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A Life Less Ordinary

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Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – July 2023 (Ecuador)

Expenses - image

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.)

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.

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! 😊

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!

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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

(It might be easier to read the table when turning your device in the horizontal position.)

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.

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – June 2023 (Ecuador)

Expenses - image

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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! 🙂

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

(It might be easier to read the table when turning your device in the horizontal position.)

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.

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – May 2023 (Colombia & Ecuador)

Expenses - image

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.

Early last month, Mark, Maya, and I completed 175 days of exploring Colombia and on May 4th, we crossed into Ecuador with our truck camper Thirsty Bella. Did you know that the national currency in this country is the US dollar? It will make our tracking – and spending – that much easier. 🙂

The border crossing between Colombia and Ecuador was surprisingly mellow.

May 2023 was our cheapest month in years. We rarely dip under $1,000, but this time we surpassed ourselves. The reasons: because April was an expensive, above-average month, Mark and I tried hard to “save” money by not eating out and camping for free, and we had somewhat stocked up on dry food in cheaper Colombia. On top of that, we were surrounded by generous friends – old and new.

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

Yes, Ecuador has higher prices for pretty much everything except tolls, gasoline, and produce and you often have to pay for street parking, hiking, and natural sites. National parks seem to be free.

The main roads, especially the PanAmerican Highway, are in better shape, motorcycles are less frequent, and tourism is more established than in Colombia.

Our highest category last month was groceries at under $200, followed by car expenses. We didn’t drive that much and only ventured around northern Ecuador the first five weeks, because Mark decided to leave from Quito for his annual medical and family visit to Massachusetts, USA.

View over Quito from Andy’s place, where we stored our camper for two nights ($8) while visiting the capital with friends

Before we crossed the border with Ecuador, we had an oil change done in Pasto. When you buy the oil at a garage, they perform the change for free. Unfortunately, the mechanic overfilled the reservoir, so Mark had to carefully drain some of it back out (and save it) the following day. There were some tolls too.

The last two nights of May, the three of us stayed at a funky Airbnb in Quito. This allowed us to explore the capital city on foot – our accommodation was located in the historical district – and to have quality time with our friends Katherine and Brandon, who are traversing Central and South America on their decked-out BMW motorcycles. We had an amazing time!

As usual, we boondocked (camp without facilities) 100% of the time and managed to mostly do so for free. Ecuador offers more public spaces than Colombia, but we did have to pay a small fee for overnight parking a few times.

The reason we spent some money on camping is because I wanted to check out a few safe options for Maya and me to stay during Mark’s 2.5-week absence. In the end, I decided to return to the property of friends Graham and Amalia in Ibarra, where I’m currently typing this. Mark left on June 11th.

Despite trying our best to not eat out (cooking and doing dishes every single day does get old, though), we kept sightseeing without worrying too much about the cost. In Colombia, we paid $9 for the cable car (teleférico) from Santuario de Las Lajas back up to the parking lot.

In Ecuador, we soaked in four (!) hot springs (termales) for $42 in total, paid $5 for road access into Cayambe-Coca National Park, and visited the solar clock and museum ($5) on the equator. The following photos are just a sampling, blog posts about all these attractions will follow later this month.

We have been hanging out with friends in May so needed to make sure we had wine, beer, and rum. Also, before crossing into Ecuador, we topped up our propane tank as this is cheaper and more convenient in Colombia. The rest of the utilities category went to internet. Claro is the biggest cell and data provider here as well, but the plans are pricier than north of the border. Somehow, we still manage to spend around $30 a month, which is alright. The price is roughly $1 per 1GB of data.

The indigenous town of Otavalo reputedly has the biggest handicraft market in South America on Saturdays. Our trio visited on Sunday – we are not fans of crowded places – and Mark bought two pretty sweaters, one synthetic and one made of alpaca wool, for $32. At an artisanal market in Quito we finally bought an alpaca blanket for our bed after using a crappy fleece one from Walmart for six years. It was a tough bargain at $23.

Our drinking and dining out expenses were ridiculously low. We thought there would be a spike during our time with friends in Quito, but they were super generous to treat us to a fancy dinner the first night, and on the second night we cooked and ate in the house we rented. If there would be a bakery category, however, you’d be surprised at how costly it gets.

And that’s a wrap for May 2023, totaling $652. I doubt we will ever be able to match that amount, but we might as well try. Once in a while…

May 2023 Overview:

Groceries:

Car (fuel:$101; maintenance: $62; tolls:$5):

Accommodation (Airbnb Quito: $66; camping: $15):

Entertainment (cable car, hot springs, road, equator):

Alcohol:

Utilities (internet: $34; propane: $5):

Clothing:

Household:

Drinking out:

Dining out:

 

TOTAL:

 

$179

$168

$81

$61

$49

$39

$32

$25

$12

$6

———

$ 652

(It might be easier to read the table when turning your device in the horizontal position.)

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.

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – April 2023 (Colombia)

Expenses - image

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.

In April, Mark, Maya, and I kept exploring Colombia in depth with our truck camper Thirsty Bella. We drove quite a bit again, mostly south, because our visas would expire on May 8th.

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

Three items were responsible for our above-average total: Mark’s upcoming flights to the US ($324), two bags of dogfood for Maya ($170), and a new part for our Ford engine ($160). If you don’t count this $650 of “extras,” we did pretty well, because we were extra careful with “splurges,” like eating and drinking out. We are on a tight budget after all.

The car category is the highest one last month, but not because of the fuel this time. For a while, we’ve been hearing a “funny” woowoo noise coming from the front, when the truck turns left. Mark suspected it was a bearing issue. When in Bogota, we visited a mechanic recommended to us by Juan from Overland Sally to diagnose the problem. Indeed, the bearing on the passenger side is bad and the hub needs replacing.

The mechanic located the correct contraption for an F350 in Colombia, but the price was over US$500. Mark did research on the spot and discovered he could buy one in the US for 1/3 of the price, so the guys just replaced the brake pads (which we had brought with us) and put everything back together.

