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.
In March, Mark, Maya, and I kept exploring Colombia in depth with our truck camper Thirsty Bella. We drove quite a bit, mainly covering the distance between the Medellin and Bogota areas. On top of filling our fuel tank a few times, we continuously paid for toll roads, which are expensive by local standards. In other countries, we avoid toll roads, but here this could mean we’d never reach our destination, turn a two-hour ride into an eight-hour one, or damage our rig.
(As always, hover over or click on photos in galleries to read their captions.)
The exchange rate between the US dollar and the Colombian peso is getting worse and prices are rising, like elsewhere in the world. Gasoline now costs almost $2.50 a gallon, which is 50 cents more than when we arrived five months ago. A long day on the road sets us back $20 in tolls, which is easily one or two meals out for both of us. Still, life is affordable here, which is one of the reasons why we love this country so much.
You might remember that we hit a nasty pothole on a highway a couple of months ago. It damaged our camper, which we fixed in Medellin the previous month. But, in Bogota, we discovered that, besides a serious dent in our truck bed created by the impact of the front edge of the camper hitting the metal, the top layer of the bed had come lose from the bed frame (and even warped part of it underneath). A welder managed to spot weld the top pieces back together.
When the truck (Thirsty) and camper (Bella) were separated to allow work on both, Mark took Thirsty to a carwash as well ($4) and bought a safety kit (fire extinguisher, safety triangle, vest …), which is required gear in several of the South American countries. I never got to take a photo of the sparkly truck as Mark and our friend Juan took it offroading in the mud soon after.
Our grocery amount was average (for here), but our dining out expense proved very high. We splurged in the cute towns of Jardin and Filandia, went out for a nice meal on Mark’s birthday, and treated our friends Juan and Lali to a couple of dinners as a thank you for their help and hospitality. On the flipside, a new acquaintance took us – and his paragliding friends – out for a meal and Lali prepared a traditional “Colombian chocolate” for us, which involved soaking cheese in the sweet liquid! This month, we are reigning in our eating (and drinking) out escapades.
The main reason we spent a week in the town of Cota, outside of Bogota, was to visit Juan and Lali from Overland Sally and to build a wooden frame to raise our camper. Recently, maybe because of the dent in the bed of our truck, the front edge of the camper and the roof of the truck cab collided frequently. Bang. Bang. Bang. Not ideal and the sound got annoying on bumpy roads, of which there are many.
Granted, the distance between both parts was a bit tight at half an inch (1cm), but thus far, it hadn’t been a problem; we tried to have an as small as possible footprint with this camper – height- and lengthwise. While small for American norms, we are still (too) big for Colombian towns and roads. Nevertheless, we needed more distance between the camper and the cab, so had to build a platform. Juan was the perfect partner for the job and we strongly recommend his services.
Instead of two thick sheets of plywood, we opted to create a structure with wooden planks and a thin sheet of plywood on top to save money and weight. It was still expensive and heavy, though, as we picked high-quality wood and even crappy plywood is pricey. Our rig sits 1 ¼” (3cm) higher now, which affects us when entering our home via the (raised) steps. But the frame shouldn’t break, the camper shouldn’t hit the cab anymore, and the new contraption doesn’t budge.
For my birthday in November, I requested an exciting activity. It wasn’t until last month that I found it: paragliding with Nube Extrema in Jerico for 230,000 pesos (US$50). This was a first for me and I was happy with the location, once the fog and clouds cleared. While the experience was peaceful and special (not scary at all), my motion sickness acted up, in the air and on the fast, bouncy, windy 40-minute drive back up the mountain, despite sitting in front. I also bought a leather purse for myself and a postponed gift, a screw organizer box, for Mark’s birthday.
The alcohol and drinking out numbers aren’t crazy and also include treating our Colombian friends. Nevertheless, we will try to do better with these categories in April. We are spending too much. Mark had a chipped tooth (and a cavity) taken care of in Cota as well. We had a productive week there.
