How Much Does Living in a Van Cost?

Fuck it. You’re ready to live in a van down by the river. But how much does van life really cost? Here’s a breakdown of Vanholio’s real-life monthly budget as a full-time vandweller.

Bare-Bones Monthly Budget

My basic monthly expenses are $821 (Line Item 16). Yes, you read that right – about $800. That ain’t even that extreme. Lots of vandwellers run a van life on that kind of money, some for even less than $600 per month (see below).

2. Auto, Gas & Maintenance – I come up with this figure using AAA’s 2016 “Your Driving Costs” brochure. Vanholio has a minivan, so I used the large sedan numbers. My total yearly estimated cost is for 10,000 miles, divided back down to a monthly figure. ‘Course, this don’t figure eventual replacement cost of my rig.

3. Auto, Insurance – This is for full coverage under GEICO. Besides being older than 25 and having a good driving record, Vanholio set up his official residency in a cheap ZIP code. Why the fuck pay more? I live everywhere, so I can live anywhere, so far as The Man knows. Compare costs at “Average Car Insurance Rates by Neighborhood” on the Carinsurance.com website.

9. Groceries / Household – This is a bit high but not crazy. First off, Vanholio is a big man. He also likes to eat out once in awhile, gets drinks and snacks at convenience stores, and indulges in a few luxuries. I could be more frugal, but fuck it. Also, this line item includes my OTC drugs, laundry soap, grooming items, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and dog food – basically all that shit I get at a grocery store. Don’t have any fucking idea what you spend on food? Start guesstimating using Official USDA Food Plans price data.

10. Internet / Phone – $20 is pretty goddamn amazing, huh!? It’s actually a bit less, but I have a buffer for equipment replacement. I spend $11.20 per month for a Page Plus flip phone on the $12 plan, but I get a little discount for automatic payments. For internet, I got one of those flashed MiFis off Ebay that give you unlimited 3G Verizon wireless for $5 a month (Google ‘em!).

Best Money-Management!

12. Mail Service / Shipping – I’ve got Traveling Mailbox for mail, which scans in my mail for me to read online or forwards it, if I need the piece. I pay $20 per month for a premium address. I factored in another $10 for other shipping expenses that come up.

13. Medical, Out-of-Pocket – Vanholio is living under the minimum for expanded Medicar, $16, 394, so his medical insurance and deductibles are pretty cheap.

17. Federal Income Tax / FICA – It’s one thing to budget spending, but I also needed to figure out how much I need to earn before Uncle Sam gets his cut. Otherwise, I’d be short. It takes $899 in gross earnings to have $821 left in my check. SmartAsset.com’s tax estimator does all the crazy math. Play with it. My figures are based on no state or local income tax, income from a job vs. self-employment, and just one deduction (myself).

Advanced Monthly Budget

You need money for extras and emergencies. Plus, you need to save for the future. So this budget works all that in. And again, it figures what I need to earn gross before the taxman takes a cut.

17. Cushion, 20% – I added 20% to my basic monthly expenses for fun, replacing things, gifts, the unexpected, etc.

18. Savings, 30% – Looking around the ‘net, most personal finance experts recommend you save 30% of your income for “retirement.” Don’t know that I’ll retire as I’m halfway outta the game already, but I figure saving and investing at a decent rate is just smart. At the least, I gotta replace the rig someday and need cash saved up in case I’m unemployed, by choice or not. Plus, I figure I can eventually live off investments instead of work. And I won’t need to worry about what the fuck happens to Social Security!

Hey, Beer Vanholio! He works hard on this blog.

Also See ...

• Your Money or Your Life (Book)
• Homepage with sample budgets (CheapRVLiving.com)
• “Living in a Van - What is the Monthly Cost?” (AClarino YouTube.com)
• Vanholio’s 21 Alternative Food Sources

Read More »

Top 5 US Convenience Stores

As an OTR vandweller, I visit a lot of convenience stores for gas, cheap eats, and shits. (Literally, shits. Hey, that’s #vanlife!) Here’s Vanholio’s Top 5 Countdown.

Vanholio's Top 5 US Convenience Stores

No. 5 – Circle K

Found in a huge chunk of the ol’ USA, Vanholio counts on Circle K for good gas prices and, most importantly, Polar Pop! See, he carries a huge 64 oz. insulated mug with him. At Circle K, he can refill that fatass for only $0.89, plus tax!

The chain’s hot dog offerings vary by region, but usually you can get a 2-fur-1 special for $2 or $2.50! With my huge drink, that’s lunch for $3 or a tad more. Deal!

No. 4 — Pilot

OTR vandwellers like myself practically live at Pilots rest stops nationwide, almost as much as OTR truckers.

