Living on the road on a budget as a solo female fulltime traveler

Tamsun · Senior Member

Living on the road on a budget as a solo female fulltime traveler

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Till I traveled .I never even thought so many woman travel out there . Would say its way over 50% I see are woman . Good on them too !! Hopefully its a life style change . Not due to poverty !

gdayjr · Senior Member

I will be living on the road in around 18 months time.

This will be by choice. I will be retired then, and i do not want to spend the next 10 or 15 years waking up in the same place every day.

I want to make the most of my remaining time on this planet, i get bored real easy, and i need to be active.

I am a single man now, but who knows whats round the next corner.

I am lucky i guess, i will be travelling in a brand new 23 ft van, and a brand new Iveco van to pull it, and hold a few toys, motorbikes, Kyaks etc.

Although i will have a fair chunk of change as back up, i still want to pick up a bit of work on my travels, a bit extra never goes astray.

I have been crunching numbers for around three months now, and i must admit Tamsun, my figures are way different to what you have come up with.

I am including every single thing that i will need to spend a dollar on though, i don't expect any suprises.

I am loving the research stage, next comes the financial advice stage, on how best to use the dollars i have in super.

I am looking forward to starting the new life, but i am also a bit aprehensive about it all.

My dear old mom always used to say, don't die wondering son, and an old Sensai once said, when you come to a fork in the road...take it !

Mike Harding · Guru

Good afternoon Tamsun

A vegan with tattoos and a cat! You and I are probably about as far
apart politically as it's possible to get! :)

Nevertheless; I admire your spirit of taking to the road and living
an independent life, as I have done, and I wish you well.

In regard to living frugally I suggest your phone plan of $98 per
month is excessive. I appreciate you have a handset included but
really, for most, handsets are of little interest and providing it
can do basic internet stuff and hotspotting what more does one
require?

Once your plan with Telstra is complete I suggest you take a look at
Boost 12 month plans:

Boost

They provide the full Telstra network and their 12 months plans are
good value.

Go well Tamsun.

Tamsun · Senior Member

Aus-Kiwi wrote:
Till I traveled .I never even thought so many woman travel out there . Would say its way over 50% I see are woman . Good on them too !! Hopefully its a life style change . Not due to poverty !

I had absolutely no idea either! From what I gather, many I come across are taking up a life of change and freedom which is really freeing to see. So many getting out there living a life so different from the norm.

Tamsun · Senior Member

Mike Harding wrote:
Good afternoon Tamsun

A vegan with tattoos and a cat! You and I are probably about as far
apart politically as it's possible to get! :)

Nevertheless; I admire your spirit of taking to the road and living
an independent life, as I have done, and I wish you well.

In regard to living frugally I suggest your phone plan of $98 per
month is excessive. I appreciate you have a handset included but
really, for most, handsets are of little interest and providing it
can do basic internet stuff and hotspotting what more does one
require?

Once your plan with Telstra is complete I suggest you take a look at
Boost 12 month plans:

Boost

They provide the full Telstra network and their 12 months plans are
good value.

Go well Tamsun.

Hey there Mike,

Haha yes I'm sure there would be many in the politically apart domain! :D

I appreciate your kind words and great that you are partaking in this journey also.

I do use my phone for work a lot with many apps etc so the phone handset is of great importance to me however in saying this my plan is up soon and this gives me some great info to go on so thank you kindly! I love when there is sharing of info and resources! :)

Wayne o · Veteran Member

Tamsun, you have the motorhome set up that suit me as a single mature male but I don't have the courage buying something with a european driveline.

A couple of questions if possible? How have you found the Mercedes based motorhome?

Did you ever wish you had bought a caravan and separate car? I have plenty of past experience with the van/car combo as well as car/camper trailer
combos but always thought that a motorhome would be my preferred choice but reluctant to buy one because of my fear of european reliability and
cost/maintenance factors.

I recently spoke to a mechanic who services rental motorhomes down here on the NSW south coast and he said his employer preferred Mercedes benz
motorhomes because of both their reliability and ease of maintenance when things needing doing.

