The summer months are supposed to be when we don't spend much money. But so far, it's not really working out that way! I swear, we spend less money when we're out touring in the motorhome than we do when we're sitting still.
But, it was a good month. We had fun with Lindsey and the grandkids at the beginning of the month, and we also did some shopping and paid out some expenses towards our motorhome exchange in Spain next January and February. Total was $1,428!
(Figures are all in Canadian dollars...for U.S. dollar equivalent you can subtract about 25%).
Here's how it all broke down...
Gasoline: We spent $81.42 on gas for the little blue car. A little higher than normal because we drove to Regina and back to take Lindsey and the grandkids back to the airport.
Grocery: Expensive month in June because we did five grocery shops. And groceries are definitely more expensive than what they were last year. Hard to buy any decent fruit for under a buck and a half a pound. Anyhow, we gotta eat! Spent $692.93 on groceries last month! But, we ended the month with a full fridge and freezer, and we'll see how it averages out come the end of September.
Alcohol: Nope. Not a dime spent on booze. Continuing our boycott of overpriced Canadian booze.
Miscellaneous: This category continues to be higher than we'd like. But something always comes up. Our motorhome exchange couple had wanted roadside assistance insurance just in case something were to go wrong, and they promised to supply the same when we go to Europe and use their motorhome. So it cost us $150 CAD for Good Sam Roadside Assisitance. It had to be the platinum package because it's the driver who is actually covered an is using a vehicle that doesn't belong to him. Anyhow, it's part of what we agreed to, so we paid it. Pretty expensive for two months, but I couldn't find a way around it.
Also in miscellaneous was our passport photos ($48), car insurance ($79), motorhome insurance ($69), and my fantastic footwear deal ($165) as well as a number of smaller items.
Total in that column... $589. Ouch.
Motorhome: $65 for the new manifold studs and exhaust bolts that had to be ordered from the U.S. That's a repair job I'll tackle in September.
So, $1,428. But, it's only money...we'll make some more tomorrow.
This month should be cheaper. I keep telling myself that, but it's not been coming true!
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Just keep making more money, so that you can spend more. Eating is good for you.
ReplyDeleteThe idea is to make more money but to spend less! :-)
DeleteWhat about the passports? I totally agree with you about fruit prices. I recently bought 4 gala 2 red delicious and one granny smith apple, 1 cantalope, 4 oranges, 4 plums, and 4 nectarines for just under $20. You gotta eat is what we tell ourselves. Cherries we paid half price for at Save On so they were a great deal.
ReplyDeleteLove your Coho, what a cutey.
The cost of the passports hasn't been charged to my credit card yet, so it will show up on our July expenses.
DeleteYes, Coho is fitting right in. He's kinda fun to have around, and he had his first "mouse hunter" experience the other day. Good topic for a blog post for sometime this week.
Should you include insurance in your miscellaneous category, though? Ya gotta have it, so it's not a discretionary thing IMO. I think of the stuff in miscellaneous as discretionary. But to each his/her own budget! We've had months that high in groceries too, when stocking up. Then the next month is less. I'm betting it will pan out for you that way as well.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are correct it isn't a discretionary item, maybe Kevin will have to think about creating a new category for that. No matter, it is still included in the budget one way or another. And, yes, I am sure that once the summer is over the food budget will have balanced itself out better but I bet that it will still be higher than last year's amount for the same time period.
Delete