Soda and coffee refills are cheap at $0.99, even for my 64 oz. big boy. Hot dogs and gas are cheap, too. Pilot hot delis have some of America’s best, deep-cheese pizza at 2 slices for $5, and the breakfast tacos ain’t half bad.

You can park overnight in the lot. They’ve got free WiFi. And if you’re desperate for a shower, they have ‘em for $12, towels and soap provided – a hefty fucking price, but when it’s been a few weeks …

BTW, Pilot also owns Flying J, which for some reason sucks balls.

No. 3 – Casey’s General Stores

Donuts, baked goods, coffee, hot dogs, fresh pizza, subs, wraps, soft serve, fountain drinks, coffee, milk, eggs – Casey’s General Stores have a huge variety, all fresh, all cheap. It’s an amazing Midwest / Plains States chain. Plus they’re usually clean.

No. 2 – Maverik

A western / Rocky Mountains chain, Maverik has everything Vanholio loves – cheap gas, cheap hot dogs, awesome breakfast tacos, cheap soda and coffee refills, clean bathrooms, frequent candy sales, and good donuts.

Maverik hot delis usually have all kinds of fresh, tasty, reasonably priced foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

And in Utah, the soda fountain is stocked with lots of non-caffeinated sodas, in case you’re already flying a little high.

No. 1 – Stripes

Vanholio is a Texas boy, and Texas-based Stripes has been his mainstay for years.

Their in-store hot deli, Laredo Taco Company, has better Tex-Mex than most so-called Mexican restaurants, and they’re dirt cheap. Lunch plates with an entree, rice, beans, and tortillas are usually $3.99. In early mornings, folks line up for the $0.99 breakfast tacos, all on fresh, homemade flour tortillas. I mean, you can see the little old Mexican ladies behind the counter rolling the dough out and grilling ‘em up!

In the grab-and-go section, you can get two corn dogs for $0.99. And they’re damned good corn dogs, too. Would love to know where they buy ‘em. Love their spicy sausage wraps, too.

Of course, gas, soda and coffee refills, and hot dogs are cheap too. Otherwise, Vanholio wouldn’t recommend.

Honorable Mentions

East Coast Sheetz has the best fresh food of any convenience store, but you pay for it. Prices aren’t outrageous, mind you, just more in line with fast food restaurants. They have the best coffee, too, and free WiFi.

All the convenenience stores Vanholio stopped at in southern Utah – chains and locals – were stocked with the most delicious, fresh cake donuts I’ve ever had in my life. I mean, they were so fucking amazing I’d get 3 or 4 and make a gut-stuffing meal of them, oink, oink! I think they came from local bakeries, but I didn’t catch the names.

Missed Any?

I ain’t been every fucking place while living in a van. If there’s a chain I shoulda given the shout-out to, let me know in the comments below.

Hey, Beer Vanholio! He works hard on this blog.

Also See...

Don't Cook Ramen Noodles, Soak 'Em Cold!
Vanholio’s 21 Alternative Food Sources
Roadside Stopper: Can Something Be Too Big in Texas? (WSJ)

Read More »

Fuck Blog Ads, I Won’t Do ‘Em Anymore!

Do you like ads on blogs and websites? Do you even click those fuckers? I don’t. That and some of the reasons below are why I took ‘em off Vanholio.com.

Look, I work fucking hard on this blog. Even at this early stage, I’ve put in hundreds of hours of work – uncompensated. I don’t mind for now; I love what I’m doing. But eventually I want to make some money. You know, get paid for my work. Cover what few bills I have living in a van down by the river.

Why Ads Are Dumb as Fuck

But ads ain’t the way I’m gonna do it, nope. They’re goddamned annoying. And they’re dumb business. Here’s “13 Reasons Why Blog Ads Are a Silly Monetization Strategy.” I agree with all those reasons. Plus advertisers are assholes.

Amazon.com and Others Can Go to Hell

I tried affiliate ads with Amazon.com, for example, mostly recommending shit I’ve used. Not totally sleazy. But do I know those are the best products for vandwelling? No, I’m not Consumer-fucking-Reports! I’m not the high fucking prophet of vanlife! I tried some junk and it worked for me. Big fucking deal!

And I don’t give a rat’s ass whether you buy stuff from Amazon.com or not, buy other products somewhere else, or make your own shit.

Actually, I think it’s cooler if you make your own gear from trash. And there’s no money in that for me or the Corporatocracy at all. Good!

Let me expand on that. Vanholio advocates putting as little into the Corporatocracy as possible, whether through work, taxes, or consumption. I’d be committing high hypocritical irony to preach simplicity and take the pigs’ ad money the same time, like bullshitters Real Simple and TreeHugger do.

