July expenses

As you know, we try and keep our expenses to around an average of $1,000 a month, but there can be a wide variance depending on a lot of factors. So we weren’t sure what to expect with a full month of being across the ocean. We stayed the first three weeks of July with Ruth’s cousin Helen and her husband Tony, so we had no accomodation expense for that period, but we did of course contribute towards expenses for the four of us while we were there. And sometimes we paid for things, and sometimes they did, so although some categories are higher than normal, some may be lower but it’s hard to know exactly which is which. Plus, we had some travel related expenses such as our flight from Bristol to Prague. Either way, we think we did very well, with expenses coming in at a total of $1,189.73 for the month.

Gasoline: We contributed $112.50 towards the gasoline in Helen and Tony’s car. Hopefully that was enough for all the touring we did! Thanks Helen and Tony!

Groceries: Came to $304.53, higher than Mexico, but lower than Canada. Perhaps slightly lower than we expected.

Alcohol: We enjoyed ourselves quite a bit at Helen and Tony’s. Total came to $142.18, which is our third highest month this year! Oh well. August should be quite a bit cheaper.

Miscellaneous: Always the wild card, we never know what to expect in this category. July was fairly cheap, coming in at only $73.40. We’re happy if we can keep this category below $100! Last month included items such as local transportation, our Czech-English dictionary, Ruth’s new jacket, and a small backpack.

Entertainment: We include meals out in this category because it’s a somewhat discetionary expense that we consider to be entertainment. We’ve found that being away from the motorhome and our normal routine requires that more money be spent on meals out. Sometimes it’s because we’re staying with a couchsurfer host and we treat them to a meal as a form of thanks. And sometimes it’s more convenient when we’re out exploring. Either way, we’ve increased our normal budget in this category, and in July we spent $242.37. This also includes any expenses towards attractions or even something like buying an ice cream cone on a hot day.

Overnight: We spent $80 in July. This was our four nights in Kutna Hora and even though it was only $20 a night, it adds up quickly. If we didn’t use couchsurfing hosts for the majority of our accomodation, we wouldn’t be able to afford to travel. Thanks to all of our hosts, and especially to Helen and Tony!

Travel: $235.05 included our flight to Prague and the trains to Kutna Hora and Svitavy.

We have a budget of only $850 for the month of August! We plan to remain the first 10 days or so in Czech Republic, then a couple of weeks in Slovakia, and the remaining days of the month in Hungary.