Easy Van Life Tips to Save Money, Regardless of Lifestyle

1. Setting a goal

The first step is deciding how much you want to have and in what time frame, and breaking it down. For example, if you wanted $10,000 by the end of the year, that is $833 a month, or $192 a week, or $27.40 a day.

Make sure to break it down into smaller attainable goals so that you can really know if that is realistic for you. $10,000 may seem daunting, but $27.40 a day is something you can work with.

If the amount seems reasonable, it is more likely that that goal is attainable for you. Now you can start working on actionable steps towards that goal.

2. Income and expenses

The most important thing to start is knowing your budget. You have to know your income, your expenses, and where you may find space for extra. You could be earning a million dollars but if all you have left after expenses is a hundred dollars, you would feel a lack of abundance.

So utilize all the resources, such as free apps that help with budgeting, and find out what the non-essential purchases are that are leaking money, and therefore what areas you should gain more control over.

Once you find and neutralize those leaks, you will be surprised at how fast your money starts to overflow.

So let’s talk about each area separately!

3. Food costs

The average person in America spends $465 a month on groceries and eating out, coming up to $15 a day. Skipping eating out a couple times and cutting some things could help you save money on food costs.

I do this by preparing my own meals most of the time, making my own coffee and tea, and making sure to take inventory before I go shopping to avoid being wasteful and getting things I already have or things I have no use for.

4. Clothing costs

The average American spends $161 a month on clothes, shoes, and accessory shopping.

Moreover, if you live in a van or a place without laundry facilities, you can end up spending anywhere $30-60 a month extra just to do laundry. That is $6.36 a day on clothes.

Cut that by $50 a month, or $2 a day, by wearing things more than once before washing them, washing smaller items by hand, sewing as needed, and buying fewer clothes in general.

5. Cleaning and hygiene products and services

On average people spend about $50 a month on cleaning products and $100 more a month on hygiene, grooming, and beauty products and services. That is $5 a day.

Cutting that by $50 would save you $3 a day. I do this by making my own cleaning products and toothpaste. You would be surprised how much you can make with hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and a few essential oils. And if you are keeping track, we are halfway there to $5,000 a year.

6. Household items and services

The average person spends $196 a month on household items and services. That is $6 a day. Cutting that just by $30 would be saving an extra $1 a day.

One of the ways to save in this area is buying reusable products, such as using a cloth instead of paper towels, reusable bags and water containers.

7. Entertainment

The average person spends $288 a month, which is $9.60 a day. Imagine cutting that by just $88, by just going to the movies less, or not going to that concert, or not going out on the town with your friends as often. You would save almost $3 a day.

8. Impulse purchases

This is a big one. On average, a person spends $151 a month or $5 a day at least, with some individuals splurging up to $800 on non-essential discretionary costs.

It can be something as simple and cheap as a pack of gum, a can of soda or a magazine. Think how much you could save by saying no to those purchases.

9. Lottery tickets

An average person spends $86 a month, that's $3 a day, on lottery tickets. If you simply saved that three dollars, you'd have that much more toward your goal.

For those keeping track, we are now at $14 a day, which gets us to $5,000 by the end of the year. And if you really take this last category seriously, you could easily have that $27 a day and $10,000 by the end of the year.

10. High yield savings account

Lastly, here is the easiest thing you can do immediately that will give you more money. If you are already doing this, you are way ahead of most people.

Just put all the extra money that you are saving daily into a high-yield savings account, at 4-6% interest, as opposed to 0.01% on a regular savings account at most banks.

If you had $1,000 in your normal savings account at 0.01%, by the end of the year you would have a whopping ten cents extra. Meanwhile, with that same money in a high yield account at 4.6 % interest, by the end of the year, you would have $46 for just having your money sitting there.

And once you had your $10,000 in that high yield savings account, you would be getting $460 a year.

Van life tips: Easy ways to save money

So I really hope that this article encourages you to start looking for those tiny little leaks in your budget. Start where you can and you will see your savings grow over time. It really is the kickstart for the kind of financial freedom that you seek.

Do you have any other van life tips for saving money? What is an area you used to spend too much on and managed to overcome it? Let me know in the comments!

Next, check out my 7 Clutter-Free Gift Ideas For Minimalists & Van Lifers.