The Money
RECEIPTS.
Itemised.
This is not a free-Yugo grift. We've already paid €2,303 out of pocket. The car itself cost €200 — keeping it alive is the real bill (€700 in repairs so far, plus fuel and hotels). The whole trip lands around ~€4,100. Donations bridge the gap. Here is every line.
Our skin in the game
Already spent
€2,303
We'll add
€249
Total from us
€2,552
Total trip cost
~€4,100
Plot twist: the car cost €200 — and then
Yugo ownership began: €700 of repairs so
far, thirstier fuel bills, and an unplanned extra hotel night. The whole trip lands around ~€4,100. We put in €2,552
of our own — donations cover the remaining ~€2,000. That gap is what every €5
sticker helps close.
Already spent · own money €2,303
- Plane tickets · Riga → Belgrade × 2
round trip, both passengers €220 - AirBnB Belgrade
4 nights, 26 – 30.06 €235 - Domain · yugotoriga.lv
1 year, via Latvian registrar €14 - Stripe · setup
verification, test transactions €12 - Stripe · refunds
test-transaction refunds returned to supporters €1 - Spotify Premium · 2 months
€12/month · now into the second month for the queue feature €24 - VPS server · 2 months
€10/month · now into the second month running this site €20 - Sticker production
printed batch — bumper + sponsor art; rest hand-made €185 - Hand-made stickers
materials for the hand-cut supporter stickers €17 - Main logo · commission
YUGO/TO/RIGA badge artwork €20 - Physical maps
paper road atlases — backup nav for 7 countries €21 - eSIM · Serbia
10 GB data for the Belgrade days (Serbia is outside EU roaming) €14 - The Yugo itself
bought in cash in Belgrade — yes, the whole car €200 - Repairs & parts · so far
tyres ×2, midnight roadside rescue, carb mechanic, oil, tools, a lot of tape €700 - Fuel · so far
~2,100 km — the choke era drank double €300 - Hotels on the road · so far
Sofia ×3 (one unplanned), Bucharest, Cluj, Budapest, Kraków €320
Upcoming · donations + own money ~€1,500
The big ones
- The Yugo itself
✓ paid — bought in cash in Belgrade (yes, really) €200 - EU import duty + VAT · 10% + 21%
on the car's €200 customs value, cleared in Latvia ~€70 - Hotel nights · remaining
Kraków → Białystok → home (nights so far already in the left column) ~€120
Gear · one-time
- Power
we already own a 20,000 mAh bank — a power station (~€300) only if it can't keep up past Sofia €0 - Dashcam · videoregistrator
records the whole drive — safety + endless content ~€160 - Bluetooth speaker
for the Spotify queue in the car ~€50 - Chairs + fans · roadside
folding chairs + rechargeable fans (no A/C, July heat) ~€60
Trip operations
- Paperwork · notary + translations
contract + translations — the full agency plan got skipped ~€100 - Fuel · remaining ~1,000 km
the carb runs thirsty — ~€300 already burned is in the left column ~€160 - Food, water, tolls, coffee
12 days × 2 people ~€600 - VPS server · 3 more months
€10/month · this site stays up after the trip €30 - Spotify Premium · 1 more month
€12/month · through early July, then cancel €12 - Breakdown / repair buffer
we said "when, not if" — it was when: €700 spent already (left column), this is what's still reserved ~€150
The car
€200
bought in cash · +€700 repairs and counting
Everything else
~€3,900
repairs + fuel + food + hotels + gear + import
Total trip
~€4,100
€2,552 from us · ~€2,000 from donations
Transparency
These aren't estimates anymore — most of it is receipts from the road. The car really cost €200; the €700 of repairs (tyres, roadside rescue, carburetor mechanic) is really paid. Import duty + VAT (10% + 21%) gets cleared in Latvia on the car's €200 customs value.
We bring our own money to the table — donations bridge the gap. If costs come in lower than estimated, the difference goes into the repair buffer. Yugos do not disappoint.