Feedback from a single owner such as yourself would be so much appreciated.

Many thanks and happy travels to you.

Wayne.

-- Edited by Wayne o on Sunday 9th of May 2021 11:54:46 PM

Possum3 · Guru

Wayne, Have you considered Ford Transit base - Have a look at this site (US but similar Aussie units available) www.fordupfits.com/recreational/ford-transit-motorhome. also www.caravancampingsales.com.au/items/ford/motorhomes-campers-category/motorhome-subcategory/

Tamsun · Senior Member

gdayjr wrote:
I will be living on the road in around 18 months time.
This will be by choice. I will be retired then, and i do not want to spend the next 10 or 15 years waking up in the same place every day.
I want to make the most of my remaining time on this planet, i get bored real easy, and i need to be active.
I am a single man now, but who knows whats round the next corner.
I am lucky i guess, i will be travelling in a brand new 23 ft van, and a brand new Iveco van to pull it, and hold a few toys, motorbikes, Kyaks etc.
Although i will have a fair chunk of change as back up, i still want to pick up a bit of work on my travels, a bit extra never goes astray.

I have been crunching numbers for around three months now, and i must admit Tamsun, my figures are way different to what you have come up with.
I am including every single thing that i will need to spend a dollar on though, i don't expect any suprises.
I am loving the research stage, next comes the financial advice stage, on how best to use the dollars i have in super.

I am looking forward to starting the new life, but i am also a bit aprehensive about it all.
My dear old mom always used to say, don't die wondering son, and an old Sensai once said, when you come to a fork in the road...take it !

It sounds like you are well underway in prepping your new journey/adventure? Motorbikes and Kayaks sounds amazing, I wanted to have my Ninja on the back when I first started however I no longer have this.

Yes I didn't include motorhome additions as the price was just so different to cars/vans etc and this budget was the basics and didn't include emergency funds etc which I have from savings. I stripped myself pretty bare when going full time. I didn't realize how all the little things added up so much, ie subscriptions and little purchases etc. Everything adds up!

I was a little comprehensive however knew my purpose was within this 'on the road realm' and my drive was strong. A year earlier, even 6 months I probably would have changed my mind due to fear but I needed to look forwards not backward and design the life I wanted to live. Im a big fan of a guy called Dr Joe Dispanzer. He talks of not doing the same thing/routine/pattern day in and day out and it was when taking on all of his teachings that I pushed forth and everything just seemed to fall into place. :D

Tamsun · Senior Member

Wayne o wrote:
Tamsun, you have the motorhome set up that suit me as a single mature male but I don't have the courage something with a european driveline.

A couple of questions if possible? How have you found the Mercedes based motorhome?

Did you ever wish you had bought a caravan and separate car? I have plenty of past experience with the van/car combo as well as car/camper trailer
combos but always thought that a motorhome would be my preferred choice but reluctant to buy one because of my fear of european reliability and
cost/maintenance factors.

I recently spoke to a mechanic who services rental motorhomes down here on the NSW south coast and he said his employer preferred Mercedes benz
motorhomes because of both their reliability and ease of maintenance when things needing doing.

Feedback from a single owner such as yourself would be so much appreciated.

Many thanks and happy travels to you.

Wayne.

Hey there Wayne

I never really considered a caravan, mainly because I didn't want to be reversing it/parking and levelling by myself. I also wanted something I could quickly get away in without having to jump out of the van. I mentioned just above here also that I did plan on putting my ninja on the back however it was going to be more costly and too heavy. Then my son was side swiped on my bike and it was written off anyway.

I have had a couple of issues, one which was I believe the fault of the dealership and the other just recently was the alternator going. It is a 2014 so things are likely to happy but yes I believe that this Mercedes is reliable and I have heard from many people that they are far more reliable than other makes. I have also come across a couple of people who were looking for this specific M/H after doing a great deal of research. I don't take my M/H to Mercedes though as it is so much more expensive.

In relation to the home component, I have had many issues however I also think that if I was better equipped and knowledgeable in this field I would have dealt with them so much more easier.

Its great that your doing the research, the more people you talk to the better equipped you will be :D