I bet you want to know how much we’ve paid on airline tickets and insurance and accommodation right? You know the most frustratingly expensive item isn’t the big ticket stuff, it’s the annoying necessitates – plastic bins! Four 80lt bins from Bunnings – $107. Then I go to The Warehouse a week later and there are 60lt bins for $1 each, but you just know they’re not going to last long. So I’ve been bracing myself for this post because I’ve buried my head a little because I’ve been scared about what this was going to be. Part of me is “Agggghhhhhhh” the other part of me says “Could be worse!”

Transport: $7127

• Flight: Auckland to Blenheim for the kids —  $278
• Interislander for Nat and I and the car Wellington- Picton —  $325
• Flight: Blenheim to Auckland (all of us) —  $636
• Flight: Auckland to Los Angeles —  $3200
• Flight: Los Angeles to Norway —  $1800
• Flight: Norway to Riga —  $528
• Mini Bus: Riga to Tallin Sight seeing bus tour  (watch the video for the sightseeing tour) $360

What about prices from Europe back to NZ? No idea. The idea is that we’ll head back to the US on the way home, as a half way breather, figure out if we want to carry on. I’d love to fly to New York and then to Cuba. I’m also hoping with increased competition between NZ/US that’s coming the rates will drop for that leg of the journey.

Accommodation: $2869

The rule with accommodation is that we need to spend less per month on accommodation (in NZ dollars) than what we spend on Auckland rent. Ideally around NZD $1250 per month (we pay more than that in Auckland for rent). So far, not really working out that way.

• Norway (4 nights, really expensive, hence why we’re not staying long)  — $450 (approx)
• Latvia  —  $1319 (It’s high season)
• Estonia — $1100 (after we get a $300 deposit back)

(On the plus side this is about $500 less than what we’d spend on two months rent in Auckland. What we save here we will use on transport to the next location.)

Vaccinations: $860 & counting…

• Alice (Hep A, Tetanus Typhoid)  — $120
• Nat and the kids (Hep A, B, Typhoid)  — $490

We’ll probably be getting more, we’ll find out soon, but we have to pay for the consultation appointment which is approx $250 then the price of other jabs we need.
EDIT: Add another $512 for the first round of Rabies/Hep A and then  $372 for the second round of Rabies…. one more round to go in early April, so about $400 for that round.
 

Insurance: $2099

For 12 months (which is the longest you can get, we’ll renew on the road) of awesome health and travel insurance (if something gets stolen, or insurance excess on any rental vehicle etc). It’s the best we could get, and hopefully we won’t need it, but sure glad we have it.

• Kiwi Insurance —  $2099

Other expenses: $?? who knows

All the little things, Trade Me fees, storage containers, takeaways (because no energy to cook), move out cleaner, business expenses like computers (yet to buy) plus all the things I can’t think of right now.
Ok, I think I’ll go away and have a little heart attack. Our original budget was $10k for flights to and from Europe, which we technically did do if you only consider the NZ-LAX-OSO section. Double it and add 30% right? Yeah, I didn’t do that critical calculation.