How much does VANLIFE COST? - We asked a VANLIFE ACCOUNTANT!
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- čas přidán 24. 07. 2024
- You are thinking of selling the house to live the vanlife? Good. Before doing so, check out how the process might cost you with this video. We listed all the expenses, from buying your van to living in it, including cost of conversion materials, conversion labor, interests, van life insurances, and what not to help you figure out your budget. In brief - Everything to answer the question "How much does vanlife actually cost?"
For this video, we asked an accountant WHO IS ALSO a vanlifer. We even give you a little trick at the end to MAKE MONEY with your van while you aren't using it. After watching this, you'll have most of your answers when you ask yourself if you can afford vanlife.
RENT MICHAEL'S VAN HERE
bit.ly/vieenbleu
CHAPTERS
Intro - 00:00
Cost of vehicle - 01:25
Cost of conversion - 03:18
Cost of living on the road - 06:34
Other Costs - 08:44
Final tips from the Accountant - 11:26
French Lesson - 14:45
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WHO ARE YOU? WHAT’S WITH YOUR ACCENT?
We're Dom & Marie, a French Canadian couple who love Nutella toast and live in a van. Marie is the brain (Ph.D student) and Dom's the dreamer (Creative director). We have spent the last 2 years travelling around North America in our Promaster 136'' named Vanessa. In 2020, after a 12-month trip that was cut short because of Covid, we decided to sell our van to start a new project: a BIGGER van.
Our goal is to inspire others to start #vanlife and to help build their very own home on wheels while living and enjoying a balanced online and offline life.
I can't emphasise planning for bad luck enough, we bought a good second hand van thinking we wouldn't have too many engine problems, within 4 months of travel we've already spent over 3000 euros in repairs for things that were out of our control (and she is starting to make weird sounds again :( ) - bad luck happens and it is much harder to decide to give up on your car after you've invested 10+k in conversion cost and 10 months worth of time
You are so right! Planning is the key!
@@vanlifesagas we should have added more yellow stripes for more luck and less engine problems - silly error
Are you two ever coming back? We miss you and we’re looking forward to all you planned. ❤️❤️❤️
Hope all is well with both Dom and Marie. Blessings to you both .
I miss you and tour vidéos! Hope you are comming back soon !
Hahaha love the “relaxed accountant” transition😂. What a great video concept! Thanks for this awesome content 🙏🏻
Thanks Julia!
I really miss your travels and your uplifting personalities. I hope all is well 🙏.
This is by far my favorite #vanlife channel. I’m still working my way through episodes but you two just make me happy. Your energy and sense of humor are unmatched! Not to mention the professional quality and information that your videos provide!
I recently bought a Sprinter. I am traveling abroad for the next 6 months where I’m lucky enough to save quite a bit of money during this time. My build should start in October at which point I will be full-time travel around North America and possibly go south at some point.
Thank you so much for being an inspiration!
Missing both of you + your brilliant videos. Hope you are fine.
Thank you so much for the commentary from both of you. Very informative, very helpful.
Thks 😎
Very informative. Thank you Dom & Michel.
Thanks! :)
Always giving us the inside track, Dom. Huge smiles and all the sunshine to you and Marie!
Thanks! Marie says hi!
THIS is the kind of useful video that vanlifers (or vanlife wannabes) need!! You offer such informative videos. I love it
Thanks for watching! 😎
Love your sweatshirt, Michael! Thanks for the information, guys.
Vanlife! Go!
You guys always crack me up! Love your videos:)
Great. All important to think about. Thanks 😊
Anytime!
Hey Guys, Wife and I are planning our van. Ya'll are so helpful and thanks. We really enjoy your channel. Also trying to remember my high school French (LOL) Thanks
LOVE that kind of content
Yaeh? Should we do more of it?
