Vanlife UK Budget - First Month On The Road, How Much Did We Spend?

[@sueoldbirdstone9024]

Really good to get to the nitty gritty of the amounts you've spent - it's all very well saying 'we're on a budget', but it's great to hear just how that budget is allocated. Thanks!

[@letsgosomewheretravels9476]

A great overview of how much you spent, unfortunately we would of blown it in the first week on alcohol

[@roamer4353]

Great breakdown.....£40 to £60 seems to be the figures that many people hit. Taking my time going through your Blog...loads of info Safe travels

[@tilidie5272]

i cant stop binge watching, you're both so professional with the videos and im learning lots of stuff

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Haha 😂 brilliant! Hope you continue to enjoy the videos! We’ve got quite a few on the channel already you can sink your teeth in to!

[@moto_roaming2119]

Just remember that you only have one life. I believe it was Bob Marley who said “Love the life you live - and - Live the life you love” If you want a coffee you have one, take care and enjoy your adventures..... we all do 😎👍🥂

[@nathanlowe1254]

Great to see some honest vanlife content. I'm off on a similar adventure from Jan-June next year. Looking forward to seeing how you guys get on!

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Cheers Nathan! Got a travel plan or are you just hitting the road and see what happens? We’re doing well so far, in Germany currently and still having a blast :)

[@nathanlowe1254]

@@FloraTheNoviceExplorers I'm doing France, Spain and Portugal. Glad you guys are enjoying it! I can't wait to start mine

[@tonyfarrell2886]

Hey guys,that’s really interesting thanks so much for sharing. Enjoy living the dream👍

[@vansolo9794]

When I travel around, I generally spend a week or so in each place so as to save fuel. I do a weeks cooking in a big pot, all healthy stuff and store in the fridge. I also have protein shakes throughout the day and generally have one good meal a day. Good luck to you on your travels.

[@josephzayd9831]

i guess I am kind of off topic but does anyone know a good place to stream new tv shows online ?

[@tylercaden9267]

@Joseph Zayd i dunno I watch on flixportal. You can find it on google:P -tyler

[@josephzayd9831]

@Tyler Caden Thank you, signed up and it seems like they got a lot of movies there =) Appreciate it !

[@tylercaden9267]

@Joseph Zayd happy to help =)

[@marcusoutdoors4999]

Really impressed with your video. Very professional, to the point and fun. Look forward to seeing where you get to.

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Cheers Marcus! Glad you enjoyed it, there are many more like it on the channel and hopefully more to come 😊

[@marcusoutdoors4999]

Flora & The Novice Explorers great channel, just been watching your very clever build. I was wondering, is the van a long wheel base or regular?

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Oh brilliant! The van is LWB, only 40cm or so longer than the SWB but it all helps! We’re in the van right now, parked up on north-east Sardinia. Since completing the build we have been travelling Europe, been about 14 months now. How the time flies! Our layout has worked very well for us 😊

[@jasonosgothorpe882]

Maybe do some outdoor cooking over a fire or use some kind of wood fuel stove,a rocket stove or wood gas stove. Cruising at slightly slows speeds will definitely save & keep your right foot light on the gas also keep tyre pressure correct

[@ninareeves2995]

Coffee solution...like the Dutch, we boil one kettle of water in the morning, filter good quality coffee into a thermos flask (always ready at that first morning stop😉), meanwhile boiling 2 eggs (for breakfast or sarnies) and the rest of the water does the washing up ...sorted! Food costs... good idea about the milk...we always stock up on tins of chick peas, beans, tuna, sardines and chopped tomatoes as well as pasta/rice/bulgar wheat if you can eat carbs. My other half’s luxury item is the fantastic cakes in DE/F/B/N/A/It but buy from a bakery and eat with that coffee to save the euros! Another thought...diesel is MUCH cheaper in most EU countries at the mo and so is beer...you get 6 bottles for the price of a U.K. pint...but remember to take the bottles back to the same supermarket if you can as they have “Pfand” deposit on them so you get some back...yay!

