November Expenses

I know, this is a little late! I usually try to post our expenses right after the end of the month but we had bought quite a few things from Amazon before we left Texas and I never got around to converting them to $CAD until now.

November was quite expensive, partly due to travel costs, and partly due to stocking up for four and a half months in Mexico. Of course that will all come out in the wash over that period of time.

We spent $4,152 CAD ($3,150 USD) in November...

Let's have a look at how it all broke down...(Note, the following figures are all in $CAD. For $USD equivalent, subtract about 25%.)

Fuel: We had a rental car at the beginning of the month, and then when we arrived at the motorhome, Sherman needed some fuel. Then, we drove from Austin, TX to Alpine, TX and then finished the month in Mexico's Copper Canyon. So, a fair bit of driving during the month, and we spent $534 on fuel.

Toll Roads: We only took one short section of toll highway in the state of Chihuahua, and it cost $12.

Propane: Sherman's tank was pretty much empty and just for the convenience we filled in up in Alpine, TX before we left. It was a bit expensive there, and we should have waited until we got to Mexico. Plus, we bought a couple of those little 1 lb cylinders, again for convenience when I don't feel like getting the big hose out and attaching it. We also bought an adapter to be able to refill the 1 lb cylinders. Total cost was $77.

Grocery: Fairly high, at $668. But groceries are expensive in the U.S. where we have to add 30% to everything we buy. And, we did some stocking up for Mexico. For example, I love Planters Mixed Nuts and I bought four big 56 oz containers to last four months. That alone was over $80!

Alcohol: Again, we did some stocking up. Wine is more expensive in Mexico, however beer and liquor are cheaper. So we bought four big 5 liter boxes of the good (?) stuff. But, it's drinkable wine and we are not wine snobs. We spent $222 on booze for the month.

Miscellaneous: We spent $344 in this category. The larger cost items were a battery booster pack, our Mexico tourist visas, razor blades, Telcel cellular, and a new cover for the bicycles.

Entertainment: We spent $277. About half of that was the Copper Canyon Zipline, and the other half was meals out.

Overnight: At $244. Most of that was the Lost Alaskan RV Park where we met the group in Alpine, TX. But, we also stayed at some state parks along the way.

Motorhome: Sherman needed some minor maintenance before we left Texas, and we got that done for $625.

Travel: We took the bus from Huaraz to Lima, Peru then flew from Peru to Ottawa, Canada at the beginning of November, and then Ottawa to Austin, TX. Total cost was $1,147 for the two of us.

So, a bit of an expensive month. But, the next four months should be reasonable, at under $1,500 per month.

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