Make a Budget

The most popular questions we get asked when it comes to traveling for years on end are:

"what is your budget?" or "how much does it cost?"

These are VERY tough questions to answer because budgets and actual costs change constantly depending on location and circumstances.

However, I'm hoping the 5 step plan below helps you gain some clarity around your own budget!

Also, continue scrolling to find examples of what we spent for some of our travel experiences and for 1 year living and traveling in the van.

And head over to my youtube channel to watch a video on Making a Budget Part 1: Important Questions to Answer

Step 1: Ask yourself these questions

Let's get started below

Do you have a starting budget?

Do you have money saved up? Will you save more or do you have plans to sell things to become more liquid? Do you think you'll need an income while traveling?

Backpacking vs Vanlife?

Which option is cheaper overall? Do you have money to buy a van? What are the costs involved in both options? Are your current funds very limited?

Where are you going?

Which countries do you want to go to? How expensive are the necessities (food, shelter, clean water) in those countries? How quickly will you move around?

How long will you travel?

How many weeks/months/years do you want to travel? How long will you stay in each place? How long will you work in one place if working non-remotely?

What are your priorities?

What places/sites are a must see? How much do those cost? Do you want to eat out? Drink alcohol? Have AC? Shower daily? Have a toilet? Have health insurance?

Step 2

Step 2: Determine your starting monthly budget

LIQUID MONEY

Add up all liquid money (meaning cash) that you have access to at this very moment (after paying off credit cards, next month's rent, etc)

FUTURE MONEY

Add up any liquid cash you plan to get by doing things such as selling your car, belongings, etc. + any guaranteed income you will have while traveling.

TRAVEL MONEY

Decide what % of your current & future liquid money you will spend on travel. Will you spend 100%? Will you reserve any to come back to?

MONTHLY BUDGET

Take your travel $ from previous step & divide evenly by length of time you want to travel from questions above. How much $/month is that?

*Note: you may have $0 for your starting budget, and that's OK! This is simply a starting point. Keep going to figure out all of the things you need to keep in mind to get an idea of how much you'll need to save up to get started traveling!

Step 3

Step 3: Estimate amount to budget per item below

ESTIMATE BY DAY, WEEK, THEN MONTH HOW MUCH YOU THINK YOU'LL NEED DEPENDING ON THE ITEM

*Note: I've included exactly what we spent below, but remember, priorities matter! We ate out a LOT, we drank alcohol a healthy (or maybe unhealthy...?) amount, and we did quite a few excursions. All of this costs money, but is NOT necessary! You'll also want to research average local costs depending on where you're going.

Backpackers

*Example is based on an average of 2 people traveling in Vietnam for 1 month

Vanlifers

*Example is based on average of 2 people traveling in van in South America for 1 year

Other Budget Items Not to Forget!

Work-stays: we spent almost nothing during 2 months of our work-stay experience. Only $200/mo in extra food/entertainment
Not moving saves money: We only spent about $900 in 1 month in Vietnam staying at one hotel the entire time (still scuba-dived once)
Friend and family visits: you will undoubtedly spend more when people come to visit! Take this into account!
Emergencies: whether you have insurance or not, emergencies or unforeseen spending needs will happen. Build a buffer into your budget.
Re-establishing budget: you will have to settle down and work again one day...you'll need money saved up until you find a job. Plan for it!

*Take your budget and add more on TOP! Be prepared to spend more than your budget!

Non-monthly Vanlife Expenses

(This is just an example based on what we spent)

*Vanlife can be cheaper than backpacking per month especially if you don't drive much and therefore don't spend much on gas or maintenance. However, the initial vanlife costs are what can make it tough. Therefore, the longer you vanlife, the more the initial costs are worth it. Therefore, consider this trade-off when making your choice. Thankfully for us, while we only vanlifed for 18 months, we invested in the extra $4000 to ship the van home because we plan to live in the van again in the future!

For another great in depth resource on the cost of vanlife visit faroutride.com

Step 4: Figure out how much you need

Write out your own estimates for Step 3

Add up all of your potential costs

Build in a buffer! (I doubled our budget just in case)

What is the total? How much does it differ from your Starting Monthly Budget?

Now you know how much you need to save and/or earn monthly!

Step 5: Keep Track

Download an offline app such as a Notes or a Spreadsheet app

Write ALL of your expenses down as you spend them

Add them up each week/month to keep track on how you're doing compared to your budget and adjust accordingly

Need help with your budget?

CONTACT ME FOR HELP ON ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

Building a budget
Deciding Where to Go to keep it cheap
Choosing between Backpacking and Vanlife
Cost cutting measures for both backpacking and vanlife
Help with Buying a Van
How to earn money while you travel with Remote/Work-stay options