This is very informative. I'm thinking that when I retire (in about 5 years when I'm 70 as I enjoy my work-from-home desk job too much now) I'm going to buy an RV, put a postie motorbike on the back for trips to the shops (I have a motorbike licence) rent out my house for awhile and travel full time around Oz. Your videos make it seem a real possibility for me.
Thanks for your detailed and precise account Brenna. You are much more disciplined and organised than I ever could be - especially in regards to not needing to stay in a motel or two. However, I am happy never to step foot in a restaurant or to buy take-away food so can save that way. Your total spend is to be applauded. 👏🙂
Brenna, thank you for sharing. This is perfect information for someone considering the van life. It seems very similar to house life expenses except that you get to explore Australia on the daily!!!!
Thank you so much Brenna; you are wonderfully authentic and inspirational I am yet to start my car - life ( in a few months ) and have just “ discovered you “ an Australian woman who is down to earth , real and extremely generous in sharing I am looking forward to finding all of your precious posts …. You are a great teacher Have a beautiful day ( and Abby too ❤) 🍃🌸🍃🥰
Can you tell us more about the van? km's, age, cost, what was important to you when looking for one, etc? I had my first overnight trip in my prius, inspired by your earlier vids, needs a few tweaks but was a wonderful couple of days. Looking forward to the next one. I really enjoy all the details you give, makes planning from scratch seem achievable. Many thanks.
When i go full-time in a van, I also will have a sm storage unit or a tiny house by family. .. I think I may actually spend more on supplements ea month than on food. 😒 I applaude those who have been able to downsz completely to a sm vehicle, but like you, I'm not there yet, nor may never be so. It depends on what is 'relevant' at each stage in my life.😊
A fantastic video. I’ve been watching you for a bit now. I’m now following you so I need to watch your old videos. You give a lot of people inspiration to travel. Keep up the good work btw I’m in Australia
New subscriber today. Love wildflowers and great breakdown of expenses. I wondered how much it would cost in Aus with everything being so expensive here and even worse last 3 yrs.
Hi brenna interesting channel. Your accommodation expense seems so cheap as free camps are getting rare, donation camps with a preferrred cost of usually $5, even national parks are so expensive now. Do you see your accommodation expenses increasing this year?
No. The expenses are ridiculous. You can do it cheaper. Don’t need private cover, we have Medicare. You don’t need VPN. Don’t need to be on a phone plan. Buy outright and pay from $20 a month for data and calls.
Wow, that's a lot of money. But then again I haven't never sat down and added up my expenses but Australia must be a high cost place to live. Thank you for sharing I'm going to add up all my expenses now you have me wondering 🤔 lol Stay awesome Brenna KEEP ADVENTURING
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully thanks, it seems more expensive than USA. Your van looks so nice and you’re good at keeping track of your expenses. Some day hopefully I’ll make it to visit there, the closest I’ve been is New Zealand. Thanks for your wonderful videos.
@@carmenmartinez2882 definitely more expensive but more than worth it. We're an island in the middle of nowhere, it's to be expected. Still, I'd prefer to spend the extra and have the lifestyle we have here.
I was looking forward to this video. I still have last your year's budget in my notebook so it was good to compare. Well done on not actually spending any more!! :)
Well to have basically expended the same amount in what can best be described as a period of exorbitantly high costs is a tremendous achievement. It certainly is food for thought how one can pull this off. What should nit be overlooked is the start-up capital to buy the van the upgrades and repairs and equipment to get to this point. When one depreciates this over say 4-5 years straight line and let's say it cost $25k that's $5k a year or best part of $100 per week that cannot be ignored. It's just like starting a business. Other expenses might be MS Office, ASIC rego et al. business expenses, website comes to mind. Do you have those too?
My start up cost for the van, fit out and equipment was about $13K. The only business expenses that are not included are my professional indemnity insurance and BAS agent registration fee which come to around $500 per year. I don't include these as these are for me to maintain my profession not really related to living in a van.
Can I please ask who you use for internet & phone? I would assume that Telstra has the best coverage, but someone who has actually tried it - like yourself - may have someone better. Thank you. 😊
Hi Brenna, just found your channel, I've been binge watching your video's! 🙂Would you be willing to share your pet insurance company and health insurer? Thanks so much!
Do you put money into various accounts to keep it aside for your budget? I have a habit of doing that so that I have at least most of it ready when the thing is due.
Honestly, I think it’s because I want to be able to have this lifestyle for a long time and also I have realised that “ stuff “ doesn’t make you happy.
