The $1000 mark

[Spaceman Spiff]

In 2020 I lived on ~$675/month on the road.

But in 2021:
- my food bill increased 19%,
- gasoline went up 30+%,
Still barely under $1000.

In 2022:
- my food bill is higher,
- gas is holding so far.

 

[Calaverasgrande]

Right now that is pretty much exactly my budget. I'm staying at campgrounds that run $20 a night or so while I ride out the latest covid wave.
Normally I rely more on public places like coffee shops for wifi and restrooms. Then I would do my camping in urban and suburban areas for free. So my expenses were closer to $600 or so a month.
Couple of qualifiers to that. I grew up kinda poor, so I am very frugal. I spend less on food than most people and I don't smoke or drink. My vice is coffee!
Also I am still on a NYC free healthcare plan I signed up for during the early months of the pandemic when I caught Covid and was afraid I'd lose my life savings if I ended up in ICU with no coverage.

 

[SierraVanCampers]

My monthly budget is $500. Last month I did some elective travel and came in a bit over at $560.

I know a some folks who do it on less but they work at it harder than I do.



my approach is described here.

Just read your mouse.mousetrap.net Very well done. You have down what works for you. I understand about the domain and that sucks. It's not right what InterNIC did. Wish you the best.

 

[gringojhon]

Wow yes I have been wondering the same and while I was going to head to Mexico did not make if for many reasons family, health and now covid and loss of business under the 'unessential' covidian economic re-org. Thank you so much for your information re ME as is my dream to get there. I have a friend I met while snow birding back in 2015 from BC who actually purchased a place down by Cortez too, where he has a 5th wheel set up but he has not been back this past 2 yrs. I am still choking over that $2.00 doctor visit OMG !!! Cheers to you !! If ya ever want to visit Nueve Mexico suggest in summer as it is 8,200 elev. PM me ~

Now that is an interest and bucket list. I am considering heading to Ensenada for the summer and playing beach bum. San Diego weather. New Mexico sounds good.

 

[WanderingRose]

Lots of good suggestions here.

I am not full time, but about half time, but whether at home or on the road I try every month to spend less than what I have coming in.

When deposits hit the bank, whatever is left from the previous month gets transferred into savings.

Where it sits, until an emergency or other unexpected expense requires I draw from it.

If you can only save a little each month, do that.

The security of knowing there is a small stash to meet unexpected expenses is a biggie.

In our leanest times, my biggest frugal moves were cooking everything from scratch and with the amount of meat we consumed.

You can live and eat healthily without a lot of expensive animal protein in your diet.

One of my favorite cookbooks is “More With Less”, put out by the Mennonite community.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mor...th-Less Cookbook,so others could eat enough".

 

[bullfrog]

How does that song go "You don't know what you got till it's gone!" LOL!!!

 

[Calaverasgrande]

One of the things about hitting the $1000 a month or less mark is going to be what is your expected level of comfort?
I've lived an interesting life. Twice I ended up homeless and made do living in abandoned buildings or prevailing on my friends to couch surf.
So I kind of developed a higher tolerance for what some might consider adversity.
I use public bathrooms all the time. I know people who are revolted by the idea, or being attractive young women might not feel safe.
Likewise I learned how to cook at a young age, being raised by a single parent. Then when I was in college I was always broke and lived near Oakland Chinatown so I got good at cooking cheap.
I dont buy a lot of prepackaged food which some people are very accustomed to as a way of life. In fact I am shocked when I go grocery shopping and the person in front of me spend $200+ on a lot of microwave meals, frozen pizza etc. It's not just expensive, but also unhealthy!
My common shopping trip is $15 of veggies maybe $5-10 for stuff like rice, noodles and bread, and maybe another $5 for condiments, etc.
Currently investigating lowering my insurance and cellphone data plan costs. Also moving my stuff out of storage in an expensive area to a cheap area.
I should be able to save a few hundred a month after I get those 3 figured out.

 

[RonDean]

I'm not quite van life. I need a bit more security for dogs and me. I put a 30 foot 5th wheel in a small RV park in Puerto Penasco Mexico, 4 hours from Phoenix AZ. The idea was to have a home base to come back to while I travel after retirement. I have no interest in another $3000.00 mortgage so I'm paying $154.00 a month for rent. $25.00 for internet $30.00 for electric. $100.00 a year car insurance.

This is an expat town on the Sea of Cortez. Its small enough to get anywhere on a bicycle. Theres times i wont drive the car for a month or more.

Went to the doctor the other day and it cost $2.00 for the visit. I'm not really sure why more people don't do this. My expences are $500.00 a month or less.

You have me searching for Mexico RV Parks.

 

[rruff]

I am considering heading to Ensenada for the summer and playing beach bum. San Diego weather.

I just did some investigating, and Rocky Point isn't that terribly hot in summer (low 90s). Not like Loreto, La Paz, Cabo, etc. It's even a couple degrees cooler than San Felipe which straight across from it. The water temperature will be much nicer than Ensenada's! Can't beat the convenience of Rocky Point from the US.

 

[MortimerEbinesr]

I “did it” for a cost of only maybe 6-700 dollars a month. I parked my RV on my buddy’s hay field in rural Ohio, paid his father a hundred dollars a month to just use an extension cord for heat. My fuel costs were minimal and I ate canned food and sandwiches, and I had cheap insurance

Definitely my biggest advice would be: use propane for heat not electricity, and bounce around between friends with your rv to save on rent

Concerning electricity vs propane, I know prices vary from region to region, but in Tacoma Wa, 20 years ago my neighbor with identical class C motorhome paid 3 times the price in propane then I did in using a 1500 watt space heater.

