Living the slightly contradictory life of a “settled” digital nomad comes with its own set of rules and guidelines—one of the most important being budget. Having now been settled in El Barranco, Cuenca, Ecuador for nearly a year now, I have a pretty good idea of what my monthly spending looks like.
January 2026 was one of those fairly typical months. Mostly “home”-based with a couple of small trips, social events and one splurge purchase. It’s what most of my months tend to look like, and some of the reasons why I chose Ecuador in the first place—lots of areas to explore with a low cost of living for a high quality of life.
So, that brings us to what you all are so curious about… my total spend for one of these pretty average months.
First, a bit of context
Right now, I live in a two-bed, three-bath top-floor apartment. My rent includes bills and furniture.
In terms of eating habits, I live a pretty comfortable little life, eating out about two times a week and batch cooking weekly to make up the rest of the meals (my snazzy new slow cooker, which was my splurge purchase of the month, helps with this).
I’ve been especially lucky to settle in a city that is quite compact and walkable, but in the event I need to travel farther afield, a taxi will usually do the trick.
This month, I did have to make some one-off purchases (though this does happen fairly often, with things like new gear, flights and visa fees) for some new hiking gear.
The cold, hard data
Acommodation
My rent for a two-bed, three-bath penthouse apartment comes to £900/month, bills included. This is way above the typical price of the city; however, it is fully furnished and comes with an exclusive address.
I also have a cleaner who comes weekly.
Rent, bills included: £900 / $1,215
Cleaner (1x per week): £75 (£18.75/week) / $100 ($25/week)
Total: £975 / $1,315
💡 If you want to spend less: Shoot for an apartment with a more average price tag, somewhere around the £500-mark should be perfectly achievable. I chose to splash out a bit on accommodations due to the great location and amenities, but you could absolutely find a way to still balance location and price tag, especially if you steer clear of more touristy areas.
Food and Drink
I eat out around two times a week and batch cook the rest of the time. Groceries, which I have delivered weekly, cost around £35 per week. Eating out costs around anywhere from £5 to £20 a meal.
I have an additional amount that I spend on coffee and various treats at coffee shops, but I’ll touch on that in the work and admin section—I choose cafés over coworking spaces, so I consider it the cost of productivity.
Groceries: ~£140 (£35/week) / $190 ($47.50/week)
Eating Out: ~£100 (£25/week) / $135 ($33.75/week)
Total: ~£240 / $325
💡 If you want to spend less: Eat out less and spring for budget options. Food was one of the main reasons I chose Latin America in the first place, so I allow myself the indulgence.
Transport
As mentioned above, if I need to get somewhere outside of walking distance, I’ll usually take a taxi. Fares usually come in at an average price of £1.50.
For travel beyond Cuenca, I will typically use buses and occasionally hitch rides from friends. I’ll account for these costs under travel and experiences.
Taxi Fares: ~£1.50-£5 / $2-6.75
Total: ~£1.50-£5 / $2-6.75
💡 If you want to spend less: Walk more! Though I will say, this is one of my smallest expenditures of all, and I can’t see cutting it down much further than this.
Health and Fitness
There’s a gym across the street from me that I’m a member of, and I pay for a personal trainer who I see three times a week.
Gym: £25 / $33.75
Personal Trainer (3x per week): £140 (£35/week) / $190 ($47.50/week)
Total: £165 / $223.75
💡 If you want to spend less: Many won’t have a need for a personal trainer and, if you’re anything like me and your main hobby is running, you could feasibly nix the membership, too. I just find it useful for ease of access and accountability.
Work and Admin
I’m not a huge fan of coworking spaces, so to keep myself productive, I tend to café surf between a handful of different cafés or work from home. This tends to set me back about £200-250 a month. While I could buy a coffee machine, it’s more about getting out of the house and into the community.
Coffee/café fund: £200-£250 / $270-$338
Total: ~£200-250 / $270-$338
💡 If you want to spend less: Cut back on the fancy coffees and treats. Get a coffee machine or, even cheaper, a cafetiere.
Lifestyle
My calendar is pretty full these days, with regular classes and social events.
I take two hours of Spanish classes a week and two hours of Salsa classes a week. These come to £75 a month each.
I also tend to go hiking once or twice a week with a group — I’ve found this to be a great way to get to know people and make sure that I don’t stay too much in my solo-traveller bubble. The membership to my hiking group comes to about £30 a month, and then I’ll usually spend around £10-15 in petrol fees to whoever I carpool with.
I will also usually go on one, sometimes two, dates a month. Normally, I’ll opt for somewhere nice for dinner and drinks, so that will cost around £60.
