October Expenses

Well, we obviously can't afford to keep coming back to Ottawa. Just kidding, but it does seem we spend more money sitting in one place than we do when we're traveling! It was all worth it of course...we had a fun month and it was great to see all of our Ottawa family and friends again.

We spent a total of $2,350 for the month. Definitely above average. But not one particular category was way out of whack, it's just that they were all slightly higher than normal and when you add them all up...well, they add up!


Here's how it all broke down...

Gasoline: We started the month close to the Manitoba/Ontario border, so a big chunk of our gasoline expenses were for the motorhome to get us to Ottawa. We spent $665 in fuel for the month. $472 was for the motorhome, and $193 was for the various cars that we've used while we've been here in Ottawa.

Groceries: Lower than normal, at $263. But, we had to use up everything in our fridge and freezer, and whatever was left over is now in Lindsey's fridge. Plus, we were taken out for a few meals, and we had some meals up at Ruth's dad's place. Still, it's a little lower than I thought it would be, so that's good.

Alcohol: This one was quite a bit higher than normal because we made those two batches of brew it yourself wine. Pus, we bought some expensive Ontario booze at the beginning of the month. Fortunately, we have a lot of the wine left over and that will do us for when we return here at Christmas. So our December booze expenses should be below normal. We spent a total of $336. Yikes!

Miscellaneous: We spent $200, which is actually pretty good. We had been doing really good until we went shopping the last two days and we each bought a new hoodie sweater. The breakdown was $81 for the two hoodies, a pack of razor blades $24, some tools for the motorhome's tune up $24, September data plan for the iPhone $22, some gifts to take to Romania (maple syrup) $15, and a few minor items.

Entertainment: This one was quite a lot higher than normal, at $421. My weekend away with my friends is in here, plus a couple of nights out, and Ruth's spa day with our daughter. And the escape room night with our son and his girlfriend. We don't often go overboard like this in the entertainment category, but it was fun to treat ourselves to some stuff that we don't normally do.

Motorhome: We spent $313 on motorhome maintenance. Sherman has cost us very little money over the past few years, and so I don't mind this at all. I bought high quality heavy duty plug wires at $162, 8 new platinum spark plugs for $48, and a top of the line distributor cap and rotor for $63. If that's all it costs for a good tune up every few years it's not bad at all.

Travel: The $151 we spent on a car rental for the week goes in this category. You'll see this category used a lot more over the next couple of months as we expense our flights, land transportation, and car rentals over the next six months.

So, at $2,350, definitely higher than normal. To put it in perspective, we probably won't spend much more than that touring Romania in November....and that would include our flight over there!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I always thought that having a decent quality metal detector would be a good hobby for RV'ers...

Bounty Metal Detectors on Deal of the Day

And in Canada, a nice Singer Sewing Machine with carry case...

SINGER 7258 Stylist 100-Stitch Computerized Sewing Machine with DVD, + Carrying Case