January Expenses

Wow, another month done already. Only three months from today and we will be back at Cabri Park in Saskatchewan. Time flies when you're having fun!

Okay, on to our January expense report. It wasn't a bad month, although we overspent in just about every category. Not by much, but a little in each category adds up! We spent a total of $1,506 CAD for the month.

(Unless otherwise mentioned, all figures are in Canadian dollars. For USD equivalent you can subtract about 30%.)

Gasoline: We spent $237 on gasoline for a one time fill up. Fortunately, we didn't drive very far in the month, so most of that gasoline is still in the tank! Gasoline is relatively expensive here in Mexico just now because the price is regulated by the government. Currently at 13.15 pesos per litre. ($1.04 CAD per litre, or $2.75 USD per gallon).

Toll roads: $0...we generally try to avoid the expensive toll roads unless paying the toll results in a better driving experience. Often the free roads are in better condition than the toll roads and you see more of Mexico. We'll be doing some more toll roads during the month of February as we often take toll highways on the routes that are planned for the caravan we will be leading.

Propane: We spent $75 on propane in January. We had a mishap at the beginning of the month and we didn't receive the amount that we had paid for. We weren't there to control it at the time, so nothing we could do about it. So then we had to fill up again a couple of weeks ago. But suffice to say that in the future we will make sure we are always standing there when the propane tank is refilled.

Groceries: Normally, we can get by on $250 a month in this category while in Mexico. In January, we spent $305. I think it was that big hunk of filet mignon that put us over the top! But we're glad that we bought it. We got five good meals out of that piece of high end beef, and it's probably the most tender we've ever had. We're having filet mignon steaks for dinner tonight!

Alcohol: Okay, so we drank too much in January. We spent $193 on booze, which considering that booze is fairly cheap in Mexico, the total is too high. Our average tends to be around $150, so we'll try and cut back a bit in February!

Miscellaneous: Not bad in this category, coming in at $194. Of that, $82 is internet. The rest is laundry, taxis, local buses, and Ruth bought some clothing. Still, we like to try and keep this category under $150.

Entertainment: This category includes meals out. We try to keep it under $100, and we came in at $107 for January so that's not bad.

Overnight: Usually we are well under $200 a month while we're in Mexico. We don't stay in many typical "RV Parks", but this time we wanted to explore the city of Queretaro and the best place to do that from was the RV parking area of the relatively expensive Flamingo Inn Hotel, a twenty minute walk from the downtown core. We were there for nine nights at 250 pesos ($20.50 per night) so that took up a big part of the total $336 that we spent during the month.

Motorhome: We spent $59 getting Sherman's new front curtains made.

So, a total of $1,506 for the month. Not bad, but higher than expected. Fortunately, many of you bought from our Amazon links during the month and contributed an income of $356 USD which is also higher than expected, because January is typically a slow month for Amazon sales. So thank you for that! It makes a big difference to us, and we appreciate it!

February should be quite a bit lower, but it's also going to be very different for our expenses because we'll be spending much of the month leading the caravan group.

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