RV Spending - 6 month comparison

One of the biggest questions we had starting out was “How much will this cost”? We looked at other RV blogs and saw everything from $500/mo to $6000/mo. We scoffed at the $6000/mo, thinking that these people must be living in the lap of luxury, at rv resorts and going on the yacht with Laurent on Sundays. After keeping track of our spending the last 6 months, I’ve got to say I’m astonished at how much we have spent. Some of it, like entertainment and food, has been us being completely frivolous. It’s easy to think that you need to be a part of every new experience. Some of it has been really frustrating, like having to pay to spend weeks in hotels while our rv was being repaired, not to mention the costs of the repairs. So without further ado, here is how much we have spent to live on the road for our first six months.

Holy crap, it is so much more than we had thought. That’s not including things like health insurance, internet, and recurring monthly costs like Netflix. Our experience has not been one of saving money. We actively budgeted very closely last month and it would have completely skewed our numbers, but my hope is that our next 6 months will have much lower averages. We are now slowing down, we have taken care of the major repairs (though who knows when the next is), and we are fine taking our time in our adventures instead of spending a ton of money to see everything. Our lifestyle has actually cost more than when we were in an apartment - there are so many more opportunities to spend money on the road. We’ve got new food options every week, cool sights that we’ve never seen, and we drive more often to explore. We were more homebodies when in Minnesota, if only because we had tried new things over a much larger period of time. So to those of you who are looking to find out the costs on the road, know that budgeting will be your best friend.

RV Spending - February 2020

February we really wanted to try and keep our spending to a minimum and see what we realistically could live on if we needed to cut things. You never know if/when you’ll lose income, and being on the road it can be significantly harder to find new clients. By knowing what we can get by on, it helps relieve that stress of not knowing.

Food

Our goal was to keep groceries under $120/week. Considering we had been spending big bucks on fancy ingredients, I was surprised how easy this was. Ron made fantastic meals and I didnt feel like I was missing out on anything. We also wanted to spend under $200 on eating out, which was like one meal a week. That was blown when we went to a great Mexican restaurant in Roswell that looked way cheaper on the outside than it was inside.

Groceries: $339

Eating Out: $217

Gas

Aside from the big move to New Mexico, we also did a lot of longer drives to explore. We saw three national parks (one was 4.5 hours round trip) and made the trek to Roswell.

Gas: $294

Entertainment

We have a national parks pass (and totally recommend them) so going to the parks was “free”. We also went to Sonic the Hedgehog the movie, as Ron wanted to support a movie that was changed when viewer feedback said “Oh god what have you made”. The movie was still crap.

Entertainment: $70

RV Repairs

We didn’t have any major repairs, and spent the money on small improvements like things for the kitchen and wires for our solar setup.

RV Repairs: $65

RV Parks

We spent $485 for two weeks at a park that we absolutely hated, and then another $220 on a state park reservation for the week in the summer by Yellowstone.

RV Parks: $705

Propane

We had a few fill ups from cold nights.

Propane: $51

Grand total for November: $1741

RV Spending - January 2020

Holy crap it’s 2020. Time has gone by really weirdly for us. Some days it feels like we were in Minneapolis just a bit ago, other times it feels like we were in Colorado five years ago. Time is boxes. :)

Food

We did a lot of home cooking. We had both friends and family come over, so there was more eating out than anticipated, but we ate well without feeling like we were sacrificing anything.

Groceries: $848

Eating Out: $300

Gas

We only got gas for the motorcycle - no RV fill ups

Gas: $73

Entertainment

We really lumped a lot into this category this month. Along with friends and family activities, we renewed: Amazon Prime, Squarespace, Email. We also went to Six Flags and had an absolute blast, Ron found the cowboy hat he had been pining for since we started, and Ron restocked his ammo. This was much more expensive than we would have liked to spend in one month, but the renewals couldnt wait.

Entertainment: $1532

RV Repairs

No RV repairs! What is even happening? We have included our tab renewals for the RV, motorcycle, and trailer in this category.

RV Repairs: $200

RV Parks

We were only in one place, so only one payment.

RV Parks: $440

Propane

We didn’t need to fill up this month. All of our heat came from electric so there was no need to top off.

Propane: $30

Grand total for November: $3423

RV Spending - December 2019

This was our first month where we stayed in one place. Which was… weird. We were finally starting to get used to not being used to anything! San Marcos was a stellar location for our first longer stay, but we are ready to hit the road!

Food

We didn’t eat out much. Our big meal with Tyler was paid for the previous .month, so it was almost exclusively groceries.

Groceries: $1210

Eating Out: $185

Gas

We only got gas for the motorcycle - no RV fill ups

Gas: $40

Entertainment

We had Tyler down for the weekend and we did a bunch of touristy things like check out Buc-ee’s (Ron is a Buc-ee’s convert), see the San Antonio Zoo, hike around Austin, and go shooting at a fancy range. Ron and I also saw the new Star Wars movie, which was…meh.