Very interesting. Do you have a spreadsheet & keep lots of receipts? or do you pay with a card that splits it into food, petrol etc I love living on a budget, but sometimes i have to break free and have dinner out or buy a discounted item of clothing etc
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully wow I love that! I’m copying that, I was keeping receipts in a jar of everything I spent for 3 months , made me very mindful of where I was spending then I got bored and my spending went up. I’m ready to rein in again so definitely time to invest in a journal. What type of protein so you buy - pea protein?
I can see why people employ you as their Bookkeeper, you are meticulous, and very impressive. Just generally, so if I do the whole nomad thing, what happens when I need new scripts for chronic conditions? Are GPs in other states willing to write scripts without knowing me? Also, my son wants to drive his partner's Corolla hatchback to Sydney. This horrifies me. He can't change a tyre, but has RAC-but it's the Nullabor!!-and he has sort of no idea about the challenges of it. Is there somewhere which has the low-down on driving over, what to avoid, EPIRB requirements, roos, road trains, the whole catastrophe? Thank you for your videos, I did wonder whether your original iTechWorld was still sufficient? That was one of my favourite videos. Learned so much, the lingo, the questions to ask, and the costs. Thank you 🐾
Thanks for the compliment, I have always been a very organised person and good with numbers. For my hormonal script, I have a doctor who is happy to manage it remotely. She emails me blood tests every 6 months and we consult over the phone. You might be able to do the same thing, just ask. The Nullabor is not scary and is actually a very pleasant trip these days. The most important thing is to carry plenty of water and keep your fuel tank full. There are a lot of roadhouses and a lot of people on the road. Maybe learn how to change a tyre just in case 😉
I had a terrible/cheeky thought when you mentioned your donations to the WWF: is that to make up for the kangaroo you hit? LOLnotLOL. 🤣😳😱 I know it's awful to hit animals. Just a bit of dark humour to help with things that aren't so great.
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully Even if it's completely unavoidable, it still feels awful, hey. It's almost like a rite of passage as a driver living In Australia, sadly.
Be good to bring for van lovers how cheep one could live, in van and to be minimalist I would love to do that one day. 😎
I must also add that I love your candour. In a world full of deception bullshit & lies it is refreshing to say the least. Thankyou!
You're welcome
This is very informative. I'm thinking that when I retire (in about 5 years when I'm 70 as I enjoy my work-from-home desk job too much now) I'm going to buy an RV, put a postie motorbike on the back for trips to the shops (I have a motorbike licence) rent out my house for awhile and travel full time around Oz. Your videos make it seem a real possibility for me.
You can do it!
Thanks for your detailed and precise account Brenna. You are much more disciplined and organised than I ever could be - especially in regards to not needing to stay in a motel or two. However, I am happy never to step foot in a restaurant or to buy take-away food so can save that way. Your total spend is to be applauded. 👏🙂
Thanks Kim. Last year I actually went 8 months without stepping foot in a house 😳
Brenna, thank you for sharing. This is perfect information for someone considering the van life. It seems very similar to house life expenses except that you get to explore Australia on the daily!!!!
I totally agree!
Thank you so much Brenna; you are wonderfully authentic and inspirational
I am yet to start my car - life ( in a few months ) and have just “ discovered you “ an Australian woman who is down to earth , real and extremely generous in sharing
I am looking forward to finding all of your precious posts …. You are a great teacher
Have a beautiful day ( and Abby too ❤)
🍃🌸🍃🥰
You are so welcome!
Can you tell us more about the van? km's, age, cost, what was important to you when looking for one, etc?
I had my first overnight trip in my prius, inspired by your earlier vids, needs a few tweaks but was a wonderful couple of days. Looking forward to the next one.
I really enjoy all the details you give, makes planning from scratch seem achievable. Many thanks.
Will do! I will go into this on a Q & A video soon.
Love the break down of expenses. It certainly gives me a good indication of expenses when I start traveling full time,
I’m sure it is different for everyone but hopefully it helps a bit.
When i go full-time in a van, I also will have a sm storage unit or a tiny house by family. .. I think I may actually spend more on supplements ea month than on food. 😒 I applaude those who have been able to downsz completely to a sm vehicle, but like you, I'm not there yet, nor may never be so. It depends on what is 'relevant' at each stage in my life.😊
Thx for sharing-> as i mentioned elsewhere, I appreciate videos on budget & gadgets for vehicle living.
A fantastic video.
