October expenses. We kind of blew the budget!

We started the month in England, and ended it in Kosovo with a bunch of time in Albania in between. It was a great month!

But the expenses came in a fair bit higher than planned. We spent more than expected on both meals out and accommodation. But then after all, we were on holiday for the first two weeks of the month!

We spent a total of $2,872 CAD ($2,115 USD) during October.

Here's how it all broke down... (the following figures are all in $CAD)...

Fuel: Gasoline is pricey in Albania, and we did a fair amount of driving during the month. We did well over 1,000 kms (620 miles) just doing our route, plus there were quite a few day trips. So we spent a total of $237 on fuel. But the tank is full and that should do us until we return the car at the airport this coming Friday. Here is a map of our route during October...

Toll Roads: We spent $8 on toll roads.

Groceries: We did really well in this category! But only because we more than made up for it with meals out. We spent a total of $278 on groceries.

Meals out: Yikes. $539. We have NEVER spent that much in a month on eating out. But, if you're going to eat out, at least it makes sense to do it in an inexpensive country. Most of this was during our first two weeks in Albania when we were "on holiday" with Helen and Tony.

Alcohol: Fairly low, at $119. But we didn't limit ourselves, especially when Helen and Tony were here. Beer and wine are inexpensive in Albania and Kosovo.

Miscellaneous: $194 in total. $100 of that was our dentist visit in Berat. The rest was cellular access, parking, and some foreign exchange fees.

Entertainment: $36. We are a cheap date! We did the via ferrata, the bear sanctuary, the Peja waterfalls and cave, and the Blue Eye.

Overnight: $858 for the month, or $$29.50 per paid night. We stayed at some more expensive places with Helen and Tony, but of course we shared the cost with them. Still, the overall total was a bit higher than I originally planned. 

Motorhome: We actually spent a lot of money on new registration and insurance for Max. But while the money is gone from the bank account, I'm going to spread the cost out over the next 12 months to give a more accurate representation of what our monthly expenses are when we RV in Europe.

Travel: Our flights from London to Tirana were $97.85 each. And we spent $13.50 a day for our car rental. Total came to $602 for the month.

So, a total of $2,872 CAD ($2,115 USD) during October. 

November sees us flying back to Germany this coming Saturday, then driving through France to Spain. We have a budget of $2,200 CAD for the month!

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