Coming off the almost record high month of January's expenses where we did a lot of driving and bought a lot of RV items as well as a new laptop, just about anything would be better.
And it ended up that we spent $1,200 USD ($1,568 CAD)...a full $2,000 less than we spent in January! Let's have a look at how it all broke down...
First of all, we normally write up our expenses in Canadian dollars, because that's what counts to us. But most of our readers are Americans, so it's relevant to them to know how much we spend too. With the current 28.5% exchange rip off, I think we'll put most figures in both denominations to avoid confusion.
Fuel: We have yet to pay over $2.00 a gallon ($0.67 CAD per litre) since we arrived back in the U.S. mid January, so at least we have that going for us. We use Gas Buddy religiously in order to make sure that we get the best gasoline bang for our buck. We spent a total of $203.68 ($263.66 CAD) during the month of February.
Propane: We filled up once, at $2.53 USD per gallon, which was a great price. The total was $30.65 ($39.73 CAD).
Groceries: At $330 USD ($424 CAD) for the month, I once again congratulate Ruth on being able to make great food go a long way. Well done!
Booze: Way too much, at $170 USD ($219 CAD). And we didn't really have much left over at the end of the month. No idea why we went through so much more this month...and it was a short month!
Miscellaneous: The only killer in this category is our cost of internet. But, if we don't have internet, there would be no blog for you to enjoy. Too bad we can't find a sponsor for this part of our lives/ Verizon...?? You listening??
We spent a total of $154 USD ($197 CA) for the month, of which $98 USD ($127 CAD) was internet.
Entertainment: We did really well in this category. A total of $105 USD ($135 CAD). We had only one meal out the whole month! The main part of the balance was our $80 USD National Parks Pass that's valid for a whole 12 months.
Overnight Expenses: We actually did really well here too. We paid for a total of 16 nights, and free camped for a total of 12 nights. At a total of $94 USD ($121 CAD) that averages out to $5.87 USD per night for our paid camping. Not bad!
Motorhome: We spent $132 USD ($169 CAD) on motorhome repair and maintenance. Most of that was the Dinosaur electronics board for the hot water heater.
So, not a bad month, that actually would have been a really good month if not for the terrible Canadian exchange rate that we're having to suffer through.
You can help us make up for that shortfall by clicking on any one of our Amazon links before you do any shopping there. You pay the same price that you would anyhow, but we make a small commission as well. Simply click through this link, and shop away!
Click here to shop at Amazon.com
I've been buying through your link, so hope it helps some :) Thanks for sharing your adventures. I look forward to reading your interesting posts & seeing your awesome photographs each day! I also appreciate the font you use...makes it much easier for my "getting older" eyes to see!
ReplyDeleteThank you Lori! We made $123 USD ($158 CAD) last month from our Amazon links, so it definitely helps!
DeleteThanks for sharing your costs! Always interesting to see how other people's costs stack up against ours. Jealous of your average camping cost! Ours has been pretty high lately as we've been in Florida where things seem much more expensive and free camping harder to find. Looking forward to following more of your adventures! Cheers - Ellen
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly enough when we spent time in Florida we managed to find many free or inexpensive spots. The State Forests are a great place to look. They are pretty cheap and great for smaller units. Also some county parks have camping, we found one that if you dry camped there it was free. If you go back to our archives (righthand sidebar) to March of 2008 and March of 2010 you can read about our time in Florida and see where we stayed. Of course some of the prices will have changed but I am sure they are still cheaper options than most RV Parks.
DeleteYou best drink that cheap booze while you are on that side of the border..the liquor prices are so high in Canada as you well know. We do refuse to drink while eating out as paying $8-$10 a drink in a restaurant is silly. Hubby drinks Rye - $28-$25 for a 26 and I drink cider - $8 - 12 for one litre (Growers). I used to drink low alcohol white wine but the cost is too high and I can't get anything with low alcohol content here although I could in Alberta. If nothing else make sure to maximize your liquor allowance when you cross :)
ReplyDeleteOh, yes we know how expensive booze is in Canada and we generally make a point of NOT buying any while we are there. And, you can be guaranteed that we will bring the maximum amount of wine/beer through the border that we can.
DeleteHave you tried making your own wine at home? We used to do that when we had our house. It is really pretty easy when you use the wine kits and it tasted great too!
You do a great job tracking your expenses, I have good intentions but I never follow thru. But we spend very little when we are home, usually because we are resting from a trip and just want to upload our photos, catch up on laundry, repack and get ready for the next trip. We are leaving for Egypt Sunday, so excited! That's a lot of money on booze, glad we don't drink, but I'm sure we spend on things you wouldn't.
ReplyDeleteWe are just in such a habit now that we don't even think about it. It helps to keep us in line. We may spend a lot on booze during the winter months but from May to September we don't spend a dime on alcohol so that helps to even things out over the full year.
DeleteHave fun in Egypt, this is another place that we would love to visit.
We are tracking our expenses for this trip... our last trip averaged out to $75 a day including diesel, food, campground fees, souvenirs for the grandtots and repairs!!! So far this one is at $67 a day, but we won't know about the tracker repair until it's done!
ReplyDeleteYou sound like you are doing fairly well too. We would have done so much better if it weren't for the Canadian exchange rate wasn't so high. Our goal is $1200 a month and we did that with U.S. dollar but not Canadian dollars. :-(
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