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Monday, March 28, 2011

Mexico, on $30 a day

How much did our five month trip cost? Not as much as you would think. In fact, it probably would have been more expensive for us to stay in Canada!

We spent a total of $10,955 from October 21 to March 26, essentially being away for five months.

Here’s the breakdown (and monthly averages)…

$3,034 fuel. ($606.80)
$242 toll roads. ($48.40)
$113 propane. ($22.60)
$1,710 grocery. ($342.00)
$699 booze. ($139.80)
$1,853 misc. ($370.60)
$1,698 motorhome maint. ($339.60)
$566 entertainment. ($113.20)
$1,040 overnight. ($208.00)

$10,955 total ($2,191 per month)

Because we don’t have the expense or upkeep associated with a normal home, much of what we did spend, we would have spent anyhow had we stayed in the cold. So, take off the groceries, booze, misc, and entertainment, and you come to $6,127. Then take off whatever it would have cost to have a place to live in Canada for those five months. We likely would have had to pay rent somewhere. Even if we were house sitting like we did last winter, you would spend at least $1,500 for the five months and that’s a best case scenario. So take that off and now you’re at $4,627.

My accountant says that liars figure, and figures lie, but we figure our five months away cost us a total of about $900 a month, or $30 a day. What do you figure…?
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12 comments:

  1. Kenny And Angela's AdventureMarch 29, 2011 at 10:02 AM

    I figure your right..not bad $30 a day.

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  2. pidgeMarch 29, 2011 at 10:41 AM

    We figure we spend around twice that every month. So, I think that is damned good. We don't boondock, but sometimes I would really like to try it, other times I want no part of it.

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  3. our awesome travelsMarch 29, 2011 at 10:44 AM

    Gotta love the lifestyle, our budget total is pretty close to bang on with yours, just that the expenses are in different areas. Sure beats the stick house and staying in one place.

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  4. UnknownMarch 29, 2011 at 11:12 AM

    I would give yourself a bigger booze credit since booze in Mexico must be much cheaper than in Canada.

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  5. mexicokidMarch 29, 2011 at 11:29 AM

    Just to be warm and surrounded by loving vibrant and happy families is well worth 30 dollars per day!!!!
    So what is it going to be Grand Dad, PaPa, Grand Poppy????? had my first 2011 swim yesterday life is a beach cheers Les

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  6. AnonymousMarch 29, 2011 at 12:16 PM

    Very interesting budget. I have one question about Maintenance, does that include the tires and air bags? If so, those will last a number of years and could be averaged out for those years.
    I spent an expensive winter in AZ but solar and upgrading to a 8D AGM battery was two thirds of the expense for the winter.
    Mickey

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  7. Sam&Donna WeibelMarch 29, 2011 at 12:18 PM

    Thank God Donna is the accountant in this family, that's what she does at the truck company, my head is spinning just looking at the figures. As long as you had a great time and feel comfortable with the cost is all that matters.With fuel what it is now we can't live on $30 a day although we have two extra family members living with us.Be safe out there. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

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  8. I.M. VayneMarch 29, 2011 at 7:40 PM

    I figure that if'n you'da had yer ownselfs still like all us folks up on the Gulf had, yer booze expensatures wood have been nothin'. Other than thayt, It looks to I.M. like me and Nilda otta consider goin' to Mexico some time.

    Plus you bein' form Canadien and all, and sayin' Mexicop are cheeper, Canadien sure ain't gonna be on our travel schedule. Thanks fer the helpfull informations.

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  9. Karyn-LeeMarch 29, 2011 at 8:34 PM

    Thanks for posting. Although you don't equate insurance in there, I assume that's not too expensive? Maybe you pay that yearly? I think Ontario is more expensive than Alberta for insurance.
    $30 a day is nice. I could sure do that!

    And it's not like you guys didn't travel either. You went lots of places!

    Cheers!

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  10. Kevin ReadMarch 30, 2011 at 7:24 AM

    Kenny and Angela...Thanks!

    pidge...We need to keep expenses down and boondocking is one of the ways for us to do that. We are not really RV Park people and find boondocking suits us. We have been lucky and found some really beautiful places that way. It's not for everyone and you really need to be set up with solar power and learn to conserve your resources well to be able to really enjoy it.

    George and Suzie...You got that right! What a life.

    Janie and John...You are right about that credit, but in Canada, we just drink less.

    Les...$30 for the warm, sunny beaches and great people is definitely worth every penny. It will be Grandpa and Grandma. Still waiting though!

    Mickey...Yes it did include the tires and air bags, but it is just easier to average it out over a year. Next year there will always be something else. So it works itself out in the end.

    Sam and Donna...We definitely had a great time and were comfortable. As Kevin said if we had a house we would be spending more in the long run. As for gas being higher we would normally just travel less and stay longer at various places. We'll see how we do over the summer. Nova Scotia has one of the highest gas prices in Canada.

    I.M. Vayne...You'll have to show us how to make a still! For now we will go to the wine making shop and make a couple batches of wine, it's much cheaper for us to do that here. Yes, Canada is expensive, but it is also a beautiful country that needs to be seen.

    WBY...No, Kevin forgot to include the insurance. The Mexican insurance was $376 and our regualar motorhome insurance was paid in September before the trip. So with the insurance included it would have been a little higher. Although with not having a house we don't have the house insurance and we would have paid for insurance on one or two vehicles so again it sort of cancels each other out.

    Kevin, Ruth and Whiskey

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  11. AnonymousApril 5, 2011 at 1:20 PM

    hi i'm a person from mexico just to have something clear you are talking about canadian dollars right?

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  12. Kevin ReadApril 5, 2011 at 1:40 PM

    Hi Anonymous...Canadian or American dollars, because they are almost the same right now. We're not talking pesos, that's for sure. :-)

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