While in North America we tried to stick to free activities, we are doing this South American trip only once, so are allowing ourselves paid entertainment. In March, we visited a bird sanctuary, natural hot springs and wax palm strands on private properties, and we took a funicular up a mountain (Cerro Monserrate) in Bogota. We had hoped to take a ride up and walk down, but dogs are not allowed on the path and stairs.
We bought another monthly Claro data plan for $22, which gives us 80GB of data (currently with a promotion of another 80GB, so 160GB in total, which we could never use up) and filled our 20-pound propane tank, which seems to last about two months and is used for heating and cooking. We managed to get potable water for free.
In mid-February, Maya lost a toe nail and we had a vet come check it out. Three weeks later, the claw wasn’t growing correctly around the flesh, so another vet visit was needed (with a small procedure and meds) and we had to start over, treating the wound and restricting long hikes. The end of March, we visited a third vet to get our girl another rabies shot for her upcoming entry into Ecuador, which requires this vaccination to be administered between 30 days and a year before arrival. The cost for this last vet consultation, the shot, and a pet passport was a mere $4!
We kept our stays in paid campgrounds and parking lots to a minimum – mostly because we have no use for the facilities – and spent $24 on accommodation for the entire month. We spent two nights in a parking lot of a restaurant (Meraki Salento) in return for ordering dinner and drinks. We filled our water tank here as well.
While in Cota, we took Uber and InDrive taxis into Bogota and we reimbursed Juan for some of his fuel carting Mark around. All this was still more convenient, faster, and less stressful than taking our truck into the capital, like we did in Medellin. Our F350 truck, just by itself, is still a beast on the narrow roads of this country. Maya and I also took one tuk tuk ride when her toe nail was still healing.
Laundry was affordable last month, since I could drop a few loads off in Jardin for the price of self-service in the US and the owners of the parking lot in Cota were super helpful in letting me use their machine for two washing cycles. I should have taken a photo of the lines I strung and clothes I hung among the dozens of parked cars on the gravel lot!
Because of the humidity and constant rain, our laundry didn’t dry in one day, so we turned the heater on and “hand dried” the wet pieces before bedtime
After laughing at tourists and locals alike – and motorcyclists – wearing “plastic bags” over their clothes and around their shoes when rain arrives, we gave in and bought a plastic poncho as well, mainly to protect our backpack during a walk in Valle del Cocora, where the chance of rain was 100%. I have to admit that it came in handy!
And that’s a wrap-up for our March expenses, which were much higher than we preferred (we have to do better) in a country like Colombia, but which are still under our average monthly amount of $1,300.
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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April 9, 2023 at 14:57
Wow, you did very well despite your extra “luxuries”. 🙂 I’m glad to hear you love the country and are enjoying your voyages now – you certainly had a rocky start!
April 9, 2023 at 21:34
I totally agree with you, Diane. It’s crazy to think that we almost gave up before our camper was loaded on the ship. While the money “lost” on Airbnbs still hurts now, the wait and delay of the trip has been worth it. 🙂 I’m so happy we are really exploring the world again instead of (what felt like) biding time in North America.
April 9, 2023 at 15:52
We continue to be in awe of how inexpensively you’re experiencing our beautiful country! And isn’t vet care insanely cheap here? Glad Maya’s doing better and you’ve gotten to have some fun experiences (even if the paid ones are driving up your monthly spend a bit). We didn’t know you went parasailing in Jerico – how cool!
April 9, 2023 at 21:38
The paragliding idea came about when we started reading about Jerico in iOverlander. You know how we never plan anything, right? Since I was still “owed” an experience for my birthday, this seemed to fit the bill.
We love the fact that we can pretty much do whatever we want in Colombia, because it’s relatively affordable. That will change once we reach Ecuador, I’m sure. So, now it’s a toss-up in April: do we try to get ahead of ourselves by living cheaply, saving money, and not splurging as much anymore or do we take advantage of the fact that we can still splurge a bit before we leave in a month? 🙂
April 9, 2023 at 18:24
What a month! You certainly had fun on a budget.
