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 and possible.

Mark, dog Maya, and I concluded the month of July in Ecuador with our truck camper Thirsty Bella, before crossing the border into Peru.

(As always, click on or hover over photos in galleries to read their captions.)

Last night in Vilcabamba – further away from town to “escape” the fireworks

Happy hour at home, after all the drinking out!

Boondocked by a dam and violent river on our last night in Ecuador

We splurged in July, mainly on eating and drinking out in places like Baños , Cuenca, and Vilcabamba, where quality establishments are  plentiful. Yet, our total expenditure for July was well below US$1,000, our new goal.

An extensive lunch at the excellent Korean restaurant “Maya’s Kitchen” in Vilcabamba

A set lunch – main dish and juice – for $2.50 at Mr. Café in Cuenca

Awesome dumplings in Cuenca

We found the best Chinese restaurant – making their own noodles – in Cuenca

Hot chocolate and coffee in Cuenca

Splurging with a sweet crepe in Baños

Awesome empanadas in Baños

Local dish at the market in Baños

Amazing pizza dinner in Baños

Tasty, hot soup in Quilotoa

Set lunch (almuerzo) in Quilotoa – $5 per person for this main dish, the soup pictured, and a juice

Ice cream treat in Cuenca

Decent Mexican burrito, except for the tiny bones in the chicken

Ecuador’s local beer – Mark didn’t like it at all

Important to note is that Mark and I have been receiving more paid work than before and if that’s reflected anywhere, it’s in those two categories. We spent A LOT in European bakeries in July; good bread (and pastries) is important to this Belgian! Of course, we’ve been busier as well, needing more internet data and having to chase cell service. As a result, we’ve been making more than we are spending, so are not dipping into savings anymore. What a concept! 😊

The French bakery in Vilcabamba – pastries

The French bakery in Vilcabamba – breads

Vilcabamba has two European bakeries – pastries for Sunday breakfast!

While it has been fun to meet up with friends for drinks and dinner out, after one such night in Vilcabamba, on which we spent US$50, we had to reign ourselves in. That’s a lot of money. Especially for us. Especially in South America!

Happy hour with new friends in Mr. Café, Cuenca

At this restaurant, you can choose your empanada fillings.

Going out for dinner with our friends Eric, Brittany, and Caspian

The empanada cook

Drinks out at Vilca Garden in Vilcabamba

More drinks at another brewery in Vilca

The grocery cost was quite high, mainly because in early July I did a “failed” border run to Colombia and went shopping in our favorite store, D1, where I stocked up on olive oil, Parmesan cheese, soy sauce, and snacks. These items are expensive or elusive in Ecuador. While the snacks have long disappeared, the bottles of olive oil and “real” soy sauce will last a while.

While in Ecuador, we always shopped for groceries in an Aki (or Gran Aki or Super Aki), because prices were usually pretty good there.

Produce in Ecuador was very affordable – all these potatoes cost 99 cents.

Incredible produce market in Baños

Fabulous homemade meal – Mark is a good cook!

My favorite meal cooked by Mark; mushroom burgers on a bed of lettuce with rice and aioli

The car was the second-highest category, with around $180 for fuel (we covered 2/3 of the country with that amount and topped up before the border; you’ll find out next month why), some tolls, and our SOAT (liability insurance) for Peru, which only cost $16 for six months.

Meeting the smart, idealistic, and generous Tayrone of the Cuenca Store

A wonderful gift from Cuenca Shop owner Tayrone

Filling our propane tank north of Cuenca

I mentioned the dining and drinking out; our fun expenses. The next one was for utilities. We average paying $30 per month for internet in South America (Mark keeps bringing up Starlink, since cell service has been hard to come by at times) and we filled our propane tank near Cuenca. Running out of gas one chilly morning surprised us, while heating water for a shower. We managed to keep turning the water heater back on each time it turned off and reached lukewarm temperatures. Our reasoning for this unpleasant discovery: spending a lot of time above 12,000ft (3,700m), running our gas heater at night. We are more careful now.

Quilotoa Lagoon

The fee station before entering Quilotoa town

Liesbet getting ready to dive off the bridge in Baños

Geared-up for the “bridge dive”

Viewpoint over a canyon, for $1 a person

The two of us spent about $40 on activities. While national parks in Ecuador are free, pretty much all other entertainment costs money. For this amount, I dove off a bridge in Baños ($20), we paid the town’s entrance fee to Quilotoa Lagoon, the three of us visited some waterfalls, Casa del Arbol (all near Baños as well), and a museum in Cuenca, and we immersed ourselves in the Inca ruins of Ingapirca (see next blog).

