Monthly expenses as a nomad

Hello there friend! Today I thought we could talk about what monthly expenses a nomad has. It’s a popular question so I wanted to take some time and cover this subject once and for all. Are the monthly costs higher or lower than what you’d pay monthly on a normal lifestyle? Well, that really depends on you.

I will assume you’re either interested in budgeting or curious to compare our monthly costs if you’re here. Nonetheless, welcome! You’re definitely in the right place. I touched on this subject over on my Instagram @natgoneglobal but I thought we could dive in deeper on the subject on this platform!

MY MONTHLY EXPENSES

BREAKDOWN OF COSTS

WHAT ARE MY MONTHLY EXPENSES?

The expenses I will mention below are the expenses that are drawn from my account automatically every month and do not change unless I change/cancel the subscription!

MICROSOFT (WORD ETC.) 7 EURO

NETFLIX 11 EURO

SPOTIFY 16 EURO

PHONE 20 EURO

NEXSTORY 14 EURO

ADOBE (PHOTOSHOP, LIGHTROOM, ETC.) 20 EURO

ESSENTIAL (BANK ETC.): 20 EURO

That is a total cost of roughly 108 euros that comes out of my account every month. Looking at the different categories, I understand most of this is stuff I could easily get rid of and most of it are things I want but don’t necessarily need. I like to listen to music, read/listen to audiobooks, get creative with my writing & photo editing, and, I enjoy relaxing in front of a good movie on Netflix, so, for me, it’s worth the few extra euros each month to be able to have these things. As far as monthly costs go, these are mine. 

BUT WHAT ABOUT RENT? LOANS? ACCOMMODATION?

I didn’t mention my rent or accommodation cost in the monthly expenses and that is because it depends on where I am, where I live, and how I choose to live. Since I don’t hold a loan that has never been an issue expense-wise for me and I haven’t held an apartment lease for more than a few months since I let go of mine back in 2016. I did it to minimize my costs during my year abroad and since I haven’t stayed put anywhere for more than a few months, it just hasn’t seemed logical for me to tie myself up again.

When I’m in between jobs and traveling, the only rent cost for me those months all depends on where I choose to stay which suits me perfectly, for now! Let me give you a few examples from the past few years to give you an idea of how a month for me could look like:

Month 1: Spent the first 2 weeks visiting my mom in Sweden. Then I spent one week in Poland with a couch surfing host & then I spent another week in France with another couch surfing host. total accommodation cost for the month: 0 euro.

Month 2: Lived in a share-house with a roomie and multiple other people! total accommodation cost for the month: 123 euro. 

Month 3: Spent 10 days on an all-inclusive resort, paid 650 euro. Spent the rest of the month island hopping in the Mediterranean. Stayed in apartments, hostels & hotels during those weeks and it ended up costing me 423 euro. total accommodation cost for the month: 1073 euro.

 Month 4-10: Lived in a 1 bedroom apartment with my boyfriend. total accommodation cost for the month 400 euro.

Month 11: Rented a room in a 4 bedroom apartment together with three others. the total cost of accommodation for the month 550 euro.

Besides the monthly costs, there are a few yearly costs as well that you can’t escape from. The only yearly costs I currently have are; my life insurance, my domain & my website. Since I’ve mostly been in Scandinavia the last 2 years I do not currently hold travel insurance, but that is only because Scandinavia has good terms between the countries.

If/When I decide to venture further away I will get proper travel insurance again for sure! I had one during the couple of years I was in Australia & Asia and even though I only had to use it once, I sure was glad that I had one! No one plans to get in an accident, get robbed, or in my case, get an inflamed wisdom tooth that needs to be pulled out asap! But these things happen and that’s why insurance is a necessary evil. It will help you sleep better at night, knowing that if shit hits the fan, you are insured. Believe me, it is not something you want to skip!

Without my insurance, I would’ve had to pay 700 AUD flat out for the emergency surgery but with insurance, I only had to pay the minimum fee of 100 AUD and the insurance company paid the rest. If you’re going to embrace a nomadic life, check what kind of travel insurance your current insurance has and then decide whether or not you need additional travel insurance. For Sweden at least, most insurance companies have travel insurance for 30-45 days abroad, but after those days you will have to get additional insurance to make sure you’re covered. 

With that said, I hope you liked diving into my finances and if you want me to continue creating content like this, I would appreciate it if you would give me some love down below or on social media. That way I can see that what I’m writing is appreciated by you. That was everything for now, and until next time, take care! xo Nathalie