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 East Coast.
July was another unusual month. The first part, we both worked fulltime on camper projects in our friends Scott and Ellen’s yard, cooked most of our meals, listened to free live concerts on Thursdays, and “endured” Independence Day.
(As always, hover over or click on photos in galleries to read their captions.)
On July 4th, weeklong fireworks in the neighborhood reached their peak with the town’s display. Maya was in hell. All the other weeks (ten of them!), she really loved being at our friends’ place.
The second half of July, Mark and I lived apart in a reversed way than in June (he and Maya stayed in Oregon this time and I visited Belgium) and there were two super high expenses. I have to give up on my desire to stick to our $1,300 monthly average of previous years, what with living costs and fuel having risen hugely and preparations – for this camper and ourselves – regarding our upcoming multiple-year adventure in South America. And, we haven’t even gotten into the logistics of getting there yet! Luckily, our accommodation the last months has been free.
Our truck in front of Washington’s state capitol
The annual car insurance for our 2016 Ford F-350 pick-up truck was due and this took a fat chunk out of our bank account at almost $1,000. Once we leave the country towards the end of the year, we will get some of this reimbursed, just like when we drove to the Baja peninsula (Mexico) for a few months in January. In the state of Massachusetts, there are minimum insurance levels you need to have, even when not in the US, which basically comes down to liability insurance. We are researching ways to get around this useless fee.
Mark had to escape a terrible weeklong heatwave in the Portland area, since our camper does not have AC and our parking spot there was in the blazing sun. So, he drove to the property of other friends who are renovating a house along the coast of Oregon. The difference in temperature? Thirty degrees Fahrenheit (17 degrees Celsius)! While it was in the upper nineties in St. Helens, on the coast, a 2.5-hour drive west, the high was upper sixties.
That trip, going to look at another Lance 830 camper in Tacoma, Washington (which we passed on), our five-day “test drive” in Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, and a couple of rides to PDX (Portland airport) back and forth is where the high fuel cost comes from. Mark also bought an OBD reader for the truck to diagnose faults and car issues. We had this for Zesty as well, which came in handy.
The other high expense was for Mark’s new computer/tablet hybrid, a Surface Pro 7+. He had been on the lookout for this particular device (and returned a similar one already) for many months, patiently waiting for a deal. The $480 price includes a keyboard. A card with extra memory to improve the tablet’s performance was purchased the previous month.
I renewed my Belgian passport in my parents’ town – a story in itself – which, luckily, arrived before I left again, despite our national holiday (July 21st) being smack in the middle of my two-week stay. We bought another bag of dogfood for Maya and heartworm medicine for a year. Stocking up on drugs and essentials for her will add hundreds of dollars to our expenses the coming months.
The other categories for July were quite normal. Groceries were relatively low (because my parents took good care of me in Belgium), as well as alcohol (we barely drank booze). The $7 entertainment amount went to our cave visit in the National Monument. Mark bought a $2 lottery ticket since he coincidentally found himself at a local bar with our coastal friends the day the Mega Millions pot was at an all-time high. Not that it mattered. He mistakenly bought a ticket for a different lottery. His numbers wouldn’t have made a difference either way…
Mount St. Helens before the heatwaves hit…
(PS: We did have $1,040 of Lance camper expenses in July as well, but since we budgeted for that (so far), it becomes part of our purchase price. I plan to write a separate post about those projects and costs in the future.)
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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August 19, 2022 at 21:48
Quite a bit higher than your usual, but still amazing considering everything you’re planning and doing! Wouldn’t it have been grand if Mark’s lottery ticket had been a winner? 🙂
August 19, 2022 at 23:43
For some reason, every comment to my blog posts today (and earlier this week) are showing up as anonymous, so I have to guess who they are from… While it’s a fun game, I’m annoyed at the bug/issue as it might affect my readers and commenters. I’m curious if anything different is going on on your end?
If only Mark would have won something with that lottery ticket. But, it’s probably what we all want to happen to us. 🙂 We are facing more big expenses the coming months. Maybe it will all even out next year?
August 20, 2022 at 10:18
I wondered if something weird was going on – when I hit the Post Comment button, it said my comment had been posted but it didn’t appear even after I hit the refresh button. Today, here it is, but I’m Anonymous. (I’m actually Diane Henders, BTW.) 🙂
August 21, 2022 at 14:32
Hi Diane,
Thanks for providing me with some insight as to what’s happening on your (and probably other reader’s) end. Everyone is showing up as anonymous and as if it’s their first comment on my blog, which means it goers through moderation and doesn’t show up until I approve… Sigh.