I’ve been watching you for a bit now.
I’m now following you so I need to watch your old videos.
You give a lot of people inspiration to travel.
Keep up the good work btw I’m in Australia
Welcome aboard!
Thank you very much indeed!
You're very welcome!
New subscriber today. Love wildflowers and great breakdown of expenses. I wondered how much it would cost in Aus with everything being so expensive here and even worse last 3 yrs.
Very expensive to live here but wouldn’t want to live anywhere else 😊
Sending you so much love & light beautiful soul! I hope 1 day we cross paths! ❤
I hope so too!
Like your breakdown and explanation of your finances. Well done!
You're welcome
I can't believe I found this video so interesting! 🤔 Clearly a bean counter exists, deeply buried somewhere inside my psyche... 😅
Maybe you missed your calling😂
Yeah you might or Nextro money being someone’s accountant or someone’s conservator
I can’t possibly be that accurate I wouldn’t even be able to stand to try it
God Bless you my goodness
Thank you for being open about costs. That is very enlightening. The categories make it extra clear.
#onmyway
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for your transparency 🤗👍
You’re welcome 😊
Thanks Brenna- this was such a helpful video. I’m getting ready to live in my van and this was very encouraging!! 😊
Glad it was helpful!
Great videos brenna..hi from ireland.
Hello there!
This was wonderful.
Brenna that is a great video! Thank you so much!
You’re welcome 😊
Very interesting
Thank you for putting that together
Wishing you a happy safe 2023
Jackie
Your welcome Jackie, wishing you the same 😀
Hi brenna interesting channel. Your accommodation expense seems so cheap as free camps are getting rare, donation camps with a preferrred cost of usually $5, even national parks are so expensive now. Do you see your accommodation expenses increasing this year?
My accommodation costs have increased this year by choice.
Excellent information, thank you so much.
You’re welcome Dot😀
there goes that idea
No. The expenses are ridiculous. You can do it cheaper. Don’t need private cover, we have Medicare. You don’t need VPN. Don’t need to be on a phone plan. Buy outright and pay from $20 a month for data and calls.
Great video! I will be living in my van in the near future and this was great knowledge
Great job!
Thanks!
Thanks Brenda, good information and presented so well. Enjoy your week!
Glad it was helpful!
This was a really informative video.
Thanks Ken😊
Thank you for the break down of expenses. Great information.
Glad it was helpful!
Wow, that's a lot of money.
But then again I haven't never sat down and added up my expenses but Australia must be a high cost place to live.
Thank you for sharing I'm going to add up all my expenses now you have me wondering 🤔 lol
Stay awesome Brenna
KEEP ADVENTURING
Australia is very expensive !
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully pardon my ignorance, you’re in Australia then?
Yes, I am in Australia 😊
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully thanks, it seems more expensive than USA. Your van looks so nice and you’re good at keeping track of your expenses. Some day hopefully I’ll make it to visit there, the closest I’ve been is New Zealand. Thanks for your wonderful videos.
@@carmenmartinez2882 definitely more expensive but more than worth it. We're an island in the middle of nowhere, it's to be expected. Still, I'd prefer to spend the extra and have the lifestyle we have here.
Interesting 🤔 Thank You ❣️☮️
You are welcome😀
Thanks!
Thanks Ken😀
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully no problem bestie!
Awesome video , ❤happy new year ❤️😊🙏🚐
Same to you!
Is van life cheaper for you compared to when you were living in a house?
Yes it is 😊
I was looking forward to this video. I still have last your year's budget in my notebook so it was good to compare. Well done on not actually spending any more!! :)
Thanks Della, I’m thinking about making a video of how I keep track of everything and how I do my budget in the first place.
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully great idea!
Well to have basically expended the same amount in what can best be described as a period of exorbitantly high costs is a tremendous achievement. It certainly is food for thought how one can pull this off. What should nit be overlooked is the start-up capital to buy the van the upgrades and repairs and equipment to get to this point. When one depreciates this over say 4-5 years straight line and let's say it cost $25k that's $5k a year or best part of $100 per week that cannot be ignored. It's just like starting a business. Other expenses might be MS Office, ASIC rego et al. business expenses, website comes to mind. Do you have those too?
My start up cost for the van, fit out and equipment was about $13K. The only business expenses that are not included are my professional indemnity insurance and BAS agent registration fee which come to around $500 per year. I don't include these as these are for me to maintain my profession not really related to living in a van.
Interesting!
It is!
