Well, you can tell we're not in Mexico any more!
But despite that, our expenses for the month came in about where we expected. We spent a total of $2,155 CAD ($1,630 USD) for the month. And considering that included our flight up here and the car rental, it's not bad.
Here's how it all broke down...(amounts are in $CAD... for approximate $USD subtract 25%)
Gasoline: We spent $250 on fuel for the month. We had arrived at the US border with pretty much an empty tank, and we ended up putting in $170 worth for our Texas RV travels. The other $80 worth is what we have used in the rental car since we've been to Ottawa. We've been driving back and forth between Ruth's dad's place, daughter Lindsey's place, and Ottawa itself. Good thing the rental car is easy on gas, but it's still a lot of driving. Plus, gas had gone up quite a bit here... currently around $1.33 CAD per liter ($3.75 USD per gallon).
Groceries: Yikes. Groceries in the U.S. are just as expensive as in Canada now, and in some ways even more so. In fact, a lot of fruits and vegetables are the same price as in Canada even before the exchange rate. Then, we need to add the 35% exchange rate difference. It's only milk and eggs that are cheaper. Even with using up all the food in the motorhome, we still spent $462 for the month. Compare that to an average $220 per month while in Mexico. Yes, I know... we ate out a fair bit in Mexico as well. But still... there is a huge difference in food prices.
Alcohol: We spent $240 on beer and wine. Didn't even buy any hard stuff, and we didn't drink as much. It's simply more expensive.
Miscellaneous: Not bad in this category. We spent $70 on internet access, but that will take us right through until we get to Australia. And about $30 on laundry. Ruth washed pretty much everything in the motorhome before we left... bedding included, so it added up a bit. And $40 for insurance on Sherman. A few minor things as well, and the total for the month came to $148.
Entertainment: We didn't eat out all month. While we eat out a lot in Mexico, we simply don't see the value of eating out in Canada or the U.S.. By the time you add in tip and taxes, it's just too expensive for what you get. We did buy a Texas State Parks pass for $97, and we took Ruth's dad out to Tim Horton's and the grandkids for ice cream and I went for a few beers with a friend. Total in this category for the month was $137.
Overnight: That area of Texas is not great for free camping, and we wanted to do some hiking and biking in the Texas State Parks system. So we had bought the annual parks pass, and it includes a "pay for the first night, get the second night half price" deal, so we took advantage of that. But, we still spent $242.35 in overnight fees for 12 nights of camping. So $20.20 per night on average. Certainly more than we like to pay for camping, but we knew that going into it. And, we enjoyed the parks.
Motorhome: $41 on the supplies to do an oil change on Sherman.
Travel: $169 each for our flights from Austin to Ottawa, then $298 for the April portion of our Ottawa car rental. Total of $636 for the month.
So, $2,155 CAD ($1,630 USD) for the month. Not bad.
May will be more than that because the cost of our flight to Australia will be in there, and we will have some RV expenses getting our camper set up the way we want it. But then June and July should both be quite cheap. Should be interesting to see how it all works out!
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Groceries, alcohol and eating out make up for our currently expensive fuel. Let's hope it changes in the near future.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope so! However, your gas prices aren't much different than ours so it is still better for us in Mexico because of the great savings we get on groceries, eating out and alcohol.
DeleteWe can't wait for you to get to Auzzie to hear about your travel their. We are considering a return trip there Jan to Mar 2020. cheers tom
ReplyDeleteWe can't wait either! We are going to be in for some great adventures. :-)
DeleteThat sounds like a nice time to visit as well, although it could end up being too hot then.
Is there any fix expense which does not include in the cost? such as insurances and RV depreciation fund in case you need purchase a new RV.
ReplyDeleteNope, that the total expense for the month. Our RV insurance and license are combined and Kevin did forget to add them to April's expenses but it should be there now and it wasn't very much anyways as it was only for the one month that we were in the States. The insurance is only in the month's expense that it was actually paid in. And no, we don't have an amount set aside each month that would go towards an emergency fund or a fund to purchase a new RV.
DeleteThank you very much for reply. We are looking at living at low cost country such as Thailand, Malaysia, China during winter time and full time RVing or even Workamp in Canada from mid of April to end October. Is RVing more expensive in Canada than in US?
DeleteWe are doing budgeting to see if we can take early retirement in 4 or 5 years after our daughter go to university.
It is hard to say whether Canada or the US are more expensive. First it would depend on if you are Canadian or American and it would also depend on the type of RVer you are. We have proven that if you are very careful with your expenses you can do both countries at a reasonable cost, at least for a Canadian because now the exchange rate on the dollar is so high. We have found that food costs have gone up quite a bit in the US but fuel is cheaper and there are a lot more possibilities for boondocking in the US but that has also never stopped us in Canada either, although we have heard other people say they can't find decent boondocking in Canada.
DeleteAs for workcamping in Canada you need to be a Canadian, even if it is volunteer, or at least if you want it to be "legal", just the same way Canadians can't "legally" workcamp in the US.
I believe you miscalculated on the conversion of the gas to American Dollars. The $1.33 a litre converted to a US gallon(x3.78) then the conversion of the Canadian Dollars to US(x1.37) would put the price to $6.88 a gallon.
ReplyDeleteNo, my math was correct. $1.33 CAD x 3.78 = $5.03 Canadian dollars per U.S. gallon. $5.03 CAD x 0.74 = $3.72 USD per U.S. gallon.
DeleteYour 1.37 figure is when you do U.S dollars to Canadian.
Thanks Kevin you are correct. I don't know what I was thinking.
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