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 November, Mark, Maya, and I drove short distances to check out a couple of Vario vans in Central Chile and to run errands, but we mostly waited around in our home on wheels, Thirsty Bella, until her new owners showed up. And I made a “little side trip”!
Our expenses were all but usual, with some big hitters, namely my five-day birthday escape to Rapa Nui (Easter Island), buying two one-way flights from Santiago, Chile, to Boston, USA, and a pricey Airbnb for our last three weeks on the continent. I will share that final expense in the December 2025 report.
(As always, hover over or click on photos in galleries to read their captions.)
The flight was on time
Waiting to board my plane to Rapa Nui
Entering Rapa Nui – Isla de Pascua – Easter Island – Paaseiland
Therefore, the highest category in November was travel ($1,050), which accounted for those plane tickets to and from Rapa Nui ($566) for me and the one-way flights to the US for Mark and me ($484 – we used points for the other half of the cost).
Posing by a group of moai at the quarry site
A few weeks after booking our US plane tickets, the price dropped by $250, so we dealt with the headache, frustration, stress, and time sink of eventually receiving credit back and rebooking the same flights. Since these are airline points, they didn’t make this expense cheaper, but we now have extra credit for future flights. That’s how we stay busy!
The grocery category was average at $354. We started to finish off staples, knowing that we’d move out of Bella at the beginning of December. Meals were mostly planned around “getting rid” of stuff.
Local grocery store in the small town of Rapel
Vegetable store in Rapel
Look at those strawberries, for under $2!
Amazing lettuce heads in Rapel: three for one dollar!
Birthday breakfast from a French bakery in Santiago
Maya always gets to lick out the empty peanut butter containers. She loves them!
Finally, our car was not the priciest item of the month. Our drive to Pichilemu from the capital was the furthest we ventured and, of course, we had to return, run errands, and leave enough gasoline for the next owners.
We also spent $22 on Chilean tolls and $18 on a 24V Mercedes Vario OBD adapter that we never used. We have our own 12V scanner, but this didn’t fit into the console of the grey Vario, so we managed to order a 24V adapter for our scanner with the help of friendly locals to check the red Vario we planned to pursue but eventually never did. Unfortunately, it’s impossible for foreigners to order parts online on most websites due to not having a RUT (local identity number), a local credit card, and a local phone number.
Borrowing the address of a local – and the credit card of another one – to order this Mercedes part
A 24V adapter for our 12V OBD scanner
The $240 entertainment price tag was mostly mine, apart from a cable car ride for our trio in Parque Metropolitano in Santiago on my birthday ($7). I also bought a discounted eBook written by an author friend ($1).
Teleferico in Santiago
Taking the cable car up the tallest hill in the park
The skyline of Santiago with the Costanera building being the tallest one
The national park pass on Easter Island went up from $75 to $102 right before I arrived, and I booked three tours with the rest of the money in this category. While initially appalled at the high entrance fee required to access most of the island, I thought it was all worth it in the end. I will post a separate blog about this magical experience.
One of the many moai on the island
Side view of Tongariki site
Sunrise at Tongariki
Likewise, the close to $200 “we” paid for accommodation went to my four hostel nights in Hanga Roa, the capital of the island and its only town. It was expensive for what it was. I slept in a private room with a shared bathroom.
My hostel on Easter Island
My private room on Easter Island
Trying to save money on my “little side trip,” I only ate out once for about $15. The rest of our dining out category went to glorious French food on my actual birthday and a few other restaurant meals, like a local lunch and take-out Chinese.
Amazing appetizers of salmon carpaccio and octopus at the French restaurant
Main birthday dinner course: fettuccini with two kinds of salmon for me and duck for Mark
Chinese take-out in Bella
Lunch at a Chilean restaurant in Rapel
Ceviche in an open empanada in Hanga Roa
Almost all of our meals were prepared at home.
Sandwich lunch by the river
Stir fry noodles
A healthy salad with Buffalo cauliflower
Easy pizza at home with a store-bought crust
One of my favorite homecooked meals by Mark: mushroom burgers from scratch served on a bed of lettuce with aioli and white rice (sprinkled with seaweed)
Homemade spring roll meal – tasty, healthy, and a lot of work
I was early this year with my Christmas gifts! As always, I created personalized photo calendars for my closest family members and managed to get these to them a month early, because I had time and our best group shots of 2025 had been collected already. Plus, I had no idea what December would bring…
At $64, our monthly Starlink subscription went up again with the Argentinian peso. Half of this amount is paid by us and the other half by our freelancing business. Because we failed to top up our propane tank in Argentina before crossing into Chile and we wanted to leave a full bottle for the new owners, we made the effort to get it filled at a professional outfit in Santiago. It was the most expensive, but the most efficient propane fill on the entire continent! Potable water top-ups were free as usual.
Getting our propane tank filled in Santiago
The filling was quick and easy and we could even park on the grounds of the building.
Filling with potable water at a gas station
Since we had to empty our camper cabinets, including our alcohol stash, we only spent $40 on this category in November. No complaints here!
Our favorite rum in the world! We had to drink it all!
Happy hour by the river
Homemade pizza with a fantastic bottle of cheap red wine
I had forgotten to incorporate transportation to and from the airports in my Easter Island trip budget, so I had to skimp in other areas (like dining out). I used an InDrive taxi ($14) to reach the international airport of Santiago when I left and a shared van ($10) upon my return.
Waiting for an hour at the airport to take a shared van back home
On the island itself, I walked the 30 minutes from the airport to my hostel (I only brought a small backpack as a free personal item) and lucked out with a free ride back from the owner because he needed to pick up paying guests at the small airport building before I left.
I wanted to buy a few small souvenirs ($16) on Rapa Nui, because it is such a special place, and Mark needed more allergy medicine and a fresh asthma inhaler ($6) while in Santiago. These made up the miscellaneous category.
The drinking out category shows zero, because the only time we enjoyed a few cocktails at a restaurant was on my birthday and they were covered by my best friend Rosie. Thank you!
First drink: mojito
Second drink: pisco sour from Chile
Third drink: a glass of Carmenere wine
We boondocked (wild camped for free) the entire month and didn’t spend money on laundry, because I did a few loads by hand in the beginning of November and we saved the dirty clothes and linen from the second half of the month to wash at our Airbnb, which came with a machine.
Hand laundry by the river
Hanging our laundry to dry
And that almost concludes 2025. It was a very expensive month, but if you consider that $1,068 of our total of $2,487 went to my five-day vacation on Easter Island and another $484 was spent on plane tickets, November was actually quite cheap at just $935 of normal living expenses. We shall see what the future brings…
We camped here for a few nights after the Pichilemu fiasco.
One night at a loud truck stop near Santiago
A few nights of free camping near San Antonio on the Chilean coast
We returned to our river spot in Rapel for another week, before heading into the capital of Chile.
Our favorite urban camping spot in South America: Parque Metropolitano in Santiago
