Yearly full time living expenses

Readers Rob and Sherrie from Alberta asked about our yearly expenses while living fulltime in Sherman. We've kept track of pretty much every dime that we've spent, so I can kind of give you a breakdown.

Fuel:
The first 12 months, we did a lot of driving, and a lot of it was in expensive Canada. We drove 17,000 miles (27,000 kms) and spent $6,673 on gasoline. An average of $556 per month.

The second year we slowed down. Only drove 10,000 miles (16,000 kms) and spent $4,219 on gasoline. An average of $351 per month.

The third year, Ruth's Mom was sick and so we didn't go very far. The only real trip we took in the motorhome was the month of March to Florida. We only put about 3,500 miles on it at a cost of about $1,100 in fuel. We still have a small car that we drive while we're parked up so we had some car expenses that year as well.

This year, we've already done about 5,000 miles at a cost of about $1,600. Fuel is cheaper in Mexico, about 75 cents per litre in Canadian dollar terms. But we may be headed for Nova Scotia in the summer, so that will add some costs.

As you can see, fuel will be the number one thing that you have control over...the less moving around you do, the cheaper it will be for you.

Food:
This one has been pretty consistent for us, we spend between $350 and $400 per month on average. Keep in mind that we do not eat out very often, so this is pretty good. But then Ruth is a great cook, and doesn't waste anything! But this expense can be variable depending on where you live. In Mexico, we spend about $300 per month, but in Nova Scotia we spent about $500 per month.

Propane:
Pretty minor really, even though we use our stove and oven a lot. Also the fridge runs on propane while we're travelling because we're rarely plugged in to electric. Figure $25 per month on average.

Alcohol:
Obviously different for everybody. We spend about $130 per month, but we get a lot more booze in Mexico for $130 than we would in Nova Scotia. We spend about the same no matter where we are, we just drink less when we know how expensive it is!

Miscellaneous:
This has been a real variable for us. Expenses range from veterinary fees to new sunglasses. So there have been some really high months ($800) and some really low months ($60). Since we started, it averages out to $350 per month.

Entertainment:
We don't spend very much here. This includes anything touristy that we might do while travelling, and also includes eating out and the odd ice cream or treat. The highest month ever in this category was about $180. Averages out for us to about $75 per month.

Overnight expenses:
We don't stay in expensive parks. I think the most we have ever paid to overnight is about $35 per night. That is one of the reasons that we are outfitted with solar panels and batteries so that we can park where ever we want and not have to pay. Having said that, we don't mind staying at some state and county parks that are under $15 per night. We spent $920 our first 12 months, and $820 the second year. The third year we didn't travel much, but spent $193 for our month long trip to Florida. This year, we're already averaging $175 per month, so we'll have to cut back!

Other expenses such as insurance and repairs are not worth discussing because there are too many variables. Everybody's situatuion will be different.

Any questions, feel free to ask!