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, we both return to the East Coast.
Mark, Maya, and I spent the entire month of February in Baja California Sur, Mexico. It was a fabulous time for the mind, body, and wallet, once Mark returned from his 10-day visit to Massachusetts to spend quality time with his dad.
As a matter of fact, February 2022 was a month for the books – we generally had a really good time, exploring the peninsula, discovering peaceful beaches, spending time with friends, and eating delectable fish tacos. I hope to elaborate on some of our fun Baja experiences in upcoming blogs, whenever resources allow.
Our biggest February expense was the car again, mostly because our annual Newburyport residency tax was due. Since we sat still for a chunk of the month, the fuel amount wasn’t too bad. In Baja, Mexico, a liter of gasoline costs around 22 pesos at the moment. This is roughly $4.20 per gallon. Usually, this is more expensive than in the US. While prices for fuel have gone crazy there, in Mexico they have gone up less than 1 peso per liter (20 cents per gallon) since March 2021. Food for thought…
We didn’t spend a lot on groceries for a few reasons: prices for produce are cheaper than in the US, we don’t care about imported or brand products, and we have eaten out multiple times, which is reflected in the higher than usual dining out category. Once a week, Mark and I order fish or shrimp tacos from a street vendor or at a restaurant. These cost around $2 a piece, of which we each consume three or four. And, there might have been an extra meal or two on top of that.
Utilities include propane (which, luckily, is cheaper here than in the US), water (which we buy at agua purificado shops that have a hose to fill our tank – average cost is 13 cents per gallon or about $5 for a full tank), discharging our black tank (when we’re careful, it takes three or four weeks to completely fill Temp’s toilet tank; this has never happened – in Zesty we could only go one week), and internet. We keep our US data plan going, even though we are not using it right now. At $35/month for unlimited data, we don’t quite want to give that up, because this particular AT&T plan doesn’t exist anymore.
Ordering purified water in La Ribera
In Mexico, we use a local SIM-card and buy internet plans. Our friends Duwan and Greg (from Make Like An Apeman) had extra data the end of February, so they were super generous to let us use as much as we wanted. Most of the time, however, we are not in areas with cell (data) service. Because we make phone calls through Google Voice (over the internet), we don’t need phone plans.
We started celebrating Mark’s birthday a day early, on February 28th. I’d bought him a 7-year-old bottle of our favorite rum, Flor de Caña, and we did a tasting – adding the 4- and 5-year-old versions we already had – on our “private” beach in a remote area of the peninsula. Tip for anyone else who likes Flor de Caña rum, which originates in Nicaragua: the 4-year-old one is pretty much the cheapest rum here on Baja, at 160 pesos ($8) for a 75cl bottle!
Sea of Cortez
I joined Duwan and Greg on a day trip to the Sol de Mayo waterfall and a couple of other sites. Dogs were not allowed, so Mark stayed home with Maya. At seven dollars, the entrance fee to the falls seemed steep, but it was worth it. One could spend an entire day there, swimming, photographing, and walking upstream to smaller pools and cascades. Plus, I snuck a shower in the refreshing water!
We managed to camp for free the entire month, finding some amazing places off the beaten track. As always, we couldn’t have done it without our trusted iOverlander app and tips from friends. Special thanks to Jon and Gail and Sandie and Karsten.
Our total expenses were well under average last month and we hope that’s an indication of how we can live and travel south of the border. Once we arrive in South America, we hope $800 (instead of $1,300) can become our new average…
Find all our expense reports here. To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.
Duwan and Greg also covered their month of February in two blog post: here (part 1) and here (part 2).
Sunset on the sandspit in La Paz
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March 18, 2022 at 19:30
Way to keep the expenses down! It obviously helps when you are staying more in one place. I just paid $5.97 for regular unleaded gas today. Suddenly I’m driving my hybrid 90% of the time and avoiding my truck unless it’s necessary. Hmm, that rum sounds good.
March 22, 2022 at 14:18
Ouch! At least you can pick which car to use! 🙂
March 18, 2022 at 19:47
Excellent, Liesbet! So, tell me (I don’t drink rum unless it’s in a mai tai) is there a big difference between age times? Did you do a blind taste test?
March 22, 2022 at 14:20
We did a blind taste test before between the four and five year ones in the past and there is pretty much no difference. I prefer the older one and Mark the younger one. The seven-year-old one stands much above all others and is very smooth and tasty – makes the other ones taste like pure alcohol. I prefer my rum in cocktails as well. 🙂
March 18, 2022 at 20:54
I feel like I just has a review of my February. So impressed with how little you guys spent- especially with so many fish tacos. There was a lot of eating out. So much more than we usually do.
I love that pic of the 4 of us at Cabo Pulmo. I just looked at the pics you put on the thumb drive today. If I had seen that pic sooner I would have put it in my post!
March 22, 2022 at 14:21
Our Februaries are very similar, Duwan. I’ll be curious to know your expenses for that month. The fuel must have been more expensive, probably. Although, our truck might consume as much as your car and van together! We are eating out less often now. 🙂
March 18, 2022 at 22:12
You continue to impress and inspire!