Entertainment: $480

RV Repairs

None! We didnt go anywhere, and nothing broke. We did, however, upgrade to a suuuuuper sweet 80” screen and projector for videos and gaming. No more nights curled up around the ipad! Also adding the yearly registration for the motorhome, motorcycle, and tow.

RV Repairs: $770

RV Parks

Our stay for the month was relatively cheap, but I’m a planner so I booked us at RV parks through May. Wishful thinking on my part, I know. Some places were just deposit, all state parks are fully paid.

RV Parks: $1404

Propane

We didn’t need to fill up this month. All of our heat came from electric so there was no need to top off.

Propane: $0

Grand total for November: $4089

RV Spending - November 2019

We finally had a month where I didn’t want to crawl in a hole and die whenever I looked at our spending. This month was way better on our pocketbooks, partially because we didnt have any major RV issues and partly because we spend longer at each place. In fact, the next two spots we are going we are spending a month at each to see what the perfect amount of time is for us (that, and it’s hella cold everywhere else).

Food

We didn’t really go out that much to eat, compared to previous months. There were not as many options for dining aside from fast food in the smaller towns we stayed in. However, we did discover our new love for Chicken Express.

Groceries: $945

Eating Out: $276

Gas

Going to fewer places means less gas needed. We did, however, spend a lot more time exploring the towns so we filled up the bike quite a bit. 40+ mpg on that thing is absolutely amazing.

Gas: 312

Entertainment

Heading down toward a more metropolitan town meant more options for things to see and do. This month was extremely expensive as we paid for a few once-in-a-lifetime experiences (coming soon: fishbirds!). We paid for an animal encounter at SeaWorld, as well as prix fixe menu for us and our friend Tyler for when he comes down next month. While it may be expensive, I’d much rather have our money go to experiences than have to spend it on new tires.

Entertainment: $1,151

RV Repairs

None! Nada! Nothing!

RV Repairs: $0

RV Parks

We had previously paid for our stays at the US Army Corps of Engineer Parks, so this month was much cheaper due to Past Jakki having taken care of the cost already.

RV Parks: $220

Propane

We ended up cutting it close in Comanche with the propane and ran out of propane for our grill as well as pretty close to empty in the RV. Luckily small town deals paid off, and we filled up both the RV and gas grill container for less than the half fill we had gotten the previous month.

Propane: $38

Grand total for November: $2942

RV Spending - October 2019

I’m ready to write an article called “Why You Definitely Should(n’t) Live In An RV”, as I shiver from it being 30 degrees outside in Texas and our heater is suddenly broken. Every time we get one thing fixed, another breaks. Most of October was spent with a tinge of disappointment. We didnt really like the towns we visited and we were once again stuck somewhere while we were getting things repaired. We also had our most expensive repair to date. As we travel through Texas like the pretend snowbirds we are, we will be slowing down to lower gas and campground costs so that, God willing, we can bring back up our savings.

Food

We were pretty upset by how lousy October was being to us, and we took it out on our wallets with restaurants and groceries. When we hibernate next month that number should go down.

Groceries: $579

Eating Out: $620

Gas

While we had fewer trips, we went further on each trip. We also were bored in the towns we went to, and traveled up to two hours each way to larger towns for things to do.

Gas: $265

Entertainment

Albuquerque had an awesome zoo that we went to on a half priced weekend, and we saw a movie at Alamo Drafthouse (Joker) as well as went to MeowWolf. With the influx of video games coming out soon, we will probably spend less on entertainment as we nerd out.

Entertainment: $126

RV Repairs

We went to Hal Burns in Santa Fe for repairs. We replaced our front brake pads, calipers, and rotors. We also got our bearings repacked. We were originally quoted $3k for this service by the repair guy in Denver, and were pleasantly surprised when it was just over half of that. This also includes the registration for the motorcycle.

RV Repairs: $2,380

RV Parks

We were lucky enough to stay in the parking lot for free while we were waiting for our repairs in Santa Fe, but because of the uncertainty of when we would get fixed, we were stuck with expensive same day KOAs. Most of November we prepaid back in September as they are state parks, so next month will be cheaper. This month we stayed at an RV park 24 days, with an average of $37/site.

RV Parks: $749

Propane

As we had hookups almost the entire time, most of our propane usage was for the stove. Our electric heater only works over 50 degrees, so the nights it got really cold we used propane heaters instead.

Propane: $57

Grand total for October: $4,776

RV Spending - September 2019

Well based off of the last two months, the entirety of the internet has lied to me about the cost of RV living. August was rough, but September was genuinely brutal. Coming down the Rocky Mountains, our brakes went out and somehow the entirety of Denver refuses to repair RV brakes. After 14 phone calls, we finally found a guy that was willing to fix it. Unfortunately with the time calling shops, negotiations to get the RV towed, and the actual diagnosis and repair, it was almost 2.5 weeks of waiting before we were able to get back on the road. When we reached our next destination, we found out that the brakes on our new motorcycle had gone out. This meant not only were we really without a way to explore anything, we had to trek the bike back to a shop that could fix it same day.

