Blowhole at the waterfront of Xcaret Park near Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Toluca on December 24th!

Thursday, April 7, 2016

March Expenses

A bit of an expensive month but nothing that was entirely unexpected, so that was the bright side. A big chunk of it was fuel costs to get from the centre of Mexico up to the U.S. border, but we also had some dental bills.

And, I bought a couple of things on Amazon. Otherwise, it was a pretty standard month. We spent a total of $2,150 CAD ($1,650 USD). The following amounts are in Canadian dollars, so for USD equivalent you can subtract about 25%.

Gasoline: It's still pretty expensive in Mexico, at around $3.00 USD per gallon or $1.00 CAD per litre. We spent $676 CAD on gasoline, but ended the month with a fairly full tank.

Toll Roads: We spent $75.28 CAD on toll highways while in Mexico.

Propane: Filled the tank once, at a cost of $30.40 CAD.

Grocery: A little high, at $341 CAD for the month but we did some stocking up for Helen and Tony's arrival so we did actually end the month with a full fridge.

Alcohol: Again, a little high at $180 CAD but we ended the month with a full liquor cabinet.

Miscellaneous: March miscellaneous came in at a total of $353 CAD, which is not bad considering it included a $195 CAD dental bill. I also bought a small air compressor ($58 CAD) and another BearExtender antenna ($52 CAD) so that we are both able to get on an unsecured wifi connection at the same time. And of course other things like internet and laundry.

Entertainment: Considering it includes ten meals out for the two of us, the $231 CAD that we spent was not too bad!

Overnight: We stayed in a lot of RV parks in March. A total of twenty "paid for" nights that came to $220 CAD. Not bad for an average cost of $11 CAD per night!

Motorhome: I bought a new windshield washer kit for Sherman. Not available in Canada at this price, so I got it through Amazon in the U.S. at a cost of $39.40 CAD, as well as a couple of baggage door catches at $6.50 CAD. A total of $45.90 CAD for the month.

So the month came in at $2,150 CAD, not bad considering we drove 3,000 kms (1,800 miles) during the month, and got some fairly extensive dental work done. This month is expected to be cheaper, but we still have a bunch of driving to do. Fortunately, gas is still cheap here in the USA!

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8 comments:

  1. Not too bad , that is around or monthly average barring any unexpected repairs and stuff, like flights home and major repairs. You doing well.

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    1. It was an ok month for us considering the amount of driving we did but it is still a little higher than we would like it to be. sometimes though you don't have a lot of choice with how much you spend.

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  2. As always, thanks for sharing this information. Helps us plan.

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  3. We returned to Canada the last week of March and like you I headed to the dentist. Great guy and I'm totally satisfied with his services, but the cost was $444.00 Cdn to remove a loose wisdom tooth and repair a chipped molar. The upside is I didn't feel a thing - pain wise, that is. Financially? Well, that's another subject!

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    1. Ouch, that would price tag would hurt! You should think about taking a trip to Mexico next time you need some dental work done. ;-)

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  4. We always appreciate your monthly budget reports. We are getting closer to launching full time ourselves so it inspires us to know what to look forward to spending wise. Now if we could just get rid of this darn snow in Ontario.

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    1. Glad that you enjoy reading our budget reports and I hope that it can be of some help in the future.

      Hoping that snow disappears soon for you! Apparently the snow in Saskatchewan has been gone for sometime now and with any luck it won't return again until next winter.

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