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 June, Mark, Maya, and I traveled two weeks in Paraguay and the rest in Brazil in our truck camper, Thirsty Bella. I hopped into Argentina again for a day trip, but didn’t spend anything in that country.
(Hover over or click on photos in galleries to read their captions.)
Well, our expenses for June were on the higher end of the spectrum once again. This time, the culprits were the long driving distances, ordering camper, truck, and dog items online in the US for Mark to bring back after his visit, a very expensive boat tour to see jaguars in the Pantanal of Brazil (no luck), our annual bank card fee, and Mark ordering a new driver’s license.
Here is the detailed breakdown:
Every month, we reach a new record for fuel expenses. For June, this was really insane and surely an all-time high! We spent over $600, just on gasoline, to drive 1,600 miles. Instead of heading directly from eastern Paraguay to the São Paulo area (700 miles), from where Mark would fly to the US, we made a 900-mile detour to explore Bonito and the southern Pantanal area in Brazil. To reach the northern Pantanal with better wildlife viewing possibilities, we would have had to drive another 1,200 miles. Too much and too expensive. Yup, Brazil is big.
On top of that, we bought an extra air filter and grease on Amazon for the truck ($41), and we handed over $21 for toll roads, which turned out to be a very time-consuming hassle. The first toll booths we passed in the middle of Brazil didn’t accept credit cards (unlike every other imaginable store or business). This surprised us, especially since we never took cash out, based on the ease and ubiquity of card use here. So, we had a problem.
A quick online search told us that our bank, Chase, doesn’t charge fees for using our debit card internationally, so that was the route to go. Except the toll attendants needed a special machine for this type of card. Long story short, it took a few more stops to figure out the correct procedure with our debit card and, furthermore, the process never went smoothly.
The booth attendant either didn’t believe us, didn’t know if they had the special machine, couldn’t find it, couldn’t operate it, or, in one case, it was broken. Once, a friendly employee actually paid our toll fee and shared her Pix account with us to refund her the money. But, foreigners can’t open a Pix account. Since a laundromat owed us a refund after the machines ruined some of our clothes, I arranged for them to transfer that much bigger amount to the friendly toll booth attendant, who received a 60% tip on top.
Needless to say, our toll road experience on awesome paved roads wasn’t as pleasant as it could have been, especially since there was a booth – with all the described hassles – every twenty minutes! The ride from the Pantanal to the coast took three days. On the last one (July 1st), which coincided with a new price increase as well, we avoided toll roads altogether.
Our entertainment category was unusually high. The main reason people visit the Pantanal is to go on a boat tour and look for wildlife. On this private tour out of tiny Passo do Lontra, we were allowed to take Maya and motored around for almost ten hours in total. Cost: $190.
And then, there was one of the highlights on this continent: Iguazu/Iguaçu Falls. I’ll create a separate blog post about that soon. We planned to just visit the Brazilian side of this natural world wonder, but then I stumbled upon an unexpected chance to witness the Argentinian side as well, which is very different.
The entrance fee in Brazil was about $20 per person. We skipped the elevated parking fee by camping nearby for the same price. In Argentinian National Parks, foreigners usually pay a very steep $45 per person. As a student (with proof), you get in for $7. I should add the transportation cost here as well, since I shared a taxi with four other people in order to cross into Argentina and experience that side. This was $19 per person, including a credit card fee of 5%. Not bad for a day trip of this stature.
We did well with our grocery bill ($202), thanks to affordable Paraguay and cheap produce in Brazil. The annual fee for our Chase credit card was due as well, at $95. The number of points we collect is usually worth that.
Mark and I love food and eating out, but we kept this reasonable in June with an expense of $65. This included a buffet in Paraguay, joining new friends for dinner in Bonito to celebrate Wayne’s birthday, one ice cream for me, and a really terrible pizza (with cream cheese!) as a take-out dinner one evening.
In general, Mark and I cook all of our dinners at home, where we stick to a plant-based diet.
Maya needed another yearly supply of Heartgard medicine ($50), which we ordered online, and because of the weird rules of South American countries that her rabies shot can’t be older than one year (in the US and Europe, a three-year vaccine does the trick for… three years), our pup needed yet another injection. This dog has had more rabies shots in her life than all the loose and stray dogs on this continent combined! Luckily, at under $10, the vaccine was cheap.
Mark needs a new Massachusetts driver’s license soon, so he ordered it online to receive at his mom’s address while he is there. We have to plan around expiration dates of all our documents to deal with this when we are in our home countries. These days, renewed licenses cost a whopping $50! We needed copies of his Brazilian visa as well for the border crossings ($1).
And we splurged on a couple of campgrounds in Brazil – for convenience/ logistical reasons to visit Iguaçu Falls and as an alternative to the pricey excursions in Bonito – and a cheap one in Paraguay for peace.
As usual, most of our nights were free, on the edges of towns or in nature.
Our utilities contained $40 for our monthly Starlink subscription (the other $40 is paid by our business) and $4 to top up our propane tank in Paraguay before crossing into Brazil, where filling US tanks is rumored to be difficult, if not impossible… Free potable water was acquired at campgrounds and fuel stations.
