📊 What is the cost of living in a van?

Hitting the road requires calculating the cash needed to outfit your van and your monthly burn rate once you are out there. This calculator helps you figure out exactly how much savings you need to safely make the leap into van life.

As Sarah Foss puts it, the total cost sticker price for the van was $58,000 and by the time I was done with fees and taxes, $63,000 total was the cost for the van itself. She notes I made some changes to the build sheet to upgrade the van a little bit, bringing the build cost to $46,700. You can often finance the build cost alongside the base vehicle.

Even if you finance the van and build, you will need cash for the down payment and unfinanced essentials. As Sarah Foss notes, that includes everything that you see in this van except for three key components. The fridge was not included, which is $1,700. The toilet was not included, which is $1,000.

All of that from the vehicle to the build-out to everything I put in this van brought me to a final cost of $117,500. Calculate your upfront cash requirements to ensure you have enough left over for your runway.

Your runway is how long your remaining savings will last once you hit the road. Make sure to account for your monthly van payment, insurance, and living expenses, minus any remote income you plan to earn. As Sarah Foss explains, the van itself is on a loan, and it cost me about $1,000 a month between payment and insurance.

She adds, I saved up $20,000 back in July, and hit the road full-time. So, I have been living off of just this savings for the past couple months while I build up content creating.