As if you can consume your way to a simpler, greener lifestyle … Just don’t buy shit!

Will Vanholio Ever Make Scratch?

So, yeah, I still swim in this festering swamp of Consumer Capitalism. I still need some cash.

But I won’t offer anything for sale until I have something I think is worth you buying. I’m speculating on maybe writing some books or something. Maybe I’ll just ask for patron donations and hope ya’ll’ll pay me direct for my efforts. I don’t know.

Until then, enjoy Vanholio.com’s infotainment ad free. Subscribe for updates and insider vanlife info. And tell your friends to check this blog out. Peace! [Drops mic, Makes V, Exits … ]

Hey, Beer Vanholio! He works hard on this blog.

Also See ...

Vanholio Is a Fucking Sellout!

Vanholio's 1st Book for Sale

Vanholio Gear Store

Read More »

Yeah, I'll Piss on Your Damned Bonfire

What the fuck is it with people and their huge fucking campfires? Forest fires blazing around us, and the bubbas are still stoking their own personal infernos!

Here I am, on a mountain just east of Prescott, Ariz. Hot, dry fucking weather. Brown, crispy grass. Wind blowing crazy. Lightning flashing on the ridge. A dozen wildfires burning across the state, including right across the valley.

And the inbred morons camped by me are building huge fucking bonfires and yucking it up. Burning pine, too – sparks popping everywhere. Fuckwits think they’re running a Rammstein concert.

You know what? The smoke stinks like the inside of a skunk’s ass. It’s getting everywhere: In my clothes, in my sheets, burning my eyes, making the dogs sneeze. Assholes.

I’m gonna wait till the hillbillies are asleep. Then I’m gonna piss on their bonfires and wave that fragrant yellow steam into their RVs. I hope it scorches out their fucking nose hairs.

Hey, Beer Vanholio! He works hard on this blog.

Also See ...

All the Whores I Knowed Before
More Vanholio Rants!

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#ClimateAction – Go #Green, Go #Vanlife

Wanna reduce your footprint on this troubled blue-green planet? Take up #vanlife! You’ll use far fewer resources than the housebound. And it’s a hoot to boot!

6 Ways Vandwellers Use Fewer Resources

1. Less Land – Well, duh! If you don’t have a house, that’s house, yard, and driveway left to field and forest. In 2010, the average lot size of new U.S. homes was 8900 sq. ft. (0.2 acres). If 1% of the 320 million U.S. population took up van life, that’d free up 64 million fucking acres – about the acreage of Wyoming!


2. Less Junk – This should be fucking obvious: no house; no home furniture; no decorations; no shit shoved into closets, attics, garages, and sheds; less of everything you use. And everything you do own in the van is smaller or in smaller quantities. All that crap vandwellers don’t have would have taken cutting down forests, digging up mountains, and fuel and water to move and manufacture. 


3. Less Food – The average American household wastes about 25% of the food it brings home, about $340-$570 worth per year, per person. With just a tiny fridge or cooler in the van (or neither), leftovers and scraps can’t pile up so easy and go bad. You end up buying and eating just what you need. Less wasted food means less fuel, land, water, and material wasted to grow, refine, package, and deliver that food.


4. Less Water – The average housebound American uses 80-100 gallons of water per day in their homes. But with limited water storage in the van, you get stingy. Most vandwellers use about 2 gallons per day. That’s 1-2% of what the average American uses!


5. Less Power – Vandwellers don’t get huge savings here, but every bit counts. In 2012, the average American spent about $3,052 per year on residential power and transportation combined. Most of that was for transportation, $2,302. Still, charging your fan, laptop, and cell phone, plus a little cooking fuel, is going to be far less than the $750 per year the average American housebounder spends on residential energy. Those dollars saved are also savings in fuel, material, and water used to produce and deliver the energy. 


6. Less Carbon – Global Warming is all about that carbon, 'bout that carbon. Guess what? Every saved resource above reduces the vandweller’s carbon emissions – BIG TIME! Even water takes fossil fuel to pump, manufacture pipes and equipment, and build dams! Drive slower and reduce total miles to lower your carbon footprint even more. And consider buying a carbon offset, too.

Freedom from housebounder headaches not enough? Freedom of the open road, being a nomad not enough? Well, now you have a moral goddamn reason to move into a van down by the river. Van life – the greener choice.

Hey, Beer Vanholio! He works hard on this blog.

Also See ...

Jitterbug: Cell Phone for Nomads of ANY AGE
Acclimatize for Comfort in All Weather
Young Man Converts Van Into Tiny Off-Grid Traveling Home – Video (TreeHugger)

Read More »