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 October, Mark, Maya, and I covered long distances from Paraguay back to Chile in our home on wheels, Thirsty Bella.
(As always, click on or hover over photos in photo galleries to read their captions.)
When you’re on a tight budget, every unexpected expense disappoints. But when money gets wasted just because you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, it hurts. We had a few of those unfortunate occurrences last month.
Our October car expense — including the fuel cost — matched the amount of September and for the same reason: we drove a lot! As a matter of fact, we basically crossed the South American continent from east to west again, to end up at the Chilean coast 1,500 miles (2,300km) further.
Apart from gasoline ($625), we spent money on tolls, liability insurance for Argentina (one month) and Chile (six months), car soap, and a parts manual.
At $410, our grocery bill was higher than usual, but this is understandable. I mentioned in a previous post that one of the highlights of Paraguay (Hohenau in particular) is the availability of German goodies, like incredible bread, sweets, and cured meats. That’s where the extra food money went!
Some of our unexpected expenses became part of the miscellaneous category: a hefty fine in the Mendoza province ($175), hiring a mechanic ($90) to check out a van we were curious about (a failure), and a paid ad on an international vehicle website to try and sell Bella ($34).
Let me give you some background about the painful fine. In South America, EVERYBODY passes slow trucks — and us — over a solid yellow (or white) line. Everywhere and all the time. Even when it’s not safe. We’ve done it as well, but always in a safe manner.
On this particular occasion, the road was clear, straight, and slightly uphill. We’d already had a crappy day due to the usual challenges trying to get things done in a third-world country, and Mark passed a slow truck driver over the solid yellow line. At the top of the hill… you guessed it. A police car was waiting and an officer stopped us. We felt like they were targeting tourists, but remained friendly. We pleaded, yet couldn’t talk ourselves out of a fine. They did not try to get a bribe. This was all legitimate but unfortunate and hypocritical.
Pulled over once we started enjoying the scenery
The officer in charge wrote us a ticket with a fine to be paid online. We had two options: pay the discounted fee of $175 within the next three business days, or $320 afterward. The cop returned Mark’s driver’s license and after an hour, we went our way again. We were leaving the country the following morning and we did not intend to pay this fine. After a lot of research, we learned that this would likely never hurt us. Foreigners rarely pay fines.
Getting our first ever fine
And then we realized that whoever would next own Bella might visit Mendoza and drive back into Argentina. And then our conscience started acting up. We didn’t want anyone else potentially getting in trouble for our misfortune, disappointment, and stubbornness. So, we paid up before the rate increased. Sigh.
We decided to pay our steep fine.
We usually don’t stay in pay campgrounds, but we needed a break from driving and wanted to sit still for a while, so the $160 we paid for camping was planned. We mostly enjoyed our three weeks at the Manantial Campground in Paraguay and would have stayed longer if it wasn’t for the heat, bugs, and more pressing matters calling us back to Chile.
Home for three weeks at Camping Manantial – We did move twice a week!
The rest of the month, we camped for free.
Mark and I splurged on dinners out in October because we were in affordable and multi-cultural Paraguay and had the company of friends. For the first sushi round in Encarnación, Larry chipped in more than his fair share, our first pizza meal was a treat from Jon and Heather, and Larry took Mark out once as well. Since I had a migraine that evening, they brought me back a take-out plate.
We returned for Japanese and Italian cuisines on our own dime and I had a $3 Grido ice cream in Argentina. That had been a long while.
Most of our dinners were cooked at home, as always.
And our friends Abigail and Richie spoiled us on our one-night stopover at their property in Mendoza with a fantastic and extensive dinner!
Our alcohol budget hovered around $70 as usual, which isn’t bad considering we spent a couple of weeks with friends. But I was sick a bunch, so skipped out on the wine often.
We don’t usually spend money on household supplies, but we wanted a bread knife to cut all those fabulous German breads, bought bungee cords and a new frying pan, and really needed new camping chairs after being without for weeks. Our old $6 ones from Peru finally ripped enough that Mark fell through, and they became unusable.
A painful $40 went to dog paperwork. Painful for two reasons: these permits are superfluous, and the vet made an expensive mistake. Maya always has all her vaccinations and papers in order, but border crossings in Latin America require verification of our paperwork, first by an accredited veterinarian and again by the agriculture department. With new permits and costs involved.
A new health certificate is created first by the vet and then copied over by Senasa. In Mendoza, the vet left two fields blank. This led to us going to Senasa two days in a row to apply, returning to the vet (all on foot, 45 minutes apart), and needing the international permit quicker, resulting in higher fees. FYI: We have gone through this process about six times, just in Argentina.