That same day, leaving Bogota, our tire got sliced by a group of banditos on motorcycles. One of them stuck a purposefully created metal tube with a sharp edge into the front tire on the passenger side. It deflated in seconds! We were obliged to pull over immediately, which caused more damage as the rim shredded parts of the tire. It’s a long story, which I wrote about on my Roaming About Facebook page  a couple of weeks ago.

The bottom line is that this was a scam to urge us to their tire shop for a new tire or overpriced patches. One of the guys even appeared with an air compressor and plug to temporarily hold air in our tire to reach this particular tire shop. Instead, we remained at the gas station we’d parked and used a tire shop there, after making a big scene that involved police officers, the head of the police department of Soacha (the town we were victimized in), and two undercover intelligence guys. They kept the tube, copied the footage we had on our dash cam, and inquired about video surveillance at the station. In addition, and at my request, they bargained the price down for the repair of the six (!) punctures in our newish, expensive, all-terrain tire that is not available here…

There is a fuel story as well. When we bought gasoline in Colombia, we always put the amount on our credit card. Just like at grocery stores, the attendants asked “Cuantas cuotas?” This basically means, “In how many installments do you want to pay this amount off?” We always reply “una” (one). Who knows how our American credit card company would deal with anything else? Well, we think one of the attendants typed in “6 cuotas” instead of “1.” This charge has not come through yet, so we will find out firsthand what will happen with that. There were a few more tolls as well, for good and bad roads.

Because we are always looking for the best deals and time is our friend, Mark spent about two months, every day, looking for affordable plane tickets from Ecuador (Quito) to the US (Boston). It was a frustrating and painstaking exercise with massive fluctuations, but eventually he snagged a decent price for his trip in the middle of June. The flights are awful, yet for this price, we can’t complain. The $324 is for one leg; we collected enough points for the return, which was the real deal at $125!

The other amount in the transportation category went to taxis (Uber and InDrive) getting to, from, and around Bogota, where we didn’t want to drive ourselves. Until going to the mechanic threw everything off – and destroyed our tire.

The grocery category was normal for Colombia at just above $200 but Maya set us back a bit. We stocked up on two bags of her “fancy” dogfood, because, even at more than twice the price than in the US, the cost was lower than in Ecuador and Peru. We haven’t checked further south. She also went to her fourth vet in two months for a health certificate to cross into the next country ($6) and we ordered more heartworm medicine in the US. Now that Mark plans a quick visit there, we are ordering a bunch of stuff for him to bring back.

As mentioned last month – and because of the extra costs we faced in April – we refrained from eating and drinking out too much. We succeeded, but still had a few fun and tasty outings.

The entertainment category was high and the Salt Cathedral was mostly to blame for that. We hemmed and hawed about visiting and initially only I would go and then show Mark the photos. But because so many people recommended this special site and we’d only be here once, we “gave in” and spent the $20 per person and $2 extra for Maya to be able to join us in a cart! Was it worth the money? I enjoyed the sights, but let’s just say that we would have stuck to the original plan on hindsight. To put things in perspective: $20 buys us six lunches/simple dinners out or two weeks of produce in Colombia.

A highlight in April was our time at San Agustin’s archaeological park ($15/person); also not cheap, but no regrets there. Maya was allowed to join us on the trails and we spent three hours walking around and marveling at the statues and tombs.

The other two attractions we visited last month were the Gold Museum in Bogota ($1/person) and a swimming pool in the Tatacoa Desert ($2/person).

Mark and I spent another $36 on two campgrounds (one night to meet up with our US friends Katherine and Brandon who are driving through Mexico, Central, and South America on their decked-out BMW motorcycles and a second night in San Agustin to fill with potable water, but the liquid was brown, so we passed on that chore) and several pay parking lots.

All the other times, we slept for free in public spaces. Economical, but not always the quietest or most comfortable.

Our alcohol amount ($43) was exactly the same as in March and Mark managed to order a new SmartPhone for $28; another thing he’ll bring back from Massachusetts in June. Laundry was manageable – the owner of a parking lot in Cota, where we spent almost a week, let us use her washing machine for free and the loads I had done in San Agustin were affordable.

Last month was the cheapest ever regarding internet. We bought a 15GB Claro data plan for $7 and it came with another 15GB for free. That was plenty for our remaining two weeks in Colombia. In Ecuador, data costs more than twice. The rest of our pesos went to my contraceptive meds (yes, I found the same kind), a hot beverage each, and a new dish towel. In case you wondered…

Filling up with water at a fuel station in San Agustin, after a failed attempt at the campground

We managed to fill up with water for free all month and, to conclude, a few photos of the nicest, quietest, yet hottest spots we boondocked in April.

April 2023 Overview:

Car (repairs: $209; fuel:$167; tolls:$15):

Transportation (flights: $324; taxis: $17):

Groceries:

Dog (food: $170; meds: $35: vet: $6):

Dining out:

Entertainment (cathedral, statues, pool, museum):

Alcohol:

Camping:

Computer hardware (new Smartphone):

Laundry:

Utilities (internet):

Health & fitness (pill L):

Drinking out:

Household:

 

TOTAL:

 

$391

$341

$218

$211

$82

$81

$43

$36

$28

$8

$7

$4

$2

$1

———

$ 1,453

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.

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – March 2023 (Colombia)

Expenses - image

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.

In March, Mark, Maya, and I kept exploring Colombia in depth with our truck camper Thirsty Bella. We drove quite a bit, mainly covering the distance between the Medellin and Bogota areas. On top of filling our fuel tank a few times, we continuously paid for toll roads, which are expensive by local standards. In other countries, we avoid toll roads, but here this could mean we’d never reach our destination, turn a two-hour ride into an eight-hour one, or damage our rig.

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

The exchange rate between the US dollar and the Colombian peso is getting worse and prices are rising, like elsewhere in the world. Gasoline now costs almost $2.50 a gallon, which is 50 cents more than when we arrived five months ago. A long day on the road sets us back $20 in tolls, which is easily one or two meals out for both of us. Still, life is affordable here, which is one of the reasons why we love this country so much.

You might remember that we hit a nasty pothole on a highway a couple of months ago. It damaged our camper, which we fixed in Medellin the previous month. But, in Bogota, we discovered that, besides a serious dent in our truck bed created by the impact of the front edge of the camper hitting the metal, the top layer of the bed had come lose from the bed frame (and even warped part of it underneath). A welder managed to spot weld the top pieces back together.

