It can be really difficult to gauge a monthly budget for a lifestyle that you haven’t experienced yet. I know it was super hard for me before actually living on the road to figure out how much I would need to make each month. Obviously there’s not one correct answer and yours will be different. But I figured it would be beneficial to at least show you mine to help with your own monthly breakdown. I travel at least a little almost every day and have my fair share of bills. So this is what monthly van life expenses look like with a little advice on how to save before you ever hit the road. If you prefer to hear a breakdown with more information, check out my podcast episode where I talk all about my van life costs!
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST ALL ABOUT SOLO FEMALE VAN LIFE
MY MONTHLY EXPENSES
I broke this down in two categories. Fixed costs are the things I cannot change. Bills that have to be paid every month no matter my financial situation. Variable costs are the things that can fluctuate depending on how much I’m traveling, eating out, etc.
Fixed Costs
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Van Payment $250
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Van Insurance $100
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Student Loan $300
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Subscriptions (i.e. netflix, etc) $30
Variable Costs
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Food $300
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Gas $400
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Dog Misc. (i.e. food, etc.) $120
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Miscellaneous $100
MONTHLY TOTAL: $1,600
SAVING UP FOR VAN LIFE
I had no clue what I was going to do to make money on the road but I was determined to figure it out. In the meantime though, I needed to save as much money as possible to pay for the build and last me until I got a permanent income figured out. These are all the things that I did to leave with a pretty hefty savings account when I got on the road. Sticking to these and holding yourself accountable is the difference between living your dream or staying where you’re at.
- Selling all your furniture. You don't need it anymore. If there's anything you can use for your build, keep it and lower the cost for your van conversion. But sell absolutely everything else. I went 2 weeks with almost no furniture in my apartment because I was selling anything I could!
- Stop spending extra money. No more Starbucks on your way to work. Spending money on random things is always the one that takes the most discipline. If you have to, keep your cards at home and only carry $20 in case of emergency. Impulse buys will can make a huge difference when added up.
- Sell any extra clothes. I put clothes on Poshmark, Facebook marketplace, took them to Plato's closet. Cut your closet in half. And then cut in half again.
- Start hustling. I babysat on the weekends, worked my full- time job during the week, and built this website when I got home. Start doing anything you can to make extra money.
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST ALL ABOUT SOLO FEMALE VAN LIFE
I’m curious about things like health insurance? birth control, cell phone bills, vehicle maintenance etc. My RV insurance is considerably more than $100/mo as a recreation vehicle so wondering if there is some type of classification making this more affordable?
I’m curious about how much nightly campsites run? Or do you just boondock or stealth camp? Also things like laundry, health insurance, showers, Internet, phone, etc…. how do you avoid paying for all that?
Great job on your budget!
This page is so helpful, I just used it to estimate what I’ll be paying monthly for student loans once I graduate and move into a van. Syd, I know you’ve talked about people leaving stupid comments before but reading these I just had to leave a good one. You don’t owe anyone “more writing.” You’re not “throwing away your intelligence.” I found this page extremely useful, thank you so much for sharing it so simply.
This is helpful, but what about internet? Do you pay for your phone bill and use a hotspot? Do you have a mobile wifi router?
Your living my dream, I’m 16, starting a website, in hope to get a van in the future
You go girl. Ignore the haters. You’re living your dream life, and mine! Working on my savings to buy a van now.
$300 a month on good? You’re living on $10 a day for food? C’mon.
This is totally possible. It depends on what you eat.
I do the same, and I live in a house. If you don’t eat out, buy what’s on sale, and meal plan it’s amazing how much money you can save on food.
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You obviously know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your weblog when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?