We treated our friends to drinks at a beach bar and at the pizzeria-brewery, but most of the time we hung out for happy hours at the campground.
The utilities category comprises our monthly Starlink internet subscription ($30 — the other half is paid by our business) and only $3 for propane. We wished this number was higher since we aspired to top up our tank in Argentina before crossing the border into Chile, where propane fills are more challenging. Unfortunately, the company only managed to add 1 kg to our tank after an hour of trying, so we gave up and moved on. Filling up with water was easy and free.
We bought more caulk, masking tape, glue, and scrap wood for leveling boards for the camper, and champagne for Jon’s birthday. We dropped two loads of laundry off at someone’s home in Hohenau, and the friendly lady returned our clothes clean and a tad too fragrant. The price was right at only $9. We love Paraguay!
And the last expense went to a decongestant for me after suffering from sinus issues for ten days. This most recent illness took a long time to resolve.
It wasn’t a great month financially, as we almost crossed the $2,000 threshold. Since our future is up in the air right now and we have no plans, who knows what November and December will bring for the wallet…
(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: A whirlwind drive through Argentina!
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November 8, 2025 at 13:28
You guys have a lot more patience for the constantly changing legalese than I would have. I watch a couple of sailing channels and all of that checking in & out of each country . . . ugh! 🙂 That said, my daughter & SIL and our two youngest grands (2 & 4) are moving in May to Costa Rica! We flew down for a week to babysit while Mom & Dad looked at houses but I caught Covid on the plane and spent 3 of my days in paradise sick and in bed. 🙁 I finally was able to cowgirl up enough on day 4 to help with the dishes but Annie bore the lion’s share of that week’s responsibility. 🙁
But she also got to go to the beach with them and on a couple of day trips so it wasn’t a total loss. One of the grands has a birthday on 7/14 and the other has his on 8/28. If they’ll have us that long, we might plan to spend those six weeks down there every year! 🙂
November 9, 2025 at 09:59
Hi Jim!
I deciphered from the context (and photo) that it’s you. 🙂
Yeah, the checking in and out procedures overland are similar to the ones when we were sailing in the Caribbean and Pacific – with and without dogs. It’s part of moving around. To be honest, that’s one of the things I love about the US. It’s a massive, diverse, and beautiful country to travel around and explore new things “forever”, without all the red tape. We will be happy to return one day but not within the next three years!
I remember your posts about visiting Costa Rica with your daughter and her family and their imminent move. I’m so glad for them that they are moving there. And I do hope you’ll get to spend a couple of months with them every summer, which might not be the right season for that area, though. I don’t remember when the rainy season is. It might be around then. Costa Rica is beautiful and popular with expats. But pricey and touristy compared to other countries in Central America.
November 8, 2025 at 13:31
Sorry to hear about the fine, especially when other drivers habitually pass slower vehicles over the yellow line. Mark looks comfortable sitting in the new camping chair – I hope they last a long time. Any nibbles selling Bella yet?
November 9, 2025 at 10:01
Hi Annie,
Oh, I’m 100% sure those very cops pass slower vehicles over the yellow lines, in their cop cars and in plain clothes. That’s the irony and hypocrisy about it too.
The new camping chairs will go with the camper once it’s sold, so I’m not sure how long we will be able to enjoy them. Yes, we’ve had some nibbles and one big bite selling Bella. 🙂
November 8, 2025 at 17:36
Your photos all tell stories. A favorite is the one where you decide not to pay the fine: “Foreigners rarely pay fines,” you say.
That reminds me of my parking infraction on our trip to London. The parking officer observed, “By the time your case comes up in court, you will be gone.”
About your budget. I understand that you are concerned, but you stayed under $ 2000.00 last month! 😀
November 9, 2025 at 10:09
Hi Marian,
Funny story about your parking infraction in London. The officer was right! And, we wouldn’t have paid the fine if the camper would be ours for much longer down here. We just didn’t want others to get in trouble for our mistake.
Another example is the “pay by plate” toll roads in Brazil and Chile, where we have no way or means to pay for tolls roads as foreigners. There are also issues paying for things like products and fines and fees online with a foreign credit card. But more about that in the next blog post.
When our average is $1,300 a month, $2,000 hurts. That being said, I think we have to up our average as that amount is not feasible anymore.
November 9, 2025 at 11:59
Your expenses this month might feel like a shock to your system, but it’s still pretty impressive how frugal you are overall. And you certainly eat well! My mouth was watering at all the delicious-looking photos of the food you’ve prepared for your yourselves. 🙂
Have you considered bringing Thirsty Bella back to North America instead of trying to sell her there? You might get a better price and/or a larger pool of potential buyers… although who knows whether it would pay for the trouble and expense of doing the whole RORO thing again. (As much as I sympathize with your struggles, I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I’m glad it’s you and not me. I’m so NOT a happy traveller!)