When the truck (Thirsty) and camper (Bella) were separated to allow work on both, Mark took Thirsty to a carwash as well ($4) and bought a safety kit (fire extinguisher, safety triangle, vest …), which is required gear in several of the South American countries. I never got to take a photo of the sparkly truck as Mark and our friend Juan took it offroading in the mud soon after.

Our grocery amount was average (for here), but our dining out expense proved very high. We splurged in the cute towns of Jardin and Filandia, went out for a nice meal on Mark’s birthday, and treated our friends Juan and Lali to a couple of dinners as a thank you for their help and hospitality. On the flipside, a new acquaintance took us – and his paragliding friends – out for a meal and Lali prepared a traditional “Colombian chocolate” for us, which involved soaking cheese in the sweet liquid! This month, we are reigning in our eating (and drinking) out escapades.

The main reason we spent a week in the town of Cota, outside of Bogota, was to visit Juan and Lali from Overland Sally and to build a wooden frame to raise our camper. Recently, maybe because of the dent in the bed of our truck, the front edge of the camper and the roof of the truck cab collided frequently. Bang. Bang. Bang. Not ideal and the sound got annoying on bumpy roads, of which there are many.

Granted, the distance between both parts was a bit tight at half an inch (1cm), but thus far, it hadn’t been a problem; we tried to have an as small as possible footprint with this camper – height- and lengthwise. While small for American norms, we are still (too) big for Colombian towns and roads. Nevertheless, we needed more distance between the camper and the cab, so had to build a platform. Juan was the perfect partner for the job and we strongly recommend his services.

Instead of two thick sheets of plywood, we opted to create a structure with wooden planks and a thin sheet of plywood on top to save money and weight. It was still expensive and heavy, though, as we picked high-quality wood and even crappy plywood is pricey. Our rig sits 1 ¼” (3cm) higher now, which affects us when entering our home via the (raised) steps. But the frame shouldn’t break, the camper shouldn’t hit the cab anymore, and the new contraption doesn’t budge.

For my birthday in November, I requested an exciting activity. It wasn’t until last month that I found it: paragliding with Nube Extrema in Jerico for 230,000 pesos (US$50). This was a first for me and I was happy with the location, once the fog and clouds cleared. While the experience was peaceful and special (not scary at all), my motion sickness acted up, in the air and on the fast, bouncy, windy 40-minute drive back up the mountain, despite sitting in front. I also bought a leather purse for myself and a postponed gift, a screw organizer box, for Mark’s birthday.

The alcohol and drinking out numbers aren’t crazy and also include treating our Colombian friends. Nevertheless, we will try to do better with these categories in April. We are spending too much. Mark had a chipped tooth (and a cavity) taken care of in Cota as well. We had a productive week there.

While in North America we tried to stick to free activities, we are doing this South American trip only once, so are allowing ourselves paid entertainment. In March, we visited a bird sanctuary, natural hot springs and wax palm strands on private properties, and we took a funicular up a mountain (Cerro Monserrate) in Bogota. We had hoped to take a ride up and walk down, but dogs are not allowed on the path and stairs.

We bought another monthly Claro data plan for $22, which gives us 80GB of data (currently with a promotion of another 80GB, so 160GB in total, which we could never use up) and filled our 20-pound propane tank, which seems to last about two months and is used for heating and cooking. We managed to get potable water for free.

In mid-February, Maya lost a toe nail and we had a vet come check it out. Three weeks later, the claw wasn’t growing correctly around the flesh, so another vet visit was needed (with a small procedure and meds) and we had to start over, treating the wound and restricting long hikes. The end of March, we visited a third vet to get our girl another rabies shot for her upcoming entry into Ecuador, which requires this vaccination to be administered between 30 days and a year before arrival. The cost for this last vet consultation, the shot, and a pet passport was a mere $4!

We kept our stays in paid campgrounds and parking lots to a minimum – mostly because we have no use for the facilities – and spent $24 on accommodation for the entire month. We spent two nights in a parking lot of a restaurant (Meraki Salento) in return for ordering dinner and drinks. We filled our water tank here as well.

While in Cota, we took Uber and InDrive taxis into Bogota and we reimbursed Juan for some of his fuel carting Mark around. All this was still more convenient, faster, and less stressful than taking our truck into the capital, like we did in Medellin. Our F350 truck, just by itself, is still a beast on the narrow roads of this country. Maya and I also took one tuk tuk ride when her toe nail was still healing.

Laundry was affordable last month, since I could drop a few loads off in Jardin for the price of self-service in the US and the owners of the parking lot in Cota were super helpful in letting me use their machine for two washing cycles. I should have taken a photo of the lines I strung and clothes I hung among the dozens of parked cars on the gravel lot!

Because of the humidity and constant rain, our laundry didn’t dry in one day, so we turned the heater on and “hand dried” the wet pieces before bedtime 

After laughing at tourists and locals alike – and motorcyclists – wearing “plastic bags” over their clothes and around their shoes when rain arrives, we gave in and bought a plastic poncho as well, mainly to protect our backpack during a walk in Valle del Cocora, where the chance of rain was 100%. I have to admit that it came in handy!

And that’s a wrap-up for our March expenses, which were much higher than we preferred (we have to do better) in a country like Colombia, but which are still under our average monthly amount of $1,300.

March 2023 Overview:

Car (fuel: $149; tolls: $41; ins.: $45; repairs: $40):

Groceries:

Dining out:

Camper (wood: $103; parts: $19):

Gifts (birthdays):

Alcohol:

Drinking out:

Medical (dentist M):

Entertainment (hot springs, birds, hiking, cable car):

Utilities (internet: $22; propane:$8):

Dog (vets:$26; supplies: $2);

Camping:

Transportation (taxis):

Laundry:

Health & fitness (flaxseeds):

Clothing (rain poncho):

 

TOTAL:

 

$275

$235

$208

$122

$67

$45

$40

$33

$32

$30

$28

$24

$21

$9

$3

$1

———

$ 1,173

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.

