December Expenses and 2019 Expense Review

December was a bit higher than expected. Seems we are having a lot of those kind of months lately. Still, at $2,175 CAD ($1,680 USD), we saw an awfully lot of neat things during the month! Plus, a big chunk of that was gas for the motorhome.

But, we finished the month with pretty much a full tank of gas and the liquor cabinet is full and so is the fridge. So maybe it wasn't such a bad month after all.

Here's how it all broke down... (note, the following prices are all in $CAD. For $USD equivalent, you can subtract about 25%)...

Gasoline: Gas is quite pricey in Mexico right now. We filled up four times during the month of December at an average cost of 20.50 pesos per liter ($1.41 CAD per liter, $4.10 USD per gallon). We spent a total of $920 on fuel for the month, but the last fill up was near the end of the month and the tank is almost full. January will be better... we don't have as many miles on the schedule.

Toll Roads: We only did one stretch of toll highway in December and it cost $25.

Propane: We filled Sherman's propane tank, and it is still full. Should last a couple of months or so. Cost was $27.

Groceries: We spent $215 on groceries for the month, and we ended the month with a full fridge and freezer. See "Entertainment" because we had quite a few meals out!

Alcohol: A little high, at $177 for the month but as I said, the liquor cabinet is full, and I have a good supply of beer!

Miscellaneous: We spent $526, but there were a few "one time" items in there like Christmas presents for the grandkids, and Ruth renewed her Saskatchewan driver's licence for $100 for the next five years. We also spent $98 at the dentist.

Entertainment: We love Mexican food, and it is so inexpensive to eat out here, so we tend to do it a lot. We rarely eat out in Canada or the United States, but we make up for it while we're in Mexico! We spent a total of $283 on entertainment, and $235 of that was meals out! We ate out 16 times during the month of December... so the average meal for the two of us cost $15. For 2020, I am going to start a new category specifically for meals out.

So, $2,175 CAD ($1,680 USD) for the month. January should be quite a lot cheaper.

Full year 2019...

Our major expenses for 2019 included travel. We spent $7,800 on airplanes and car rentals. Of course that included going to Australia. We spent $5,100 in the "miscellaneous" category. We bought a new laptop for Ruth and we had the camera repaired and we both bought new hiking boots. We spent $4,600 on gasoline for the various vehicles we drove. And we spent $4,600 on groceries for the year... an average of $384 per month.

Fortunately, our 23 year old motorhome Sherman did not give us any problems throughout the year. Of course we had spent a LOT of money on him in 2018, so all he needed was some minor stuff. We only spent $665 on maintenance for the year.

For the full year 2019, we spent $31,810 CAD ($24,512 USD). Less than 2018, so it's a step in the right direction. We are hoping that 2020 will be quite a lot less overall.

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