Budgeting advice please!
Hi everyone
Could anyone shed some light on how much (roughly) it costs to live per month 'on the road' in a motorhome? We will be embarking on a trip round Europe for several years soon and would love to hear from anyone who may have done a similar trip, with some advice on approximate costs for food, fuel, camping charges, energy/water etc. Ballpark figures would be fine!
Look forward to hearing from you!
DonnaG
Thanks for your reply! We were going to budget £1000/month to be on the safe side - really we want to know how much to save before we hand our notices in and head off! So we're on the right lines, which is reassuring. Our plan is to spend 2-4 weeks at each site, dependent on what there is to do nearby, hopefully spend several months in as many European countries as possible before considering America, Asia etc...
Really appreciate your advice.
And don't forget that all important lump sum in case of emergencies!
A few years ago, this question was raised on another site. The thought then was £1,000 per month from those doing it although all of them admitted that it necessitated tight financial control and they had few luxuries. I'm guessing that would equate to up to £1200 per month [after any tax and other deductions] or so now.
You can probably work out the running costs of your vehicle such as insurance, maintenance and fuel just by looking at prices on the internet. As for food, you should find it easy to live on less than £5 per day per person even in this country; students do.
Heating will be a killer cost in the winter unless you inhabit the warmer climes. You are unlikely to be able to go ski-ing on £1000/1200 per month.
I have tried 3 times to reply to this post and my posts are not going in only the original quote.
Hi Andy,
Take a look at our blog (link in the signature) - we have posted full accounts of our trip. Our blog is EuropeByCamper.com
great help.....
Just returned from 42 day trip Spain,France stayed mainly on campsites.Average out at £38 per day this includes every thing and no penny pinching.Enjoy travelling.
Hi John
That's impressive. How did you do it?
Which ferry crossings / companies did you use? And did you use one of the low-season cheque schemes or ACSI card to keep the costs down?
We hear a few horror stories about the soaring cost of touring in France, so it's great to hear you've managed to do it affordably.
This is a tricky question and depends if you are going to cater for yourself as you do at home or if you like eating out !! I spend just about the same on my shopping in Aldi/Lidl as I do at home!! well maybe a bit extra for drinks etc; and you do spend more on ready meals, take into account your fuel consumption ! what mileage you will be doing how many stals;aires, or campsights you intend staying at. I reconned we spent about £1.800 on our 6 weeks trip last year which I thought was pretty good when you think what the same would have cost staying in hotels. Mix in with that you can aways find free places to stay wild camping if you feel you need to pull your belt in.
I never add in the Tunnel though that is a seperate entitiy as that is paid well before we leave.
Hi Andy
A tricky question, as everyone naturally has different priorities and needs... wildcamping or smart campsites, do you want to travel huge distances or just a few miles every week or so..but many people we've talked to on our travels, which have covered Spain, Portugal and France, a ball park figure seems to be around £80-£1000 a month, with other expenses like pension or insurance payments not necessarily being covered by that. Having said that, we met a guy in Portugal who did it on just his basic state pension, so horses for courses really!