If you are enjoying these posts, please consider donating to Roaming About in support of our website and our lifestyle. A big thank you to all our readers who have helped out in the past!

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – February 2023 (Colombia)

Expenses - image

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.

I think a lot of people skip my expense reports, because they are not interested in the financial details of our nomadic lifestyle. But these posts offer a glimpse behind the scenes and show the practicalities of a life on the road; the photos providing a sense of the action. Plus, because I’m so behind with my regular travel posts, these reports are the most up to date about what’s recently going on with the three of us.

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

In February, Mark, Maya, and I continued our Colombian overland explorations in Thirsty Bella, our truck camper disguised as a cow. It was a good month for us. We finally reached our goal of spending less than US$800. Of course, it helped that there were only 28 days. It’s safe to say that this is probably a one off!

The grocery and dining out categories have to be seen in conjunction with each other. When we don’t cook, we order food. Because life is much more affordable in Colombia than in western countries, we splurge a bit more on eating out. Usually for dinner; once in a while for lunch. Yet, we still try to keep things under control and did pretty well with the alcohol budget.

A chunk of money went to fuel, which is also quite cheap here, at US$2/gallon (don’t ask us why the prices are per gallon when everything else is part of the metric system). I guess we covered some miles in February. A negative about doing all this mountain driving is that Thirsty only gets about 8.5 miles to the gallon. Compare that with our (still poor) average of 10.5 miles in the US and it gives you an indication about the road conditions in Colombia. They aren’t pretty! And, they are the reason for our new rule of “four eyes on the road at all times!” Yes, after hours, this gets exhausting.

Some paved roads have toll booths. But don’t assume that these routes are a breeze! If anything, one has to pay even more attention than on the slow gravel and dirt roads, as sunken road surfaces, potholes, and cracked pavement creep up fast to the unsuspecting eye. And, you get the privilege of paying for those surprises. While $3 for a stretch of semi-decent road might not seem like a lot, for Colombian living standards it is, and after a few a day the amount adds up.

Parking, on the other hand, is cheap at an average of less than a dollar an hour, for a guarded lot in town. After three or four hours, it makes more sense to pay the daily rate. We took just our truck into Medellin once to run errands and go on a guided walking tour. The lots were overflowing, but we pulled into one anyway, being on a deadline. That’s when we discovered you leave the key with the attendants and they will move cars around as they see fit, or as people need to depart. Since the back of our cab had heaps of gear in it (part of the back seat acts as storage), we were a tad worried about handing over our key, but these are professionally-run parking lots, so we needn’t have stressed.

Let’s talk about Maya. The good news is that we can find her exact (high-quality) dogfood in Colombia. The bad news is that it costs twice as much as in the US. This is probably the only thing so far that has been more expensive here than in the States. We’ll take it…

When we were in Medellin, our girl lost a toe nail. We don’t know how exactly it happened, but this is a painful injury, as the “quick” underneath became exposed. It’s like an open wound. From the moment we arrived home, we disinfected it and kept it wrapped up. Worried about an infection, we involved a vet and received some remedies. But the main healer is time. So, no more decent walks for a while! After three weeks now, we can finally see progress, but her toe is long not recovered. As you can see in the report underneath, vets are not expensive here.

Mark and I are still trying to camp for free as much as possible. Because we don’t need services, this is an area where we can save money, as long as our spots are safe. That being said, we needed to do repairs on our camper in February, so stayed about a week in an established campground, where we could take the camper off and fix our issues. We also paid for one night at the Rio Claro.

In Guatapé, we were invited to camp for free for a few days on the amazing property of ex-overlanders, which was a very nice and welcome gesture.

In February, we also spent money on fun activities! The entrance fee for the waterfall pool in Florian, which was located on private property, cost about $1 a person, Mark and I joined two “free” walking tours in Medellin, for which we donated the equivalent of $20, we tipped musicians and a dance group, and we climbed the tall rock, El Peñol, in Guatape for $4 each. That gives you an idea about entertainment costs in Colombia.

Because there was no payment for Google Fi anymore (our account was suspended), internet was very affordable last month. We buy 80GB (currently doubled for no extra cost, an amount we can’t even use up if we wanted to) monthly data plans for about $20 each. This is similar to “unlimited” internet use. We didn’t pay for other utilities as we managed to fill up with water for free (or at the campground), our propane tank is still quite full, and garbage service appeared at our door. 😊

We managed to fix several camper problems without breaking the bank, had to use public transportation in Medellin the second time we visited, needed household items (matching forks, something that Mark had been craving for a while, and a different basket that won’t flip its contents when we hit a pothole or tope), barely drank out, and only paid for one load of laundry (washing). These last savings are thanks to our friends Susan and John, who blog at Latitude Adjustment and also have a series of interesting posts about Colombia. They generously let us borrow their home’s facilities in El Retiro. I washed three loads of clothes and took over their hanging racks – and second floor – for three days in a row! ¡Gracias amigos!

February 2023 Overview:

Groceries:

Car (fuel: $157; tolls: $20; parking: $4):

Dining out:

Dog (food: $79; vet:$15; supplies: $4);

Camping:

Alcohol:

Entertainment (falls, tours, the rock):

Utilities (Claro internet):

Camper (repairs):

Transportation (taxi, metro, bus):

Household:

Drinking out:

Laundry:

 

TOTAL:

 

$185

$181

$124

$98

$61

$35

$32

$21

$13

$13

$10

$5

$4

———

$ 782

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.

Donate to Roaming About to help maintain this website.

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – January 2023 (Colombia)

Expenses - image

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.

In January, Mark, Maya, and I continued our Colombian overland explorations in Thirsty Bella, our truck camper disguised as a cow. As expected, we are spreading joy and smiles driving through villages and the countryside. And we are getting stuck in narrow town centers and battered by country roads a lot, too.

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

Our grocery amount was decent and similar to the previous month. We are eating out regularly now, which might explain a drop in grocery costs and a jump in eating out. Life is much cheaper in Colombia than in the US, allowing us to splurge more.  A decent dinner costs around $5-$8 a meal. It’s possible to eat cheaper and more expensive. Grocery shopping is affordable.

