Is traveling full time in a van expensive? How much does it actually cost to live the van life dream?
Today, we’re talking about . . . MONEY.
We are answering those questions and giving you the scoop on the real cost of living in a van. We’ve chosen to compare expenses between two months, September 2019 and September 2020, to give you an idea of how much we spend on average per month.
Now, one of us handles all the bills and budgeting, and one of us is clueless… it’s like that for every couple, right? We thought this is the perfect setup for a guessing game. We’ve divided our monthly expenses into 5 categories: Fixed, Fuel, Food, Fun and Furgo (means VAN in Spanish). The clueless one has to guess the correct amount spent for each category, if she loses, it’s TRUTH or DARE for her, if she wins, it’s game on for the other.
You’ll have to watch the video to find out who is who ;)
Come on, you know you wanna see this truth or dare game.
Our First Category is Fixed Expenses, basically, any bills that occur on a regular monthly basis. We’ve also included the cost of annual bills split 12 ways.
This includes:
Phone bill
Vehicle insurance
Renters insurance
Adobe editing software
Spotify
Triple A membership
Annual Vet Visit for the Dogs
Website costs
Dropbox for photography business
In September 2019, we spent $502, and in September 2020, we spent $454. There is about a $50 difference because we dropped some unnecessary bills like Planet Fitness and Netflix.
Second Category - FUEL
In September 2019, we spent $332, and in September 2020, we spent $119. In 2019 we drove from Montana to Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Nevada. In 2020, we only went from PA to TN, so we saved money by not driving as far.
Third Category - FOOD
This includes anything spent at the grocery store, including dog food and somtimes wine and beer. In September 2019, we spent $305, and in September 2020, we spent $327. If ya didn’t already know… we love food.
Fourth Category - FUN
This includes:
Dining Out
Rentals: Bike, Kayak, Etc…
Park entrance fees
Music, etc...
In September 2019, we spent $344, and in September 2020, we spent $388. We have too much fun apparently.
Fifth Category - FURGO (means Van in Spanish)
This includes:
Maintenance
Repairs
In September 2019, we spent $6 (on a carbon remover), and in September 2020, we spent $160 (on an oil change).
This brings our grand monthly totals to $1489 for 2019 and $1448 for 2020. So on average we spend $1468 per month.
When we lived in a brick & mortar, we paid double this amount every month due to rent, utilities and other bills. So we definitely find living in a van less costly than living in a regular house. Because of this, we don’t have to be a slave to the 9-5, we can work less and have more quality time to spend together.
Now, since we’re talking about the cost of van life, We think it’s important to mention some other factors beside average monthly expenses.
First there is the upfront cost of purchasing a van and building/renovation . We bought our van for 6k and spent 10k building it out. So 16k total. You can absolutely do it for much less, we’ve heard of people who’ve done it for as little as $2,500! We spent a little more because this is our first home together and we wanted it to be nice.
Second, we purchased an older vehicle so a breakdown is bound to happen at some point. Sprinters are notoriously expensive to repair. So, 2 years ago, during the time we were building out the van and working full time, we saved 5K as a future-repairs fund for Towanda. Why did we chose this specific amount? Luckily, Towanda’s entire engine was replaced before we bought it and only run 40k miles on it, so our biggest concern is the transmission. It costs 4-6k to replace a Sprinter transmission. So that’s why we decided on 5k. So far, knocks on wood, we haven’t had to use this fund yet.
Third, life happens and can bring unexpected costs, for this reason, it’s important to have an emergency fund, no matter whether you live in a van or not. Even before Nat and I met and got together, we each had an emergency savings account of 10k. We still haven’t touched this savings but it makes us feel secure knowing it’s there. Should a disaster or health scare happen, or a freakin’ zombie apocolypse, we’ll have a nice cushion to get by.
So to sum it up, We would need to make about $18,000 for a year of van life expenses. Depending on your situation, this may seem like a lot or it may seem like a little.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, the poverty line for a 2 person household is $17,240. We may have to cut back a little on our “fun” expenses, but we could certainly afford a year of van life on that amount! It just goes to show you that if you’re creative, you can live a very fulfilling life on what is considered a poverty-level income. We realize some people are forced into poverty and our situation doesn’t compare. We chose this lifestyle and this is a privilege that we acknowledge.
We just wanted to share this with you to show you what is possible. We think it’s really awesome that we can live an adventurous life on such a small budget/income.
If you’re interested to know more on how we initially afforded our van purchase and build, check out this video:
Interested to find our how we make money on the road?
Subscribe to our Youtube channel and stay tuned for that video! Coming up next!
