I'm not including any more advertising income, because essentially we don't have any! Most of you know that we got shut down by the Google Adsense people. And the new Chitika ads have been a waste of time.
We had the Chitika ads up and running for about 10 days and we earned a whole $1.96 for those 10 days! And the ads were annoying and not enough variety of them so we shut it down. We still have the link for housecarers.com up because we strongly believe in the program and we make a couple of bucks if you sign up after visiting the link. Same thing with the Harvest Hosts picture off to the right.
We will perhaps start a program accepting private ads but I'm not going to waste too much time on it. The reward of maybe a couple of hundred dollars a month simply doesn't seem worth it.
Anyhow, I almost forgot to go over our June expenses with you. We spent a total of $1,972 last month which is too much. This is one of the reasons that we are going to make our way back to Ottawa through the U.S. And, we know that we can live for $1,200 a month in Mexico where we will spend at least 6 months this winter.
Gasoline, which is almost always our biggest monthly expense, came in at $812. The trip to Cape Breton Island was not a fuel efficient one, with lots of hills and bad roadways where we had to drive slowly. I think we averaged 7.5 miles to the gallon where we normally get 10 if we're on a decent highway and able to go 80 km/h (50 mph) at a steady pace.
Groceries, came in at $429. We have been extra cautious with buying groceries here in expensive Nova Scotia, and we try not to buy anything unless it's on sale. All things considered, we have been very successful because I expected our monthly grocery bills to be over $500 here.
Booze, came in at $147 for the month. As expected, this figure was back to a reasonable level and should be even less for the month of July as were are going to be in the U.S. where booze of any kind is easily half the price that it is in Nova Scotia.
Miscellaneous, was $371. The major items in this category this month were our $136 parks pass, and Whiskey's medication. If not for those items it would have been a below average month.
Entertainment, was $84. This was mostly our expensive lunch at Fortress of Louisbourg. We spend very little on entertainment because we feel that most of the time the cost is not worth it! we find lots of free things to do.
Motorhome maintenance, was $76.
Overnight and campground costs were $53. We love boondocking!
Our expenses for the last couple of months wouldn't be too bad except we're parked in the son's driveway and he and his fiance always seem to find their way over at dinner time. LOL.
ReplyDeleteOur expenses are always through the roof since we have my Son and his Girlfriend and two kids living with us, neither has a job right now so you know who is feeding the clan,Life seems to be like that for a lot of people out there in the same boat,not complaining it's family but i wonder what they will do when we move on, it sure is holding us up for now. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna..
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the Chitika ads I don't see it as a big money maker.
ReplyDeleteIf you head down through the States, does that take away from the 182 days a year that you can travel outside of canada every year?
ReplyDeleteJust wondering....
Yes zip thru the states to Ottawa and fill up with fuel, food and booze, save big time, we can't wait to head south. Love the waterfall picture, if you can't be there its nice to remember how nice it will be, when you return.
ReplyDeleteFrom Alberta we moved to New Brunswick in 2009. Found a place 5km from the U.S. Border and love it. Everything we need we buy south of the border. (Isn't much here on the island anyway) When we go west or opposite we avoid going thru Canada. Nova Scotia will never be visited by us. They jack-assed their HST up to 15% last year, and that's gonna hurt tourism big time.
ReplyDeleteJim and Sandie...Funny how that happens, isn't it? Actually, I think Lindsey and Justin fed us as much as we fed them, perhaps even a little more.
ReplyDeleteSam and Donna...Times are hard, but it's nice to help family out.
Kenny and Angela...Nope, but you don't know until you try.
WBY...I don't believe so, but the federal and provincial governments don't talk so until they have some kind of system set up they really don't have any idea how long you are out of the country. We aren't going to let that worry us. Right now we are in good health so if there is an issue you just need to be back in the country 3 months and the health insurance is good again. For Ontario (not sure about other provinces) there is a special one time allowance that is good for being out of the country for two years and your health insurance is good the day you return. You have to notify them before you leave to take advantage of this.
Peter and Beatrix...I agree, it is expensive here, but we have enjoyed our time here. There are some beautiful places to visit, just got to watch the dollars. Glad you are enjoying the best of both worlds.
Kevin, Ruth and Whiskey
George and Suzie...Yep, looking forward to the drive through the States and being able to fill up on everything before entering back into Canada. We hear the south calling to us loud and clear.
ReplyDeleteKevin, Ruth and Whiskey
Hi, was curious as to why they shut you down with adsense. I have been looking into that a little bit.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark and Lauree. Adsense won't tell you why they shut you down. We had been doing well, and starting to do really well when all of a sudden it's gone. Disappointing. Having said that, we did make money while we had it. Nothing stopping you from trying it, but if you have low readership it will take a year to get to $100...
ReplyDeleteSounds to me, from reading about others experiences with adsense, it that it appears that when you start to make a decent income they shut you off....I just wonder if it may have anything to do with getting to many clicks and not of buying on the part of readers....
ReplyDeleteSteven