While in the US and Canada we always camped for free, mostly in nature. Once we arrived in South America, it’s been a mix of boondocking in or on the edge of towns or along roads and paid campgrounds. That’s what the accommodation cost of almost $100 is attributed to.

On average, campsites cost $4 a person per day. Don’t expect hookups for that. We merely pay for a flat place to park in a safe environment. Sometimes, there are amenities like showers, toilets, and trash cans. Once in a while, a common space like a kitchen, firepit, or lounge and laundry facilities are available. Secure overnight parking in a lot is cheaper at around $2 a night.

Our cost for internet was high last month. We paid $50 for our Google Fi plan, which allowed international roaming. Warned that this option was going to be suspended in February, we finally registered our phones in Colombia (mandatory by law) and bought local Claro SIM cards and data plans. The good news: internet is cheap in this country; the equivalent of $20 for 80GB of data (valid for one month). Propane is affordable and we use much less with our electric fridge. Most of the potable water we obtained (up to 48 gallons) was free.

In February, we planned a visit to our friends Susan and John in El Retiro, near Medellin. They blog about their worldwide travels and Colombian expat life on Latitude Adjustment. This provided us with a shipping address – yes, Amazon ships certain items to Colombia! – so we ordered a few camper necessities, like a waterproof tarp, new propane hose, fridge thermostat, and water filters. Our alcohol expense was decent.

Last month, we also managed to apply for – and receive – visa extensions. If I would have entered the country with my Belgian passport, this would have been free for me. But I boasted my US citizenship when arriving, so I had to pay the same amount as Mark, around $23. Totally worth being able to spend another three months in Colombia, of course! Recently, we managed to get the same extension for Thirsty Bella from Customs (free). All of us can now legally stay in the country until May 8th.

In Villa de Leyva, while driving to a water spigot to top off our tanks, we passed through a narrow road, of which there are many in Colombia. It was a route we’d taken before, except, this time, a car was parked a distance from the curb. Instead of jumping out of the passenger seat like I usually do, I estimated we’d clear everything. When Mark rounded the parked car, we could hear roof tiles clatter onto the cobblestones. Darn…

Our ladder had hit the decorative, overhanging tiles topping a cute gate. Luckily, the owners were relaxed about the scene and no harm was done to our camper. We gladly reimbursed the lady for eight broken tiles and the labor to fix the gate. Being in Colombia, paying for the damage didn’t set us back too much! That was the miscellaneous category.

Besides hiking and exploring some natural sites and historic centers for free, we “splurged” on entertainment last month, visiting an interesting fossil museum in Villa de Leyva (El Fosil), hot springs in Iza (Piscina Erika), and a gorgeous waterfall near Gambita. Each destination was worth a stop or a strenuous hike!

The other categories were on the low end. Early January, I did laundry at a campground – three loads in three days, hanging everything to dry outside. The rest of the month, we washed by hand.

Camped for free on the edge of
Villa de Leyva and doing laundry by hand – the town offers free water

We took taxis a couple of times in skinny Barichara (“transportation”), I needed aspirin and more acetaminophen for my headaches, Maya could use more treats, we bought a gift for friends, and I finally received a professional haircut. The hairdresser took pride in her work and finished with 10 minutes of hair blowing. This unnecessary touch-up cost an extra 5,000 pesos ($1), totaling $6 for the entire experience. Oh, and Mark drank one beer out as well. At these prices, it is easy, fun, and possible for us to support local businesses!

We didn’t quite make it under $900, but we keep trying. Luckily, February only has 28 days. Our goal is to spend less than $800 a month in South America. We still have a way to go. Colombia is probably the cheapest country of the continent, so if we fail here, we might have to alter that target.

January 2023 Overview:

Groceries:

Dining out:

Accommodation:

Car (fuel: $89; tolls: $8; parking: $1):

Utilities (internet: $77; propane: $5; water:$1):

Camper (tarp, filters, hose, thermostat):

Alcohol:

Customs & Immigration (visa extensions):

Miscellaneous (broken tiles):

Entertainment (museum, falls, hot springs):

Laundry:

Transportation (taxis):

Medical (drugs):

Health & Fitness (haircut L):

Dog (treats):

Gifts:

Household:

Drinking out:

 

TOTAL:

 

$251

$128

$99

$98

$83

$79

$49

$45

$21

$18

$9

$8

$7

$6

$5

$5

$3

$1

———

$ 915

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.

Donate to Roaming About to help maintain this website.

Annual Expense Report of a Nomad – 2022 (USA, Mexico, Colombia)

Expenses - image

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” is our motto. 🙂 At the beginning of each year, I produce an expense report for the previous 12 months. This is the most recent one, for 2022.

Our first yearly expense report (2016) can be found here, the report of 2017 is here, the one for 2018 here, our 2019 expenses are located here, our total costs for 2020 are documented here, and those for 2021 are detailed here.

These reports include ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and a 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 US East Coast. The utility cost refers to phone data plans, initially with AT&T and at the end of 2022 with Google Fi.

It feels like 2023 has only just started, yet we are already a month into it. Crazy how time flies. I better publish our 2022 expense report, before the February 2023 one is due!

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

In 2022, Mark, Maya, and I focused on purchasing, fixing, equipping, and upgrading our current truck camper, a Lance 830, in the Pacific Northwest and Colorado. Before that, we explored the Baja peninsula in Mexico for 3.5 months. We completed the year in Cartagena, Colombia, happily reunited with Thirsty Bella, which we had shipped there from Texas. I also visited my home country of Belgium for two weeks, but my parents took care of me there. 🙂

Last year was relatively expensive, especially if you add the one-time cost of shipping our truck camper to the mix (see below). We better live extra cheaply this year to make up for that!

The highest category in 2022, by far, was our car and more specifically the fuel. Over $4,000! We purposefully decided not to drive to the East Coast over the summer (to visit family, friends, and doctors), because of the exorbitant gasoline prices. But we did make it to the southern tip of the Baja peninsula in Mexico (and back) with our previous Cirrus camper and ended up driving huge distances to find and pick up our current truck camper in super expensive California. I can’t say any of that was planned, but such is life – our life anyway.

Vehicle insurance and maintenance for our Ford F-350 each cost over $600 as well. We prepped the truck for this extended adventure in South America, which included spare parts, oil and filter changes, and a tire rotation and alignment.

