We have always found when on the road it can be difficult to shake the ‘holiday mode’. You know the feeling where all worries have slipped away at the sight of the beach or the care free spirit that rises with a cocktail in hand and a warm glow to your skin. Surrounded by sea, sand and sun gives us that warm relaxed feeling unparalleled by that of the ‘holiday mode’. But reality hits as we remind ourselves, this is not a luxury extended holiday but a lifestyle that provides so much more. So saving money on the road isn’t always easy but here are a few things we do.
Fighting the holiday vibes
When in a touristy area, whether it be a city, a tourist attraction or a beach with a long boardwalk and bars lining it, we feel that holiday mode strike again. We enjoy feeling the bustling and lively atmosphere of those holiday makers around us. Watching on and listening as people around us let go of the ordinary and relax into the spirited ambiance surrounding them. Here is when it can be difficult to not get carried along with the high spirits of those living there best holiday lives but then we remember this is our life, not just a two week holiday to escape to. So instead we allow the the urge of wanting more to pass and the two us can enjoy the merriment of those around us.
Eating out once in each country
There is a fine balance between enjoying each country to its fullest and keeping to some kind of budget. Now don’t get me wrong, we are terrible at budgeting and very good at treating ourselves, so we have to find different ways to do that. Say we walk past a restaurant, it’s ambient lights glowing, the fragrant smells of an unknown cuisine billowing out onto the street, the temptation hits! Yes, we would love nothing more than to enter and feast on the delights offered, but no, what we would spend there in one night could easily feed us for a week, maybe even two. Instead what we might do after several temptations having wafted their way past us, is single out exactly what it is that has us enticed so much and do our best recreate the recipe in the van.
With a little help from google, some intuition and guess work and a few substitutes here and there, voila! A delicious home cooked meal has scratched that itch, and entered into our very own cookbook! More details to come on that! We do however like to eat out at least once in each country to taste the delicacies they have to offer. It’s an important part of travelling for us, being able to enjoy the traditional foods of a new country that we might not not ever be able to try again. Even if it’s trying supermarket produce that is alien to us, it’s always exciting but sometimes a little unnerving trying something new.
Finding cheap supermarkets and shopping at local markets
We also need to be very frugal and thrifty when spending money just like everyone else, am I right? Researching the cheapest supermarkets in each country, buying at markets where fresh produce is often cheaper, always buying the cheapest range available and looking for the best deals. It’s almost become a game between the two of us whilst searching for something to spot the lowest price or best bargain. We also find that the larger the supermarket generally means the cheaper, so we try to avoid those smaller but convenient ones in smaller towns which can be difficult when when in countries where cities are far and few between. Frequently challenging ourselves with having as many no spending days as we can makes going to the supermarket a fun afternoon activity. Yes I know how that sounds but you have to find the the fun in the little things!
Enjoying the many uses of our BBQ
Having a barbecue has certainly made a huge difference for us, we are real foodies and find a good tasty meal really lifts our spirits. We use the barbecue frequently and for much more than you’d imagine, from home made curries to homemade pizza, and of course even a whole roast dinner, (we are British after all!) but these are just a few to mention. If we haven’t tried to cook it on the barbecue yet then I’m sure we will at some point, why don’t you give us some recipes to try?
Charcoal is often reasonably cheap and easy to get a hold of and we stretch it out to last as long we can. You’ll often see us rummaging through woodlands or foraging for drift wood on the beach to find “free” wood to use. Finding anyway we can to save a few pennies. It always feel like a win when using materials that nature has provided to cook our dinner. Not wanting to waste any of the heat the bbq provides us, we will usually cook something for a meal the following day.
We generally only have one cooked meal a day to save on gas, so whether it be rice, potatoes or something else, it’s an easy and inexpensive way to have a cooked meal the next day. We have even at times used the bbq to heat the kettle for teas and coffees, especially if we are running low on gas. Sometimes filling a thermal flask with water heated on the bbq to save for later in the day or if we are lucky it might even last till morning.
The reality of healthy eating on the road
We always imagine when leaving for another trip how lovely it will be to be back on the road and eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. We see ourselves consuming juicy fresh fruits on the regular, nourishing salads and plates filled with colourful vegetables. The sad reality is these fresh produce are often expensive to consume a lot of and don’t last very long. One singular courgette will often span across 2-4 meals each and used as only a filler for another pasta or rice dish. Which is why it’s so important to us to ensure none of our fresh produce goes to waste, making sure it is kept in a cool environment and consuming it even when it’s looking like it’s seen better days.