We ordered a bunch of caulk online to have in the camper (we ran out), and two more water filters to hook up to our freshwater line at the kitchen sink. This should hold us over until the end of our South American journey, later this year.
One of the highlights in Brazil so far for me is their laundromats. Yup, you read that right. After doing laundry by hand in icy river water for a year, or dropping off “more difficult” pieces at pricey laundromats in the rest of South America, I am delighted to report the ease and efficiency of 24-hour all-automatic laundromats in Brazil!!! And, in Bonito, we managed to wash and dry two big loads for $10 in total. I am a happy camper!
I still did a bunch of laundry by hand as well. When we have unlimited water available, because, why not?
In reality, we also spent $11 on alcohol, but thanks to a generous follower of this blog, MD, we didn’t have to pay out of pocket for the two bottles of wine we purchased in June. Obrigada!
At $1,559, our total for the month was well over our usual average of $1,300, despite our frugal nature and approach. Maybe it’s time to reconsider our goals and realize every country is getting more expensive than it used to be. Of course, the dropping value of the US dollar is not helping us…
How did we save money last month?
We cut Mark’s hair and cleaned Maya’s teeth ourselves, we took some secondary roads to avoid toll booths, we bought needed gear online in the US (after monitoring their prices for months and waiting for the best moment) instead of in South America, where imported goods are expensive or unavailable, we always make sure to know the price of EVERY item before purchasing, and we were extra careful with our expenses toward the end of the month (no splurges) after realizing we broke the bank yet again.
(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: Iguazu Falls!
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July 10, 2025 at 15:57
As always, you two amaze me how you manage your finances. Jim
July 11, 2025 at 12:29
Thanks, Jim! We are frugal spenders. Yet, we still manage to spend much more than we want! Hmmmm…
July 10, 2025 at 17:26
Like Mark, I had to renew my drivers’ license this year. Florida charges $48.00 for a renewal. Plus, for me, a trip to the ophthalmologist.
Still, $1559.00 is an awesome monthly expense report, Liesbet! 😀
July 11, 2025 at 12:30
Thanks, Marian. We better adjust to spending closer to $1,500 a month from now on, instead of $1,300 which has become not feasible anymore. Unless we sit still somewhere for a month at a time! I hope your eyes are okay and renewing your license wasn’t a big deal.
July 10, 2025 at 18:37
Hi, Liesbet, I echo Marian and Jim above. I look forward to your Iguaçu Falls post as well. See you there!
July 11, 2025 at 12:31
Hi Donna,
See you at the falls! It will be a photo and video blog to do those waterfalls justice. 🙂
July 11, 2025 at 10:40
Gorgeous falls. Sadly, I’d never heard of them!
July 11, 2025 at 12:33
Hi Jacqui,
Before we arrived in South America and learned about the Iguazu Falls through friends who visited, we had never heard of them either. Strange, actually, since they are in the same league of Victoria Falls and Niagara Falls. As a matter of fact, I recently heard a quote of some important person visiting Iguazu Falls and stating that he “felt bad for Niagara Falls” after seeing this wonder of the world! 🙂
July 11, 2025 at 13:41
I first heard of Iguazu Falls a few years ago when a friend visited. Her photos were amazing so I’m looking forward to seeing yours too.
July 14, 2025 at 12:58
Hi Anabel,
I wonder if the Iguazu Falls photos of your friend showed blue water or brown water. 🙂
July 14, 2025 at 13:49
I’m not sure! I will have to ask her next time I see her – but I don’t remember being struck by brownness.
July 14, 2025 at 14:02
Haha. Yes, the brownness does stand out! And because it had rained so much (hence the coffee color), there was a lot of water as well, making the falls bulge and roar and making the brown stand out even more. 🙂
July 11, 2025 at 13:54
Hi Liesbet! I’m not surprised that vehicle costs (including gas of course) is pushing you to spend more. I think that is happening everywhere. Gas prices here in Europe are around $9 a gallon but then everyone drives very small cars if at all. Of course we’ve seen TONS of caravans who are camping along the rivers (they are on the small side too). It seems it is a very popular thing to do. Some spots seem very nice but all of them are very crowded and I’m not sure of the prices. You and Mark and Maya would have no problem fitting in but not sure about finding free places to park.
As for your journey… those falls are ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. Like others I’m looking forward to your post on them. ~Kathy
July 14, 2025 at 13:03
Hi Kathy,
Yeah, there is no way that we will ship this camper elsewhere to continue our travels. It is using far too much fuel. Hence the name of our truck is “Thirsty”. 🙂
For Europe, we need something smaller and more fuel efficient. But, even if we find a camper that is twice as fuel efficient, the same amount of money will go to gasoline as it’s twice as expensive as down here. We shall see.
As far as camping in Europe goes, we have apps that point us to free places. And we have a lot of friends throughout the continent. We won’t be able to afford this lifestyle anymore if we have to pay for camping regularly, especially in Europe!
July 12, 2025 at 13:24
I guess that you have to think of the rising costs like an annual cost of living increase that unionized workers negotiate! Great post, again.