Mark and I have periodically discussed our annual high prices for maintaining and fueling the vehicles and sailboats we own(ed), which made us realize that we could easily use this amount for plane tickets to house and pet sit internationally. As a matter of fact, that was the plan… before we adopted our Maya, three years ago. That’s when the South America trip became our goal. Then, Covid arrived.

Groceries is the second-highest category and averages $268 a month. Not bad. This is always the most straightforward subject. What is there to say? Everyone needs to eat. In our case, we stick to a healthy, mostly plant-based diet and consume 95% of our meals at home. Here in Colombia, we eat out a bit more, because it’s affordable.

Travel costs went to plane tickets for Mark, who needed to fly to Massachusetts twice (once from Mexico and once from Oregon) for family and healthcare reasons. Our dining out expense was almost a grand as well. I’d like to say it will be less this year, but even though food is much cheaper here, we probably will eat out more, so things might even out. We will see.

Everyone knows that taking care of a dog isn’t cheap. In Maya’s case, we spent over $900, mostly on food, her anti-itch medicine (Apoquel), and one expensive vet visit enabling and preceding our move to South America.

Maya getting ready for her exam, extra shots, and international health certificate

Our utility cost for 2022 also seems high at $800. The majority of that went to internet, unsurprisingly, but almost $200 was “wasted” on propane, thanks to the ordinary fridges put in RVs. Even though they are called 3-way fridges, they run inefficiently when using their DC power source. We don’t use AC, because we never plug into power. When using an RV fridge solely on propane, we emptied two full 20-pound propane tanks every month, and that’s being careful by monitoring the temperature and adjusting the settings.

Like fuel, propane gas prices swung through the roof last year. Filling our two tanks cost around $40 every month and there was the hassle of finding propane places that actually filled tanks instead of just swapping them out. Tractor Supply and U-Haul used to be safe bets but they aren’t anymore.

Because of all these reasons – the hassle, money, research, wasted trips and phone calls, worry of running out of gas, and lack of freedom – we replaced our propane fridge in Thirsty Bella with a 12V compressor fridge that we can easily run with the power created by our solar panels. In Mexico we paid for agua purificada (purified potable water) to fill our water tank.

Another big – and extra – expense was a new hybrid computer/laptop for Mark. That section underneath also includes hosting fees for our website and some software Mark bought. When it comes to adult beverages, my husband and I occasionally like to drink beer (only Mark) and wine and usually have one bottle of hard liquor around. There is no space for more. Our preferred alcoholic drink is rum with fresh juice, ice cubes, and a slice of lime.

Gifts include the annual calendars I create for our Belgian and American families, gestures (usually bottles of wine or dessert goodies) we bring when invited for dinner, a contribution to utilities when we stay on someone’s driveway for a while, Christmas gifts for friends we end up traveling with, excursions we do with our nieces and nephews, and birthday presents for each other, although I don’t recall any of those in 2022.

Household items are improvements for our life inside the camper – cooking, storing, light fixtures, … – and the camper category resembles materials and tools required to keep our home on wheels running. This last amount is low, because it does not include the money spent equipping our camper for South America, which we consider part of its purchase price and not maintenance cost. I will write a separate post about this in the future.

In the US, we always camped for free, but because we traveled in Mexico for a third of the year, there is a substantial accommodation cost as we tend to stay at campgrounds there once in a while. Some of this category’s amount was spent in Colombia, on camping and a hotel.

The clothing expenses were higher than the previous year, because we made sure to have decent pairs of hiking shoes, rain jackets, jeans, and shirts to hold us over for a few years. In 2023, we hope this amount, in addition to the “computer” section, is negligible.

Drinking out is self-explanatory and transport covers taxis (in Colombia), Uber (to get to Houston airport from Galveston), and public transportation when we visit Massachusetts. Customs and Immigration fees were mostly paid in Mexico for tourist cards and towards a new Belgian passport for me. Luckily, those are now valid for seven years instead of five.

Cashier’s checks cost $15!

Banking costs went to our annual credit card fee and a cashier’s check to pay for our Lance camper (yes, that costs extra money). Health & Fitness includes vitamins (Mark) and occasional haircuts (me). This amount should mostly disappear as well. We gave up on the vitamins (don’t want to deal with it here), we keep cutting Mark’s hair ourselves with clippers, and my twice-a-year haircuts should cost a quarter of the price in South America.

We spent less than $100 on entertainment. Most of our hobbies, like hiking, visiting natural attractions, writing, and reading are free. We never visit museums or pay for expensive activities. Last year, we bought two sets of snorkel gear (still to be used) and paid the entrance fee for a few parks.

Our medical cost is usually minimal, but last year Mark had to pay for an expensive Covid test in Mexico and I had two new pairs of prescription eye glasses mailed to an address out west. My husband chipped in for his dad’s memorial service (miscellaneous), we paid for laundry in Mexico (the rest of the year we managed to use the facilities of friends), and a small amount of money went to postage.

Sunrise along the Baja Peninsula

Extra one-time costs for 2022

One big expense not included in this annual report is the $5,497 we paid for shipping and agent fees to transport our home on wheels to South America for a multiple-year adventure.

So, what would have been a decent year in general at $16,809 (which is about $800 more than our average, not bad under the circumstances of inflation and super high fuel prices) is not so great anymore when you add the $5,500 of shipment costs to the mix. That’s around $22,300 in total. Let’s hope the year 2023 will be a fraction of that!

2022 Overview:

Car (fuel: $4,394; insurance: $666; maintenance: $631;

tolls: $19; parking: $16; registration: $10):

Groceries:

Travel (plane tickets Mark):

Dining out:

Dog (supplies: $413; food: $224; vet: $268; import: $11):

Utilities (internet: $552; prop.: $179; water: $48;

dump stations: $8; Skype: $5):

Computer (hybrid: $728; hosting: $40; software: $11):

Alcohol:

Gifts (B-days, Christmas):

Household:

Camper:

Accommodation/Camping:

Clothing:

Drinking out:

Transport (Uber, tip escort, taxis in COL):

Customs & Immigration (new passport L, tourist cards Mex.):

Bank fees (Chase visa card, cashier’s check):

Health & Fitness (haircuts L, vitamins M):

Entertainment (snorkel sets, parks):

Medical (Covid test M, mailing glasses):

Miscellaneous (memorial service):

Laundry:

Postage:

 

TOTAL:

 

$5,735

 

$3,211

$1,086

$954

$916

$791

 

$779

$574

$483

$364

$307

$302

$266

$188

$166

$147

$129

$126

$94

$85

$51

$41

$14

———

$ 16,809

(It might be easier to read the table when turning your device in the horizontal position.)