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Thanks for getting in touch Nina! All great points. We have recently discovered pfand - what a great idea - We think the UK should do a similar deposit scheme. We love a good pastry!! 🥐🥐🥐

[@SocialVoyage1]

Very interesting. Will be great to hear your 2nd or 3rd month spending and see if you have managed to reduce your spend.

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Yes we will! 👍

[@pauledwards8658]

Hey Guys, Just stumbled across your video & must say a big WELL DONE YOU, & the very best of luck for your trip. Love the Set up, Presentation & Breakdown of what you’ve done, it would be interesting to ‘Add in’ your other figures of Vehicle Tax, Insurance, MOT, Wear & Tear / Maintenance, Phones, Internet, & any other experiences you have to Gauge how much ‘NEXT YEARS’ expenses are going to stack up for you if you do extend your experience of lifestyle. I’ve been a Full time Livaboard for some 10 years now, but for the last 6?been solely in & Around the UK. My costs for 100% lifestyle choice is around the £600 PCM as an average & I literally do mean for ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING including what I call ‘Entertainment’ such as any admission fees or a Cinema visit & I like my Coffee & Food So Live well. Be safe & Enjoy.

[@jameshardy6277]

"Mi chain snapped in the outer Hebrides". Cracked me up. :)

[@jontom7787]

I like what you did with the graph at the start. 👌

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Haha, cheers Jon! 😊

[@mommahil4323]

Very helpful, thank you. Think you did well

[@oliverstock]

great stuff guys loving the vids can't wait to finish my t5 to do the same

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Cheers Oliver! How far off being finished are you? Any travels plans, or just seeing what happens?

[@gilly4133]

Ooooo just discovered this vlog. Very honest, informative and well put together!!! Hooked :)

[@ad-van-ture]

very useful vlog guys, ATB Shane

[@TheBeggFamily]

That’s fascinating, even though I don’t plan any van life. Thanks!

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Thank you :) we’ve done much better this month :p

[@2pvjomandy544]

Another great video, full on honest advice. Loving your channel guys. The effort is there for all to see. 👍👌

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Hi! Thanks for your feedback :) and taking the time to leave us a message, we really do appreciate it!

[@richardbosson8597]

Just seen this for the first time. I'm 68½ years old, retired and live in Thailand with my Thai wife and 11¾ year old daughter. I'll now look for your videos after this one as it's now August 2021 so this video I've watched is a year old

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Hello Richard! Ah fantastic, we'd love to see more of Thailand in the future, we visited briefly a couple years ago. Yeah, this is one of our earlier videos, there's plenty more on our channel now! Still focused on travel, but obviously that's been hard over the last few months. Cheers, hope you're doing well :D

[@richardbosson8597]

@@FloraTheNoviceExplorers I've been living here 22 years. Thanks a lot for replying. I was an engineer so love the idea of van conversions. I had a mobile home and a sprite caravan many years ago in the UK. Long before living in converted vans and stealth camping.

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

@@richardbosson8597 oh wow! I'm sure you could do a pretty good job with an engineering background! Needless to say, we learned a lot doing our van 😜 mistakes were made but nothing too bad. We know for next time. We would love to do another van at some point, but we really enjoy having our (smallish) T5

[@richardbosson8597]

@@FloraTheNoviceExplorers I wish all this had been around 30 years ago. Did you yet change to lithium batteries?

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Not yet! Still running the AGM batteries, but we have lithium options such our jackery products, which are great but not permanent features of the van

[@mikefrost7516]

Cool video guys, and great to see a full cost breakdown. Fuel is always going to a pain especially in our lovely old England. I have a T4 too and they can be thirsty. Have you considered using veg oil at all? Loads of info about it online and on Facebook groups. Could save you a fortune as I believe you can use 2500ltrs tax free and Tesco do a 5ltr bottle for about £4!! Just thought it was worth a mention! Happy adventures!!

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Hi mike, It isn’t something we’ve thought of of to be honest so we will look into it. Thanks for taking the time to comment 👍🚐

[@mikefrost7516]

@@FloraTheNoviceExplorers No problem! Love your bus btw!!