Very informative video! I would also appreciate a video on what to look for when buying already converted vans. Not all DIYers are created equal so what are some things to watch out for? I watched one video where this couple bought a converted van, found out later the wrong wiring was used (which could have caused a fire) and hired professionals to rewire a lot of stuff. It would interesting to hear some good things as well as red flags to look for when buying a converted van.
That would be an interesting video indeed! Because there is going to be a lot of used vans on the market in a couple of months.
great topic!! Thanks!
You are welcome!
I’m going to use this break that you are taking to give you something to think about, me and my wife have been following your channel (on our other account) for quite some time now but we noticed that most of your videos are directed towards building vans, cost and general advices. We think your channel is missing the adventures/Sagas department. The music, audio, video and your coolness are right on spot and you just need to take all of this out there. It would be very interesting to see you going into cities, interacting with people, showing new places and giving your French lessons around the world. Best of luck Dom👍
Excellent tips! I would like tips about selling a converted van, ups and downs.
Great channel. Hope to see a new video soon.
In Jean Coutu parking lot in Aylmer and see your van!!! Cool! New follower ❤
Awesome video and content 👍😎
Thanks so much!
This is a great video!
Mil gracias!
The way he says Budget sounds like Baguette its so cute lol
Checking in to say hi. Miss you all and keep imagining the yellow stripes ran away with you... how fast did you go???
Thank you relaxed accountant Michael!
Our pleasure!
Another great informative video!! My van essentially is my retirement plan. I can stop and get a job anywhere in Canada when I need money, work for a few weeks to a few months, and move on!
Sounds great!
Great advise! Don and Marie just so you know, my last question was asking your expertise on vans because your professional builders. I was in the market but was confused on so many people's answers between Ford,Promaster, Mercedes:)))) I desided Ford and putting a hightop like your accountant friend :)))))
Ford is a good choice!
Interesting information, you can be sure to count on me to be here next week... Trrrrum pst!!!
Yah!
Great video I liked how the numbers were presented. But one thing a house is not an asset. If you are paying a mortgage it's an asset to the bank. Now renting it out it turns into an asset.
Love how you brought up renting the van out. Depending on where you live it can bring in some nice revenue.
Thanks for breaking this all down.
You are right - If you live in your own house, it's not an asset but could become an interesting one, especially if you rent it while you are on the road.
Pleaseeeeeeeeee, I want an editing course from youuuu!!! or maybe a live while you edit one of your videos, idk but WAAAAA your videos are awesome, guys!!!
Great information
Thank you! We try our best!
Ah aha h j'adore vos capsules french-canadian!! lol Thanks for those tips, pretty interesting those numbers, give a great idea :)
Thanks for watching!
Hello all, Great breakdown. Thanks. Also, looks like Sailor Jerry's on the counter behind.. a shot before or after the vid?
Oh yeah!
Hey you two, hope you're doing well!
J’ai bien aimé ton nouveau style de vidéo merci beaucoup toujours intéressant et surtout drôle
Merci!
Where are you guys? Miss your videos so much!!!!!! Hope you are both well!
Miss you guys
Missing you guys!
What happened to you guys? I haven't seen you all for months. Hope all is okay.
Merci Mikael!
Love the Videos!! Curious why you choose Ram Promaster over Ford or Mercedes (other than the space it affords) . Curious about this as i just sold my Ram Promaster due to limitations of the 2 wheel drive.
I think the second or third video on our channel talk exactly about this! Check it out!
Miss you guys.
We need a vanlife accountant channel! Preferably with yellow stripes so we can save more!
PS With the marshmellow story, that friends is a cheap S.O.B. but just being careful with spending my preferred word is 'frugal' which is a very unflabbergasting word but still fun.
Frugal vanlife!
In Chicago area we just call it ghetto life
Just saw Vanessanessa in Knowlton 😏 Enjoy your stay 😉
Great video with perfect tips. My advice is travel slow, see a lot and hire an accountant before you start 🤪👍👌😀🇳🇱❤️🇨🇦 greetings from the Netherlands
Netherlands. Love.
