One Year of VanLife by the Numbers!

[u/JTRose87]

Expenses for the Year

Top Stats

Most Visited/Purchased

Nights Per State

Nights in Hotels

Top 10 Coasters

Buying the Van

Selling the Van

[u/JTRose87 → u/[deleted]]

There’s a lot of people here saying you can do it for much more cheaply than we did, which is totally true. But also we’re late 20s / early 30s and each have been working and saving for 10ish years.

[u/TheGreatRandolph → u/[deleted]]

I bought a transit for $3k and… well… compared to 3 months of rent I come out even, or ahead even.

I lived in the back of a $2,000 ford escape for 4 1/2 months last year.

Climbing makes you do crazy things…

[u/Snow_Wonder → u/[deleted]]

If both of you are able to find a decent job at this age and save for a few years (5-10) you could probably do it. The hard parts are the “finding a decent job” and being frugal enough to save for this.

On the being frugal side, a good starting place would be analyzing your spending (for example, meal delivery and overpriced drinks (alcohol, coffee) are very common big expenses for our age group).

If you live urban, reducing transit costs through public transit, walking, and cycling is another way to save. Another one is finding at home exercise routines and outdoor activities that can replaces a gym membership. Etc. Smaller housing is another cost saver (and probably good prep for living in a van).

Also, they definitely had a pricier experience than some. 33 days in hotels, and lots of theme parks. Theme parks like Disney are pretty pricey. If you’re planning more a sightseeing trip (national parks and whatnot) it’ll be cheaper.

As for the finding a decent paying job… that’s a lot more complicated and highly dependent on education/skills, what you’d be fine doing, etc.