And that’s a wrap! If you are enjoying these posts and would like to help out with our expenses maintaining this blog, please click on the donate button underneath, in the side bar, or in the menu bar on top. I promise Roaming About will remain an ad-free website. Thank you!

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.

Donate to Roaming About to help maintain this website.

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad in South America – December 2022 (Colombia)

Expenses - image

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.

The first two weeks of December, Mark, Maya, and I still stayed in Airbnbs in Cartagena, like the majority of November, to wait for our camper’s arrival from Texas. This was followed by a night in a hotel close to the port where we picked up our truck camper, Thirsty Bella, on the evening of the 14th. Rule #1 in developing countries, “Do not drive at night,” was immediately disregarded. We didn’t have a choice. Luckily, nothing was hit or damaged on that first drive.

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

We paid for all these nights with credit card points, depleting our account, leaving us with no buffer for a break from the road in the future. All because we had to wait two extra weeks for our vehicle. Oh well. We were beyond happy and relieved to be reunited with our home on wheels.

After spending the first night on a hot and humid parking lot, we put in many more miles to reach Mompox, a World Heritage Site, for another night at a hotel. It was too uncomfortable to sleep in the camper. The other accommodation expenses went to campsites without hookups (just parking, sometimes with the availability of showers, toilets, a shared kitchen, and a laundry machine), which seem to range between $2 and $4 a person per night. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but $8 a night does add up for us, so we try to combine free camping andcampgrounds.

December was the first decent expense month since Mexico in February. We stayed under $1,000 for the three of us. The highest categories, “groceries” and “car,” were close, but not that crazy.

What we saved in groceries, we spent in eating out, by the looks of it. Again, this pastime in Colombia is affordable, but $8 dinners also add up after a while. Another balancing act is needed.

We did cover a bit of ground in those first two weeks on the road, but with gasoline at $2 a gallon, we don’t worry too much. The $40 insurance (SOAT) cost covers our vehicle for liability for three months. Our cost for tolls was actually higher than stated – amazing how many toll roads (Northern) Colombia has, and they’re expensive all things considered – but we received a refund for our toll device and credit we returned to Massachusetts before leaving the country.

The gift category should fall away next month. As usual, I created and shipped calendars to my family in Belgium and the US. Each month of the year exhibits a photo of the two or three of us in a different location. This way, we are somewhat present in the households of our loved ones. And we bought small Christmas gifts for our new friends Sheri and Jeff, whom we met up with several times over the last two months.

Propane is cheaper in Colombia than in the States, but it is a pain to obtain nevertheless. That’s why we changed our propane fridge out for an electric one that efficiently works on our solar panels. This way, a full propane tank (20 pounds), used only for cooking and heating, should last months instead of weeks. For internet, we still use a Google Fi global data plan, but we already have been warned this will be suspended next month, so we will need to find another, local solution in each country. We’ve been working on that.

I’d say our alcohol consumption was average last month, despite it being the holidays. Beer and rum are cheaper than what we purchase in the US, wine is similar in price. The only reason there is a clothing expense is because Amazon messed up one of the refunds before we left. Therefore, we were recharged for a pair of jeans.

We didn’t plan on buying dog food for Maya in Cartagena, since we carried plenty of it with us on the plane, enough for the expected three weeks there, plus an extra Ziploc bag in case four weeks of waiting were required. Not five, though. Luckily, we found food that she wasn’t allergic to and once Thirsty Bella arrived, carrying heaps of dogfood, Maya could go back on her usual diet. The meds we bought are herbal drops that should calm her down during all the stress and anxiety from Colombia’s daily firecrackers, bottle rockets, and fireworks.

Our drinking out cost is negligible – we usually prefer to have happy hour at home – and the low entertainment amount went to the entrance fee of Los Estoraques National Park in Playa de Belen, where we camped for almost a week as well.

Last month, we managed to only pay $2 for water, a donation to a friendly and helpful family along the way, and do laundry for free at the Airbnbs we stayed at.

The total amount for shipping our truck camper from Texas to Colombia was $5,500, which is not included in this report as it is a one-time cost. Because moving our vehicle between continents was so expensive, we plan on making our time here worthwhile. A few years of slow travel should do it! 🙂

December 2022 Overview:

Groceries:

Car (fuel: $194; insurance: $40; tolls: $14):

Gifts (Christmas & New Year):

Dining out:

Utilities (internet: $50; propane: $9; water:$2):

Alcohol:

Accommodation:

Clothing:

Dog (food: $20; meds:$3):

Drinking out:

Entertainment:

 

TOTAL:

 

$249

$248

$125

$99

$61

$47

$44

$31

$23

$6

$4

———

$ 937

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.

Donate to Roaming About to help maintain this website.

Monthly Expenses of a Nomad – November 2022

Expenses - image

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 East Coast.

Even though the three of us have been “stuck” in Cartagena for over a month, November went by fast. For once, we didn’t care, because the sooner we would be reunited with our camper, Thirsty Bella, the better. Guess what? We are still waiting. But the end of that is coming near.

This is where the RORO car carriers dock in Cartagena Harbor

Mark, Maya, and I flew from Houston, Texas, to Miami, Florida, on November 7th. From there, we continued on to Cartagena, Colombia, the following day. Since the 8th, we have been apartment hopping in this hectic, dusty, hot, and humid city, not spending a lot of time in tourist areas but immersing ourselves in the noisy and affordable Colombian way of (city) life.