Machay Waterfall

El Pailon del Diablo Waterfall

La Casa del Arbol

Ingapirca Ruins

A great museum in Cuenca

Ruins at the Pumapungo Museum in Cuenca

The remaining categories were low – we bought ourselves two small paintings of a local artist in Tigua, barely purchased alcohol in stores, had a few loads of laundry done, obtained a $10 health certificate for Maya as a requirement by Peru, and I got my biannual $5 haircut.

Painting of Cotopaxi Volcano

Painting of Laguna de Quilotoa

Visiting a vet in Loja to obtain Maya’s health certificate

Maya’s $10 health certificate for Peru

A massive way to save money for us is to wild camp/boondock. We don’t want facilities as we are self-contained for up to two weeks (at which point we need potable water), so make due with free parking available in towns and on public lands. In July 2023, we only spent $2 for overnight parking in Rio Verde. The other nights – 30 of them – we “camped” gratis.

Free camping spot near Chimborazo Volcano

Camped among other overlanders in Baños

Paid overnight parking ($2) in Rio Verde

Free overnight parking at the ruins of Ingapirca

Camped by a park in Cuenca for almost one week

Camped along a river between Ingapirca and Cuenca

Camped with friends at a park north of Loja

Wonderful free camping spot along the river in Vilcabamba, where we stayed about a week as well

A negative about not paying for established campgrounds is that we haven’t slept well, because of fireworks, traffic noise, and other sounds, either at night or early morning. Not that paid camping would solve all these issues… And, some views from our preferred campsites in nature are hard to beat!

Boondocked by Cotopaxi Volcano

Now that we are in Peru, life has become much more pricey and we have to convert our money again – no more US dollars, like in Ecuador!

July 2023 Overview:

Groceries:

Car (fuel: $178; SOAT Peru: $16; tolls: $6; maint.: $5):

Dining out:

Drinking out:

Utilities (internet: $30; propane: $13):

Entertainment (bridge dive, lagoon, waterfalls, ruins):

Gifts (paintings):

Alcohol:

Laundry:

Dog (health certificate Peru):

Health & Fitness (haircut L.):

Camping:

TOTAL:

$282

$207

$177

$81

$43

$41

$24

$14

$13

$10

$5

$2

———

$ 899

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.

My goal was to write and publish this expense report a week ago. But a large, multiple-day translation assignment arrived in my inbox, which was followed by a few days of driving and sightseeing, as our time in Ecuador is quickly coming to an end. And just like that, it’s Friday again!

Home for another 3+ weeks!

Sunset view from Graham’s property

Maya hid in the bathroom when there were fireworks in Ibarra – mostly during the weekends

In June, the first ten days were spent exploring Northern Ecuador a bit more with our truck camper Thirsty Bella. Mark flew to the US for 2.5 weeks and then joined Maya and me in Ibarra to conclude the month at our friend Graham’s place. This time around, Thirsty Bella was parked for over three weeks on Graham’s driveway. Add our five-day initial visit to his family in May, and for one out of our three months in Ecuador, we lived in Ibarra!

Mark was dropped off at Quito airport for his short journey to the US.

Quito airport

Our biggest expense last month was the car. We filled our F350 pickup truck up with gasoline a couple of times in Ecuador and Mark did the same for his mom’s car in Massachusetts. There were toll roads here but most of the parking money went to a Dana Farber parking garage in Boston, when Mark dealt with health check-ups.

Toll rates in Ecuador

One of the frequent toll booths along the PanAmerican Highway in Ecuador

Another chunk of money went to maintenance of our truck, which is not that high all things considered, because we did all the work ourselves. Once Mark returned to Ecuador, we used Graham’s driveway to replace the 25-pound (11.5kg) front wheel bearing hub on the passenger side (which my husband brought back from the US in his carry-on luggage!) and check the brakes, including disassembling them and lubricating the parts. We planned to replace the rear brakes, but it wasn’t necessary yet.

Mark managed to bring back a brand-new wheel bearing hub in his carry-on backpack.

We had to take the camper off to do truck maintenance.

Cleaning up the brake pads

Uninstalling the old wheel bearing hub took a couple of hours.

