Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and relatively adventurous life without breaking the bank. "The less money you spend, the less you need to make" is my motto. 🙂 Our first yearly expense report (2016) can be found here and the report of 2017 here. In 2018, Mark and I house and pet sat for seven months, lived and traveled in our camper van Zesty for four months, and visited our families back east for one month. What follows is the break-down of how we spent our money in 2018.
This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for the two of us. Under groceries we incorporate all the 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 Mark's vitamins and supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor's visits.
Health insurance and costs are related to my health care as a permanent resident in the US. Mark is still eligible for free health care in the state of Massachusetts as of today. If a non-emergency were to happen outside of that state, it will be expensive! For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast. I still paid a small quarterly fee in Belgium for health care (required to retain residency) in 2018, which I mention in this year report. This cost disappears in 2019, as I'm not a Belgian resident anymore. The utility cost refers to phone data plans with T-Mobile.
Our expenses in 2018 were a little bit lower than in 2017. We had hoped that Zesty's repair costs would go down, but some body work led to frustrations and many issues with our windshield on top of being pricey. This added a lot to the usual maintenance. We buy an average of $300 worth of groceries a month, which seems reasonable, but the dining out, gift, and alcohol categories could be much better! Health care also took a chunk out of our budget, but in 2019 these costs should disappear.
The entertainment section is limited, so, once again, Mark and I should let ourselves go a bit more and splurge on fun. The credit card amount might appear high, but it enabled us to use airline miles for all our plane trips last year. $15,689 as a yearly expense boils down to an average of $1307 a month. Not quite the $1200 I aimed for, but we can always try to do better in 2019!
January 21, 2019 at 19:08
$10 on laundry…? For the year…?
January 22, 2019 at 10:19
Yep. And that’s more than last year. 🙂 The secret? Save laundry for during house sit assignments, or swing by friends, strategically located about two weeks away from each other to do one or two loads there. In 2018, we went to a laundromat only once and managed to use their free WiFi as well. For 2019, in which we plan way more time in the van, the laundry cost will certainly go up!
January 22, 2019 at 02:57
This is quite amazing! Thank you for the post. You guys are def a benchmark for how to live well for little $$$. 🙂
January 22, 2019 at 10:20
Thanks, Zach. On the flip side is the fact that we rarely splurge and never vacation. 🙂 So, every year, we think we should find a better balance. Yet, as none of us has a “real” job right now, we might have to postpone the splurging for another year.
January 22, 2019 at 09:38
This post slipped through my WP Reader. Okay, did you wash your clothes in rivers or lakes? LOL! Good job, Liesbet! Yes, I do keep a budget, but not quite as frugal as you, but I could be considered a tight-wad! 🙂
January 22, 2019 at 10:22
We counted on house sits, family, and friends for our laundry needs, Jill. So, if we ever visit you, know we will hit you up for a load of laundry. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear more about your tightwad abilities. Hopefully, we can exchange tips one day!
January 22, 2019 at 16:41
If I kept track of my expenses like that, I’d probably faint away in horror. One area I’d like to do better in is buying fewer clothes. For a long time, I got really good at selling my belongings and not buying much, but now that I have to teach and present a lot more, my wardrobe is getting out of control again.
January 24, 2019 at 13:16
I remember those times you were selling stuff on Facebook, JH. You have a good excuse to buy nice clothes, though. And, you’re always so stylish as well. 🙂 I think if you were to keep track of your (yearly) expenses, you should not include the mortgage fee as that goes towards ownership of your house/apartment. I bet you the result would not be too horror-ish.
February 6, 2019 at 01:03
I tracked how much I spent on clothes on one site last year and nearly cried! But thanks for the kind words. I’m still selling lots of stuff on Facebook and Kijiji. 🙂
February 9, 2019 at 14:08
Good for you that you’re still selling things. And, some of those clothes you bought will probably get sold again at some point as well. While I truly enjoy getting rid of stuff, I’ve basically ran out of anything to sell. 🙂 Of course, my clothes are old and battered and some of them, truly, shouldn’t be worn in company anymore.
January 25, 2019 at 07:30
You did really good. My first year of tracking expenses will be complete at the end of this month. It is looking like it will be double your expenses for a year. It will be interesting to see how it all washes out.
Love the pics except for Zesty being towed – noore toes in 2019! More splurging on fun!
January 27, 2019 at 22:22
I’d be curious about your year report as well, Duwan. The reason it might be relatively high is probably because you splurged on fun more. 🙂 And, you’ve been driving long distances as well. If we spend more on the entertainment category, I don’t know whcih category we could take it from… Alcohol? Well, that’s part of the fun. 🙂
April 5, 2019 at 19:50
I always think that Heather and I doing well and managing our spending UNTIL we see your reports. We can learn a lot from you & Mark. Incredible. We also keep track of our expenses; but we have only four categories (transportation, food, rooms & randoms).
April 6, 2019 at 22:09
Hi Volkan! Your expenses seem straightforward and quite easy to keep track of with four categories. You guys are doing great as well. Especially your French Polynesia chapter was impressive! The biggest difference is that you have some housing and plane ticket costs and those seriously eat into any budget.