I'm traveling the US in an older RV, spending~ $700 a month with a separate budget for repairs. I've traveled Europe while working and this is giving me a chance to see my own country while maintaining a super- low WR. My lifestyle is probably too minimal for most people but it's ideal for me. I'm actually trying to come up with ways to spend more money without compromising my gritty lifestyle.
SailorGirl what's your lifestyle while traveling ? $700 is very low ... We are quite minimal ourselves(and don't require luxury ) and we would love to travel US in a small RV. Whats your spending while traveling and how much your separate fund for repairs ?
I have solar panels which gives me the option of not plugging in so I spend most of my time either boondocking in forests or dry camping in parking lots. A National Parks pass gets me into those sights for free and I seek out free entertainment when in small cities (parks, beaches, museums, etc). I have plenty of room in the budget for sightseeing and never shirk on doing something to save money.
To take a break from cooking I'll stay in a casino parking lot and eat at one of their restaurants to "pay" for my stay. I see fewer RVs doing that in the east, but in the west it's incredibly popular. I've talked to people that plan all their travel around casinos.
I made it a goal to keep gas costs to around $100 a month. This reminds me to take things slow. I also plan to volunteer at National Parks eventually and that will keep me in place for three months at a time.
Since my RV is older I have a huge repair budget- $10k. This is for 10 years and I don't expect to use it all. Normal maintenance and small repairs come out of the daily money pot.
I pay for groceries for me and the cats, fuel, propane for cooking, insurance (really cheap for older RV) , phone and prescriptions. For pricey meds I park near the border and walk into Mexico (my insurance is only valid for er visits outside my home state). I just joined a national gym chain for showers since my water tank is quite small and use baby wipes to keep clean when I'm in the woods.
I use Overdrive to check out ebooks from the library and librivox and project Gutenberg for other free books. I have a bunch of movies with me but haven't watched any.
Park near businesses for free wifi and be sensible about using it safely. I filed my taxes from a Walmart parking lot at six in the morning because, really, what bad person is going to camp out at WM in the early morning in the hopes of being able to steal information?
I can't think of anything I miss having or doing that spending more money would get me.