The Cost NOT To Travel: Savings Of The Nomadic Life

People continually ask Tom and I how we can afford to travel for a year. But maybe the better question is how we can afford not to? 

We jotted down a quick list of annual and monthly expenses that we won’t have to pay while traveling.

We know the nomadic life comes with its own price tag and some new extra expenses (which we will track and share in future blog posts), but it also gives us reprieve from having to spend money on maintaining life at home. Just imagine your checkbook if you didn’t have any expenses related to rent, mortgage, or cars.

Below is a list of some actual post-tax annual expenses we paid in the past 12 months that we won’t have to pay in the next 12 while traveling:

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• Rent / Mortgage - $23,400
• DirecTV - $749
• Internet - $707
• Utilities - $1,680
• Renter / Homeowner Insurance - $210
• Auto Lease / Payment - $3,573
• Auto Registration for 2 cars (thank you, California) - $450
• Auto Insurance - $2,760 **note to self, don't total a car ever again :)
• Gas - $4,500
• Cell Phone - $1,026

Total = $39,055

There are also lots of small expenses that we didn’t bother to list. For example, routine maintenance of our cars (oil changes, car washes, etc.…), dry cleaning bills for work clothes, gym memberships, and more. 

Obviously, everybody's numbers will be different based on preference, discretionary expenses, and location within the US. To add some perspective, I ran the numbers for our Cost Not To Travel when we owned a 3-bedroom home in Placentia before downsizing to a one bedroom at the beach. It totaled over $53,000 ($14,000 more!). 

Likewise, we could have cut back further on a number of these expenses while still living in California, but you get the idea. The point I am making is that by doing extended travel, as opposed to 2-week vacations, we save on a number of expenses. When we just leave for 2-weeks, we still have to pay all of these expenses on top of our cost to travel. 

Do you want to know how much it is costing you not to travel? Tally up your total. Below is a list of possible expenses to get you started:

• Rent/Mortgage: $_______
• Cable/Sattelite: $_______
• Utilities: $_______
• Internet: $_______
• Insurance: $_______
• Auto Payments/Lease: $_______
• Gas: $_______
• Cell Phone: $_______
• Total: $______