July 14, 2025 at 13:13
I assume so, Annie, but the issue is that our wages don’t increase. I’ve been working for the same hourly (or per word) rate for fifteen years and Mark for two years in a row. We don’t get raises or bonuses, so when inflation hits everywhere, we really feel it.
Our plan of living and traveling in a cheaper continent only partly succeeded as most countries down here are pricier than we thought. And we drive a lot, too. For those reasons, living and traveling (slow) in the US used to be cheaper than here for us.
July 13, 2025 at 17:02
You’ve set an ambitious target for your budget, so it’s no wonder you sometimes have months that make you wince a bit. I’m always amazed by how you manage to do so much on such a frugal budget!
July 14, 2025 at 13:24
Hi Diane,
I’ve been discussing with Mark that we really ought to change our expectations and budgeting “goal”. Not that we actually have limits that we really try to stay under; we just live as cheaply as possible and that usually does the trick. But it’s painful to actually spend more down here, in third world countries, than we used to in the US.
Another issue is that, while prices keep going up, our wages don’t, because of the freelance kind of work we do. So it seems like a losing battle. And, if we have to start working more to make more money, then we might as well move to a western country and make western wages as it won’t leave us much time for exploring and sightseeing down here if we have to increase our working hours. Anyway, this topic has been a debate for many years.
The main reason we manage to do so much for relatively little money is that we usually focus on free activities and free camping and we rarely eat out. To be honest, most of our expenses are for “needs” not “wants”. Which is another topic of debate, as it doesn’t make us very happy.
To be honest, I don’t think people actually realize what living and traveling frugally (like in our case) means. Even the other travelers around us. I’ve met so many who say “they’re on a budget” (there’s even a very frugal Brit in the campground with me at the moment, who saw me walk and asked if I was going out to lunch… – I was walking to the store for essentials), but they go out to lunch, dinner, or drinks frequently, they drop their laundry off for heaps of money, they smoke and drink, they do what they want…
As opposed to Mark and me, who rarely eat out and cook all the time, drink at home to save money, do hand laundry whenever possible, and don’t smoke. If you add up those costs, that’s “saving” hundreds of dollars each month. Anyway, this same guy is out of money and needs to borrow some from his family to be able to buy necessary parts for his van…
July 13, 2025 at 20:57
Oh! I like the lime garnish on that caipirinha. I’d be very excited about a self-serve laundromat—especially if I’d been doing laundry by hand. $10 sounds very reasonable. The buffet in a gas station concept seems pretty odd – but I guess they are popular?
If you take off some of those odd items from your expense list – driver’s license, rabbi’s shots, bank card fee, your total comes closer to your average of $1300. I’m sure next month will be better. But the things you are spending extra money on in Brazil seem to be worth it.
July 14, 2025 at 13:35
Oh Duwan, I just love the laundromats. It is so nice to do laundry ourselves again, in machines with hot water!! And the machines are big as well. We can do all our stuff in two machines/cycles within two hours. It’s awesome! 🙂
The buffets at truck stops are a thing in Brazil, apparently. We tried to go to one in this country, but for some reason, they didn’t do it on Sundays. And, we’d waited until dark to eat there and then, realizing there was no reason to spend the night at a loud truck stop anymore, we drove in the pitch dark to another camping spot. You know… the usual.
I mentioned those “odd items” to Mark and his reply is true: “Every month there are odd or extra things, that’s life.” This tendency has been happening for many months in a row now, so it is time to shift our expectations and be okay with spending closer to $1,500 a month. Of course, this means we feel the pressure to work more. Or stop traveling to focus on work and earnings…
July 14, 2025 at 06:39
What an amazing trip to see the Iguazu/Iguaçu Falls, Liesbet. I’m glad you paid the extra to see the falls from the other side as well. It must have been a fantastic sight. I bet the roar of the water was loud. Those waterproofs must have come in very handy.
I laughed about your sheer joy at finding those launderettes. I wonder why other Southern American countries don’t have them?
July 14, 2025 at 13:51
Hi Hugh,
That is a valid question about the laundromats. It appears to me that they are an invention of developed countries for some reason. It’s not that people in the other countries have their own washing machines. There, the custom is to drop clothes off at laundry places, who overcharge and don’t even have hot water in the machines. In some cases, they line dry your laundry as well, so it might take more than 24 hours to get your clothes or sheets back. Ohhhh.. I’m so happy to be done with that. 🙂
When I asked people which side of the falls they preferred, many answered “They are both cool. They are very different.” So, when I got the opportunity to visit both sides, I was determined to pick a favorite and even talked about it with the Belgian couple that I joined.
While it isn’t easy to pick a fast favorite, we did all prefer the Brazilian side for two reasons: because it’s from there that you have the best views of most of the falls, which are located across the river in Argentina and because it’s where we had our very first impression and sight of the falls; that moment of awe.
July 14, 2025 at 19:10
Hi Liesbet. I haven’t had a reply from you in two weeks of your posts. I left you a long comment on part 1 of Paraguay. Can you check spam please. If you get this one. 🥰
July 14, 2025 at 19:20
Hi Debby,
I’m seeing all your comments and I’ve replied to all of them as well. They all show on my blog, but you must not receive the replies anymore??