Some photos and January Expenses

Not a lot to talk about from yesterday, so we'll mix in January's expenses with today's blog post.

It was just after 10:00am when a bunch of us hopped into a collectivo to go to the big Chedraui store to do some stocking up. We had wanted to do this when we drove by it on our way here on Saturday, but the parking lot was busy, and not really suited for RVs to begin with.

It's 15 kms from here to the Chedraui. And it cost 15 pesos ($1.10 CAD, $0.80 USD) per person in the collectivo. 1 peso per km!

In the collectivo.

Super bowl cake!

The big store was busier than what this picture shows.

But actually, a lot of the people were in the booze section. They were having a 30% off sale on all wine and liquor, so of course we took advantage of that. We try to buy most food items at the smaller mom and pop stores, but the big grocery stores almost always have better deals on alcohol.

This time we bought 12 beer, 3 liters of wine, a bottle of scotch, and a big bottle of rum. Total cost was 455 pesos ($33 CAD, $25 USD).

We had a quiet afternoon. Some people went to the beach for a while, but Ruth and I stayed behind and had a few games of Quirkle with Garth and Sue.

At happy hour, it was time for a birthday!

Happy Birthday Aron!

Okay, so here's our January expense report...

It was a pretty good month for us. Considering we went paragliding and we bought Ruth a new pair of glasses, we did really well!

We spent a total of $1,639 CAD ($1,237 USD) for the month. 

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

Gasoline: We had started the month of January with a fairly full tank and so we only needed to fill up once during the month. Cost of that fill up was $245.

Propane: We did not spend any money on propane.

Groceries: We spent $252 on groceries for the month. Considering that included a big piece of beef tenderloin, we are eating well for that kind of money!

Meals Out: A new category as of January as we are separating Meals Out from the more general "Entertainment" category. We spent a total of $150 on meals out, and we ate out 15 times during the month. Mostly lunches. That cost is for both of us.

Alcohol: Pretty much average for when we are in Mexico, at $155.

Miscellaneous: Higher than normal, at $480, but that is mostly because of Ruth's new glasses at $264. Other noteworthy expenses were mostly transportation related,,, collectivos and our share of the group van rentals for day trips. $35 went towards our cellular bill and about $12 on laundry. Ruth tries to do a little hand washing every day to keep up with it.

Entertainment: We spent $285 on entertainment, and a big chunk of that was our paragliding fun in Valle de Bravo.

Overnight: Our overnight expenses are covered by the caravan group.

Motothome: We did not have any motorhome expenses for the month other than fuel. Sherman has been behaving himself!

So, not a bad month. We are expecting February to be slightly lower.

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