I’ve embarked on my Aussie adventure and as I spend a year in the Land Down Under, I wanted to give an accurate and realistic idea of how much money I spend. I keep track of all my expenses, to share a monthly budget breakdown!

Although I do have some expenses each month besides these, the majority of my money goes on three main categories: accommodation, gas, and food. I share these extra expenses further down in the post! But overall, the three main categories make up the bulk of all my spending.

How Much I Spent in Month 2 in Australia

So, how much money did I actually spend? Here is my budget breakdown by category for my first month in Australia!

Accommodation: $293 AUD = £155 // $191 USD

Gas: $321.58 AUD = £170 // $210 USD

Food: $515.35 AUD = £273 // $337 USD

Total: $1129.92 AUD = £598 // $738 USD

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Australia Budget Analysis

This month was my first full month truly “on the road,” as I drove up the East Coast. I’ve been living out of my car, and free camping as much as possible, to keep costs down. While some people might not like this travel style, it’s the way I want to travel and how I’m managing my budget right now. The East Coast is an amazing part of Australia, with so much to see and do – I’m so glad to have been able to take my time here!

One of the biggest money savers from this month was my accommodation. I had nearly a week in Coffs Harbour and just over a week in Gold Coast where I was staying with people, and therefore not spending any money on accommodation. The first week in Coffs Harbour was totally unexpected and unplanned! And I used my friend’s place in Gold Coast as a base for some short adventures and trips in the nearby area. I am so grateful to them for letting me crash with them and putting me up!

My car is already proving to be a worthwhile investment. While it sucks not having anyone to split gas and camping expenses with, the freedom my car gives me is priceless. I absolutely love my girl, and I can’t wait for all the adventures we’ll have over the coming year.

Again, my food budget here was the real killer. I don’t have a fridge or a stove, and very rarely had access to a kitchen to cook my own food. So, I’ve been spending a lot of money on food as I go, trying to eat something that isn’t peanut butter sandwiches and bananas. It really does add up over the month! I think a stove and minimal cooking gear might be something I invest in when I next hit the road – even just being able to cook something simple like pasta for dinner would help me cut costs. We’ll see!

There are some expenses that aren’t included in these three main categories. I included my car expenses (mainly renewing my rego in the beginning of May) in last month’s budget post. Besides that, there isn’t much: some sightseeing/tourist activities, public transport (like the train to and from Brisbane), a few hours of paid parking, laundry, and vacuuming my car, etc. But these are pretty minimal in the grand scheme of things.

Overall, I’m still very impressed with my budget for May. I spent some interesting nights in free campsites, and had nice breaks where I was in one place for about a week. I hope this blog post is useful for anyone else traveling Australia on a budget!

How much would you estimate you’d spend on a monthly basis in Australia?

You might also like my posts:

Australia Budget: Month 1 (April 2023)

Surprise – I’m Moving to Australia!

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