 

[frater secessus]

Concerning electricity vs propane, I know prices vary from region to region, but in Tacoma Wa, 20 years ago my neighbor with identical class C motorhome paid 3 times the price in propane then I did in using a 1500 watt space heater.

I think that recommendation was about off-grid heating. If shore power is available then that is often the way to go.

 

[scaredycat72]

People spend what they have. There are many people who are living on $700 or less a month. I know there's a video on YouTube by cheaprvliving where Bob is interviewing a woman living in her car, I believe it's a car, on $850 a month. If someone doesn't drive a lot, parks in free places, cooks their own meals, and doesn't have a lot of bills like health insurance, credit cards, medications, or a car note, then their living expenses will be pretty low. At that point their main expenses are food, propane, car insurance, cell phone plan, laundry, and miscellaneous stuff. Plus if they get food assistance, which someone living on $850 a month should qualify to receive, their food costs might be completely eliminated.

My personal budget is more than $1,000 so I can't help with budgeting but I know a few people living on less than $1,000 a month in income-restricted apartments and they're making it just fine, even with paying a few hundred dollars in rent. If they can, someone in a vehicle can.

 

[gringojhon]

You have me searching for Mexico RV Parks.

Theres a bunch. Cost is usually $2200.00 a year. I live in a small compound and we have out own electric boxes so its cheap. RV parks usually include some electric, but theres a limit. I'm a short walk to the Sea of Cortez. In the summer, just like Phoenix, it brutally hot and humid. Other than that it paradise for 8 months.

 

[rruff]

At that point their main expenses are food, propane, car insurance, cell phone plan, laundry, and miscellaneous stuff.

Don't forget gas, maintenance and repairs, and vehicle depreciation! I think most people who park for free need to drive to and fro a decent amount.

 

[straydogtalking]

In 2020 I lived on ~$675/month on the road.

But in 2021:
- my food bill increased 19%,
- gasoline went up 30+%,
Still barely under $1000.

In 2022:
- my food bill is higher,
- gas is holding so far.

Inflation these last 18 months or so has really hurt people.

 

[straydogtalking]

One of the things about hitting the $1000 a month or less mark is going to be what is your expected level of comfort?
I've lived an interesting life. Twice I ended up homeless and made do living in abandoned buildings or prevailing on my friends to couch surf.
So I kind of developed a higher tolerance for what some might consider adversity.
I use public bathrooms all the time. I know people who are revolted by the idea, or being attractive young women might not feel safe.
Likewise I learned how to cook at a young age, being raised by a single parent. Then when I was in college I was always broke and lived near Oakland Chinatown so I got good at cooking cheap.
I dont buy a lot of prepackaged food which some people are very accustomed to as a way of life. In fact I am shocked when I go grocery shopping and the person in front of me spend $200+ on a lot of microwave meals, frozen pizza etc. It's not just expensive, but also unhealthy!
My common shopping trip is $15 of veggies maybe $5-10 for stuff like rice, noodles and bread, and maybe another $5 for condiments, etc.
Currently investigating lowering my insurance and cellphone data plan costs. Also moving my stuff out of storage in an expensive area to a cheap area.
I should be able to save a few hundred a month after I get those 3 figured out.

So you think you can get a budget down somewhere into the $750-800/month level with your projected changes? If I'm understanding you, that's pretty good.

 

[JDub]

Don't forget gas, maintenance and repairs, and vehicle depreciation! I think most people who park for free need to drive to and fro a decent amount.

Just bought a Wally World Maxx battery for my old Jeep today. $169 w tax and a core charge of $12. The service manager is a friend of mine and he told me that the prices in one day for a Maxx battery had risen from $119 to $132, then shortly after, the price rose to the current $149. I had the receipt for my old one and I had paid $109 at the time 4 years ago. Pretty eye watering...

Cheers.

 

[scaredycat72]

Don't forget gas, maintenance and repairs, and vehicle depreciation! I think most people who park for free need to drive to and fro a decent amount.

I was focused more on regular monthly expenses. Depreciation isn't money you have to pay. It only comes into play when the car is sold. Maintenance could be oil changes every 3 to 6 months, breaks and tires every few years. Repairs are usually not monthly unless someone has a very unreliable vehicle. In my 2006 Yaris, I might have had a repair every 2 years, if that. The car I have now is under warranty for the next 4 years. Gas cost can be very low as long as someone isn't traveling. If someone is staying in the city, they could easily stay within a 1-mile radius, having 3 to 5 places they usually park. If they're out West on BLM land, they can stay parked other than shopping and moving every 2 weeks if they don't get a long term parking pass.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

. . . Depreciation isn't money you have to pay. It only comes into play when the car is sold. Maintenance could be oil changes every 3 to 6 months, breaks and tires every few years. Repairs are usually not monthly unless someone has a very unreliable vehicle . . .

But it is a daily cost - it just doesn't fly out of your pocket every day; it hits you in one big lump sum, usually at an inconvenient time.
There are two way you can handle this:
- have a pile of cash saved (by saving money every month),
- borrow a pile of cash (and being forced to pay for it every month plus interest).

 

[gringojhon]

If anyone is interested I started a new thread Living in Mexico on less than $500 a month. Theres links to Instagram and Youtube. Id be interested in comments. Also I'm very curious to hear about why people live a van life. If there were other options would you take it? Were you forced into it by economics?