When you scroll through all the ‘van life’ travel photos that inundate you can’t help but dream of your own exotic adventure.
But behind all the glamorous photos is the reality of figuring out how to afford living on the road.
, 27, and her husband Domenic Palumbo, 30, have been travelling around Australia in their VW kombi servisi Scout for over a year, and now they have revealed how they have made it financially viable.
‘The fact that we are constantly moving and in new places, and constantly wanting to explore and experience each new place, has meant that we’ve had to come up with ways to manage our spending,’ Elise wrote in a .
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Elise Cook, 27, and her husband Domenic Palumbo, 30, have been travelling around Australia in their VW Kombi Scout for kombi servisi over a year now, and they have revealed how they can afford it
‘The fact that we are constantly moving and in new places has meant that we’ve had to come up with ways to manage our spending,’ Elise said
WHILE ON THE ROAD IN AUSTRALIA
Don’t Underestimate Fuel Costs and Car Maintenance
Elise said that if you’re driving around any country, fuel and car maintenance will be your number one expense.
‘Avoid having to fill the tank in small towns, as the cost of fuel is always slightly higher,’ she said.
‘Use small towns for kombi servisi top ups only if possible and carry fuel with you when travelling in remote parts of Australia.’
The travel blogger also recommended getting top cover roadside assistance as they will be your ‘best friend’ if anything goes wrong, which is bound to happen if you’re on the road for a long period of time.
Elise said that if you’re driving around any country, fuel and car maintenance will be your number one expense
Elise said it is important for people to make sure they are friendly and open to chatting with people they meet while stopping in country towns.
She explained that she and her husband have discovered some of their favourite spots because of a tip from a local.
They have also been pointed in the direction of beautiful campgrounds and have been given warnings or cautions from other travellers.
Elise said that as well as having the benefit of being able to be amongst nature, camping is also an affordable accommodation option when travelling.
The couple revealed that they use an app to help them find their next campground.
According to them, Australia has an ‘abundance’ of free campgrounds and if they’re not free, they tend to be quite affordable.
Elise and Domenic treat their spending overseas the same as if they were in Australia and they make sure they only spend what they have in their designated spending account.
The one small difference is that they choose to clear the credit card at the end of the month, instead of weekly, as she said it keeps them accountable to a certain set amount trip.
We choose to use a credit card primarily to benefit from reward points,
kombi Servisi and travel insurance
She said that travelling with a credit card also means that you don’t have to withdraw cash in another country or go to a money exchange place and have to deal with high commission rates.
Elise recommends that people do their research as to what the best deal is and find a card that has the best fees and charges for the destination people are going to.
‘We choose to use a credit card primarily to benefit from reward points, and travel insurance,’ she said.
‘However, we treat our credit card spending as if we are operating with a debit card, imagining that it is pulling straight from our spending account, and only spending what that account holds. If you have any concerns concerning where and how you can use kombi Servisi, you can contact us at our own website. ‘
Elise said the benefit of using a travel card is it is easier setting and sticking to a budget.
These cards also often allow people to load the currency of the country they’re going to, meaning they don’t have to worry about exchange rates per purchase.
‘We avoid using cash and do all of our spending on one card.This is so that we can look back and account for our spending,’ she said.
This means the travelling couple can easily keep track of what they have spent each month on things like groceries or eating out.
This allows them to look over their spending and figure out where they need to cut back.
Although cash can be convenient for when people go to places that don’t take card, it can be more difficult to track and can disappear quickly.