Another ace video Dom 👍 costs in the UK for vans are going up but still cheaper than Canada 🤣🤣 is Marie back again soon? Missing her 🥰🥰
Prices are going crazy AF.
@@vanlifesagas its nuts 🤣
Hey Dom and Marie and families! Nothing new for a month so I just wanted to say I hope you are all well. I don’t really follow instagram so I have no idea if you’ve been updating there at all.
I hope wherever your respective journeys are taking you that you both find what you need. Sometimes what we need is very different from what we are looking for. Ha. Life has many surprises.
Take care and I hope you all have a happy easter next week.
Amy from the Yukon.
Renting the van sounds great in theory, but you probably have to have a tax number to collect the taxes ...at least here in Quebec. Treating it like a business opens up another can of worms...it would have been nice if those items had been addressed, too. I have heard that some insurers are fussy about renting out your van. I would like to hear about how all that works.
Thanks for another great video!
Thks. On our list of things to do.
How do you arrange insurance for a diy van conversion in Quebec
I've watched so many of your videos that I catch myself speaking with a French accent......and.....I'm not French.😊
Excellent
Thks!
J'ai hàte d'avoir de vos nouvelles. Portez-vous bien.
Where did you go? Best wishes to you both.
thank you very much for your video. I really like it. I'm trying to learn from that for our "The Dream" tour. this tour goes from germany via poland, lithuania, latvia, russia, kazakhstan, kigisistan, uzbekistan and some more to turkey.
Nice tour! That will be fun!
Sounds awesome! Will you have a CZcams so we can follow along?
@@nicandtris yes, hazelnut adventures on CZcams
Can you recommend a company for insurance for a diy conversion in Quebec
Great Video! Which insurance company had been used for your international trip? I live in Montreal and so far Aviva is the only insurance company that this.
Blue Cross usually helps us with all the International Operations we have.
Thank you for the response! What about Van insurance?
Premièrement vous êtes tout à fait formidable! Je ris aux larmes à chaque vidéo. Super bonne analyse de coût, merci. Ça fait réfléchir. Mais moi, je fais tout à l'envers! J'approche la soixantaine. J'ai été trop sérieuse toute ma vie. Je me retrouve retraité (ou pu capabe de travailler), au Royaume-Uni. Le comptable va capoter! J'empoche une partie de mes REER et je fais faire une conversion par un professionel!!! J'espère avoir plusieurs années de plaisir à parcourir l'Europe avec mon chien. Je vais m'assurer de mettre de l'argent de côté pour les mauvaises surprises selon les bons conseils du comptable relax!! Continuez vous êtes trop bons. J'aime beaucoup la leçon de québécois !
My 2001 Toyota Commuter in Australia cost me $14 thousand. It hasn't cost me a cent in 4 years in repairs apart from regular servicing. I spent $5 thousand converting it myself. I have a sink with electric pump, LPG heating and double burner cooker, 120aH 200W solar system that powers lights, PC, phone and a 45 litre 12v fridge. After 4 years travelling in it I don't act like a tourist anymore. I pretty much spend $100 a week on all expenses and I am saving a lot of money. It's doable on the cheap.
Well, there you go…Thank you for your input! And keep on travelling!
where are you guys at ??????????
@11:20 Your $$$ assumption was that you had no car loan or personal loan on the van. Also, to keep in mind, appreciation vs depreciation. My grandfather was correct: never finance a depreciating item, unless that item makes money.
Ideally, and that's why Michael says it at the beginning: it's not a great recommendation to buy a van with financing or refinancing.
I guess in an ideal world buying assets like a home would be best, but for people who can’t afford to purchase a home and have to rent, I’m assuming living in a van would be a way to own something and kill two birds with one stone. A place to live and a way to get around. Home prices have gone up so much in price. I don’t think I’ll be purchasing a home. The van life is appealing to me because I’m not “wasting” money with rent. I enjoy the different perspectives the videos give and enjoy learning. Thanks for the videos!
