What a month it’s been! This has been my first entire month doing a work exchange in Australia. I did a shorter one last month, but I’ve spent all of July living on Great Keppel Island. It’s an amazing place and I’m in denial that I have to leave in a few days. Part of me wishes I could stay forever!

The majority of my money goes on three main categories: accommodation, gas, and food. I do have some expenses every month that aren’t included in these, and I share those at the end of the post. This month, most of my expenses were actually random miscellaneous ones like this! Typically, the three main categories make up the bulk of all my spending.

How Much I Spent in Month 4 in Australia

So, how much money did I actually spend? Here’s a budget breakdown for the month!

Accommodation: $0

Gas: $0

Food: $283 AUD = £149 // $291 USD

Total: $283 AUD = £149 // $291 USD

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Australia Budget Analysis

I spent no money on accommodation or gas this month, as I was in one place the entire time! For the last five weeks, I spent 3ish hours each morning doing housekeeping and cleaning in exchange for my accommodation. This meant I spent ZERO money on accommodation – which meant this month was super cheap! There are no grocery stores and only one restaurant/bar on the island, so I spent very minimal money on food over the month. I cooked nearly all my own meals and saved a lot of money that way.

This was an extremely good way to manage my budget. And living on Great Keppel Island for the month is actually the happiest I think I’ve ever been! I do a few hours of work in the morning, and then the rest of the day is mine to enjoy: swimming, snorkeling, hiking, and lots and lots of blogging. I’ve been insanely productive on the blog: working on and completing projects that I’ve been putting off for years, catching up on writing posts, organizing photos and social media content, etc. I’ve absolutely loved the freedom to do this.

My plan in Australia was always to travel and have chunks of time doing work exchanges (or paid jobs, if I needed it) where I wasn’t spending much, if any, money. So, while I haven’t really been earning anything this month, I’ve spent barely anything. For me and my current budget, it’s a win-win!

I actually had some significant expenses this month, which aren’t listed in the three categories. I wear daily contact lenses, and ordered a supply of them here. This was $160 AUD. I also signed up to Trusted Housesitters, and paid for the annual subscription, which was $150 AUD (I paid in GBP, it was about £80 with a discount). So, I actually had $310 AUD (or £163 // $210 USD) in extra expenses this month. These additional costs were more than my actual monthly budget of the three categories combined! But I’m glad they came at a time when I wasn’t spending much money at all.

Overall, I’m extremely happy with my monthly budget for July. Doing a work exchange was fantastic – not just for budgeting reasons, but it’s just been a great fit for me! The people I’ve been working with are so amazing, which has been a nice break from solo roadtripping. And I’ve had loads of free time to explore the island. Most importantly, I’ve had a lot of time to put in the work on my blog! I hope this budget post is useful for anyone else traveling Australia!

Would you ever do a work exchange to save money while traveling?

You might also like my posts:

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

Australia Budget: Month 1 (April 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 2 (May 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 3 (June 2023)

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