March Expenses

Once again, we had a month where our expenses were over $2,000. This has been a costly winter for us, despite having won the trip to Namibia! But, we considered that we may not have the chance to do that trip again so we didn’t scrimp on the expenses, within reason.

And as for March, if we remember that we started the month in Cape Town, South Africa, spent time in New York City and Cancun, Mexico, and ended up in our motorhome…we actually did really well in the expense department!

Total expenses for March 2014 came to $2,113.87.

Here’s how it all broke down…

Gasoline: We spent $92.63 at the beginning of the month in the little rental car that we had in South Africa. Then, when we arrived at Sherman we put 1,000 pesos ($88.00) worth of gas in his tank. So a total of  $180.63 Gasoline has been rising steadily here in Mexico and with the recent decline in the Canadian dollar it now costs around $1.10 per litre. Still cheaper than in Canada, but not the real deal that it used to be. It’s now more expensive than it is in a lot of the United States.

Toll Roads: $23.14 in total. A couple of small tolls in South Africa at the beginning of March, and then the one hefty one for the motorhome here in Mexico last week.

Propane: Sherman’s propane tank needed filling. That cost $37.22.

Groceries: $290.40. Not bad. Thought it might have been cheaper, but Sherman was of course empty of food when we arrived back in Mexico, so we had some stocking up to do. We actually did quite well over the winter. Average monthly grocery bill of $292. Of course some of that is related to the fact that our entertainment and eating out bill is far higher than it has ever been!!!

Alcohol: Higher than normal in March. Again, possibly related to the fact that Sherman was empty of booze when we arrived so we did some stocking up. We spent $169.97 in March, where we typically average around $120 per month.

Miscellaneous: High, at $461.70. Major expenses in this category included backdated storage fees for Sherman ($173), donations and fees ($115) Mexico internet ($43) and New York city buses and subways ($56).

Entertainment: This is where we typically include any meals out, attractions, shows, tourist stuff, that kind of thing. We spent $365.92 last month. This included part of our Cancun all inclusive stay ($123) as well as thirteen meals out for the two of us!

Overnight: Not bad, at $304.15.  Combination of guest house stays, Cancun all inclusive ($150) and RV park costs. This amount is also cheap due to help from friends, contacts, and couchsurfing hosts. Many thanks to all of you!

Motorhome: We have a separate category for motorhome expenses, and there hasn’t been much in it the last two years. That’s because Sherman hasn’t moved much the last two years. We’re going to change that this fall as we plan to spend late 2014 and early 2015 doing some more exploring in the motorhome! We spent $110 on Sherman’s new engine battery last month.

Travel: $170.74 for our two airplane tickets from Cape Town to Johannesburg.

So, a total of $2,113.87. Quite a bit higher than we expected. Good thing we’re going back to work next month! April is also going to be quite high as we fly back to Canada and then drive to Saskatchewan this month.