Food

Because we didn’t have the ability to cook when we were waiting for the RV to be fixed, we went out a lot more for food than we had budgeted. We tried to keep the costs low and ate more fast food than I’d like to admit versus actual meals. The latter half of the month was filled with outdoor grilling and we finally tried our Instapot (not super successfully).

Groceries: $462

Eating Out: $499

Gas

We did very little traveling in September, though not for lack of trying. Not having the RV meant we werent going to any new towns, and then not having the bike meant we were not exploring. I dont expect our gas bill to be this low until the winter when we settle down in places for a month at a time.

Gas: $135

Entertainment

We really didnt do much this month. When we got stuck in Denver our options for going out to do things was limited. We went to see It 2 (3.5 stars from Ron) at an Alamo Drafthouse, and drove to one of our favorite towns, Manitou Springs, and played at the penny arcade there. Other than that, we’ve just been exploring parks with our park pass and playing video games together.

Entertainment: $60

RV Repairs

This one actually was less than anticipated. New brake line sent us just over a grand. However, it revealed a whole new set of problems that we will talk about when we get it fixed in October. :)

RV Repairs: $1,242

RV Parks:

This one should really be titled Extended Stay Hotel, because thats where so much of this came from. We couldnt stay in a normal hotel because most dont allow pets, and the Extended Stay we went to looked great on paper - until we arrived and then they told us about the additional pet charge. The RV Repair Tech kept telling us that the rv would be done the next day, and then the next day, and then the next day, so it added up really quickly. We also learned that there arent a lot of boondocking areas with good cell reception the further south you go, so we paid up for some longer stays though February 2020. See you all in Texas for the holidays! This month we stayed at an RV park 20 days, with an average of $35/site.

RV Parks (aka Hotel): $2,316

Propane

We weren’t in the RV much, so we didnt use much propane. We also learned that A) it gets cold here at night and B) our electric heat works. So we are using electric heat where we have hookups.

Propane: $22

Grand total for September: $4,736

RV Spending - August 2019

One of the first things I researched when considering this lifestyle is “How much does it cost?” I found everything from $1k a month to $10k a month, and a lot of the things I read didnt really have a lot of details. So I resolved that when we hit the road, we would keep track of everything so that if anyone else came across this and was interested, maybe they’d have a better idea of what it can cost.

August

August sucked. Even though we had completely renovated Sunbadges on the inside and spent five figures on her maintenance at a shop, there were still a ton of unanticipated costs. The water wouldnt work, we werent sure if the fridge was working (it smelled like death which normally indicated a propane issue caused by an unlevel RV), our solar solution wasn’t being a viable solution, etc etc etc. A lot of these things are very costly to fix up front, but shouldnt need to be replaced for a while once everything is fixed. We know that something is always going to be broken (I’m looking at you, dashboard), but we needed to make sure we could at least get the necessities.

Food

Since our fridge was being weird and we were having problems with our grill initially, we did a lot more eating out than I’m proud of. Our goal is to have one regional meal wherever we stop, but some days we really went above and beyond. I’m expecting once we get all the cooking set up, the groceries will go up, and the eating up will go down.

Groceries: $664

Eating Out: $500

Gas

We definitely were in a bit of a rush to get from Point A to Point B. Part of that was intentional - we weren’t really psyched to stay long in South Dakota and Wyoming when we could just be where our hearts are in Colorado. I project that this also will be much higher than a few months time.

Gas: $733

Entertainment

While our goal isnt to do all the touristy things, we still want to be able to have fun. National park entry cost us a bit, as did our new Sturgis mugs (which seriously are amazing and we pretty much exclusively drink cold drinks out of them). We also went to the movies twice, both times at discount theatres. If you havent seen Ready or Not yet, make time for it.

Entertainment: $100

RV Repairs

Holy crap I could not have anticipated how much this cost. We had problem after problem, and nothing in an RV is cheap to replace (just cheap to begin with - heyo!). This ranged from extra batteries to a new water pump to a mobile RV tech coming out to take a look at the issues we had. I can only hope this isnt normal.

RV Repairs: $1,435

RV Parks

This one is a little skewy because I am a planner, so not all of these park stays are for the month of August. In fact, most are for September. But I also paid for some August stays in July, so it is what it is. We want to do more boondocking but until we get the solar up to par, sometimes you just need to pay to stay. We stayed in RV parks 10 days this month with an average of $58/site.

RV Parks: $854

Propane

We were empty for both our RV and gas grill before we took off, so once again the initial cost is probably higher than it will be in future months. We also spent two weeks in the cold, cold mountains and had to use the propane heat to keep the RV at a balmy 60 degrees minimum a night. While nobody froze to death, cats included, we definitely had to wear layers.

Propane: $65

Grand total for August: $4,351