Really helpful. Thank you :)
You’re welcome
Hi Brenna , what happened to the Kangaroo??? Xx
Unfortunately it died.
Can I please ask who you use for internet & phone? I would assume that Telstra has the best coverage, but someone who has actually tried it - like yourself - may have someone better. Thank you. 😊
I use Telstra for the best coverage Australia wide and especially in rural communities.
Very Interesting. Thanks. Who do you get your private health insurance with?
HBF
$28000 for year is excellent
I think so too!
Hi Brenna, just found your channel, I've been binge watching your video's! 🙂Would you be willing to share your pet insurance company and health insurer? Thanks so much!
Thanks for watching, my pet insurance is with RAC and my health insurance is with HBF
Just found your channel. The link to Patreon doesn’t work. 😢
Apologies Sandy, I have corrected the link in that video and also here it is patreon.com/Brennalivingjoyfully
Do you put money into various accounts to keep it aside for your budget? I have a habit of doing that so that I have at least most of it ready when the thing is due.
I have one account where my millions are kept 😉 and I transfer money out when I’m going to spend it or an automatic payment comes out.
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully Well, you definitely have your budget under control. I'm impressed. 😊
I am impressed too, I was never this good when I lived in a house 😂
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully Interesting! What changed, do you think? Maybe a matter of generally having to be more prepared/organised?
Honestly, I think it’s because I want to be able to have this lifestyle for a long time and also I have realised that “ stuff “ doesn’t make you happy.
Very interesting. Do you have a spreadsheet & keep lots of receipts? or do you pay with a card that splits it into food, petrol etc
I love living on a budget, but sometimes i have to break free and have dinner out or buy a discounted item of clothing etc
I write down everything I spend in my journal and transfer it to my budget spreadsheet.😀
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully wow I love that! I’m copying that,
I was keeping receipts in a jar of everything I spent for 3 months , made me very mindful of where I was spending then I got bored and my spending went up. I’m ready to rein in again so definitely time to invest in a journal.
What type of protein so you buy - pea protein?
I buy “ Earth Protein” from Bulk Nutrients online. They are located in Tasmania. The protein is Pea, Fava and Rice
brenna do you rent your house out or did you sell it? im just sorting out what I need/want to do
I chose to sell my house.
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully you are inspiring me. I’m 63, and just going to rent out my unit and hit the road 😀
I can see why people employ you as their Bookkeeper, you are meticulous, and very impressive.
Just generally, so if I do the whole nomad thing, what happens when I need new scripts for chronic conditions? Are GPs in other states willing to write scripts without knowing me?
Also, my son wants to drive his partner's Corolla hatchback to Sydney. This horrifies me. He can't change a tyre, but has RAC-but it's the Nullabor!!-and he has sort of no idea about the challenges of it. Is there somewhere which has the low-down on driving over, what to avoid, EPIRB requirements, roos, road trains, the whole catastrophe?
Thank you for your videos, I did wonder whether your original iTechWorld was still sufficient? That was one of my favourite videos. Learned so much, the lingo, the questions to ask, and the costs.
Thank you 🐾
Thanks for the compliment, I have always been a very organised person and good with numbers.
For my hormonal script, I have a doctor who is happy to manage it remotely. She emails me blood tests every 6 months and we consult over the phone. You might be able to do the same thing, just ask.
The Nullabor is not scary and is actually a very pleasant trip these days. The most important thing is to carry plenty of water and keep your fuel tank full. There are a lot of roadhouses and a lot of people on the road. Maybe learn how to change a tyre just in case 😉
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully
Very informative and reassuring,
thanks Brenna.
I had a terrible/cheeky thought when you mentioned your donations to the WWF: is that to make up for the kangaroo you hit? LOLnotLOL. 🤣😳😱
I know it's awful to hit animals. Just a bit of dark humour to help with things that aren't so great.
I felt so bad when I hit the kangaroo 😔
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully Even if it's completely unavoidable, it still feels awful, hey. It's almost like a rite of passage as a driver living In Australia, sadly.
Buy food before you go. Shake sachets, tinned food, eat fruit, eat simply. Wow, your expenses are ridiculous.
Maybe, maybe not.
Many thanks for sharing this information, just need to look at my expenses.😎🍷🚍⚓️🇬🇧👍stay safe
You’re welcome ☺️
Good video. This would be really helpful to people considering van life 🙂🚐🌬
Thanks 😊
Thanks!
Thanks again 😀
@@BrennaLivingJoyfully Yay!