With over 22 countries plus 4 Greek islands adventured so far in our vans alone, over nearly 4yrs….. we thought we’d share some info + stats from our experience with you all... how much we spend + what our life full time on the road looks like 🏔 ☀️ 🥂 😎 🏝
First we want to say this is a real personal thing... everyone is different + this is so true when it comes to spending the dosh 🤑
Our aim is to spend time together as a family doing what we love.... exploring new places + soaking it up along the way!
🚍 Distance travelled: 33,460miles or 53,536km
💰 Coins spent on diesel... averaging £1.10/€1.26 per litre: £7,595.87 or €8,735.25 - also used (VERY small amount) for cooking & heating in Sprinter ☕️
⛽️ Cheapest countries for fuel: Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Andorra, Gibraltar, Germany
Most expensive countries for fuel: Italy, UK, Greece
🛣 Vignettes/Tolls: £310.20 or €356.73
⛴ Ferries + Euro Tunnel: £2,121.15 or €2,439.32
🛠 Vehicle maintenance costs: £10,092.82 or €11,606.74 🤯 ….. heavily bumped up by a big breakdown!
🚐 Vehicle insurance: £3,231 or €3715,65
🏥 Health insurance: £717.20 or €824.78
🛒 GROCERIES averaging £168.36 or €193.61 a week for a family of 4, plus 3 pets..... hands down our BIGGEST expense!... setting off we thought diesel would be right up top - we were wrong 💸
We try to buy local or use Lidl + Aldi where we can 👍
🐾 Feeding/helping stray animals: £437 or €502.55
🗺 Where do we STAY??
8% campgrounds 92% free park-ups/motorhome stops
Campgrounds really chew into the budget... we love staying in out of the way spots, plus motorhome areas make life SO much easier.
When we do pull onto a campground, it always feels good to totally relax + they make a great base to explore the local area with the van safe + sound on site 💯
🤩 Fav PLACES:
Kate - Limni Corfu**, Poros Kefalonia, Crete (the whole 5 weeks was just awesome!), Birresborn Germany, Sanlucar de Barrameda Spain, Corfu Town, Pompeii Italy, Rupite (hot springs) Bulgaria, Oberprether Muhle campground Germany
Martin - Limni Corfu**, Riva Di Tures Italy, Rupite (hot springs) Bulgaria, Argostoli Kefalonia, Reichea bay Peloponnese, Pompeii Italy, Vars France, Triopetra Crete, Nazare Portugal, Imola Italy, Sanlucar de Barrameda Spain, Metsova Greece….. FAV DRIVING ROAD - Fern Pass Austria riding shotgun 👌
Shannon - Limni Corfu**, Triopetra Crete, Thinalio beach Corfu, Nehren Germany, Albertville France, Benidorm Spain, The Durrells film set house Corfu, Corfu town, Benitses Corfu, Daphnila beach Corfu, Emeral Bakery Corfu 😋
Phoebe - Limni Corfu**, Thinalio beach Corfu, Pounta beach Peloponnese Greece, Nehren Germany, Limni Kerkini Greece, Arina beach Crete, Poros Kefalonia, Elaia Peloponnese Greece, Saint-Venant France, Albertville France, Benidorm Spain, Parque Da Gale Portugal, Corfu town, Benitses Corfu, Daphnila Corfu, Palaiokastritsa Corfu 🤘
** Limni, Corfu was our home for over 3 months in 2020 + we really became part of the community, getting to know the heart of this place✌️
💰 How we FUND our lifestyle:
Initially we saved like CRAZY, once out of the house!!! Saving with a house was pretty much impossible.... Kate a full time mum + a veterinary nurse before the kiddos, while Martin worked as an industrial Engineer.
Living in a van, it’s seriously amazing how little you need + one thing you don’t want is clutter!... this goes hand in hand with saving the coins 🙌
Now nearly 4yrs on, we have a stock market portfolio, take Engineering contracts as + when funds get low, plus we are working on a new online source of income right now.... we need to learn more about this before we share 🤓
We keep things simple + make our money last as long as possible, whilst living life + making the most of where we are!
💪 Biggest CHALLENGE:
Autumn + winter living in a drive-away air awning whilst building out the Sprinter. Every waking hour was taken up with working on the build, freezing cold in a muddy field + pretty exposed to the elements 🌬
The kiddos slept in the van as soon as we had a floor down, whilst we slept out in the awning. We cooked on one little camping stove + had use of a cold water tap outside (when it wasn’t frozen!). Once the dark evenings sunk their teeth in, we worked by torch light where we could 🔦
Later in the winter we had to throw out a lot of our belongings after we discovered mice had set up camp with us in the awning 🐭
Martin was working long hours most days to fund the build, we were cold, tired + determined to create our cosy home..... we didn’t create much content on here or YouTube during this time (we wish we had).... it was a pretty tough experience + we wouldn’t change it!
📌 What we’ve LEARNT:
If you want to take time out to follow your dreams, DO IT - don’t wait until retirement... LIFE IS SHORT + we’re not all guaranteed to get this!
The nomadic lifestyle has been SO beneficial to all of us, beyond measure.... it’s changed us all, slowed us down + we really appreciate the simple things in life.
Sure it can be tough + there are hard times... we wouldn’t change it + LOVE living this adventure together!
Our #1 TIP:
Slow down, enjoy each other + don’t sweat the small stuff 💯
We’ve loads of adventures ahead of us + we’ll be bringing you stacks of tips + info - our travels are ongoing for who knows how long, so keep watching & ask us any questions you like!
👉 You can also find us on YouTube, Facebook + on instagram:
Thanks for sharing our journey with us - you really are a bunch of legends 💯
Cheers - Martin & Kate ✌️
Comments