Absolutely, living in your converted van can be a better financial choice compared to living in an apartment and renting a car!
Michaël Saïd it! It’s a matter of choice.
Ps, where can i find your title song to download? I need it for my playlist 👍
Check Vanlife Sagas on Spotify.
@@vanlifesagas thanks 👍
Houses in Canada are not a good investment of capital if you're buying now or in the last year.
Go CPAs!!
Argh. I am still going. Cannot afford all the backup $$ but am late 60s and running out of time. Thanks for the food for thought anyway.
Our pleasure!
Yeeeahh BABBY PURA VIDA!!!!!!
But these 20.000 material..ok..but if you cannot do it yourself? How much?
Less than $100US a week in San Diego!
One thing that wasn't included: Buying health insurance for Canadians traveling to the USA. Unless. you have a job that has travel health insurance in its benefit package, you will need to buy insurance from a company like Blue Cross as provincial health insurance coverage won't help you in the USA and you'll be stuck with very large bills to pay if you get sick or have an accident. Similarly, there are some restrictions on coverage between provinces. If you have been gone from your home province for more than 90 days, you may lose coverage. All things to investigate before you leave home and budget accordingly.
It was very briefly included in the graph of "Cost of living on the road". The insurances are higher because of the Blue Cross package deal on top of the normal insurance. We usually pay around 130$ for 40 days out of the country. The whole 6 month package was 480ish in 2019.
J aime la leçon de canadien!
Where did you go ? Good luck in your future.
They broke up
I like his t-shirt too but what shirt was the accountant wearing before?
He was wearing a normal accountant shirt. Huhuhu.
@@vanlifesagas good thing he swapped. Accountants are intimidating enough 😉
Long time with no video...
I gasped at the gas cost 😦
Where did you go ?
Allo ! Merci pour cette vidéo mais...
Oui il y a un "mais"!
Quelques calculs pour ceux qui n'ont pas les moyens de mettre de l'argent de côté, les autres générations, ceux qui ont des familles ou tout autre hypothèse de départ différente ?
(yes I can understand English if you wish to answer for all)
👋 From France 🌍🌏🌎
Bonjour Nat, en fait il était impossible d’expliquer et imaginer tous les scénarios imaginables, mais il serait une bonne pratique de mettre sur papier tous vos coûts actuels ainsi que les coûts du projet que vous convoitez. Comme l’a démontré Dom avec son exemple d’appartement, le coût au jour le jour de vivre en van pourrait être moindre que celui de louer un appartement et de louer une voiture. Cependant, il est important qu’une partie de cette économie soit utilisée pour anticiper les coûts futurs d’entretien et imprévus possibles. Pour l’acquisition initiale, tout dépendant de la situation personnelle et la réalité de chacun, certains prêts peuvent être accessibles. Nous avons pris un exemple de prêt personnel à 9% pour le vidéo, mais encore une fois ça peut varier selon les prêts accessibles à chacun.
I think that your basic budget is a fucking high budget :o i mean my vehicle cost me 3500 euros and my conversion 3000 euros…. And it’s a very nice one with shower, 2 persons bed, toilets, etc…..
Show us.
@@vanlifesagas one of my next videos on my channel :) it'll be a presentation of my van!
U ok guys ?
And WTF the cost on the road….. it costs me like 700 euros….. not 3000 xD
Now you have to explain to kids what a Penny is. Lol
True. Full video on that coming soon.
harvey milk wants to buy a van
What happened are you ok?
but... does it stop here?
I would love to see you back Dom. I am guessing that Marie has you confused; but, on a string. Controlling you. I could always see that you were being genuine and acting. I wish you well and I’ll check back every week hoping you’ll return.
In my comment above I meant to say that you were genuine but MARIE was acting.
16 litres au 100, ça me paraît énorme comme consommation !
C’est raisonnable pour mon véhicule.
