November was actually a pretty good month, with one exception. Our regular readers will remember back in September when 20 year old cat Molly was sick and had an emergency visit to the vet. Well we finally got around to reimbursing my sister for some of the expenses and so that got lumped into November's bills.
Other than that, November was pretty much on target. We spent a total of $1,636.98, and that includes the $611 vet bill.
Gas: $125.54 on gasoline for the month. Most of that was getting us from Oklahoma City where we finished off October, down here to Hacienda Contreras. As an aside, our total gasoline cost for the whole trip from Ottawa, Canada to here was $292.38...not bad for 4,843 kms (3,002 miles)! Way to go, little blue car!
Toll roads: We did stick to the toll roads when possible, and spent $28.40 driving on them.
Propane: Sherman's propane tank was pretty near empty and it cost $33.44 to have it filled up. That was for 65 litres (17.2 gallons) which is actually pretty reasonable.
Grocery: Sherman's cupboards were also empty, so we had a lot of stocking up to do. Even so, our grocery bill for the month was only $337.04. Not bad, and now that we're stocked up it should get back under $200 a month for the balance of our time here in Mexico.
Alcohol: Back to normal, with reasonable booze prices in both the U.S. and Mexico. $132.69, which is about average for us.
Misc: Total of $777.08, and that includes the $611 vet bill. Molly seems back to normal for a 20 year old cat, so that's the upside to that whole story.
Motorhome Maintenance: Sherman has cost us very little money over the past year. In fact, we have spent under $100 on Sherman and that includes the $21.60 we just spent on new front brake pads. It helps to be able to do your own maintenance! So, for the month of November, $21.60.
Entertainment: We try and spend a maximum of $100 a month in this category, and November came in at $106.19. This was pretty much all for meals out.
Overnight: $75 for a rip off motel in Laredo, Texas. I hate to say "never again" but given the circumstances it was our best option at the time. We also owe Barb and Sal for our campground expenses and some storage for Sherman but that will get listed in December's expenses when we pay for those items.
So, a total of $1,636.98. Not bad, considering the $611 vet bill. The next four months will all be well under $1,000 a month though!
Still doing pretty good on the budget, keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteWait until next month's.
DeleteYou're amazing. Congrats on a great budget and staying with it.
ReplyDeleteIt's not really hard for us to stay with it and we feel that we still get out there and enjoy everything that there is to offer.
DeleteThe second budget post in two days, plus the fact that today's the first of the month, has inspired me to dutifully keep track of my expenses. Hopefully I can stick to it this time!
ReplyDeleteYou can do! May sure you have fun with it, that is the trick.
DeleteWow, Molly is 20 years old. The oldest cat I have had was Tuffy and he almost made it to 22. Our current kitties are both 14. We rescued them from the animal shelter when they were 8 & 12 weeks old. Longtime friends! We have had some of the same vet bills with the female as she has gotten older. Beyond the kitty talk would love to see a below $1000 expense month. My taxes & insurance are that much, sad, sad, sad.
ReplyDeleterocmoc n AZ/Mexico
I think 22 years is amazing. Kevin's sister said that Molly is doing great now. Guess we will see how old she will get?
DeleteWe live life pretty simple so maybe that helps. We know the way that we live is not the way everyone wants to live, so everyone's budget is going to be different.
Real proof that a single person should easily be able to travel for $1000.00 or less per month.
ReplyDeleteJeff
A single person shouldn't have any problem traveling for under a $1000, mind you it depends on where they travel too and how they travel!
DeleteGreat review. As always, you guys are budget savvy.
ReplyDeleteThanks CAE, we need to be budget savvy to travel full time at our age.
DeleteIm always in awe of how you can save money. Glad to hear Molly is better!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your adventures (?) in December!!!
Are you going to decorate Sherman???
Thanks Karyn Lee! No we don't decorate Sherman, you know us, we keep things simple.
DeleteGlad to see fuel levels have returned to normal, and I'm not talking about LP and gasoline!
ReplyDeleteWe're trying!
DeleteNice budget. You are doing really well. I just paid almost double what you paid for nearly the same amount of propane and was thrilled to get that price.
ReplyDeletePropane prices are great down here. We remember what we paid for propane in Nova Scotia in the spring of 2011 and anywhere has to be better than that.
DeleteThanks for your comment on my web-page/blog/travel journal. You can't imagine how thrilling it is to finally get a comment!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to make a note of your website and continue to follow your adventures. Also , I might have some questions you could answer about RV storage. If I am interpreting correctly what you have written, you've left your unit stored at Valle de Juarez, correct? This seems like something I might consider.
We can still remember that same feeling ourselves! Always nice to know that someone is reading it.
DeleteKevin will email you the details. Hopefully we can get a chance to meet up one day.
Your monthly expense posts, Kevin, spurred me to keep track of our own spending during our first winter as snowbirds. (http://20yrsfromnow.blogspot.com)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I've only been doing it 6 short weeks, one side-effect I didn't expect is that momentary hesitation when I evaluate and then re-evaluate the purchase. I ask myself if we really need this, and is it worth the cost. Surprised by my new sense of frugality, I had to wonder where that came from and realized I'm basically just lazy! :)
Writing down every single purchase in the ledger to keep track takes time, and there are so many other, more exciting things I'd rather do. Like walking on the beach for example...and it's FREE!
Keeping track of every little expense is not for everyone but it is a good thing to keep track of the main items just so you know where you stand. For us, it has just become a habit and as we don't spend a lot of money it doesn't take us (Kevin) long to put it into the computer. We try to do it at the end of every day.
DeleteYep, we love to walk/hike and as you said it is free!