March 22, 2022 at 14:21
Thank you so much, Donna. And you keep me smiling!
March 19, 2022 at 07:58
I’m impressed how diligent you are keeping track of all your expenses because it must be a lot of work. We’ve never felt the need to do it but I understand tracking expenses helps to keep them down. On to SA – can’t wait to see where you’ll be going!
March 22, 2022 at 14:25
Keeping track of our expenses doesn’t take that much time. About once a week, Mark gets online to deal with the credit card expenses (to check them and note what they were for) and – at the moment – I write the cash expenses down in a notebook, because we are paying in pesos and less with cards these days – and once a week we put the amounts in the computer and check our cash to make sure everything is correct. When you don’t spend a lot of money, it’s less work to keep track. 🙂
March 19, 2022 at 09:42
I’ll bet many of the responders here spend more than $ 723 on just one week. Way to go! 😀
March 22, 2022 at 14:26
If so, they are not telling me! 🙂
March 19, 2022 at 09:46
I love your adventures, Liesbet! Swimming in the falls–that is beyond cool.
March 22, 2022 at 14:27
That was, indeed, a fun, exhilarating, and refreshing experience, Jacqui. The surprise was that the water in the falls wasn’t as chilly as I expected. 🙂
March 19, 2022 at 18:14
Wow, that’s amazing! It must feel good to have your budget back where you want it to be. After being alarmed by your last post, I’m now back to imagining how lovely it would be to swim under a waterfall and fill up on inexpensive and delicious fish tacos! 🙂
March 22, 2022 at 14:27
This entire lifestyle is full of ups and downs, Diane. Mostly positive and enjoyable experiences or we wouldn’t be doing it anymore. 🙂
March 19, 2022 at 21:01
Great job keeping your expenses low while enjoying life.
March 22, 2022 at 14:28
Thanks, Natalie. Right now we are doing just fine with our expenses. 🙂
March 20, 2022 at 08:34
Looks like you did his birthday right!
Interesting about the gas prices there. Won’t comment on why I think ours is so high.
March 22, 2022 at 14:28
The world is going crazy now, Alex. But Mexico feels normal. 🙂
March 21, 2022 at 23:43
South America.
When ??
March 22, 2022 at 14:18
Hopefully this fall.
March 22, 2022 at 10:58
Apologies for being so behind in my blog reading. One reason is because our e-mail totally crashed and it took 3 weeks and an IT specialist (and $$$) to get it back up. I wonder if you use MS Office. My guess is no, since they now use a subscriber service. 🙁 Okay, that’s my whine and my reason for being late in birthday greetings to Mark. I think last year we commented on us both being Pisces people. You two celebrate in style. And your expenses are inspirational, and the photos delightful.
March 22, 2022 at 14:31
Sorry to read about your email issues. I think Mark – or both of us – have Microsoft Office. Not sure, though. I have to check. Thanks for reading and commenting, Pam. Have a nice rest of the spring! Xx
March 25, 2022 at 08:11
Great to hear that the war in Ukraine hasn’t affected fuel prices in Mexico. In the UK, fuel proies have jumped by 30%. It’s becoming very expensive to drive, and next month, we face a 51% rise in the cost of gas and electricity. I wonder if the Mexicans have their own supply of oil and gas, Liesbet? I hope you don’t suddenly see a huge price hike for petrol and diesel.
March 26, 2022 at 15:43
I hope so too, Hugh, that the price spike for fuel doesn’t happen in Mexico. I’m not sure if they have their own supply, but the government has some say in the retail prices. Soon, we will have to drive back in the US, so I am worried about the continuing high prices for fuel. Opposite to other years, we will actually fill our car and camper with gasoline and propane before crossing the border…
March 27, 2022 at 07:46
That sounds like a good idea, Liesbet. The cost of living seems to be on the rise everywhere, and seems to be rising at a much faster pace than usual.
March 29, 2022 at 19:07
You are right about costs rising everywhere right now, Hugh. For us to be able to afford living on the road, we have to head to cheaper countries, like in South America. 🙂
March 26, 2022 at 01:10
You are doing great my friend, despite the rising costs of everything everywhere. I shall dub you the ‘traveling economist’. <3
March 26, 2022 at 15:43
The “traveling economist’! I love it, Deb! Maybe I should rename this blog. 🙂
March 27, 2022 at 10:54
You have my blessing to use the term. <3
March 29, 2022 at 19:14
🙂
April 4, 2022 at 15:47
What a fascinating read! I love that you share these monthly so that people can see how things change month to month, and discover that a nomadic lifestyle is possible. <3
April 9, 2022 at 17:40
Hello Jaya!!
Welcome to Roaming About and thank you for reading and leaving a comment. This is a timely one, as I just posted our expense report for March, which differs a little bit from February. I’m glad you find the numbers fascinating. And, yes, a nomadic life is possible on the cheap. But, don’t tell anyone! 🙂