August 19, 2022 at 22:07
As a fellow dog owner, your comment about “enduring” 4th of July was the one that jumped out at me. I like every other holiday, but I have learned to detest the 4th of July. It’s not because of a lack of patriotism but from all of the yahoos who shoot off illegal fireworks for about three weeks straight, scaring the hell out of of our poor dog. As you may remember, I blogged about this already
August 19, 2022 at 23:47
Hi Pete,
Yes, I do remember your blog post about this issue and – most likely – mentioned that our Maya was suffering through it as well. The first week of July is when we learned that Massachusetts is the only state in the US where individual possession of fireworks is prohibited. We were doing research into this, wondering why and how all those yahoos get away with shooting off illegal fireworks. No wonder we had two relatively quiet summers before! Who would have known?
On the same note, someone’s house in the neighborhood burned down during this period, because of stray fireworks!!! They had a sign out previously asking people to be considerate of them and their dogs, mentioning that not everyone likes fireworks. It’s so ironic and sad.
August 19, 2022 at 22:22
Hi, Liesbet – You continue to inspire me in so many ways! Your Monthly Expenses posts are always illuminating in so many areas (way beyond money matters).
August 19, 2022 at 23:50
Hi Donna,
I assume it’s you, since your comment popped up “anonymously” right after liking my post. WordPress is causing some issues.
I have come to see these expense reports as a quick way to summarize what happened to Mark, Maya, and me recently as I don’t find the time and energy to keep posting updates these months. So much has happened!
August 20, 2022 at 08:49
Hi Liesbet, I love that your monthly expense report is a little mini-recap of the month. You’ve had a month of utilitarian tasks, but some fun times too. That’s life in a nutshell. This is Suzanne, btw.
August 21, 2022 at 14:30
Hi Suzanne!
Thanks for signing with your name. I hope this WordPress issue gets figured out soon.
This summer is all about turning this camper into a usable and useful “vessel” and home for our upcoming adventures. And, I guess that’s what the focus is and will be for 2022. Not a bad thing as there should be good things in the future because of all the work now. And, being around friends is always a nice and precious thing!
August 20, 2022 at 16:50
I always enjoy hearing how you managed your month. $480 for a Surface Pro! With keyboard! That’s impressive. It’s my laptop of choice.
August 21, 2022 at 14:34
One of the reasons why we can stay “on budget” often, is because we are patient before buying gear and gadgets (as none of this is urgent), watch price fluctuations (Mark has a tool for that), wait for deals, and Mark is a fantastic shopper. Since you show up as anonymous (and might not even get the replies), I’m curious who it is that loves their Surface Pro…
August 20, 2022 at 18:26
Has Mark ever bought a lottery ticket before? Have you? I don’t think I have – but if I didn’t win it probably would have not been very memorable. I wish he’d won!
I might have been one of those anonymous comments on your previous post but I’m not sure if my comment even posted. It was the long one and probably the very last one.
I’m looking forward to reading about your camper expenses. I’ve thought about getting a truck camper but I imagine we’d want to make some of the same changes as you have.
I hope you are continuing to make good progress on the camper and that the weather has gotten better.
– Duwan
August 21, 2022 at 14:39
Hi Duwan,
Yes, your previous comment posted after I “moderated” it. Just like this one will. It is all very annoying and I’ll try to get in touch with WordPress as I have no clue what changed, but everyone is now anonymous and needs to be approved…
Mark and I bought a lottery ticket once before, also when we were visiting (different) friends in Oregon a few years ago. They had one of those air popcorn machines and we wrote all the numbers on small pieces of folded paper, put the bunch into the air popper and picked the numbers that jumped out as our lottery numbers. 🙂 We didn’t win anything back then either.
We are making great progress with the camper (we better after three months of pretty much fulltime work and attention by at least one of us), which meant we left Scott and Ellen’s and are spreading the other projects out depending on delivery of goods and our location.
Helping out our new Baja friends in Newport, Oregon, on their new property this weekend…
Enjoy your last weeks in Alaska!
August 20, 2022 at 20:56
That $2200.00+ budget got you some priceless items: time with your Belgian family, a renewed passport and magnificent scenery on the West coast. The avocado-shrimp salad looks delicious. Your expense reports also serve as a kind of diary, as you point out. Cheers to living on a budget, thriving even! 😀
August 21, 2022 at 14:42
I’m just guessing this is your comment, Marian? The reason it didn’t show up is because everyone is being regarded as new and anonymous by WordPress, so each (first) comment (and they all seem to be seen as first comments, even the replies) needs to be approves by me. I’ll reply to your email soon as well. I’m hoping – and expecting – our expenses will go down once we leave the country.