[@michaelwilson5387]

I do get what u r saying. I live in America. Been to the uk many times. Thanks to Benny hill, Shakespeare is kindergarten. I’m 56 as of a couple days ago. We all live someplace nice maybe. Oh man I could easily live in Nottingham only in a van. I have friends, who all own homes or rent. I’m enjoying my freedom and I’m not wasting it. I could easily watch all the tv I like and get fat, but there adventure right where u r. I wish more people were better at city van life. I suggest if u ever do this get a second van. I need personal space when I’m done being happy. Best of luck from van life nyc

[@richardbrabbs8283]

Over £60 on coffee 😠come on guys buy a big jar for £10 and use the other £50 to sort out colins hair lol x

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Haha! It’s a good one isn’t it (wait until the video where I do the cut 😜) 👍😱

[@vitogiaccone9218]

Top Vlog !

[@beboprocksteady9065]

Coffee is a silly one. Fek that buy a couple of jars 👌 very good watch though. We are planning a trip as a family soon with 2 kids. Wish us luck 🤣🤣

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Beyond the Narrative haha it certainly is/was! We’ve changed our ways since then 😜 budgeting much better these days. Oh nice, where you off to?

[@beboprocksteady9065]

@@FloraTheNoviceExplorers wellllll as it stands we are just going to stick to the U.K. until things settle a bit. We are going to start out down south as we have family in Poole and aim for the highlands. Unfortunately only for a couple of months.

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Sounds good 👌 completely understandable. Things are still changing fast, not the most comforting feeling to be travelling too far with the possibility of more lockdowns and restrictions

[@goody390]

I been 5 year's full time in my vw t4

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Awesome! How are you finding it? We’ve just reached 7 months 👍

[@daz6937]

Keep up the good work

[@mikehydropneumatic2583]

If you need to shorten the duration of the trip due budget,do so. No need to be miserable. Maybe spending the winter in southern France,Spain or Portugal is an option?

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Yeah, we'll just have to see what happens! We are planning to be in Portugal for the new year if all goes well :)

[@mikehydropneumatic2583]

@@FloraTheNoviceExplorers I can hook you up with peeps that do vanlife in Portugal.

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

@@mikehydropneumatic2583 Always keen to hear from/meet people who're vanning it. Learn valuable info along the way.

[@mikehydropneumatic2583]

@@FloraTheNoviceExplorers Get in touch with kzbin.info/door/GH_rOaKo3CjJgYwcTYrXbA Their channel is in Dutch but they know their way around in Portugal.

[@jonnysparrow5666]

Good analytics, how long do you calculate you can put up with not being able to stand upright in your van ?

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Haha! It’s not been as bad as we thought it could have been. We think it will be ok! It may be a different story with age and aches, or getting p****d off with putting the bed in and out!

[@roamer4353]

Flora & The Novice Explorers I have to stand upright....6 ‘ 4’’ so that reduces the vehicles available for me! Also a fixed bed is a must...after a few days of messing on with a bed/bedding it gets a bit tedious.

[@driveheritage]

Awesome video - looking forward to following your journey! #driveheritage

[@beeootje1]

i don't think your doing so bad, we travelled last year to Scotland for 3 weeks on a bit of a budget [also a former chef onboard bytheway] we consumed about the same amount in 3 weeks, but we spent a whole lot more money in the pubs, so it could have bin cheaper lol

[@woolleycodwanderers4833]

Very interesting 👍 and informative 😊 ... 🤗❤️👵🏼🐾🐾🤠

[@bennovice3327]

Hi guys, love this vid. Very useful for me to plan next years trip. Wanted to know a couple of things 1. is campingaz the best option for travelling in Europe and the UK? cost/accessible etc.....2. do you have a list/affiliates links for your video equipment? thanks and keep up the great vids :-)

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Hi Ben, thanks for getting in touch! Campingaz is universal in UK and Europe and is very simple to exchange bottles, the Campingaz website has a find closest suppliers map feature on the website. But we have already realised it is a more expensive option both uk, Netherlands and Germany exchanging it costs £32 /€30. We have spoken to a fellow traveler and he swears by LPG, £9 to fill up his much larger tank but we think this needs a more sophisticated set up. More research needed on this on our part we must admit. Here a link to our website and affiliates www.campcomforts.co.uk/blog/2019/2/2/products-weve-used-amp-recommend Feel free to get in touch if you need any more info 👍👍🚐😀