What we hoped would be healthy fresh salads has turned into sandwiches, filling up on bread to bridge the gap. Though there is still no place we would rather be. We have spent weeks eating packet noodles, rice or pasta with (I’d like to say no, but in reality,) little complaint. We may be eating 30 cent ramen noodles for the 5th day in row but hey, look at that view!
Making our money go further by staying longer
Diesel is also a big expense for us, we often forget that every time we drive we are inadvertently spending money until the time comes to refuel. Filling up the van can vary from once a week to twice a month depending on the type of traveling we do, though we do try to aim for twice a month. Sometimes we drive fast and far to get to a far away destination and other times we dawdle along maybe driving only half an our a day. Staying in one location for several days in a row in a rural destination is a great way to save money. No spending on fuel, shops or the temptations of bars and restaurants. These park ups are usually completely empty except for the throng of nature surrounding us, which is exactly how we like it. It’s a win win with the peace of staying in the countryside for several days living a quiet life alongside nature and what feels like saving money but in realty is just not spending any.
Laundry days
Washing our clothes can also be a forgotten expense, saving up the bulk of our washing to do once a month, yes you read that right, once a month, usually means its two or three loads of washing. Prices can vary from country to country and sometimes even laundromat to laundromat and can add up to quite a sum when paying not only to wash but also to dry our clothes too. I can just imagine your face as you’re reading this, I’m sure your asking yourself “how does someone only wash their clothes once a month?” Don’t panic, we do also hand wash items of clothing in the interim. It might be washed in a lake or river to save our fresh water, but it does get washed.
When we are parked up near a clean looking body of water, we fill our little pop up washing up bowl with soapy water and scrub away. Leaving wet clothes to dry on washing lines in and around the van, allowing the sun work its magic. If we have used a Laundromat and the weather is fair we skip the drying costs altogether and load up the dashboard for the sun to dry as we drive. Hanging rows of damp laundry in the back of the van with windows down and wind rushing through. On the occasion we do a pet sit, we can do our washing there which is also really useful.
Saving money by getting our water from local sources
Water, however, is a valuable commodity when living on the road, though we use water from lakes and rivers etc to wash our clothes and sometimes even to wash our dishes it’s not necessarily drinking water. We tend to get our drinking water from – what we hope to be – fresh water taps. Using an app (the app can vary depending on where you are in the world) we locate taps to re-fill our 25 litre drinking water. Sometimes it can be a tap on the side of the road or pipe sticking out of a mountain but if the locals fill up their water there then it’s good enough for us too. On very rare occasions have we spent money on bottled water, only when we have been very low on water and not found anywhere local to refill. It is something we try to avoid doing as it’s an extra added cost that just isn’t necessary when the land already provides water for you. On another note it’s extra plastic added to the planet that can be avoided.
Our conclusion to saving money on the road
It may not be a glamorous lifestyle but its undeniably a fulfilling one, having freedom is worth giving up the security of a 9 to 5. We do spend some days worrying about where money is going to come from and how unfortunate it is we can’t afford some nice thing we want. But its just a fleeting feeling, the want and desire of something out of our budget is fleeting, the worry of money is fleeting. A jump in a lake, the feel of the oceans waves crashing down on you, or the sound of the birds and wind in the trees on a hike is enough to silence those worries and bring us back to the now, to the reason why we are doing all this.
Concluding our saving habits
Whether it’s eating out at a good looking restaurant, a coffee at a cosy cafe or a cocktail in a fancy bar, we all like our luxuries and when you’re on holiday, money doesn’t seem so important. Its all about enjoying life, so sometimes we need to find the joy in the small things. Feeling the hot sun warm our skin, the refreshing coolness of the sea, river or lake, having the time to read a good book, cooking good food with good company, or spending quality time with the ones you love. Even when money is tight, we’re feeling down and we’re missing home, we still have each other and wouldn’t change any of this for the world.
Why don’t you tell us about any hints and tips you have for saving money? We would certainly appreciate hearing new ways to save money whilst on the road. We all enjoy spending money and we all need to budget in some way or another. Are we not alone in the techniques we use, get in touch and let us know.
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