Another expensive month, and it’s starting to add up. Nothing dramatic yet, but definitely something to keep an eye on as the year goes on.
Fuel is beginning to bite too, which didn’t help given we had a few thousand kilometres to knock over.
Breakdown of the unusual expenses
- Medical/Medication – Cathy needed some urgent dental work done this month. Thankfully everything went well, but as most people know, anything dental doesn’t come cheap. There were also some additional medication costs associated with the procedure.
- Fuel – Fuel continues to be a factor. With a few thousand kilometers covered this month, it added up quickly. That said, running on petrol is working in our favour at the moment, diesel prices would have made this a fair bit worse.
- Bills – Cathy has now finished work, and this was the final tax bill from the previous financial year. A one-off, but still a noticeable hit for the month.
- Caravan Parks – We’ve started locking in a number of caravan parks ahead of the push north to Darwin. Some forward bookings were made this month, which will carry us through to around August.
Expenses – Sumary
| Month | Total | Acommodation (avg/ay) | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| December | $8,211 | $87.5 | $264 |
| January | $4,090 | $20.8 | $131 |
| February | $10,309.54 | $16 | $368 |
| March | $11,303 | $61 | $364 |
| April | |||
| May | |||
| June | |||
| July | |||
| August | |||
| September | |||
| October | |||
| November | |||
| Monthly avg | $8,478 | $46 | $281 |
Summary
If you take out the tax bill and the dental work, our spending comes in at around $1,800 per week for the month. A portion of that is higher fuel costs, along with some forward bookings for accommodation.
It’s a good reminder that outside factors can have an impact, and not everything is within your control when you’re on the road.
Months like this also highlight that while weekly averages are useful, there will always be the occasional spike when larger or unexpected expenses come along.
If you’re interested in what it costs us to travel full time, you can see all of our monthly expense reports here.
Thanks for reading March 2026 – Travel Expenses. Shadow, the van, and the two of us will catch you at the next campsite.
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