Living in my car is a great way to save money. It eliminates my biggest expense by far–housing. I don’t have any car payments or debt of any kind.
I’ve decided to track every dollar I spend while living in a car in 2024. I’m curious to see how much I typically spend in a month. I’ve listed my expenses from the most to the least and rounded everything off in dollars.
For the first two months, I kept my expenses under $1000. However, I had no such luck in March. In fact, my most significant expense was unexpected.
Hotel/Lodging – $488
Usually, my biggest expense is groceries. Not this month. I suffered an injury the first week of March and spent a few days in a hotel room. I had a pinched nerve in my lower back and was barely able to walk for the first couple of days. There was no way I could sleep in my car, so I stayed at a hotel for eight days during my recovery. It was $61 per night.
One of the nice things about having considerably more discretionary income is that I have much more money to cover unexpected costs, including out-of-pocket medical expenses.
Groceries/Toiletries – $346
It was the most I spent on groceries and toiletries in a month in 2024, but it was the second largest expense this time.
Medical – $147
My total out-of-pocket expenses for my urgent care visit and prescriptions came to $147.
Car Insurance – $136
My monthly payments will remain at $136 until the next increase.
Gas – $119
I spent $119 on gas, which is about average for me. I have a small compact car that gets good gas mileage, averaging about 40 miles per gallon.
Storage Fee – $70
My climate-controlled 5x10 unit storage fee is a very affordable $70 each month. It’s a fixed cost, barring any future price increases. Considerably cheaper than a $1600 apartment!
Restaurants/Entertainment – $34
I spent a total of $34 on restaurants. I treated a friend to lunch at an all-vegan restaurant. I rarely go out to restaurants, as I prefer to prepare my own meals.
iPhone (T-Mobile + storage) – $34
I have an unlimited data plan and pay $34 per month, which includes .99 cents I pay each month for the 50G of extra storage for my backups.
Gifts/Donations – $28
I donated $28 in March, most of it going into the hands of the unhoused or homeless causes.
Essential Services – $27
I spent $27 on essential services for March, including a haircut and laundry.
Planet Fitness – $25
When you live in a car, you need a regular and reliable place to shower. I signed up for the black card, allowing me access to any Planet Fitness in the country. I usually have a place to shower whenever I go on vacation or on my weekend road trips, as well as at my home base in Maryland. I also work out there.
Streaming/Streaming/Subscriptions – $3
I canceled my Discovery+ subscription and only paid $3 for my Disney+/Hulu subscription. My monthly subscription to Disney+ with Hulu costs $9.99. However, I currently get a $7 rebate monthly through my American Express card, so my cost is only $2.99. I’d say that’s a pretty good deal. The rebate is valid for 12 months, so I will enjoy this streaming service for a few more months at that cost. Then I’ll probably cancel that too.
Total Expenses for March 2024 – $1447
My expenses for March were $1,447. It’s my most expensive month so far, due to unexpected costs from my injury. My unanticipated medical and hotel expenses came to $635. Without those costs, my monthly spending would have been $812.
For the first three months of the year, my total expenses were $2,904, an average of $968 per month. I’m still averaging less than $1000 a month. My goal is to keep my average spending for the year around $1000 or less per month.
Thanks for the quick reply!
I hope that your back is better.
Good luck on your journey!
Pam
Hi Tom,
I'm enjoying reading about your journey and I'm very sorry to hear that you hurt your back.
I'm curious about how you prepare your vegan meals. I'm a vegetarian but I often cook vegan meals and I have so many ingredients in my fridge and pantry....I can't even imagine how that works in a car.
Take care!