Just a quick Question.....

[Chancebond]

How much money do you need per month as a van dweller?

 

[MikeRuth]

The obvious answer is what do you need to have each month? that's different for each and every person.
There are also several posts through out this site that talk just about that subject.
Try this for starters....
http://www.cheaprvliving.com/money/make-budget-money/
Or http://www.cheaprvliving.com/money-matters/

 

[Almost There]

How much money do you need per month as a van dweller?

This question is different than your poll question.

How much you need starting out (from the very beginning) will include the purchase of a vehicle, taxes, registration, tags, insurance purchase, initial mechanical issues almost always inherent in purchasing a used vehicle, and then acquisition of all the essential items for residing in said vehicle.

How much you need per month is entirely dependent on the lifestyle to which you wish to become accustomed. Some of us remain stationary year round and live a life of stealth, others may choose to travel either extensively or more moderately.

 

[LeeRevell]

Some van dwellers get by nicely on $500 a month. Others require more. At my level, for I need to do, I would need a minimum of $1,500 a month income. Retirement pension and SSI (5 years til the latter kicks in) would get me almost there, and odd jobs, work camping, and other methods would get me the rest.
Some folks need even more, as they enjoy a higher 'standard of living' than many of us. It all depends on what YOU want and need from life. But one thing is inescapable - you NEED some positive cash flow. TANSTAAFL......

 

[ccbreder]

As much as you can have. There is never too much.

 

[SinnTek]

Per month I would need anywhere from 600-700 a month to live comfortably in the van. To just make it by? My van payments and insurance. I can fish for food / hunt.

Anyways, starting out in the Van, I would recommend having at least 2000$ to 5000$ for repairs, setup costs, and to get your self moving.

 

[karl]

I'm comfortable with $1000 a month- the largest expense being gas @10 mpg.
Always want at least $4000. for surprises.
Have about $10,000. in my van with new engine, transmission, tires, conversion.

 

[Wabbit]

Poll question is diff than the post, but hopefully getting the gist of it, for myself... I am doing a "start out" budget of around 10k. That is to purchase van and get outfitted with basics. Mechanically, solar set-up, living requirements. This can and prob will go up a grand or two, but hopefully not. Then after that a monthly budget of around 1500$, trying to save as much of that as possible for emergencies, I am planning on living on between 800-1000 per month. When saving hits more than 3k or so, that's when I will save for new toys or gadgets. I LOVE gadgets lol.

 

[Seraphim]

As much as possible...

 

[flying kurbmaster]

a couple of million, but I could probably drive off with one million if it was summer.

 

[vanman2300]

Starting out money I'd say around 5000. After that about 600/month to get by and hopefully more than that to build up the savings. I'm a minimalist and some consider me an extreme minimalist so I'd pad my numbers a bit. I live by what I need and rarely want much more than that.

Someone mentioned curbing the need for money by fishing and hunting. I find that interesting because I plan to take that further and learn skills in self sufficiency in my spare time. I'm an outdoor type of person and like to learn as much as I can about many different things so it fits me well. Anyway, yet another way to reduce the need to make money.

 

[ccbreder]

I did live on fish for a few weeks while in Texas. We offered to clean fish for the party boat patrons. But remember, hunting is regulated and seasonal. As well as fishing.

 

[Matt71]

My prep costs are coming out to about $9000 between buying a van, fixing it up and buying the stuff we'll need.

Our monthly budget at the moment is sitting around $1870 for 2 people.
Not that we will be driving upwards of 20,000 miles and I'm currently using 2014 gas prices which are considerably higher than where we are at the moment. Not going to change that though as I suspect gas prices will go back up at any time. We also have a considerable amount budgeted for fun touristy stuff. Staying in one general area should const considerably less. I'm also not calculating in potential/inevitable repairs and I'm probably missing some stuff.

This is our expected budget
$490 - Food ($10 a day + eating out once or twice a week)

$450 - Gas (average)
$250 - Lodging (average)
$200 - Fun crap we really can’t afford (average)
$140 - Verizon (2 smart phones, unlimited minutes, 2GB data)
  $90 - Annual State & National Park passes (average)
  $70 - Car Insurance (full coverage)
  $40 - Health Insurance
  $40 - Credit Card
  $35 - Web hosting, domains, etc
  $25 - Online Entertainment (Netflix, Hulu, etc)
  $20 - Laundry
  $15 - Oil Changes & minor vehicle maintenance
    $5 - Costco Membership

 

[Chancebond]

Well thank you Matt... You answered my question perfectly, although I won't need so much in gas, no money for campgrounds, no Costco, no Verizon, phones, credit cards, online entertainment, laundry, passes, or web hosting, but I do thank you!

P.s., I also won't eat out, or spend nearly that amount of money per month on food!

 

[mockturtle]

About $5K in the bank for emergencies and $1K a month income would be plenty if your lifestyle is modest. 

Regarding hunting and fishing:  You could buy a lot of food [esp. beans and rice] for what your hunting and fishing licenses will cost, not to mention the cost of gear and ammo.  I would classify hunting and fishing as entertainment. 

 

[Seraphim]

No outside emergency communications in the boonies?

 

[Seraphim]

There's a satellite communications device I saw - relatively inexpensive and required a $99 subscription fee. Works practically anywhere, unless your heading into blizzard conditions at one of earth's poles. Learn a geographic coordinate system and always know where you are in relation. The data plan was restrictive on the above device, but only designed for emergency communications. You can text 'Help! My leg is shattered and I'm at coordinates...'.

I would personally consider it stupid to the extreme to be out of communications in a dispersed camping area.

 

[Seraphim]

I can't quickly locate the exact device I saw. It was NOT a phone - strictly data. Hence, it was cheaper. If I come across it, I'll post it.

 

[Matt71]

Was it an [font=Oswald, sans-serif]inReach SE[/font]


Looks like those are about $300 plus as little as $12 a month up to $100 a month, depending on how many texts you want and how often you want it to automatically track where you are.

 

[Almost There]

There's also the Spot units, work basically the same way.. push the emergency button, send in SAR.

http://www.amazon.ca/SPOT-Satellite-Messenger-Orange-Black/dp/B002PHRDO2


The only problem with all of these units is that they require a clear view of the sky, slot canyons and heavy overhead tree coverage limit their signal capacity.

We use them for interior camping/canoe trips.