[@bennovice3327]

@@FloraTheNoviceExplorers Thanks guys! i'll check out their wesbite. Just watched your Holland video (watching in random order!) and remembering our roadtrip without our van last year...loved Amsterdam but sooooo many bikes i was constantly on edge worrying about my girls getting knocked down by one!! hope Germany is good for you :-)

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

This message has only just come through? :P So sorry for the slow reply. Amsterdam was great, but yes, the amount of cyclists was crazy! Found ourselves looking every possible way before making any movement at all, but loved it. Germany is great, be here for another week or so, then on to Austria!

[@coratheexplorer1824]

I'm going for, adventure too I've just finish converting my van. Hopefully I will not spend 1k a month, I will fill my van with lots of good eg dry food.

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Hello! Ah cool, where you heading? Yeah this was definitely one of the more expensive months for sure, but we thought that’d be the case! Some months we’ve spent way less, it just depends where you are and what you’re doing. Can be done very cheap though :)

[@coratheexplorer1824]

@@FloraTheNoviceExplorers just going to Spain when the virus disappear.

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

@@coratheexplorer1824 Ah great, loved Spain! Hopefully things go back to normal soon and you can hit the road!

[@JesterBushcraft]

Great video for anyone thinking of travelling in their van, or those currently doing so (and wondering where all there money is going...coffeeeee😬)... note to self, buy a camping coffee maker 👍

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Yes and practice self restraint! ☕️☕️

[@smooth111012]

I spend that on food and I’m single lol But you save on Rent, council Tax, broadband etc

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Haha, we love food but were trying to be careful :p Yeah, with the savings we make on the road, it's actually cheaper for us to travel full-time in the van than live at home in our flat. Crazy.

[@j.e.7028]

Nice one !

[@bennovice3327]

Love you guys even more.....plant based milk and meat reduction to help your travels and the impact on the environment!! also, better for your health....well done you guys!!

[@stuarthall2180]

Mega expensive, I live in the sun for far less. £400 month rent which includes all bills. Got £600 left a month for 🍺🍺🍺

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Yeah, some months we're more expensive on the road (such as this one). But as we gained more experience we learned how and where we could save money. It mainly comes down to the speed of travel. Once we slowed down we saved £££'s and got to experience places properly. Also depends on where you are too, such as Austria. We spent way more there on average than we did in Sardinia for example :)

[@patrickjobling8676]

Strooth guys..toll trolls n fairies a quick crack aroound the ears with a pogo stick ortta get them sor'ed .. prospecting for gold .. tyndrum ..gold every wharrs.. any whos jolly good carryon pip pips 😁happy trails pilgrims

[@vancelifereflexology]

You guys are great and I really enjoy following your travels. Even more so now you are changing to but milks and less meat...just cut the meat out...its not needed. Best wishes to you both.

[@Surfinbadger]

"Should have give the bikes tlc before leaving the UK!?!?!" The outer hebrides is part of the UK.

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

Indeed it is! I don't think we were overly clear with that point in this video. What I think we meant to say was that "we should have given The bikes TLC before leaving home", would have made more sense. We filmed this video in the Netherlands (and had another bike-related issue in Amsterdam) so that's probably why we referenced them getting them fixed "before leaving the U.K" instead of specifying home. :P Cheers!

[@jamesgoodwin2450]

And no more felt tip pens hahahahaha

[@FloraTheNoviceExplorers]

That would be a good start! 😛

[@sueetherton6698]

I think you were very wise to do this. It is so easy to spend 💰. That's the way the world is wired. Less meat consumption will be cheaper, healthier and more planet friendly too. As a vegetarian of 48 years! I approve 🙃 £60 on coffee! Well in fairness, that's only £1 each a day and if that was for WiFi, charging and loos it's not a bad deal. Sadly your £ budget will not go as far as it used to in the 💶 zone 😟😬

[@frankfox8784]

Pointless really ,