The first thing we looked into when we decided to take this trip was whether we could afford it.
We did a bit of research online about the costs incurred by other people who did a similar trip a couple of years ago. After adjusting for inflation and adding 20% contingency, our projected costs for traveling during the year came up to £21,500. This excluded any upfront costs we incurred before setting off; Gary put the original costs together with help from me and we will talk about these costs and the one off costs in a future post.
With no income from work, how could we finance this trip? Well, when we moved from Plumstead to Ebbsfleet a couple of years ago we made a bit of money on the sale of the house, so we didn’t need to apply for a big mortgage. Well-paid jobs, the absence of children and being careful with money has allowed us to pay off the mortgage in Ebbsfleet and also save money which could help us to finance the trip.
In addition to these savings, we could count on two sources of income. Because we paid off the mortgage, we would have the rental income minus agency fees, insurances, etc. Second, when we moved into the new house in Ebbsfleet, because we sold Plumstead for a good price, we decided to spend some of the money by installing solar panels on the roof. We were lucky in that when we installed them the subsidy was at its highest. We get paid for all the electricity that we produce and therefore this also generates an income.
We had budgeted that we would spend £2,126 in the UK. We actually spent £1,974. This means that, during our first five weeks of travelling, we have been under budget by £152. We were slightly surprised –but nonetheless pleased– for two reasons: one this confirms that our estimations were pretty accurate; and two, because we thought that travelling in the UK would be more expensive than travelling elsewhere in Europe, especially food, diesel and gas. So we expect our costs be lower from now on. This means either we can travel for longer or we will come back with more savings.
We have created a page in which we will publish a summary of costs per country and will provide a link to a breakdown of these costs. Below there is the breakdown of the costs we have incurred in the UK:
Hi Susu and Gary ¡ Great spreadsheet, very detailed , best of all is that the budget is adjusted to reality. It must be very satisfying.
Hola Nuria!!!
Thank you very much for following us! Yes, it is satisfying we have met the budget in the UK.
However, it is not going that well in France. Obsessed with his new hobby, Gary is buying too much fishing equipment in Decathlon. So far, he is blowing up the budget 🙂
If only that were true, the joy of blog wars, we spent €25, that does mean I will have to fish for €25 of fish. Susana also has a new super warm wetsuit!
Gary
I like your well-elaborated spreadsheet, but I miss an essential item…Where is the quantity for Robert´s gifts??? 🙂
Sorry, budget for presents is a bit tight this year, although there is a small and cheap surprise for everybody.
Bloody cheek, you get us turning up on your doorstep, is that not enough!
Of course, but I would be glad if you brought a bottle of good french wine to share, for example 🙂
Ok. We will do. Any preference? We will bring both, red and white
Susu is getting convinced, don’t tell anyone, but I still think the spanish stuff is better. Gary
I prefer the red one,
Ok Gary I´ll keep the secret 😉
, Hola pareja de vagabundos.
Ya veo que lo estáis pasando muy bien, nos alegramos .
La economía bien calculada por lo que he visto, por algo estabas trabajando entre números. En lo que más gastaréis, sera en calzado, os pasáis la mayoría del tiempo andando, subiendo montañas ,siempre entre naturaleza, una vida muy sana .
Se nota que habéis trabajado antes de emprender la aventura………Porque lleva su tiempo hacer todos esos cálculos .
Besos.
Se trata de disfrutar que siempre que los numeros cuadren!
Hi Susana
I hope you’re enjoying your travels! Trust a financial controller to put everything in a spreadsheet!!! Seriously though this is interesting to read, for when we plan our travels
Take care
Rob
Hi Rob,
I can’t get away from spreadsheets and numbers I am afraid! We are enjoying our travels very much. Any specific questions you have let us know. We are very happy to help. Hope you do it in the end if you can; you won’t regret it.