@@vanlifesagas J'ai bien l'impression que les vans consomment moins de l'autre côté de l'atlantique :-) Ici, pour un van L2H2, on est plus ou moins sur du 7 à 10 l en consommation mixte (urbain et route).
Bonne semaine !
Girlfriend’s laughter?? Introduce us to your girlfriend.
Très intéressant ces petits calculs..MAIS....
Louer ma van.!! Ohhh que non..
Elle est mon véhicule de promenade.. Et ma futur maison..
En effet pas tout le monde qui est prêt à louer sa van à des étrangers avec la gestion qui vient avec et l’usure possible, mais pour ceux qui le désirent et convertissent leur van avec cette idée en tête ça peut grandement aider à diminuer les coûts qui y sont reliés
Your Van will wear out faster & need more Repairs sooner if you are Renting it out.....
So it may not actually increase your Income....
and extra cost for insurance, I'm sure!
It all depend on the van you are renting. Paradoxically, vans that are between 0 and 50,000KM have a good return on investment. When you start renting "old vans" afterwards, the revenue surely decreases. Michael could tell us more about that. Michael?
@@vanlifesagas Yes the van will be more often on the road so could lead to needing repairs sooner and since you want to avoid any bad surprises to your customers you may also do more preventive maintenance. But in my opinion if you plan your build accordingly (avoiding fragile materials for the conversion) you can keep your van in great shape and it can make it possible for someone to build a van who wouldn’t be able to pay all these expenses without that related income.
As for revenue, my 2008 van still has a good renting value, but it will be available for rent for a shorter period compared to Dom’s new promaster that could be rented for many years. Issue I can see is the odometer climbing after let’s say 8 years at 40,000km per year would make it a 320,000km van, so you may want to consider starting a new project before the van gets too many miles and still has a good market value.
VEE-HICK-CULL🥰
Thanks for the phonetic spelling!
Being a small van builder your numbers on the van build are way to low. You do it yourself the materials alone are very expensive. And if you need to borrow money for your build out you shouldn't be doing a a van. Your numbers seem really cheap for a condo in America one bedroom apartment is 1300+ utilities. And that's in the Midwest.
Noted. Thks.
Dom, t’es ou???
Invest Invest Invest , buy a used small van and learn how to fix stuff .... eh
Yes if you have some knowledge in car mechanic and fixing, it is definitely an asset!
Guess u guys broke up and this Chanel is dead 💀 rip Chanel
Back on July 3rd.
Hey Dom, I'm sure you'd call me a scratchy penny pincher, (possibly a redneck too). I looked almost 3 years at cargo vans, Box trucks, short schoolies and shuttle buses. Found our shuttle "Serenity" 800 miles away in Florida. 6500 us$, with the Duramax diesel and transmission I wanted. 190,000 miles when purchased. About 7500 us$ in repairs, and materials to complete conversion. Not at all up to the standards of your van, but functional and comfortable enough. And I didn't have to borrow money to do it. I lived below my means for years to save the money to build an adventure machine. Last year our 7000 mile trip to Seattle cost us around 2000$ in fuel. 7 Weeks of hotel stays would have been so much more expensive! Averaged 12.5 MPG on that trip,in the middle of the grand heatwave, running the front and rear AC constantly. Lots of mountains to cross! In December our trip to Florida we averaged 15 mpg. I'd still like to see what you and your dad could build on a shoe string budget! (I may be scratchy, but I'd never charge anyone for a marshmallow around a campfire!)
Hahahah, love your comment! Yes, vanlife is also about making with what you have and having fun while at it. My father and I already did a conversion revamp for 10,000$ and it was nice. There's always a way to figure things out. It all depends on the level of comfort you are willing to accept!
Serenity sounds great! As to your “shoe string” budget, everything is relative as they say. You can start with a mattress to sleep, camping stove to cook and cardboard boxes to store stuff and you’re in business. And you can improve from there, budget dependent. Simple answer, we know, but you really have infinite possibilities. It depends what you want to throw in, as you did.