Better late than never, right?!
If you remember, Sherman broke down on Thursday, March 1st. That week, and the following week were a little hectic for us, and we kind of got out of schedule and the February expenses never got posted. So I'm posting them now.
February was a pretty reasonable month, which is a good thing because March was not! However, we have to keep in mind that February was only 28 days...
We spent $1,413 CAD in the month of February. That's about $1,100 USD.
The following figures are all CAD. If you want the USD figure, you can subtract about 25%, give or take a few dollars, but it's close enough.
Fuel: The biggest expense of this three month trip is fuel. We're driving a lot more miles than we normally would in Mexico, and it shows in the gasoline budget! We spent $697 in fuel. Prices here in Mexico are about the same as they are in Canada.
Toll Roads: Toll highways are expensive in Mexico, and we spent $101 in this department in February. We drove approximately 1,900 kms ( 1,178 miles) in the month of February.
Propane: We filled up once, at a cost of $27.20.
Groceries: Finally, things are starting to pay off in this category. We only spent $169 on groceries. This is due to a combination of things. 1) we had stocked up on a lot in December and January, 2) groceries are cheaper in Mexico, 3) we ate out a lot with quite a few group meals out as well as a few on our own.
Alcohol: Not bad, at $108.
Miscellaneous: A bit pricey, at $160. $115 of that is Telcel charges so that we can stay connected to you all on the internet!
Entertainment: Again, a bit higher than normal at $151, but that is because of the ridiculous $78 we spent on the buffet lunch at Xcaret.
We did not have any campground expenses because they are part of our compensation for leading the tour.
We also did not have any motorhome expenses, but we made up for that in March!
That buffet price is truly ridiculous. Otherwise your budget rocks. Gas here in Comox on Vancouver Island is 1.429 per litre, we were in Alberta last weekend and saw 1.189.
ReplyDeleteThe problem at Xcaret is that they know they have a captive audience because they won't let you bring food into the park so you are pretty much stuck! And most of the restaurants were buffet and all at the same price or more. Good thing the food was good! We just bought gas today in Texas at the equivalent of $0.80 per litre. :-)
DeleteUnbelievable buffet lunch!! I think I would have had a sandwich or a taco. Not bad daily expenses at about $39/day which includes everything.
ReplyDeleteWe were there for the full day so a sandwich or a taco would not have cut it, that and the fact that there weren't many options because most stuff in the park was priced about the same, with only a few "snack" carts!
DeleteNot bad for expenses since most was for fuel. Great job. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteYou are right, the expenses overall were good ,it was the gas and the tolls that were the killers for us.
DeleteWe are getting our house ready for sale, and moving into a 30 ft 5th-wheeler. We plan to stay mostly in Colorado, our home state, but want to do some traveling -- just like you! I can't tell you how helpful your daily reports have been re the Mexico trip and elsewhere. You've brought up several issues that won't catch us unaware now...thanks to you. We really appreciate your thoroughness.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on making the decision to go full-time! It is a lot of work to get the house sold and get rid of so much stuff but for us we found it so rewarding and haven't looked back. :-)
DeleteSo happy that you have found some of our information helpful, that has definitely been our intent along with it being a diary for us and hopefully a keepsake to our family after we are gone.
Good luck with your venture and with any luck perhaps we will cross paths somewhere down the road.
We are purchasing a 2019 Thor siesta motorhome and want to know if we should purchase the extended warranty and protection packages which is an added cost of $5000.00
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