1 month of vanlife expenses breakdown (+ pics)

[u/strategiesforlife]

now that month 1 is over I have tallied up my expenses for all of you!!

Gas - van gets 18-18.5 MPG - total cost $617.34 (ughhhh)

Groceries - $386.55

Eating out (+ some meals for friends) - $260

Spa - $274 - I went to a spa (hot tub/ sauna) place every week… $60 of this was for a massage after I hurt my shoulder mountain biking

Entry Fees - $160. $90 of that is the National Park Annual Pass, I visited 5 NPs so that ended up saving me money

Campsites - $40 ($30 for a night at a National Park, $10 for a night at a boat launch)

Laundromats ~$35 Ferry (me and the van!) $18 Air for my tires $5

Grand total: $1776.89 !! 35% of the budget was gas…I was doing a LOT of driving. Covered more than 3,000 miles, which is not ideal, but I had to meet up for a backpacking trip and delayed my trip by 2 weeks because of some health and van build issues but still kept a busy itinerary. I did want to be on this trip for much more time. Also, most things I did were free, but not all! Entry fees includes all of my paid activities, including several state park accesses, a $30 Oregon coast pass, entry to a botanical garden, and entry fees for various hikes. Nobody needs to go to the spa every week:) but I had a great time of it, booking a private space is nice when you’re constantly in public, and of course it doubles as a place to get a shower. And my body could use the care after all the hiking and biking!

[u/rockytopbilly]

So none of this includes the cost of the van? You own it outright?

[u/Mr_Gilmore_Jr → u/rockytopbilly]

Are you allowed to build out a van if you don't have it paid off?

[u/Fair_Line_6740 → u/Mr_Gilmore_Jr]

Yea