August 21, 2022 at 21:55
Yes, I’m Marian. And I do believe your expenses will go down in South America–maybe even plummet. All best! 😀
August 22, 2022 at 10:26
Thanks, Marian!
August 22, 2022 at 07:34
Hi. This is Pam of Roughwighting. Hopefully I won’t be “anonymous.” I feel your (and Maya’s) pain about the 4th of July. Pure hell for so many dogs. Every 4th we used to help our golden find a ‘safe spot’ on our bed (and he was never allowed on the bed usually). He burrowed deep in the sheets and still shook so hard so did the entire bed. I know some people give a sedative to their dogs on the 4th. Good friends lost their beloved pet on the 4th when she jumped their fence and ran away, never to be found again after a big boom.
I’m always impressed with how you tally and keep tabs on your expenses. You’ve inspired me and I do a much better job of watching and noting my expenses since I began reading your blog.
August 22, 2022 at 10:35
Hi Pam,
Such sad dog stories, especially about those good friends of yours. This could have been us. When we only had Maya for a few weeks, she ran away when we were camped near Ottawa over Canada Day. It was sheer luck that I managed to track and tackle her (she didn’t even have a tag yet at that point, just a microchip) and then somehow, pull her back to the van without a leash. Crazy! That’s how we discovered she hates fireworks.
So, two comments arrived and needed to be approved, which is why they didn’t show up immediately. I wish in those situations a message would pop up that it is awaiting moderation. Your first comment was anonymous (I deleted this one) and the second one (after you refilled the fields) is this one and has your name on it. So, it’s a workaround for the “anonymous” part but not the moderation requirement. My WordPress problem is different than that of Marian (and others). Sigh. Thanks for helping me out here. I will contact WordPress later today. Have a great week!
August 22, 2022 at 21:11
You had me at NO aircon. Oye! I couldn’t do it, lol. It’s me Deb, in case I come up anonymous. Don’t feel bad. Most blogs many of can’t even comment on at all this week. Hope this goes through. <3
August 23, 2022 at 10:33
Hi Debby! I knew it was you because of the “oye” comment! 🙂
I had no idea the WordPress blog world was upside down. Yes, you did show up as anonymous. And I had to approve the comment. So, then issues are still there. Let’s hope everyone’s commenting issues will get solved soon.
August 23, 2022 at 15:40
Here is my comment again. I hope with my smiling face this time. I had to log-out to be able to do the fill-ins.
That $2200.00+ budget got you some priceless items: time with your Belgian family, a renewed passport and magnificent scenery on the West coast. The avocado-shrimp salad looks delicious. Your expense reports also serve as a kind of diary, as you point out. Cheers to living on a budget, thriving even! ????
August 23, 2022 at 16:43
Thanks for the help, Marian. Yes, I had to moderate it. Hopefully, from now on you can just post comments again and they’ll show up under your name automatically. Which means everyone will have to go through this when leaving comments on Roaming About. But the error message is new. Now, the behavior is the same as when I tried to comment on your blog. Did you have to moderate those comments of Pam and me?
August 26, 2022 at 23:58
It was brilliant that you and Mark had a place to do the work on your camper. A luxury for those who live fulltime on the road. Animals do not enjoy fireworks even when they do look pretty in the sky to us humans.
August 27, 2022 at 10:24
Hi Suzanne!
Yes, we’ve been fortunate to have friends along our path to settle with for a bit and do all this work. We will friend hop a little longer and then “really” hit the road again. I’ve come to hate fireworks and especially ones that are shot off by individuals as there seems to be no end to it.
August 27, 2022 at 17:06
This is super interesting and proof that if you’re careful with your money you can do a lot!
August 30, 2022 at 18:40
Thanks for reading and commenting, Barbara. Being able to live frugally allows us the freedom to travel non-stop. 🙂
August 27, 2022 at 20:01
Poor Maya. Our dog, now passed many years, hated fireworks and thunderstorms. Sadly here thunderstorms are quite common in summer.
With all that you are doing and planning for, your expenses seem reasonable. What an amazing adventure ahead for you.
August 30, 2022 at 18:42
Hi Sue,
I guess – while super hot everywhere this summer – we have lucked out regarding thunder storms. Maya doesn’t like those either, but fireworks (and gun shots close by) make her more anxious. We are spending heaps right now during the preparation stages of our next big trip. And, the huge expenses – for logistics – haven’t even happened yet… I hope we can make up for it all in the coming years! 🙂