Crazy Brave Adventure

September 2022 was our first full month of “van living”. We weren’t sure how much this crazy brave adventure would cost and hoped that we’d be able to stay within the bounds of our single paycheck (Dan’s).

There were some less than typical expenses this month. As we sprinted across the midwest at (relatively) breakneck speed, we opted for pricier state parks along the way, rather than stay-overs at Wal-Mart and Flying J Truck stop parking lots. When we reached western South Dakota, our pace slowed, and so did our costs. Hoping for more of this in October’s budget(!)

When I (Perri) was researching this lifestyle, I found it super-helpful to read about other nomad’s living expenses. It seemed the cost of “van-life” varied greatly depending on one’s goals and comfort level. I wasn’t sure that we’d be able to cut our costs enough to sustain our travels but told myself that I would pay it forward and share this info if I got a chance. So, though it makes me a little uncomfortable, here’s a general rundown of our “van-life” expenses for the month of September 2022. We’ve rounded up on each category to simplify our report.

Food Expenses: $571

Groceries: $447

We are doing our best to eat healthy foods and replenished our fresh fruits and veggies every five days or so. These are more costly than canned or dried goods, but we are willing to splurge a bit on eating well. This figure includes the groceries we bought to cook larger meals while visiting family in Michigan. We are coffee snobs, and tend to go through a pound of the good stuff a week.

Also, Dan has a fig problem… these suckers are expensive!

Out to Eat and Drink: $124

We went out to eat twice this month and also had drinks (in one case, with fried pickle appetizers) twice more. We aren’t big meat eaters. So the West hasn’t been as tempting in this regard as the Lake Superior region was during our shakedown trip: No pasties or smoked fish. We have had a couple of nice spice margaritas though… and “Old Fashioneds” at the oldest bar in Douglas, Wyoming.

Gas: $610

Ugh! Steven gets about 14 miles a gallon and we drove a looong way in September. Gasoline was our largest single expense. During our cross country gotta-get-out-West sprint, we filled up every day, sometimes more(!) We have a 25 gallon gas tank, so yep…. it adds up. Maybe we should start calling it “gasp-oline”!

Camping: $235

This total is more than we’d like it to be. Maybe because we were still getting our “van legs”, maybe because we were driving pell-mell through Iowa and Nebraska. We spent four pricy nights in state parks (these often have “hidden fees” like day use costs and out-of-state extras), twelve nights at public campgrounds (BLM, County, and National Forest) with minimal (and reasonable) costs. We don’t mind paying the $10 to stay at these spots as it supports our public lands. And we stayed for two nights at a private campground in Custer, SD when Dan needed the wifi connectyion to work.

We camped in dispersed sites for free only thirteen times this month. Next month, we expect this cost will go down as we learn the ropes of wild camping in Steven (I–Perri– have to get over my rough road worries so that we can properly disperse.)

Dog: $79

Milo costs! We bought him a big old bag of his same-brand dog food at the ONE place we could find it. It got him to 12 years old in great shape, we don’t want to change it now. Also bought him some dog treats and a tie out stake so that he could have some (relative) freedom when we are parked up in busier places. (This, after he jumped out the back to chase a cat that he somehow saw from a 100 yards away!)

Maintenance: $60

We stopped for an oil change a Ford dealership in Casper, Wyoming because we were due for one and, after 3000+ miles, wanted to have Steven’s health assessed. It cost only $60, but we have some bigger costs looming: new shocks will be needed, and we have an “oil seep” that our mechanic at home said was pretty typical of these engines and “should be fine”. It’s still there. Budgeting for these big ticket items in the near future.

Other: $588

We dug into our savings (such as they are) and made one big purchase this month: A WeBoost Drive Reach cell phone booster kit ($500). It was a necessity for Dan’s work and has been pretty helpful in converting one meager bar of service to two or sometimes three. Not a full solution to our connectivity woes, but a, um … boost. We aren’t able to afford the Starlink solution just yet, and there’s a waiting list for it anyway. Our original wifi plan involved more in towns stays and coffee shops. But that’s been rough on Milo. He is not so stealthy, and also– at 12– not so tolerant of heat when we leave him in the parked van.

Our other “other” expenses were two Benchmark Recreation Atlases (Wyoming and Colorado) and a US atlas. Yes, we are old-school paper map people, and these atlases, especially the state-specific ones, contain a wealth of information about backroads, dirt roads and camping opportunities. If you are road tripping, do yourself a favor, and get one of these.

Also, we did laundry three times.

And we mailed a box of rocks to my brother in law, Mike in Michigan. He has a rock polisher. … and, anyway, we can’t possibly keep all these beauties to ourselves(!)

Total Costs for September: $2200

I am sure there are a few items we forgot to record and rounding up our total expenses.

This is more than we had expected but within the bounds of our current income. We have some static expenses I didn’t include (Car insurance, support of our college age-children, Planet Fitness membership, Family Verizon bills, etc). But at the end of the month, we had couple hundred dollars surplus. (Wahoo!)

Even with our gas-guzzling, beeline drive out west and (too many) expensive campgrounds,, Van living was cheaper than staying home. Who knew?