My year in Australia is truly coming to an end… this is my penultimate monthly budget post! I can’t believe how fast time has gone. It doesn’t seem real – and I definitely wish I had more time Down Under!

I spent almost the entire month on the road in Tasmania. I’ve been in Melbourne the last few days, but besides that I was road tripping the whole time – sleeping in my car, hiking mountains, enjoying all Tassie has to offer. It was an incredible month, and I’m so glad I got to visit Tasmania.

In all of my monthly budget breakdowns, I categorize my expenses between four main categories: accommodation, gas, food, and other. I share what makes up the “other” category towards the end of this blog post!

How Much I Spent in Month 11 in Australia

So, how much money did I actually spend this month? Here’s my budget breakdown!

Accommodation: $101 AUD = £52 // $66 USD

Gas: $564 AUD = £291 // $370 USD

Food: $310 AUD = £160 // $203 USD

Other: $1238 AUD = £637 // $806 USD

Total: $2213 AUD = £1139 // $1442 USD

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Australia Budget Analysis

A huge part of this month’s budget was my ferry booking on the Spirit of Tasmania. I actually booked and paid for this several months ago, but didn’t include it in that month’s breakdown as I wasn’t actually using it then. The ferry was very expensive, at $826 AUD (£425 // $538 USD) for myself and my car. Without that, my “other” category would have been just $412 AUD – and my total spend for the month would have been $1387 AUD (£716 // $909 USD).

I’m not going to lie – I’m pretty shocked at my budget for this month when you put it like that! Tasmania was very much a “treat yo’self” leg of my Lap of Australia. I wanted to do and see all the things. I expected to spend a LOT more money this month than I actually did. I’m really impressed with myself!

A huge part of this is undoubtedly that my accommodation budget was so low. Tasmania has so many amazing free camps – as well as decent/convenient free camps, even if they aren’t awesome! I didn’t have a real bed to sleep in for six weeks; it was the longest stretch I’ve had sleeping in my car. But, it meant that I spent very little money on accommodation. It would have been nice to have showered a bit more, haha! I’m also really grateful to be staying with a family (who I met in the NT in September) in Melbourne. Accommodation is super expensive in the city, so it’s been great to have a free place to stay – plus great people to be around!

My food and gas budgets were also pretty low, compared to previous months. While I did a lot of driving – and driving anywhere in Tasmania takes a long time due to the narrow winding roads – I wasn’t driving long, massive distances. So, I wasn’t spending as much money on fuel. I also kept my food budget extremely low. I didn’t eat out for basically the entire month, and without a fridge it meant I wasn’t eating very healthy. This did have a really negative impact on my mental health, as it was a bit of a sufferfest. But in the end, it meant my food budget was really low, and I wasn’t wasting any food.

My “other” costs were pretty varied this month, apart from my Spirit of Tasmania booking as discussed. A lot of this category was sightseeing activities, like my river cruise in Strahan and the wildlife sanctuary, along with ferries to Maria Island and Bruny Island, and the shuttle bus in Cradle Mountain. It also includes laundry, showers, Kmart and BCF trips, and loading some money on my myki (public transport card) in Melbourne. I also got a punctured tire in Mount Field National Park, which thankfully a nice German couple helped me repair. The next day, I took it to a tire shop to get it patched by a professional, which only cost me $35. I was definitely expecting this category to be a higher spend this month! After the expensive ferry booking, I’m pleased the costs for this category came in under $500.

I’m really happy with my monthly budget for Month 11. I can’t believe how little I spent! I was traveling around Tasmania the entire time, but managed to keep costs really low. I only have one more month in Australia, so we’ll have to wait and see what my budget ends up being for that! I hope this post gives an accurate breakdown of expenses while traveling around Australia.

You might also like my posts:

How to Get a Work and Holiday Visa (WHV 462) for Australia in 2023

Australia Budget: Month 10 (January 2024)

Australia Budget: Month 9 (December 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 8 (November 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 7 (October 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 6 (September 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 5 (August 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 4 (July 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 3 (June 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 2 (May 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 1 (April 2023)

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