Spanish Classes (1x per week): £75 (£18.75/week) / $100 ($25/week)
Salsa classes (2x per week): £75 (£18.75/week) / $100 ($25/week)
Hiking Group Membership: £30 / $40
Petrol Fees: ~£10-15 / $13-20
Dates: ~£60 / $80
Total: ~£250 / $330
💡 If you want to spend less: Cut back on classes and memberships, and opt for coffee shop dates. I choose to invest in these bits because I’ve found that they work for me, but there are plenty of free or lower-cost options for social gatherings and meetups that could do the trick as well. In terms of classes, YouTube University also deserves a nod here.
Travel and Experiences
I normally try to squeeze in a trip to somewhere else in Ecuador once every month. This month, I went to Baños, which is Ecuador’s tourist capital, driving prices up a bit.
I travelled there by bus, which was £11 each way. I stayed for a week in a private hostel room. This brought my accommodation cost to £150.
I spent around £200 collectively on eating out and tours.
Petrol Fees: ~£10-15 / $13-20
Bus Fares: ~£22 / $30
Travel Accommodation (one week’s worth): ~£150 / $200
Travel Spending (Food and Tours): ~£200 / $270
Total: ~£385 / $500
💡 If you want to spend less: Opt for shorter stays, day trips, and general hostel rooms. Spring for self-guided tours and local spots.
Pet Care
If you’re new here, I travel with my not-at-all spoiled pug, Bella. It costs around £25 monthly for her food and £15 for her monthly doggy spa day.
Dog Food: ~£25 / $34
Doggy Spa Day (1x per month): £15 / $20
Total: ~£40
💡 If you want to spend less: Don’t bring your dog… or, maybe, just opt for at-home doggy spa days 🐶💆♀️
One-offs
This month had a few one-offs, including some extra hiking gear as my headtorch died and I needed some lightweight gloves. The headtorch came in at £50 and the gloves at £20.
Finally, as one big splurge and to help with my batch cooking, I got myself a glorious new slow cooker. Worth every penny.
Headtorch: £50 / $68
Gloves: £20 / $27
Slowcooker 😎: £70 / $95
Total: ~£120 / $160
💡 If you want to spend less: Shop secondhand or go without.
Savings and Investments
Savings isn’t a massive priority for me at the moment, so I typically put away about £100 a month.
Total: £100
Totalled Up
Added all together, this brings my total monthly spend to…
Drumroll, please…
£2,400🎉
| Item | Cost per Month, Great British Pounds | Cost per Month, United States Dollars (Approximately, converted from GBP) |
| Rent, bills included | £900 | $1,215 |
| Cleaner (1x/week) | £75 (£18.75/week) | $100 ($25/week) |
| Groceries | ~£140 (£35/week) | $190 ($47.50/week) |
| Eating Out | ~£100 (£25/week) | $135 ($33.75/week) |
| Taxi Fares | ~£1.50-£5 | $2-6.75 |
| Gym | £25 | $33.75 |
| Personal Trainer (3x/week) | £140 (£35/week) | $190 ($47.50/week) |
| Coffee/Café Fund | £200-£250 | $270-$338 |
| Spanish Classes (1x/week) | £75 (£18.75/week) | $100 ($25/week) |
| Salsa Classes (2x/week) | £75 (£18.75/week) | $100 ($25/week) |
| Hiking Group Membership | £30 | $40 |
| Petrol Fees | £10-15 | $13-20 |
| Dates | £60 | $80 |
| Bus Fares | £22 | $30 |
| Travel Accommodation | £150 | $200 |
| Travel Spending (Food and Tours) | £200 | $270 |
| Dog Food | £25 | $34 |
| Doggy Spa Day (1x/month) | £15 | $20 |
| Savings | £100 | $135 |
| One-off Purchases | £120 | $160 |
| Total | £2,400 | $3,240 |
Excluding one-offs and savings, this brings my average spend per day to around £72 / $98.
Is this budget for you?
All in all, I’m very happy with this budget. It allows me to be busy, have hobbies, get out and meet people, and generally splurge when and where I see fit. If that’s the kind of life you’re looking to lead, I absolutely recommend it.
That said, if you’re someone who is looking to be a bit more frugal and spend your time saving, this isn’t the lifestyle I would point you towards.
Generally speaking, if you were to live like I did this month, expect moderate spending, but a full calendar and solid home base.
A few more details
Is this solo or with a partner? Solo.
What exchange rate did you use? USD to GBP (1.35)
Cash or card? Predominantly cash.
Are these reflective of local prices or tourist prices? These prices lean towards tourist pricing, especially when it comes to my rent, which is hugely over-inflated for the city (probably around £200 over, which I eat as I needed it furnished, and it’s an exclusive address).
