Our previous blog caused quite a stir. Read more than 6,000 times and a lot of reactions both under the blog and on social media. Most reactions were positive and we were even thanked for making this topic discussable and insightful. As always, there were also some critical remarks. That requires some extra explanation and some answers.
Poll results
The result of the poll what do you think of these costs was very clear. We spend more money than 71% of the voters had thought. Understandable, to be honest we also thought/hoped to come out a bit cheaper. We also received many responses from people who are cheaper, but also from people who spend more.
Starting point
We noticed in the comments that it matters quite a bit what your starting point is. If you are completely off-grid and you mainly stay in your own permanent community where you also grow your own vegetables, you can be a lot cheaper. If you are a pensioner who travels around the sunny south in the summers, you may be more expensive. As always, it is not our intention to say what is right or wrong. With our blog we only give a glimpse into our finances. For a complete overview, see our previous post . We would like to invite you to share your cash book below. This way others can see how it can be done.
Livelihood
We wrote that we spend €500 on groceries per month. This got a lot of reactions. Ranging from "Oh, that's about how much we spend between the two of us" to "you guys are really big eaters". If we look at this expense item again, we can adjust our expenses a bit. We budget €500 per month, but in practice we have about €100 left. We put this in our 'grocery savings account'. If there is enough money in this account, we can go out for dinner or do something else fun.
Local farmers
Annemarie asked us why we don't buy from local farmers. That is often cheaper and in this way we also support the local community. We accept this tip wholeheartedly and will definitely look into it. It may be our 'old' laziness that makes us want to buy everything from one supermarket.
Camping and diesel
At the camping and diesel post we also have to add the toll and parking costs. A trip from the North to the South of France costs about € 100, -. Now you can of course avoid the toll roads, but then you have to take into account a longer travel time and more fuel consumption. Sometimes we prefer one, sometimes the other.
Insurances
Unfortunately, insurance is a large part of the budget. The health insurance in particular, €278, is a considerable expense. The basic insurance will be around €157 per person in 2025. With a maximum deductible and annual payment, you can come out a bit cheaper. I then arrive at €139.11 x 2 people is €278.22. This without deducting any healthcare allowance if you are entitled to it. Globus 2 is fully comprehensively insured with the NKC. This could of course also be cheaper if you are only WA insured. Since Globus 2 Besides our means of transport, it is also our home, so I like to play it safe.
Cost of Globus 2
Jelle pointed out to us that we do not include any depreciation in our overview. Of course, he is completely right about that from a financial perspective. We do not set aside a monthly amount for that. A possible Globus 3 should be paid from the savings account or the invested money.
"The secret of a rich life is that it has nothing to do with money"
Extreme
Then it can all be even more extreme. You can deregister from the Netherlands and not pay any taxes or insurance at all. You will then also no longer be entitled to Dutch social security and you will no longer build up AOW. We consciously choose not to do that. We would like to use the AOW later.
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Website
Several people found the costs for the website on the high side. Of course, if you only have to pay for a domain name and some hosting, you are much better off. We currently have this site running on the WIX platform. In addition to a domain name and hosting, we also have many other functionalities such as: WYSIWYG layout, standard blog and forms, contact management, a CMS, sending mailings, statistics and extra storage. I was even a bit on the low side with my statement. In total, we now spend €532.40 per year on the site.
Donation
Michel also gave the tip to make a donate button on the site. That way people who like the blogs can donate an amount to cover the costs. We will investigate the technical possibilities. So thanks for this tip, Michel!
Where are we?
5,525 km since our departure. After leaving Portugal we drove to Seville. What an unexpectedly nice and beautiful city that is. After a wonderful day in Seville we drove on to Gibraltar. Special to have to cross the runway after the border to be able to continue. Of course we climbed the rock to visit the monkeys and the caves. Various photos can be seen on Instagram and tikTok .
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