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

We booked our plane tickets in early October,  using credit card points (valued at US$590) and we managed to do the same for our airport hotel in Miami (US$112) and five Airbnb rentals (the equivalent of US$945 in total, so far). The estimate was to be here for three weeks (an important factor for packing our belongings, toiletries, and food for Maya, all in carry-on luggage), but we will have been here over five weeks by the time we pick up our vehicle at the port. I will elaborate on the why another time.

On our last week in the US, we bounced between uncomfortable overnight parking lots and parks, meeting up with friends and preparing our vehicle for leaving the country.

The last weekend saw us finalize everything at and in the convenient house and driveway of friends.

Then, camper drop-off and moving day happened, followed with the rest of the month living in Cartagena. We had a lot of extra expenses in November, yet we managed to not go too far over our average budget.

I am now reporting on camper costs as well, because the basics of our conversions, improvements, and upgrades were finished in October. I will post a separate report about buying and equipping Bella in the near future. This camper category was the highest by surprise, because, you know, nothing goes as planned…

A lot went wrong when Mark finally dropped our camper off at the port of Galveston, which caused added stress on an already logistically stressful day, but I will just elaborate on one episode for now.

There are quite a few rules if you want to ship a vehicle abroad. One of those, regarding campers, is that the propane tank has to be empty and a certificate to prove this is required. We called the issuing company in League City to inquire about the certificate and were told those are only provided for fixed tanks. We had a portable 20-pound tank, so should be fine. Our tank was empty. Our tank was newish. We taped the purchase receipt to the tank, just to not get into trouble.

Nope. Not enough. We needed the certificate. It was 2pm in the afternoon. The port closed at 4pm. Our plane left that evening. We didn’t see an option for Mark to leave Galveston port, drive to League City 40 minutes away, get our tank certified – or buy a new one with a certified receipt – and get the vehicle cleared for shipment, plus visit Customs, before four. Oh, and the escort to guide you through the port costs $50 per hour and once you’re ten minutes over that, a second hour is charged…

Phone numbers of port escorts on the day of our drop-off

Mark called me (I was waiting in a public park with Maya and all our luggage) and we concluded we only had one choice if we wanted to catch our plane: remove the tank from our camper and leave it at the port. This was a huge problem and complication: our tank had US fittings, fit snugly in its compartment, and all our cooking and heating facilities (including hot water and grill) depended on this particular set-up, which we would not be able to find and reproduce in Colombia (different fittings and tank sizes).

Waiting for Mark in a Galveston park

We were screwed and almost gave up on this whole journey (for the first time). Employees, including Mark’s escort Kaylyn, understood, but there was nothing they could do. Mark continued the drop-off and clearing out procedures and joined me in the park. We felt defeated – and homeless – without even having left the US.

On that picnic bench in Galveston, we brainstormed. We had another hour to kill before airport focus was upon us. A crazy idea emerged, one that would be hard to pull off…

Mark called his escort Kaylyn, asked her if she would be able to deposit a new propane tank inside our camper if we had someone deliver it. The answer was surprising, but music to our ears: “Yes.” Question #2: “Would you be willing to pick one up if we order it? We will pay you for your help, of course.” Another “yes” followed and life looked up again.

Dealing with the propane tank disaster

Over the next half an hour, we called the propane place in League City and paid for a new tank and its certification, emailed them Kaylyn’s information, and copied her on any correspondence with Baygas Propane. Our angel called us three days after we arrived in Cartagena. She had picked up the tank and needed instructions about where to put it – and how to get there. We walked her through storing the new tank safely and securely inside Bella, made sure she locked our home properly again, and sent her $100 as a thank you. Hence our high propane cost last month…

This is where Kaylyn wrapped and stored our new propane tank (we think)

The other amount paid for the camper went to protection (wood to board up the windows and tension rods to keep them in place) and gear to potentially fix our fridge issue. It was our goal to have a fully-working (brand new) fridge before shipment, but that failed.

Buying cut plywood at Home Depot and storing it for a few days – back and forth from the bed of the camper to the back seat of the truck

To bring Maya into Colombia, we needed an international health certificate and a couple of extra shots. That required a vet visit of multiple hours and approval by the USDA; an expensive ordeal. The temporary import permit for Colombia was only $11 and took an hour of red tape.

Back in Houston, we treated our generous and hospitable friends John and Harriet to a Thai take-out dinner. The rest of the eating out category was spent in Cartagena – one “expensive” meal and drinks for my birthday ($60 for two people) in a nice restaurant and the rest on local food.

The grocery category was low – we needed to eat everything up before leaving the US and Colombia is cheap. We still cooked most of our meals to save money and eat relatively healthy. After we recovered from being sick the first ten days, our Venezuelan friend Nathalie, who lives in Manga, Cartagena, invited us over for a yummy salmon-pasta lunch.

We didn’t spend a lot on fuel last month, only enough for dock workers to move our truck on and off the boat(s). Your gas tank can only be 1/4 full. We had a last-minute tire alignment and rotation done two days before we left.

Transportation was another extra category. The Uber from Galveston Island to Hobby Airport in Houston cost a whopping $50 and we have been getting around Cartagena in local taxis. The price for the port escort was also $50.

Cab in Manga’s flooded streets

Our monthly amount for internet went up. We finally retired our amazing unlimited AT&T data plan that was $35/month for years (we sold it on) and switched to a Google Fi worldwide plan, sharing an account with our friends Duwan and Greg. After the initial set-up fees incorporated in this report, the new monthly amount should be $50 for 50 gig of data.

The only other thing worth mentioning is that I finally spent the second half of Mark’s birthday gift for me from last year (November 2021) on goodies at Trader Joe’s. I totally forgot I had some “credit” left for that! As I write this, I’m eating my final dark-chocolate-covered almonds from the US…

November 2022 Overview:

Camper (propane tank: $220; parts: $87):

Dog (vet + certificate: $260; import permit: $11):

Dining out:

Groceries:

Car (maintenance: $131; fuel: $24):

Transportation (taxis: $75; port escort: $50):

Utilities (internet):

Alcohol:

Gifts (B-day Liesbet 2021):

Drinking out:

Postage:

Clothing:

 

TOTAL:

 

$307

$271

$224

$164

$155

$125

$62

$52

$24

$10

$5

$2

———

$ 1,401

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.

Donate to Roaming About to help maintain this website.

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