Costs of Full-Time RVing – January 2019

January 2019 found us in Arizona for the entire month, first in the Phoenix area for six days then boondocking in the desert for the remainder of time. While in the greater Phoenix metro area we dry camped at the Desert Diamond Casino in Glendale.  We spent time touring the local area, visiting with friends, watching NFL playoffs and took in stadium tours at Chase Field (Arizona Diamondbacks- MLB) and State Farm Stadium (Arizona Cardinals – NFL). Both tours were excellent and relatively inexpensive ($7 and $9 each, respectively). We love both baseball and football so the tours were very appealing to us. We also drove by Talking Stick Arena (Phoenix Suns – NBA) and Gila River Arena (Arizona Coyotes – NHL) stadiums. We’ve never been to either a NBA or NHL game but do have those on our bucket list. 

After restocking on groceries and a visit to Love’s Travel Stop to empty the waste tanks and fill with fresh water, propane and gasoline, we headed off to the desert near Quartzsite, Arizona. We stayed on three different BLM sites and liked each of them. While boondocking we enjoyed socializing with friends both old and new, sitting around the fire pit, relaxing with a few good books and movies and most of all, taking in the beauty and quiet of the desert. We took two trips to Parker, Arizona to Safeway and Walmart for groceries and supplies, several trips to Quartzsite to visit with friends and to walk around the Big Tent grounds and one day trip to the Blythe Intaglios and Cibola National Wildlife Refuge. 

With much time spent in the desert our overall miles traveled for the month was relatively low allowing for minimal gasoline expenditures of $63.23 for both the car and RV combined. Fuel prices ranged from $2.49-2.59, lower than in December but Arizona fuel prices continue to remain higher than many other areas of the United States. 

Total utility expenses for January 2019 were the highest we have paid in a single month since being full-time RVers. We paid two times for dumping waste tanks and filling with fresh water – $10 in Phoenix at Love’s Travel Stop and $14 in Quartzsite at the RV Pit Stop. We also filled with propane two times during the month, once early in the month and again on January 31. Propane use was elevated due to increased use of the fire pit and RV furnace needed to combat the chilly nighttime temperatures. 

Several of our regular monthly expenditures changed in amounts this month. We experienced increases in mail box fees and car, RV and health insurances and a decrease in cell phone expenses. More details on those are in the expense breakdown below. 

Even with the increased expenses for the month our total amount spent for January 2019 was only $966. Our average monthly expenditure is $1500 so less than $1000 spent is a cheap month! That number will definitely go up as we increase our monthly miles traveled, especially during the summer months as we head to New England and Canada. 

Previously we have not included the cost of health insurance in the totals as discussions of this topic inevitably turn political, but starting this month we are now doing so. Please contact us via email with questions you may have concerning health insurance.