20, 2025 at 07:34
Hi Hugh,
Yeah, we realized early on that fuel and groceries are the only things we really need and have to buy at whatever the cost. So, we try to save on other categories.
In the US – and some other countries – there is an app that tells you the prices of fuel stations, so you can plan around that. We’ve used that whenever possible, but here, we have enough to worry and think about that we take fuel whenever we need it. That being said, we do shop at the cheapest gas station chains, which are now our favorites – namely Copec in Chile and YPF in Argentina. And we try to top up with drinking water at the same time, for free.
We once had a Toyota Prius hybrid car and loved it!! Now, our truck – especially with the weight in back – is the opposite regarding fuel economy. It hurts a bit!
March 20, 2025 at 10:57
It costs us £11 to recharge our EV to 100%. On a full charge, we get around 374 miles. It’s just a shame that the UK government has decided to start charging all EV vehicles with road tax! I managed to get another 12 months free before the new tax kicks in on April 1.
March 20, 2025 at 19:55
Interesting, Hugh. Thanks for sharing this data. I had no idea how much it cost to recharge an electric car. And, yours has a pretty good range as well. Our massive truck can only go 300 to 350 miles with a full tank. That tells you something about its consumption! I hope you can keep escaping that extra tax! They should reward people who go electric.