November 21, 2025 at 19:02
Hi Diane,
Sorry for the late reply. I’ve been a bit distracted the last few weeks.
Yes, we have considered shipping our camper back to the US but not really. 🙂 After our nightmare experience of three years ago shipping Bella here, we said “never again” and since then we’ve had plans to sell her in South America. For a few reasons, like saving the $6,000 to ship her back, the stress it would cause again, the fact that we don’t want to go to the US long-term for at least three more years, and the reality that we won’t get more money there for our set-up are some of them.
All that being said, we do have buyers and will be homeless again in a couple of weeks. 🙂 and 🙁
November 22, 2025 at 14:38
Congratulations on the buyers, and YIKES to the homelessness! But I’m sure you have a plan – I’ll look forward to hearing about your coming adventures…
November 23, 2025 at 09:51
Thanks, Diane. But it isn’t done until it’s done. 🙂 And, actually, we don’t have a plan yet. It’s one of those transitioning times for us, in between vehicles and adventures. We do have an idea of what’s next, until the end of January. After that, who knows?
November 9, 2025 at 17:53
Sorry about the ticket but I would’ve paid it as well.
Every time we complain about a pet bill we remind ourselves – we wanted a pet. No pet, no bill, simple as that.
November 21, 2025 at 19:04
Hi Alex,
You are right about pet bills being there because we choose to have pets. In our case, we choose to travel with our pet and therefore we have to abide by all the international pet rules, fees, and requirements. Whether we like them or not. Whether they make sense or not. 🙂
November 10, 2025 at 09:35
Your report this month looks more like ours usually does, with many miscellaneous expenses.
So sorry about the ticket, but good thing you paid it. One ticket in how many years of traveling in Latin America? Not too bad.
We just spent $100 on two camping chairs! We are tired of cheap chairs that break, so hopefully these will last us for the next 10 years.
November 21, 2025 at 19:08
Hi Duwan,
Yeah, many random expenses last month. We are not a fan of them, but obviously they are part of life. And you’re right. This is actually the first ever traffic fine Mark has gotten in our 21 years together. So I guess that’s not bad. The issue was the amount of the fine, which was ridiculous, and the fact that everyone (including the cops in plain clothes) passes over yellow lines. In the US and Belgium a fine like this would be $50, not $400!
Good for you for getting good camping chairs. We will do the same in our next camper. Somehow. We want comfy chairs for once!
November 11, 2025 at 20:57
Busy times! I wouldn’t have paid the fine. When you sell Thirsty, there will be new plates put on it, no trace. .🥰
November 21, 2025 at 19:10
Hi Debby,
Actually, when our camper gets sold, there will not be new plates on it. We are in South America and the new owners can (and will) drive it around with a poder (power of attorney) document, until they have time and can be in a settled location for a bit, to register the vehicle in the US and get new plates sent to them. So, they will most likely use our plates for at least six months.
November 12, 2025 at 07:32
Sorry about the fine, but I’m glad to hear that you’re treating yourselves too. Those German breads, wines and sweets sound great.
It’s hard to imagine that you drove across South America in one month, so it’s no wonder a lot of negative stuff happened. But the most important thing is that you guys are safe and well (apart from that nasty sinus bug). I can’t help but wonder where you’ll be on Christmas Day and on the first day of 2026!
Maya looks so cute in some of those photos. She poses so well (unlike my two).
November 21, 2025 at 19:14
Hi Hugh,
Sorry for the late reply. When I first read your comment (they arrive in my inbox) ten days ago, I was going to reply to you that I was as curious as you about where we would spend Christmas and New Years. But by now, we have somewhat of a plan. And I don’t think you can guess where we will spend these two special days… 🙂
Your last shot on your blog of Toby was quite a success I think.
We actually drove across the continent in one week, which I wrote about in my most recent blog post. It was a bit crazy and fast, haha.
November 22, 2025 at 09:38
Well, now you got me scratching my head trying to work out where you guys will be on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve, Liesbet. I wonder – have you sold Thirty Bella, which means you could be spending Christmas in Belgium?
November 23, 2025 at 09:49
Hi Hugh,
Yes, we have buyers for Bella but as long as we don’t have the money in the bank and are actually homeless, I don’t want to jinx it. But, as of now – and this you might find sad – we should be on a plane to the US on Christmas Day and night. And New Year’s Day should be spent with family and/or friends in the US. 🙂