July Expenses... not bad, for our first full month back in Canada

We're going to be spending (pun intended!) four full months back in Canada, so we're prepared for the living expenses that go along with that. Having said that, July was about what we expected.

We had a budget of $2,700 CAD ($1,980 USD) for the month of July, and we ended up a few hundred dollars over that, but mostly because of renewing our passports, which is something I forgot to include in the original July budget.

Including the passports, we ended up spending $3,185 CAD ($2,297 USD). Not bad, considering almost half of that was accommodation. So glad that we have that category pretty much figured out for the rest of our time in Canada!

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

Fuel: We put $84 worth of fuel in the car that our son lent to us. I think the average cost in Ottawa was about $1.60 CAD per liter ($4.40 USD per gallon) so it adds up, even in an old fuel efficient Honda Accord!

Groceries: Ruth continues to amaze me with how she manages our grocery bill. Admittedly, we inherited some food from my mother, who no longer needed the items that were in her fridge and freezer, but still.... our grocery bill for the month was $559, which was less than we expected it to be.

Meals out: We had one right at the beginning of the month, and one right at the end of the month. Total of $86.

Alcohol: We budgeted $100, and spent $102. And let me tell you, that's not very much booze here in Canada! We felt like we were having dry July, which of course is not a bad thing.

Miscellaneous: Came in at $414. The major items were a drill and bits, and a pair of running shoes for myself. The rest was mostly consumables for our travels in Igor. Anything that we would sell with Igor becomes a capital expense, but the rest is just stuff we use during our day to day lives while traveling with Igor is included in this category.

Overnight: Our month in the shared house cost $1,558. We were actually very lucky that it worked out as well as it did. We had a space to park Igor where we could do some work to him, and our housemates were pleasant to get along with. It could have easily been not so good!

Motorhome: This is where we put anything to do with repair and maintenance, or licensing, registration, and insurance. We spent $23 on the trip permit to bring him to Nova Scotia.

Travel: We spent $359 on our passports ($320) and passport photos ($39).

So, not bad in total. 

However... a big disclaimer... we actually spent FAR more than that during July. But that is all on stuff that goes into the capital costs of fixing up Igor. Once we finish the month of August (because there will be more!), I will give you an update on what Igor has cost in total.

We have a budget of $2,175 CAD ($1,568 USD) for the month of August. This includes a special entertainment cost that we are looking forward to telling you about!

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