Australia Budget: Month 12 (March 2024)

And just like that… my adventure in the Land Down Under finally came to an end. After an incredible 12 months, and completing a solo Lap of Australia, the time came to say goodbye and fly off to New Zealand.

The majority of this month was spent on the road, on the last leg of my Lap from Melbourne to Sydney. I took the long way around, detouring through the Vic High Country and the Blue Mountains, before finishing in Sydney on 18 March. The next nine days were a blur of stress and emotion, as I had to sell my car on a strict time limit, and prepare for my upcoming adventures in New Zealand.

In all of my monthly budget breakdowns, I categorize my expenses between four main categories: accommodation, gas, food, and other. I share what makes up the “other” category towards the end of this blog post!

How Much I Spent in Month 12 in Australia

So, how much money did I actually spend this month? Here’s my budget breakdown!

Accommodation: $68 AUD = £36 // $45 USD

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Gas: $611 AUD = £322 // $403 USD

Food: $390 AUD = £206 // $257 USD

Other: $1137 AUD = £599 // $750 USD

Total: $2206 AUD = £1163 // $1456 USD

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Australia Budget Analysis

This month was a bit of a killer for me, particularly with the stress of selling my car on a deadline. My accommodation costs were very low – I actually only paid for two campsites (four nights in total) for the entire month! A huge thank you to all my friends who put me up this month: the Ruddle family in Melbourne, Jason in Heyfield, Hayley in Marlo, and my Sydney friends (Julia and Utsho/Nura). I couldn’t have managed the end of this adventure without you!

I did a bit of a crazy route from Melbourne to Sydney, zig-zagging around rural Victoria to see friends and hike mountains, driving into Canberra to tick off my final state/territory in Australia (the ACT), and detouring to the Blue Mountains at the very end of my Lap. This was a lot of fun – but it also meant I was driving loads, and filling up with gas all the time! I would have spent a lot less on fuel if I’d done a more logical route.

My “other” expenses this month were a big setback for me, particularly paying for new brakes ($610 AUD) in Canberra about 10 days before I finished my Lap in Sydney. I also needed to order more contact lenses and pay for my birth control, which are big costs. The rest was public transport in Canberra and Sydney, parks passes for Kosciuszko and Royal National Park, postcards/stamps/souvenirs, car ads on Gumtree and Carsales, and (as always) some random stuff from Kmart.

The month ended up being more expensive than I hoped it’d be. But I do feel like my low accommodation costs help even things out! I spent almost the exact same amount as I did for last month (Month 11), where I was on the road traveling around Tasmania the entire month. And some things, like my contact lenses and birth control, were unavoidable costs and necessary before flying to New Zealand.

Overall, I’m really pleased with my budget in Australia. I managed 12 months without doing paid work, or getting a real paycheck! I spent just $1892 AUD (£980 // $1233 USD) on accommodation for my entire year in Australia – which I think is pretty fucking good.

If you’re planning on traveling between Melbourne and Sydney, or are just interested in how much road tripping costs in Australia, I hope you find this post useful!

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How to Get a Work and Holiday Visa (WHV 462) for Australia in 2023

Australia Budget: Month 11 (February 2024)

Australia Budget: Month 10 (January 2024)

Australia Budget: Month 9 (December 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 8 (November 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 7 (October 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 6 (September 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 5 (August 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 4 (July 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 3 (June 2023)

Australia Budget: Month 2 (May 2023)