As expected, December expenses were back to normal. We know from past experience that we can live pretty well here in Mexico for very little money, and December fell right in line with that.
Total expenses for the month of December...$744.47. Here's how it all broke down...
Gas: A total of $65.30 that we put in the little blue car this past month. With fuel prices around $0.86 a litre, the little blue car loves it down here!
Toll roads: We spent $15.46 on the toll roads going to and from San Miguel de Allende.
Propane: We are running our fridge on propane all the time, plus what we use for cooking as well as putting the furnace on for a few minutes when we get up in the morning. We topped up the tank around the middle of the month and it cost $24.80 to do so.
Groceries: Total of $191.40 for the month. Right on track, we know from the past that we usually spend between $175 - $200 per month while we're here in Mexico.
Alcohol: $85.28, and that includes a couple of litres of wine that we just bought today. Not bad, we try to limit this category to $100 a month, so we're happy with that!
Miscellaneous: $110.87. We like when this category comes in low! The bigger items were $40 we put on our cellular internet stick, and $31 on two pairs of prescription glasses from firmoo.com. We had them shipped to Barb's daughter's place, and she brought them down here for us. Thanks Andrea!
Entertainment: More than normal at $161.36, we usually limit this to $100. We sure did have some good food! Interesting that our grocery expenses weren't less. Hmm.
Overnight: Total of $90. Barb and Sal gave us a discount for looking after the place when they were in Chicago at the beginning of the month and so that they could go back to their house in town when they want a break from the campground.
And that's it. We sure do have a good time and have a lot of fun for the money we spend, don't we? The next couple of months will be interesting while we do some tent camping, couchsurfing, apartment renting, and staying with amigos. Still, we're pretty confident that the budget won't change very much. We're heading out of here on Wednesday morning doing a two month road trip with the little blue car to do some more exploring of Mexico!
Happy New Year!
Our December expenses are always a bit high because of buying Christmas gifts for our children and my mother. We stopped giving each other gifts years ago as we just buy whatever we want when we want it and don't feel the need to do Christmas gifts for each other anymore. We also drove to Minnesota to be with our kids. We stayed at our son's home for free, but the fuel added to our expenses. However, the time with our kids was priceless so I'm okay with December expenses being higher than other months. We also have $240 each month in health insurance premiums. Hopefully Obama's new health laws will help with that!
ReplyDeleteNice job on the expenses. You really know how to manage it.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year, Kevin and Ruth!!!
ReplyDeleteB&C