April 9, 2023 at 21:42
Anabel, I have to admit that spending a little bit more money on eating out and treats fits my style and affects my happiness. If only I could do this forever. But then we’d have to move to Colombia! 🙂
April 10, 2023 at 21:01
Wow, looks like you guys are having a blast. And yes, even though places like Colombia and Mexico are cheaper than other parts of the world, the prices have surely gone up on everything. But you guys are doing a stellar job. Hugs <3
April 18, 2023 at 15:50
Hi Debby,
We know Colombia will be the cheapest country in South America, so we have to do well here or it’ll never happen. On the other hand, this would be the place to splurge with dinner and drinks as well. A toss-up! Do we try to get ahead by living cheaper, or do we splurge now that we can, and spend more than we should. 🙂
Sometimes we’re having a blast, other times, we struggle. That’s life on the road, although here it’s been a tad more challenging than in North America.
April 18, 2023 at 17:32
If you’re asking me, I’d say take advantage of saving, but always, take advantage of a nice dinner out once in awhile <3
April 22, 2023 at 15:07
Great advice! 🙂
April 11, 2023 at 18:30
A bad month for you would be an amazing month for us! I know you need to not spend so much but it look like the extra money you spent was worth it. And making and having friends always make you spend more money.
I like your purse and that paragliding – what an experience!
Love the pics from the Tuk Tuk. Actually all the pics are great. It looks like it was mostly a fun month when it wasn’t raining, you weren’t suffering from migraines or motion sickness, or for Maya when she wasn’t having to visit the vet or when Mark wasn’t having to rebuild your rig.
April 18, 2023 at 16:01
Sorry for the late replies here, Duwan. For some reason, none of the comments show up in my inbox anymore, so I find them when I check the website itself. Plus, we’ve been moving every day again for an over a week, which means less time online and more being tired.
When I read the last part of your comment, it doesn’t look like we had much fun at all last month. But that’s just life on the road, right? We have good moments – the splurging in the towns, discovering new sites, and meeting friends – and the rest is just maintaining ourselves, our dog, and our vehicle!
You’re going through a lot of extra expenses right now. Hopefully, that will be done soon and you can have more average months again. We thought April would be a good month for us, because we’ve been very careful with the splurges. But, we needed to stock up on dog food for Ecuador (even more expensive there) and a Mark bought plane tickets…. It’s always something!
April 16, 2023 at 07:16
Well, it’s good to see that the rain poncho did not cost very much, although it looks like the cost of living is rising as it is in many parts of the world, Liesbet. I was shocked by the low cost of the vet bill. We’d have paid much more here in the UK. Glad that Maya is doing ok now.
Shame about the constant rain. Is it unusual or something that happens during this time of the year?
But the happy smiling faces tell me that you’re having a great time.
April 18, 2023 at 16:15
Hi Hugh,
That last vet bill was ridiculously low, including the rabies shot. But it makes us happy to know that the low cost will encourage local dog owners to vaccinate their pets. We assume these shots are subsidized by the government and hope this is the same for spaying and neutering.
I think the climate is changing everywhere, including Colombia. There are supposed to be rainy and dry seasons here – the locals refer to those as summers and winters, alternating every three months. That being said, we have been told that it’s been rainier than normal.
We’ve also discovered that it rains more in the mountain range of Medellin than the one of Bogota. (I’m sure these mountain ranges have proper names. :)) Those are our experiences. This means that it’s been drier for us again, the last few weeks.
April 19, 2023 at 16:01
Have you seen this? You are in it!
https://www.tripfiction.com/ten-great-stories-of-female-adventurers/
April 22, 2023 at 15:09
Awesome!!!! Thanks for letting me know, Anabel. I have been “bugging” Tony about being included in one of his lists, as my book has been on the TripFiction website for a while. But, I didn’t know I was part of this list. Love it! And, I just read another one on the list, “Love with a Chance of Drowning,” which was really good – great story and very well written.