Installing the new wheel bearing hub

Dealing with brake maintenance

Believe it or not, but $55 of those $113 that went to car stuff was spent on a frivolity item that Mark had his eyes on for many months… He bought a “moo horn” for our Thirsty Bella.

Mark installed this button of our “moo horn” on the dash, so we can both reach it.

Now, with the push of a button, she sounds like a cow as well, delivering even more smiles in the villages we pass through.

Our groceries for June cost less than $200, due to me not buying much for just one person and Mark’s mom covering the food bill in the US. Our dining out category was relatively high – we splurged on a few meals in Mindo, Ecuador, and enjoyed taking our friends out for some food as a thank you.

Eating out in Mindo

Eating a late local dinner out with Graham on the way to the airport

My splurge at Finca Sommerwind on a long lake walk in Ibarra with Maya.

This $1 lunch on my bus ride back from the Colombian border consisted of rice, a boiled potato, and a chicken thigh.

Our annual Chase credit card fee was payable last month, so that was a one-time expense, as well as the high amount for transportation. This $95 covered Mark’s two-hour transfers to and from Quito airport, his train trips to and from Boston airport, a couple of taxi rides to Ecuador’s capital from the spot where we left our camper, a bus ride for me to Yahuarcotcha Lake and one to the border with Colombia in a failed attempt to return on my Belgian passport, and two cab rides to Ipiales for me to go shopping at my favorite Colombian grocery store, the D1.

Waiting for this bus to take me back to Graham’s Place after an exhausting, hot walk around Laguna Yahuarcocha

My daytrip to the Colombian border was pretty much a waste.

The alcohol expense was average, I think; when we hang out with friends, we tend to drink more than when it’s just the two of us. Mark bought SD cards for two new security cameras, two pairs of shorts, wiring for the camper, and bandages for Maya while he was in the US. He also went out for drinks with friends one night. Internet was cheap, because we could use Graham and Amalia’s WiFi network for free when camped on their property, as well as the washing machine.

Other useful items Mark brought back from the US – most of them free through our Amazon Vine perk

The only camping we paid for was at Hostal Colibri near Quito airport, which we checked out as a potential place for me to stay while Mark was gone. It happened to be too noisy (from airplanes landing overhead), expensive, and tight to consider. All our other nights of camping were free.

This hostel/campground is located ten minutes from the airport by car.

Too close for comfort!

When you’re living in a camper here, the planes overhead are loud. Most people only store their vehicles here when flying to the Galapagos or abroad.

Free camping in Mindo town

Free camping by a “tubing” river in Mindo

Free camping in the Pululahua Crater

Most of our entertainment – hiking, sightseeing, reading – is free, but in June, we paid money for a waterfall hike in Mindo (see my next blog post) and I bought an eBook to support a fellow author.

Map of the park

Hiking in the jungle of Mindo

The first waterfall along our trail

The last waterfall along the trail – only Mark and Maya checked this one out

We didn’t swim; only let our feet cool off

Free hiking trail in the Pululahua Crater

Hiking in the Pululahua Crater

Based on Mark’s international trip and shopping sprees and my stationary time in Ecuador, last month’s total expenses of $1,043 are relatively low.

Stopped by a Chinese restaurant for lunch on one of my excursions with Graham and family

Graham dropped off a slice of take-out pizza a couple of times!

The reasons? The hospitality and generosity of friends and family (Thank you!!), the costs for plane tickets and car parts going to previous months, and the fact that Mark and I are both Amazon Vine members. This status allows us to order useful items for free, to a US address, in return for honest reviews of those products. Of course, we can only use this benefit in accordance with a stateside journey. Time to write some more reviews now! 🙂

New pepper and salt grinders

New (wireless) mouse

New laces for my old hiking shoes

June 2023 Overview:

Car (fuel: $199; maint.: $113; parking: $24; tolls:$7):

Groceries:

Dining out:

Bank fees (annual Chase credit card fee):

Transportation (taxis, buses, transfers, trains):

Alcohol:

Clothing (shorts M):

Utilities (internet):

Drinking out:

Computer hardware (SD cards):

Camping:

Entertainment (Mindo hike, eBook):

Camper (wiring):

Dog (new bandages):

Laundry:

TOTAL:

$343

$194

$111

$95

$95

$66

$53

$17

$14

$12

$12

$11

$9

$6

$5

———

$ 1,043